Better wood or electric oven? All pros and cons

If you have decided to open a pizzeria, surely one of the first questions you will face with concern the choice of the most suitable oven. In particular you will have to decide whether to buy an electric oven or install a wood oven. Of course, it is a very important choice, which will affect the  final product.

Choosing the right oven for a pizzeria is essential and also to avoid tragic mistakes that you will not be able to recover, it is good that you know the main characteristics and the respective advantages and disadvantages of the different types. In this way you will surely have clearer ideas and you can opt for the type that best suits your needs.

Better wood or electric oven: pros and cons

Let’s start from the wood oven, always considered  must for any self-respecting pizzeria. The wood-burning oven is the classic one, which brings with it the history and traditions of pizza, which is the reason why today it is still the favorite of those who run a pizzeria.

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This oven, however, in addition to has many advantages also has some cons.

Wood oven: against

The wood-burning oven, despite being the most loved by pizza lovers, for example, tends to cool down easily. In short, when the pizza is placed on the stalls, the latter cools because of the humidity of the pizza and even the radiation of the heat is interrupted. It must be said that this happens especially at the beginning or end of the evening, when the oven is colder. It is no coincidence that in these moments of the evening come out the worst and most burned pizzas.

In the case of the electric oven, however, all this does not happen, because if the oven underneath is cooled, just increase the lower resistance so as to give more heat. In this way the production will not be interrupted, which instead necessarily happens with the wood-burning oven, where it is necessary to wait for the pit to heat up again.

Among the disadvantages of a wood oven there is also cleaning. It may seem like a detail, but it is actually a very important aspect and not to be neglected in the decision-making phase. Also the practicality wants its part and a more difficult oven to clean will also weigh on the organization  work of the staff. One more reason, in short, to prefer the purchase of an electric oven.

Not to mention the installation of the two ovens. In the case of a wood-burning oven, for example, masonry work is necessary, even if you decide to install prefabricated ones. In this case, in fact, they will be collected in an aesthetically adequate structure. Not only that, in any case it will also be essential  not easy to obtain and in some cases completely impossible, due to regulations.

The electric oven, on the other hand, does not require a hood or a vent. The only critical issue concerns the possibility of external ventilation on a wall, but only in the case where it is a gas oven.

Better wood or electric oven: quality and consumption

And if, in terms of practicality, the electric oven seems to exceed the wood-burning one, with regard to the quality of the pizza and consumption, both can be more or less at the same level. We must therefore disable the myth that Neapolitan pizza could only be made with a good wood-burning oven. With a good electric oven, in fact, it is enough to raise the temperature and the result will be a soft pizza with a high edge, just like the Neapolitan one.

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Conversely, if you want to prepare a more crunchy pizza you can also use the wood oven. In short, in both cases, it is possible to make more types of pizzas and the quality of the cooking does not present any difference.

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Finally, even in terms of consumption, the two ovens are rather equivalent. The electric one, however, especially when it comes to latest generation models, also has the “economy” function, which allows to reduce consumption in times of low work. In short, it is clear that, beyond the prejudices and “false myths”, the electric oven is today the most convenient option for a newer opened pizzeria. Naturally, the choice remains completely personal and, if you opt for one or the other, the result will certainly be in the excellent quality.

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