Which is the best portable wood-burning oven (with wheels)?

A portable wood-fired oven with wheels is an extremely practical and versatile cooking tool, which is gaining more and more success among outdoor cooking enthusiasts.

In fact, a portable pizza oven enables domestic pizza makers to make the most of the outdoor spaces they have available, but with the great advantage of not having to permanently use a part of the balcony or terrace.

Thetechnological innovation of steel ovens has enabled the development of cooking tools with a very high thermal efficiency, yet much lighter than traditional ovens.

This factor allows you to place the portable wood-burning oven on the special made to measure bases with wheels, or on a mobile pizza table.

In this article we will discuss portable pizza ovens with wheels, trying to explain how to make the most of their advantages and what features to look for when choosing a high quality oven.

In particular we’ll see:

• The advantages of a portable wood-fired oven with wheels
      The temporary use of outdoor spaces
  2.   Versatility in setting up an outdoor kitchen
  3.   Storing the oven
• The features that the best portable wood-burning oven should have
  –   Thermal efficiency
  –   Sturdy and handy structure
  –   Elegant design
  –   Dual fuel
• How much does a portable pizza oven cost?
• How to make the most of a terrace or balcony with an Alfa portable pizza oven
• Outdoor pizza oven with wheels: conclusions

Let’s start!

 

The advantages of a portable wood-burning oven with wheels

Let’s start by briefly summarizing the advantages of a portable oven, a cooking tool with great versatility and ease of use.

There are three fundamental points to underline, namely:

1. Temporary use of outdoor spaces
2. Versatility in setting up the outdoor kitchen
3. Storing the oven

Let’s explore the three points listed.

1 – Temporary use of outdoor spaces

The first point concerns the freedom of installation that a portable wood-burning oven with wheels allows us to create an outdoor kitchen without having to use space permanently, as is the case when installing traditional ovens.

Traditional ovens, in fact, require a solid concrete base and an important flue, installation constraints that are not negligible, which are, however, absent when choosing a portable pizza oven made of steel.

Furthermore, a small wood-fired oven is extremely versatile and can be used in different places any time.

Often, in fact, this type of cooking tool is chosen precisely so as to carry it around easily, a very useful feature for several reasons, for example to bring the oven to another home during the summer months or for a one-day outing.

To make the most of the freedom of movement of ovens with wheels, smaller tools are usually preferred, requiring the space to cook three or four pizzas at most, in addition to that for the fire.

This is because in this manner we can obtain the right balance between several important factors:

• The unit’s solidity
• Easy mobility
• Cooking performance (considering that in domestic contexts it is usually not necessary to cook many pizzas in a short time,as opposed to pizzerias).

Portable wood-burning ovens are, therefore, the perfect solution to meet the needs of versatility, freedom of movement and reduced space requirement, enabling to set up a kitchen even on a terrace, balcony or garden.

2 – Versatility in setting up an outdoor kitchen

The second big advantage of an oven with wheels is the great flexibility in setting up the outdoor kitchen, allowing us to choose, from time to time, if and where to move the cooking area. This factor is useful for meeting the various needs that may arise with regards to managing our outdoor spaces.

For example, you can choose where to place the mobile outdoor oven based on the direction of the wind, thus avoiding smoke problems for you and your guests, or take advantage of the various areas of your garden based on the number of guests.

As discussed in another article on our blog, dedicated to how to design a modular outdoor kitchen, a  portable pizza oven is a very versatile cooking tool also because you can choose, from time to time, whether to use it or not, alternating its use with other mobile cooking tools, such as the grill or barbecue, according to the evening menu.

Equipping yourself with various mobile cooking tools is therefore a way to set up the outdoor kitchen differently for every occasion, optimizing available spaces with the temporary use of the tool which you will choose to use from time to time.

 

3 – Storing the oven

And finally, an advantage of a cooking tool with wheels is you can store it indoors from autumn to spring, when the cold forces you to stay indoors and use your home kitchen.

Storing the portable outdoor oven in a garage or even under a canopy, perhaps adding a special oven cover as additional protection, can guarantee that the cooking tool will have a much longer life, reducing the effects of time and protecting it from weather conditions.

