Over the past couple years I have had the pleasure of trying out a few different pizza ovens. When Stoke Stove reached out and asked if I wanted a pizza oven to test out. Would you say no? Of course not, I almost always jump at the chance to try a new grill or pizza oven or grilling gadget or whatever.
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Over the past couple years I have had tried a couple different pizza ovens, the Ooni Koda and the Solo Stove PI. Both of these are gas powered pizza ovens and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone. So during this review of the Stoke Stove Pizza Oven I will be comparing it to those two pizza ovens and see how it stacks up.
Unboxing and Set Up the Stoke Stove
This model of the Stoke Stove is a gas/wood hybrid model. As it comes out of the box it is set up to handle wood but I attached the gas burner. I definitely prefer using gas for backyard pizza ovens like this. The Stoke Stove takes a bit of assembly and about a dozen screws to add handles, attach the burner, etc. so not too bad but there is a bit more to it compared to the Ooni and Solo Stove which both are pretty much ready to go right out of the box.
The instructions on the Stoke Stove are also a bit wonky. Minor things like they say you need a AA battery for the ignitor but it takes a AAA.
Initial Impressions of the Stoke Stove
I fired up the Stoke Stove to let it heat up a bit before cooking the first pizza and also to give it some time to burn off the factory oils and the like. The Stoke Stove felt a bit cheap overall and wasn’t as solid feeling as the Solo Stove or Ooni. Screw holes didn’t quite line up perfectly, the metal felt thin, and even the pizza stone felt a bit light. It kind of reminded me of a Harbor Freight version of a pizza oven. Yeah, it will get the job done but it didn’t feel high quality at all.
The pizza oven lit well but after letting it heat up for 45 minutes or so the temperature of the pizza stone was only in the 600-700 degree range. Stoke claims the oven will get to 900+ degrees. Maybe it would using wood? But they make that claim for the gas version as well. Both the Ooni and Solo Stove get the pizza stone up to 900+ degrees. The Stoke does have a thermometer built into the front door but that will just measure the air temperature and not the stone temp which is what is important.
Also, if you are using the gas version be sure to close off the chimney and DON’T use the front door. I put the door on to see if that would help the temperature get to where I wanted but when I removed the door I got a big flash of flames. Not enough to burn me or anything but enough to make me jump back.
How does the Stoke Stove Cook a Pizza?
Not a bad looking pizza, is it? Before reviewing this pizza oven I read a lot of review, watched some videos, and looked at some different social media posts talking about the Stoke Stove. Nearly all of them showed a great looking pizza. At least a great looking pizza on the top. I have never had any issues with any of the pizza ovens getting a good looking top of the pizza. The problem is the bottom of the pizza.
If the pizza stone isn’t hot enough the top of the pizza will get done well before the bottom crust is finished. 800-900 or even higher seems to be the sweet spot to get a properly done crust and with the Stoke only getting up to around 600 degrees I was very skeptical that I would get a properly cooked pizza.
Well, you can see that the bottom of the pizza pretty much has no color. And towards the middle of the pizza it was almost raw. The pizza was cooked enough to eat but there was no good texture to the crust. A properly cooked pizza will have what is called “leoparding” on the bottom crust with some great color and good dark spotting. The crust will also have a bit of crispness and a good chew. This pizza had none of that.
Price of the Stoke Stove
The Stoke Stove has a list price of $575 but it will never cost you anywhere near that. Stoke always has some sort of markdown or sale on their products so for this 13″ hybrid model you should pay around $300-350. These pizza oven also come with a cover, a cutter, a turning peel, and some pizza ingredients which they say is a $165 value. The cover was decent, the peel felt solid enough, but the pizza cutter was pretty cheap feeling.
This is on the low end pricewise of the backyard pizza ovens. Most pizza ovens I have seen start at around $300 and go up to $1500 or more. There are some cheaper models but they aren’t worth the money.
For comparison the Solo Stove PI Prime which is their gas only pizza oven (and my current favorite) is also $299 and their Pi Prime Starter Bundle which includes a cover, a bamboo peel, a turning peel, an IR thermometer, a pizza cutter, and silicon mat will run $419.99 . Ooni pizza ovens start at $299 and the Ooni Koda 16 which I have is $599.
Would I Recommend the Stoke Stove?
Simple answer? No, I wouldn’t recommend the Stoke Stove. It is on the lower end price-wise, it can cook an OK pizza, but for around the same price you can get a much better product with the Solo Stove Pi Prime or some of the cheaper Ooni models. Right now I have really been enjoying the Solo Stove just every so slightly more than the Ooni. They are both great and if you want to cook larger 16 inch pizzas the Ooni would be the way to go. But for most people the 12 inch Solo Stove Pi Prime will be the the best pizza oven you can get for $300.
Pizza ovens like these are a great addition to any backyard or patio. Whether you are cooking 2 or 3 pizzas for your family or if you are cooking for a large group and need to crank out 20 pizzas you will love having a pizza oven. And if you don’t want to worry about making your own dough you can even order dough balls, pepperoni, cheese, and sauce.
If you are looking for a gift for anyone who likes to cook outdoors or loves pizza these ovens will be a great option.
So check out the Solo Stove PI Prime or the Ooni Koda 16 if you are looking for a good quality pizza oven and skip the Stoke Stove.
