Gas Pizza Oven Advantages over Wood Fired
Wood Fired Pizza Oven
Will you be focusing on the highest possible quality of pizza? Do you want your wood fired pizza oven to be authentic? Are your considering becoming Vera Pizza Napoletana certified?
Nothing beats a true wood fired brick oven for authenticity and for great cooking. The best pizza in the world is made in a wood fired oven, and if you want to be VPN certified, you have to use a wood fired oven.
Is a true Wood Fired commercial pizza oven one of the themes of your restaurant? Will your oven be visible from the restaurant?
Customer demand for true wood fired pizza ovens is growing, and a true wood fired brick oven adds character and charm to a restaurant.
Forno Bravo offers both Modular and Assembled Wood Fired Ovens. Read our Modular vs. Assembled page to see which works best for your restaurant.
What are the main advantages of gas fired pizza ovens over wood fired ovens?
There are a few key advantages to a gas assist wood fired pizza oven.
- During lunch or dinner rush hour, a gas assist commercial pizza oven helps maintain temperature in the oven, freeing staff up from tending fire to focus on serving your customers.
- Some jurisdictions are instituting “no burn” days and Forno Bravo’s gas pizza oven allows you to bake pizza on those days.
- Some people want the ambiance of wood fired cooking, but in a much simpler production environment. They choose to use gas as the primary fuel source and only use wood to lend flavor and a dash of authenticity.
- People that do a lot of bread baking before pizza will use gas assist in the morning to cook at lower temperatures, freeing staff up to focus on other things. Once the bread is done, they will add wood and bring the oven all the way up to temperature for VPN style pizza.
- It is easier to control temperature with gas. If you overheat your pizza oven with wood, it takes a long time to get it back down.
Do gas pizza ovens perform differently thermally than brick ovens?
Wood fired pizza ovens reach heat in three ways: refraction of flame from fire, thermal re-distribution, and heat from a hot coal base. Forno Bravo outdoor gas fired pizza ovens are designed to replicate the effect of a wood fired pizza oven. The angle of the flame is similar to a wood fired pizza oven, providing the same refraction angle. Thermal re-distribution is a natural phenomenon, and not much different whether it is from a gas pizza oven or wood fired.
The key difference is floor heat. A gas pizza oven will typically heat up faster in the dome and center of the oven, but slower on the floor because there is no coal base transferring heat between floor tiles. Because of this, the floor will heat slower and cool faster using only gas rather than wood as a fuel source. This can be overcome by allowing the oven to heat up a little longer before beginning to cook pizza. Think of it like a partially charged battery that the pizza draws current from, reducing the charge. If the battery is fully charged, it will last longer before needing to be recharged.
Can a gas pizza oven be used with wood at the same time?
Yes, Forno Bravo gas pizza ovens are designed to be “gas assist” meaning you can cook with wood and use gas to stabilize temperatures. When used in concert with wood, gas pizza ovens are more efficient than single fuel source ovens. This is because gas is 600+ degrees at the dome as soon as you turn it on, while wood has to increase as it burns.
Restaurant owners will often set the wood in the center of the oven, turn on the gas to the desired temperature and when the wood reaches 374° to 500° Fahrenheit (depending on the wood,) it will combust without the need to light a match.
This is very convenient for homeowners or commercial chefs who want to cook with wood, but don’t want to spend a lot of time tending the fire. Simply wait for the wood to catch fire and when the fire is roaring, turn off the gas and move the coals to the side.
When used together, Forno Bravo pizza ovens will heat up 10 to 20 minutes faster depending on the model you use. Gas gets you to 500° Fahrenheit faster, wood gets you to 900° Fahrenheit faster; a wood / gas combo gets you there the fastest of all.
Are you motivated more by efficiency than authenticity? Are you concerned about the consistency of the food you will be preparing?
A Gas pizza oven gives you almost the same flavor as a wood fired pizza oven, with less effort and less hassle.
Are you concerned your customers will not understand the dark brown pizzas that come from a wood-fired oven, or will not see the point of a wood fired oven?
It is easier to make a consistently good product with a gas pizza oven, and the simpler oven management reduces the pressure on the experience and skill of your cooking staff.
Our gas pizza ovens are made with the same designs and care as our wood fired ovens, just with a little more modern convenience.
Are you concerned about locating and managing a wood supply, or building codes that do not allow wood? Are you looking for an oven that is easier to manage?
A gas pizza oven is modern and easy to manage and is not subject to any wood burning codes.
