Baking Surface
Baking surface
CordieriteBudget
Cordierite pizza stone
$35- ✓Affordable entry point — great for first-time home bakers
- ✓Draws moisture from the bottom crust for a crispier result
- ✓Forgiving if you forget to preheat; lasts years if not dropped
- ↳Absorbs heat slowly — needs a full 45–60 min preheat at max temp
- ↳Cracks if hit with cold water while hot; handle with care
ShopSteelMid
Baking steel, 14″
$89- ✓Stores and radiates ~4× more heat than ceramic at the same thickness
- ✓Near-indestructible — will outlast any oven you own
- ✓Doubles as a griddle for burgers, smash burgers, eggs
- ↳Heavier than a stone (10–15 lbs) — awkward to slide in and out of a hot oven
- ↳Needs seasoning and occasional re-oiling to prevent rust
ShopSteelPremium
Baking steel, 16″ × 14″
$129- ✓The single biggest upgrade for a home oven — bottom crust gets real crispness
- ✓Extra width fits NY-style and grandma pies without hanging over the edge
- ✓Keeps temperature stable when you open the oven door
- ↳Weighs 15–20 lbs — measure your oven rack before buying
- ↳Costs more than the 14″; overkill for occasional 12″ pies
ShopOvens
Pizza oven
Electric / GasBudget
Home oven + broiler method
Free- ✓No purchase required — you already have it
- ✓With a steel and the broiler trick, you can hit 550°F+ surface temps
- ✓Great results for NY-style, grandma, and Sicilian pies
- ↳Cannot reach the 800–900°F needed for true Neapolitan
- ↳Broiler timing takes practice; easy to burn the top before the bottom is done
GasMid
Ooni Koda 12
$399- ✓Simplest outdoor oven — turn the dial, light it, bake in 60 seconds
- ✓Reaches 950°F+ for real Neapolitan; compact and easy to store
- ✓Gas means consistent heat without wood management
- ↳12″ opening limits pie size; larger pizzas require careful stretching
- ↳Gas only — no wood-fired option on this model
ShopMulti-fuelPremium
Ooni Karu 2 Pro
$849- ✓Wood, charcoal, or gas (with add-on) — full flexibility
- ✓16″ mouth fits large pies; glass door helps monitor browning
- ✓Higher thermal mass holds launch temps more reliably than the Koda
- ↳Wood firing adds complexity — temperature management takes practice
- ↳Larger and heavier than the Koda 12; storage takes more thought
ShopElectricPremium
Ooni Volt 2
$699- ✓Compact countertop oven that genuinely hits 850°F+ indoors
- ✓Plugs into a standard outlet — no gas line or outdoor space needed
- ✓Top and bottom elements controlled independently for dialing in browning
- ↳Requires 18″ of dedicated counter space; not easy to tuck away
- ↳Electric ceiling limits peak temp compared to gas outdoor ovens
ShopGasPremium
Gozney Roccbox
$499- ✓Heavily insulated and well-built — heats evenly and holds temp better than most
- ✓Comes with a gas burner; wood burner available as an add-on
- ✓Silicone outer jacket means you can touch the outside safely
- ↳Heavy for a portable oven (around 44 lbs)
- ↳More expensive than the Ooni Koda for a gas-only setup
ShopWood / GasPremium
Gozney Dome
$1999- ✓Stone floor, double-walled construction — the closest thing to a wood-fired pizzeria at home
- ✓Dual-fuel: gas for weeknights, wood for the weekend
- ✓Large enough for 16″ pies; retains heat for long pizza sessions
- ↳Permanent or semi-permanent backyard installation — not portable
- ↳Significant investment; wood firing takes real practice to master
ShopElectricPremium
Breville Pizzaiolo
$1000- ✓Closed deck with independently controlled stone and top elements
- ✓Preset modes for NY-style, Neapolitan, and frozen pizza
- ✓Consistent, repeatable results — very forgiving for beginners
- ↳Large countertop footprint with a heavy price tag
- ↳Doesn't get quite as hot as the Ooni Volt; max ~750°F
ShopMixing
Mixing
No equipmentBudget
Hand kneading
Free- ✓Nothing to buy — works with any bowl and your hands
- ✓Develops feel for dough tension, which makes you a better baker
- ✓Fine for most pizza styles; 8–10 min by hand is enough
- ↳Tiring for large batches or high-hydration doughs above 70%
- ↳Harder to develop gluten fully without experience
No equipmentBudget
Stretch and fold
Free- ✓Gentler than kneading — builds gluten gradually over the bulk ferment
- ✓Ideal for high-hydration doughs (70%+) that are hard to knead by hand
- ✓No special equipment; any bowl works
- ↳Requires more planning — 4–6 sets over 2–4 hours during bulk ferment
- ↳Not practical if you want to make dough and bake same-day
Food processorMid
Food processor
$150- ✓Fastest way to develop gluten — 60–90 seconds vs 8–10 min by hand
- ✓Dual-purpose kitchen appliance you likely already own
- ✓Great for smaller batches (1–2 dough balls)