A portable oven with wheels will thus last many years, consistently providing excellent cooking and maintaining high thermal performance.

After having briefly seen the main advantages of a pizza oven with wheels compared to a free-standing fixed oven, let’s see, in the next paragraph, what main parameters should be taken into consideration when deciding to purchase this type of oven.

This way it will be simple to  understand what the most important factors are and how to evaluate them based on the context of use.

The features that the best portable wood-fired oven should have

Having seen the reasons that make a portable oven with wheels much more comfortable and versatile than a fixed one, let’s now see what parameters should be taken into consideration when choosing a quality instrument.

The importance that the various factors have in choosing a pizza oven with wheels can obviously vary from one case to another, depending on the type of use to be made of the cooking tool, both with regards to the need for comfortable mobility and the culinary availability that we wish to have.

The main features to take into consideration when choosing an outdoor oven with wheels are:

• The thermal efficiency
• A sturdy and handy structure
• An elegant design
• Dual fuel source

Let’s delve into these important factors in detail to understand what to look for in a great mobile oven.

 

• The thermal efficiency

The most important factor regarding cooking in our portable oven is represented by the thermal efficiency, that is, the ability to make the most of the heat source so as to heat up in a short time and guarantee excellent cooking performance.

With regard to pizza ovens with wheels, in addition to reaching very high temperatures, it is important to consider the ability to keep them constantly hot after a bit of cooking. This factor depends on the quality and thickness of the refractory stone slabs used to make the portable wood-fired oven.

Reaching very high temperatures in 10-20 minutes, instead of the two or three hours required in a traditional wood-fired oven, means saving a lot of time and above all a lot of wood.

 

As mentioned in the introduction, the advantage of great thermal efficiency in outdoor wood-fired ovens with wheels was achieved by the Alfa research team introducing steel and refractory pizza ovens.

These tools are capable of  guaranteeing high and constant temperaturesfor cooking numerous pizzas perfectly.

 

• A sturdy and handy structure

The second essential element in evaluating a portable oven is the quality of the structure on which the cooking tool is positioned. The oven’s structure must be solid and sturdy, capable of supporting a heavy instrument for many years, but it also needs to be light and handy to allow easy movement.

A very important aspect to consider for comfortable movement of the oven is the quality of the wheels, since they support all the weight and undergo the greatest impact during movements.

 

The best wheels for a mobile oven structure need to be sturdy and rather large, capable of changing direction easily and equipped with a brake system. With these types of wheels you can use a portable oven even on uneven floors or directly on the lawn.

In order to achieve such a result, great care is required in the design of the mobile oven, choosing material that is solid and light such as steel to make the base of the portable oven and then assembling it all in such a way so as to obtain a stable and robust structure, yet very easy to move.

• Elegant design

The third point to highlight regarding choosing an outdoor oven with wheels is the design of the instrument.

The care in designing a portable pizza oven is a factor that combines the aesthetic taste of the shapes with the functionalities and practical characteristics of the cooking tool.

We looked at in detail in another article of our blog what the main aspects to consider in the design of steel wood-fired ovens are, seeing how the union of shapes and materials has a direct impact on thermal performance of the cooking tool.

 

Adding useful accessories for the domestic pizza chef also forms part of the design of the portable wood stove. An example is the peel-holder directly incorporated into the oven structure for greater convenience.

A well-finished design can be a guarantee not only of excellent cooking performance, but it can also enable a portable pizza oven to be the protagonist when furnishing of outdoor spaces.

 

• Dual fuel supply

When choosing a portable pizza oven, it might be useful to choose a hybrid fuel supply that allows you to use both gas and wood-fired ovens according to your needs.

Being able to choose, from time to time, which fuel to use allows you to experiment with the cooking differences between the two types of fuel, but it is a particularly useful feature that helps you never run out of fuel.

Hybrid ovens therefore offer numerous advantages both in terms of versatility and practicality for those who have small spaces, but do not want to give up having a pizza oven at home.

How much does a portable pizza oven cost?

In order to make a good choice, it is necessary to consider the overall parameter of the quality-price ratio in relation to the use that we can or intend to make of our portable wood-burning oven with wheels.

Choosing cheap solutions can prove to be counter-productive, because low quality instruments will have a shorter life span, forcing us to replace them more often and thus nullifying the small savings that we thought we had initially achieved.

How to make the most of a terrace or balcony with an Alfa portable pizza oven

We have seen in this article what the great advantages of a portable pizza oven with wheels are compared to a fixed oven and we then explained the parameters to be evaluated in recognizing a quality cooking tool.

Let’s now conclude our discussion on the best portable pizza oven by mentioning the possibilities offered by the domestic range of Alfa outdoor wood-fired ovens.

Alfa ovens are made with the utmost attention to quality and they all share excellent thermal performance and an elegant and modern design, thanks to the shape of the steel dome, which is inspired by the dome of traditional wood-burning ovens and which enables to reach very high temperatures in a short time.

There are four Alfa mobile steel ovens that can only be fuelled with wood, two large and two small:

1. Allegro, the largest (four or five pizzas at a time), available in yellow or red.
2. 4 Pizze, which, as the name suggests, can cook up to four pizzas at a time, available in copper or grey colour.
3. Ciao, the two-pizza oven, with grey coating
4. 5 Minuti, with a capacity for a couple of pizzas, made in copper colour.

In addition to the four portable wood-fired steel oven models, we’d also like to mention the wood-fired Alfa gas ovens, thanks to the development of a hybrid oven technology.

By choosing an Alfa hybrid oven you can equip yourself with an even more versatile cooking tool, exploiting all the advantages of a mobile oven we have talked about in this article, with the convenience of being able to choose the fuel to use from time to time.

The following models are an example of this type of oven:

• Brio, with a refined and lively design that heats up in just 30 minutes and can churn out 2 pizzas.
• Dolce Vita, the portable gas oven with clean and essential lines, larger than the Alfa domestic line, which can perfectly cook up to 4 pizzas.
• Stone Oven, characterized by an elegant front stainless steel arch, it has anti-scratch support feet that allow you not to scratch the support surfaces and is capable of cooking 2 pizzas or 2 kg of bread per batch.

Thanks to the Kit Hybrid Alfa portable ovens represent maximum versatility, proving to be perfect even for those who have limited spaces on a terrace or balcony, while always maintaining high-level gastronomic performances.

Let’s complete our overview on Alfa mobile ovens by mentioning the most compact oven ideal for those who do not have large outdoor spaces.

Nano is the perfect model for cooking one pizza at a time at high temperatures and available in two versions: wood or gas (but not hybrid).

As far as the structure of Alfa portable ovens is concerned, the continuous search for improvement has led us to develop cooking tools that are not only very comfortable to move around but that also have a resistant, and light structure, equipped with professional wheels.

For example, the handle on the 5 Minuti, Nano and Brio models has been specially designed and improved over time to facilitate movement thanks to a firmer grip and anti-slip padding, while the mobile base of the Allegro oven has convenient side shelves and sturdy bi-directional wheels.

All Alfa ovens are available in various versions:

• Top: only for ovens to be placed on a shelf in an outdoor kitchen.
• Top + Base: oven on its made-to-measure base with wheels.
• Top + Table: oven along with our mobile pizza table.

Both the tailor-made bases for the different oven models and the Alfa multifunctional pizza table are designed to be used with a convenient compartment under the cooking tool for storing wood, or a gas cylinder with regard to the hybrid oven.

Outdoor pizza ovens: conclusions

Portable pizza ovens, whether they are fuelled by wood, gas or hybrid, are the ideal solution for those who do not have large outdoor spaces and want to prepare a pizza at home worthy of the best restaurant.

Modern portable ovens, in fact, are small and light, yet maintain high thermal and cooking performance.

One need look no further than the countless ready-to-use and easy-to-use solutions offered by Alfa that enable everyone to find the perfect cooking tool according to their space or fuel needs.

Thanks to the implemented technology and quality materials, Alfa’s portable wood or gas ovens are quick to ignite and precise in cooking: in just 5 minutes they heat up to 500° and can cook a pizza in 1 minute.

By choosing a portable pizza oven with wheels from the Alfa range you can therefore count on a professional performance cooking tool, capable of furnishing outdoor spaces, with great versatility of use and extreme ease of movement.