To get authentic pizza at home, you ordinarily need two things: a large amount of money to spend on one of the best pizza ovens, and a sizeable outdoor space. The launch of the Ooni Volt 12 (opens in new tab), which we’ve had a first look at, means that while you don’t need a garden or balcony, you will need a bigger budget than ever.
That’s because the Ooni Volt, the first ever indoor and outdoor pizza oven, comes with an astronomical RRP of £799. Yes, it’s a lot of money, but it is an innovation that could be a total game-changer for British pizza lovers, who won’t have to battle with the elements in order to enjoy a stone-baked Margherita at home.
(opens in new tab)A first look at the Ooni Volt 12
We’ve tested out plenty of pizza ovens in the past few years, with our five-star Ooni Fyra review topping our round-up of the best you can buy. It’s impressive then that the Ooni Volt looks to be even more versatile, with the Ooni Co-Founder and Co-CEO Darina Garland saying that the brand has ‘spent years developing an oven that brings the pure pizza power of outdoor ovens indoors’ with the Volt.
So what’s new, and what’s different as opposed to the existing Ooni lineup? Well, the first is that this oven is all-electric, as opposed to the gas, wood or even multi-fuel oven options (we awarded the brand's multi-fuel oven five stars in our Ooni Karu review, too). And the Volt can reach 450 degrees safely indoors in just 20 minutes, which is practically unheard of.
Our Head of Reviews, Millie Fender has already had a try with the Ooni Volt at home, and called her first try ‘the smoothest pizza oven experience’ she’s ever had.
‘My immediate first impression was that this is a massive oven. It's probably the largest countertop appliance I've tested, so finding a place to store it will be a struggle’, says Millie.
‘Once I got it running though, I was wowed by how easy the whole thing was. As promised, it got up to 450 degrees in just under 20 minutes, and cooked my thin-crust Neapolitan bases in about 2-3 minutes. The crusts puffed up nicely and I got some of the charring I'd associate with a wood-fired oven, although admittedly less of that wood-fired flavour.’
As our former Small Appliance and Cookware Editor and now our in-house expert on everything relating to reviews, Millie knows her way around a kitchen appliance, and she was happy to bring her testing know-how to several of the bestselling pizza ovens, giving the Ooni Volt a run for its money in this first look.
And we’re not the only ones impressed with the results that Ooni Volt can produce. While the huge pricepoint is a somewhat controversial talking point online, those with their hands on the oven are pretty impressed.
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With one fan on TikTok sharing that they were ‘blown away by how the oven came up to temperature’, as he took the Volt out for a spin. He also commented on the ovens talent at retaining its high temperature between bakes, which can be a downfall of wood-fired alternatives.
Another user, who was lucky enough to win the Volt during one of Ooni’s launch competitions, shared a picture of his professional-looking burrata and pepperoni pizza, adding that they were both ‘very, very tasty.’
Our full review of the Ooni Volt is underway, meaning that we can get back to you on exactly what it’s like to invest in this oven for yourself, potential pitfalls and highlights included.
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