by I am a huge fan of pizza. We try to make a few pies every week. So when I had the opportunity to try out the Pizzeria Pronto I jumped on it. I have been looking for a relatively affordable, pizza oven that would give me the perfect pizza with the perfect crust. The key to a perfect pizza oven is one that cooks the top and the bottom simultaneously. You want a nice crispy crust and with an even heat distribution. That way you don’t have to constantly be playing with the pizza.
Pizzeria Pronto – Specifications
The Pizzeria Pronto® is Pizzacraft’s deluxe outdoor pizza oven that will change pizza night forever! It’s lightweight, portable and safe on any surface. It’s incredibly easy to use. Simply hook it up to a propane tank, let it pre-heat for 10 minutes, and you’re ready to go.
The Pizzeria Pronto reaches cooking temperatures of over 700°F and cooks a pizza in only 5 minutes. This outdoor portable pizza oven is perfect for tailgating, camping, or your regular family pizza night. You will never order delivery again when your Pizzeria Pronto makes homemade pizza fast, easy and delicious!
Unlike the PizzaQue, the Pizzeria Pronto features a heat containing visor and stainless steel reflection plate, resulting in a 20% decrease in cooking time. The Pizzeria Pronto rain cap (included) also holds a 1 lb. propane tank when inverted.
Dual Cordierite Stone – That allows for even heat.
Pizzeria Pronto – Assembly
The Pizzeria Pronto is a portable propane powered pizza oven. Setup took less than 15 minutes. Once the legs were put on, it was time to fire up. I used a 20lb propane tank, but you can get a separate adapter to use a 1lb propane tank. The adapter is not included with the pizza oven, but you can pick it up for under $20. Using a 1lb propane tank allows you to make the lightweight pizza oven (~27lbs) the perfect oven for tailgating or camping.
The pizza oven is also designed to be able to be used on any surface. To test this out I used it on a standard plastic folding table. The oven was on for more than an hour and barely raised the surface temperature of the table. This is a superb design for a portable oven. Therefore you could use it right on your truck tailgate.
Pizzeria Pronto – Testing
Once I turned on the oven it reached around 475 degrees in about 10 minutes. I used a Thermoworks IRK-2 Infrared thermometer to check the temps. It worked great and since it is a Thermoworks thermometer you know it is accurate.
After 15 minutes it was 648.9 degrees.
Once the stone got hot, it stayed hot. Unlike the charcoal/wood pizza ovens that I have tried, this propane pizza oven keeps constant heat even as you load it with pizza after pizza. The propane heat while consistent, does not provide that smokey flavor that you get from a charcoal/wood fired pizza. However, every single person that has eaten one of my pies did not seem to care. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that the heat source does not matter as much as you think.
Once I got the Pizzeria Pronto hot, I started testing it with a basic cheese pizza. The oven opening is roughly 14 inches wide so you want to make 12 inch pizzas max. This is a good size for most. If you are planning on having a huge party, I would recommend getting a larger oven or pick up two of these bad boys.
The oven cooked pretty evenly. However, you do have to rotate the pizza halfway through. Also I cooked this first pizza on high with the temperature at around 750 degrees. The pizza below took about 4 minutes to cook. Lightning fast. The Pizzeria Pronto has a stainless steel reflector plate in the lid that radiates the heat down toward the pie. It worked good, however in my experience the toppings were not quite getting done as quickly as the crust.
Here is the result of the first cook.
As you can see the crust was perfect, but the cheese was just a little under done.
After reading the instructions, it says to actually cook pizzas on the medium setting. Oops. Well this first pie had one of the best tasting crusts I have had. Definitely the best crust that I have personally made. So I did not want to mess with it too much. I turned it down to medium and did a couple of pizzas. They turned out much better but they took about 7-8 minutes to cook completely. They were delicious, but I wanted to utilize the full power of the Pizzeria Pronto. So I decided to try one of my pizza screens. It would protect the crust from cooking too fast and allow the toppings to cook at the same speed as the crust.
So I tried my next few pizzas using a 12 inch pizza screen. Spray the screen with a little vegetable spray and then place the dough directly on it. Then place the pizza on the screen into the Pizzeria Pronto. This way the toppings will cook at the same time as the crust.
Cook until the cheese starts to brown, roughly 3-4 minutes. Remove the screen and then put the pizza back into the oven, directly on the stone. Cook until the bottom is browned. This took roughly 45 seconds with the pronto set to high. The pizzas came out perfectly cooked in under 5 minutes. That is what I am talking about.
It was a cloudy day and just as I took this pic, a cloud went in front of the sun. Since I did not adjust the white balance for that instance, the pizza picture was a little blue. But you can that the cheese was browned and the crust was browned too. Trust me, it was the perfect pizza. My whole family raved about this pizza. It was definitely the best pizza that I have ever made.
The pizza screen was just the thing that made the pizza come out perfectly. The other thing is that since you make the pizzas on the screen you don’t need extra flour, corn meal or semolina to prevent sticking. Therefore, the pizza stone stays clean. No real mess. I actually picked up a bunch of 12 inch pizza screens. That way I could premake a bunch of pizzas and have them ready for the Pizzeria Pronto as soon as a pizza finished baking. Plus, since the oven is consistently hot, I did not have to wait to make the next pizza. I cooked 3 pizzas in under 15 minutes. Pretty sweet. It was faster than ordering from a restaurant. Plus, they were way better tasting!
Pizzeria Pronto – Final Thoughts
I must say that the Pizzeria Pronto is fast and easy to use. It turned my good pizzas into great pizzas. Being able to get screaming hot temperatures in a consistent fashion was amazing. While there was a slight learning curve to get exactly what I wanted, I got it. This is quite possibly the most affordable way to get professional pizzas at home. The Pizzeria Pronto retails for $299 and is sold at many retail outlets. I know that $299 does not scream affordable, but when you compare it to a professional pizza oven, it is a steal. It cooks like a champ and makes some of the tastiest pizzas that I have ever had.
Pizzeria Pronto Rating
- Design – 8.5/10 – I wish it was a tad bit larger opening. A 12 inch pizza is a little small to feed a hungry crowd. However, it cooks so fast nobody was kept waiting for too long. I wish it had a 16 inch wide opening with a 18 inch stone. Plus, a larger opening and oven would drastically change the price.
- Price – 8/10 – Compared to professional ovens, it is affordable, but it does have a higher price point than other entry level pizza ovens.
- Performance – 9/10 – It heated up fast and kept the heat. The double layer Cordierite stone heated evenly and allowed for superb performance. The oven did have a little learning curve, but once you got it down, you can easily make awesome pizzas.
- Overall – 8.75/10 – The pizzeria pronto provided a hot pizza oven, that retained heat and was easy to use. Overall it made great pizzas. If you are looking for an affordable pizza oven, this is a great option.
You can check out the Pizzeria Pronto @ Pizzacraft – http://www.pizzacraft.com/collections/portable-pizza-ovens/products/pizzeria-pronto-outdoor-pizza-oven
Great Pizza Recipes
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Disclaimer – The Pizzeria Pronto was provided to me free of charge for my review. SavoryReviews.com did not get paid or compensated in any way for this review.
You might want to try the Blackstone Pizza Oven. It is a big larger, there is more top heat so the cheese will get done about the same time as the bottom, and the stone rotates while cooking, so you don’t have to turn the pizza.
Barry,
I really want to try a blackstone. I love the idea of a spinning stone. If I get my hands on one, I will definitely review it here.
Rex