- ↳Heat from the blade can warm the dough — use ice-cold water
- ↳Smaller capacity than a stand mixer; bowls fill up fast for 4+ balls
ShopPlanetary mixerPremium
KitchenAid Artisan (5 qt)
$500- ✓Hands-free mixing — set it and walk away while the dough hook does the work
- ✓Handles 4–6 dough balls at once; consistent batch after batch
- ✓Dual-purpose workhorse for bread, pasta, cookies, and more
- ↳Planetary action (hook orbits the bowl) is less efficient than a spiral mixer for stiff doughs
- ↳Can struggle with doughs below 55% hydration or above 6 balls — motor heats up
ShopSpiral mixerPremium
Ooni Halo Pro
$799- ✓Spiral action is the professional standard — gentler on gluten, better for high-hydration doughs
- ✓Designed specifically for pizza dough; timer, two speeds, 5 kg capacity
- ✓Keeps dough cooler than planetary mixers — important for long ferments
- ↳Single-purpose appliance; won't help you make cookies or whip cream
- ↳Takes up counter space and needs to stay put — not a tuck-away appliance
ShopRoller mixerPremium
Ankarsrum Original
$800- ✓Unique roller-and-scraper action is exceptional for high-hydration doughs — handles 80%+ with ease
- ✓7 litre bowl; quieter and runs cooler than most planetary mixers
- ✓Cult favourite among serious bread and pizza bakers for good reason
- ↳Steep learning curve — the technique is different from a standard stand mixer
- ↳Expensive and bulky; not a beginner's first purchase
ShopPeels
Peels
WoodBudget
Wood launching peel, 14″
$32- ✓Dough releases more easily from wood than metal — essential for launching
- ✓Natural roughness holds semolina flour for a reliable slide
- ✓Good size for 12–14″ pies baked in a home oven
- ↳Needs to stay dry; wash quickly and never soak
- ↳Not ideal for retrieving pies from a very hot oven — get a metal peel for that
ShopAluminumMid
Perforated aluminum peel, 16″
$50- ✓Holes prevent air pockets from sticking the dough during launch
- ✓Thin edge slides under a baked pie easily for retrieval
- ✓Good for larger pies and outdoor pizza ovens
- ↳Metal peels are harder to launch from — dough sticks more than wood
- ↳Still needs semolina or flour; don't dress the pie too far in advance
ShopStainlessMid
Metal turning peel, 12″
$35- ✓Small disc is fast to rotate the pie mid-bake without dragging it
- ✓Essential for outdoor ovens where one side cooks faster
- ✓Doubles as a retrieval peel for smaller pies
- ↳Not a substitute for a launching peel — too small to build the pie on
- ↳Only necessary if you're using an outdoor pizza oven
ShopScale
Scale
DigitalBudget
Basic digital scale
$12- ✓Pizza dough is all about baker's percentages — grams beat cups every time
- ✓Any 1g-resolution kitchen scale will do the job
- ✓Cheap and compact; fits in a drawer
- ↳1g resolution is fine but not ideal for small yeast amounts below 2g
ShopDigitalMid
Precision scale (0.1g)
$30- ✓0.1g resolution makes a real difference when measuring small yeast quantities
- ✓Essential if you're doing cold ferments of 24–72h with very little yeast
- ✓Still compact and inexpensive compared to lab scales
- ↳Slower to settle on a reading than a basic scale; use a windscreen
ShopScraper
Scrapers
PlasticBudget
Plastic bowl scraper
$5- ✓Flexible edge conforms to the curve of any bowl — gets every scrap of dough
- ✓Gentle on non-stick surfaces; won't scratch
- ✓Costs almost nothing
- ↳Can't cut through dough — use a bench scraper for portioning
ShopStainlessBudget
Stainless bench scraper
$12- ✓Portioning dough, gathering flour off the counter, shaping tight balls — all one tool
- ✓Rigid metal edge cuts cleanly through soft dough
- ✓Lasts forever; dishwasher safe
- ↳Not flexible enough for scraping bowls — pair it with a plastic scraper
ShopThermometer
Thermometer
DialBudget
Oven thermometer
$8- ✓Most home ovens run 25–50°F off their dial — this tells you the truth
- ✓Leave it inside the oven; read through the door window
- ✓Cheap insurance for consistent bakes
- ↳Measures air temp, not surface temp — useful context but not the whole picture
ShopInfraredBudget
Infrared thermometer
$20- ✓Point it at the steel or stone and get the actual surface temperature
- ✓Confirms your baking surface is at 550°F+ before launch — eliminates guessing
- ✓Essential for outdoor pizza ovens where surface temps vary widely
- ↳Can't measure inside a closed oven without opening the door first
- ↳Accuracy drops near edges; measure center of the baking surface
ShopNow the gear is sorted, dial in the dough. The dough calculator scales hydration, fermentation, and ball weight to whatever style you're chasing.
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