I thought to write about something I never get asked about but find quite interesting: the different oven shapes and their use. The most common ovens available to purchase are Portuguese, English, or Italian. Each one of these ovens is shaped differently, which determine what they are specifically used for, so I might as well write about each of them in relation to pizza, seeing as this is the main use I get out of them.

Different oven materials

First of all, they are made from different materials, mainly steel, refractory bricks or refractory precast, which each behave differently. Steel does not absorb heat and only uses the available fire source, quicker to fire up and quicker to cool off. The latter two materials absorb heat and take hours to heat up, and only then can food be cooked in the heat they output, with a fire source needed only for continuous use; they also take longer to cool down. More on those subjects can be found pretty much everywhere on Google, with bible-length discussions on which is better. Little tip: one is not necessarily “better” than the other, it all depends on what you are using it for.

The Portuguese oven

Let’s start with the most common one for home purchase, the Portuguese oven. You may have seen these at Bunnings, at Mobile Vendors, in YouTube tutorials on home-built ovens, or in many houses around Perth. They are usually made of steel, and shaped like a half barrel laid on its side. They can be made of bricks and have more of a trapeze shape, but the main indicator is the big opening at the front. These ovens are used in a similar manner to a home oven: you can use them for breads, roasts, and many other dishes. Their large opening allows to easily put things in and take them out, their height is ideal for roasts or spits, and they run optimally at 180°C to 350°C, which is why they are a great all-rounder. However, their large opening means they lose heat easily, which means that for pizza they need a lot of firewood. A constant big flame is necessary to reach the 400°C -450°C range needed for Neapolitan pizza. Nevertheless, they are quite good for Pizzettas, Roman pizzas, Calzones and Focaccias, which require longer cooking times.

The English oven

The English oven is what a lot of people think of when it comes to classic pizza ovens in Australia, based on the century-old English clay ovens that were brought over by skilled English bricklayers. This is a dome-shaped oven with narrow opening at the front. This type of oven is great at retaining heat, it can reach high temperatures and can even be used as a kiln with some modifications. The narrow opening ensures no heat is lost, and its round shape disperses the heat evenly throughout the oven. For non-dough items it can be used straight away without preheating, as it quickly reaches high temperatures due to the conical air flow inside it. In Australia, it is the most common and affordable brick oven, and it is such a great choice that I myself own two of these.

The Italian oven

The last type is the Italian oven. You may have seen them in newer pizzas shops, whereas in the older ones they are usually built into the wall; they are big and heavy and are great for pizza specifically. Unlike the Portuguese oven that loses heat with its wide space and opening, or the English oven that can get too hot with its dome shape, the shape of the Italian oven can maintain heat at around 400°C with ease. These ovens have a slight rounded dome on top and almost 90 degrees walls on its side, enabling the heat to spread slowly and evenly from top to bottom and to pour onto your pizza like a fluffy quilt, making it a dream to work with. Naturally, these ovens can be used for all sort of things, with their fantastic ability to keep a constant temperature. The downside would be the heating time; because they have a large chamber, and due to the way the fire behaves inside, they take longer to gain temperature, but are steadier once they do.

So which oven is for you?

Let’s just assume its for your own backyard rather than for a commercial venture. It all depends on your needs. From talking with different people, most would use an oven for cooking a variety of things and not just pizzas, and most backyards don’t require a huge oven, especially for family.

The most practical choice would be the Portuguese oven: it is the most versatile, it allows better control of heat, it’s easy to operate and quite easy to build on your own.

On the other hand, if you have the space and want something that could be used day after day, then a large English oven would best suit you, as it is great at retaining temperatures and is more readily available. Additionally, if you decide you want to build an English clay oven on your own, it is a great little adventure.

Obviously, the Italian oven would be amazing to have, but for most home uses it is hard to justify its high price, and it takes very skillful craftmanship to build one.

What do I use?

I currently own one Portuguese oven and two English ones. I use generally use the Portuguese oven for bigger events, as its shape and large size allows for more pizzas to cook in one go, but I do use a combined wood and LPG system to keep it up to temperature. I use the English ovens for small and medium events, or longer-lasting events, as they are better at keeping temperature and require less on-hand fire maintenance, making them easier for one man to operate throughout the entire cooking process.