Pizza Perfection: How to Master the Art of Making Great Pizza at Home

A new generation of backyard ovens, including the Solo Pi, make it easy and fun

We don’t take a bite of pizza and say, “That’s amazing sauce!” Or “Those anchovies are really good.”

Great pizza is all about the crust — the foundation of dough that carries the other ingredients. Peter Reinhart, the master baker, and author of several books on pizza, has said that we all long for memorable pizza, and the key to that is the crust.

To be fair, the combinations on top of the pizza matter and we could argue a long time about whether pineapple belongs on a pizza. But you just can’t have great pizza without a great crust.

I’ve been on a personal quest to make pizza at home that rivals restaurant pizza.

I got pizza steels for the home oven. These heavy hunks of metal absorb heat better than ceramic stones and transfer that to the pizza.

But now, to borrow a phrase from Chef Emeril Lagasse, I’ve kicked it up a notch. A Solo Pi came to reside on my patio.

In the past, you either had to build your own pizza oven from brick and stucco or buy one for several thousand dollars from Italy. Over the last several years, small and portable backyard pizza ovens have become not only available but less expensive. Ooni, Gozney and now Solo Stove are offering models for $300 to $800 that can produce great pizzas.

More than a year ago, my wife saw me researching these online and hit the brakes. This spring, I proceeded with purchasing a pizza oven. Two weeks and more than 20 pizzas later, I couldn’t be happier.

I had longed for one of the homemade wood-fired ovens. A friend even offered to help build one. But then I realized I didn’t want to build it, maintain it, or wait two hours for the wood to heat the chamber every time I wanted to use it. Good design from these manufacturers has resulted in smaller devices that heat up more quickly and can use gas, wood, charcoal, or even wood pellets.

I was zeroing in on an Ooni model when the Solo Pi became available at Costco for a crazy good price. Our Solo Stove firepit was a source of warmth and comfort during the pandemic when we were home so I trust the company. The reviews were solid. So I bought the version that could burn small chunks of wood to cook a pizza and bought a gas burner at Kuert Outdoor Living that provided a bit more oomph and temperature regulation. Solo makes a version that sits above a firepit as I have, but the reviews aren’t as good as for the standalone unit.

It came with an infrared thermometer, wooden and metal peels to deliver the pizzas into the oven and then rotate them for even cooking, a pizza cutter, and a cover. The oven has an opening in the front to slide the pizza onto the stones. Flames rise from the back toward the domed interior. It’s all well-designed and has worked great.

This is what I’ve learned so far: