How to Make Stone-Baked Pizza at Home with an Electric Pizza Oven
A standard home oven tops out at around 220-250°C, which is why home-made pizza so often comes out pale and bready. An electric pizza oven like the Yibake 12" reaches up to 420°C on a ceramic stone, closing most of the gap to a pizzeria. Here's how to get the best from it.
1. A simple dough (makes 4 x 12" pizzas)
- 500 g strong white bread flour or Italian "00" flour
- 325 ml lukewarm water
- 10 g fine salt
- 3 g dried yeast (about 1 teaspoon)
Mix the yeast into the water, add the flour and salt and knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth. Cover and leave to rise for 2 hours at room temperature, or for 24-48 hours in the fridge for more flavour. Divide into four balls and let them come to room temperature before stretching.
2. Preheat properly
The stone does most of the work, so give it time to heat through. Set both the top and bottom dials high and let the oven preheat fully, watching the thermometer gauge. A properly hot stone is the difference between a soft base and a crisp one.
3. Keep toppings light
At high heat, less is more. A thin layer of sauce, torn mozzarella patted dry, and a few toppings will cook evenly in the time it takes the crust to bake. Add fresh basil, rocket or cured meats after baking.
4. Launch with the peel
Dust the bamboo peel with a little flour or semolina, build the pizza on it, and give it a shake to check it slides. Slide it onto the stone in one confident movement and close the lid. The reusable non-stick baking sheet is useful for wetter doughs, calzones and frozen pizzas.
5. Use the two dials
- Base still pale? Increase the bottom heat for the next pizza.
- Cheese not melting before the crust is done? Increase the top heat.
- Top catching too fast? Turn the top dial down a little.
6. Watch, then serve
A thin-crust pizza is typically done in around 4 minutes. Watch through the viewing window rather than lifting the lid, which lets heat escape. Give the stone a minute or two to recover between pizzas.
Beyond pizza
The same heat works for calzones, flatbreads, garlic bread, quesadillas and cinnamon buns, and it revives frozen pizzas far faster than a full-size oven.