I’m not usually one for specialised appliances. Or rather, if I have them, they mostly stay at the back of the cupboard and rarely see the light of day. True, the rice cooker gets used at least once a week, but I have an ice-cream maker that I’ve used twice in ten years. I have not joined the air fryer cult (don’t come for me), and I don’t see the point of a Thermomix.
The fact is, I don’t actually like cooking all that much, so I prefer a low-fuss approach. If I can’t cook something on the stove or in the oven, I usually can’t be bothered.
That was until a Gozney Tread pizza oven came into my life. Here’s why this addition to my family’s kitchen has won my heart.
You can make it as simple or as complicated as you like
If I’m preparing for a family pizza night (more on that later), I usually begin by making the dough and sauce the day before. Despite my general aversion to cooking, mixing up the ingredients for a perfect pizza base, shaping the dough balls, letting them rise, and having everything ready to go when it’s time to cook is a somehow enjoyable ritual.
But for the days that I don’t want to think that far ahead? No worries, pizza dough is available from the supermarket, or you can easily use a shop-bought base.
The same applies to the sauce. Homemade is great (and you can do white sauce or red, depending on the toppings you have in mind), but buying one off the shelf is also an option. Too easy!
Is it any wonder that pizza is one of the most popular takeaway and home delivery options around? Who doesn’t love the combination of carbs and fat (mmm, cheese) and the choose-your-own-adventure approach to toppings? Everything from potato and rosemary to pepperoni and ham has its place on the dough.
It can also accommodate most dietary restrictions. Vegetarian or vegan? No problem, there are lots of options for you, too. For the coeliac in the family, we’ve found that the gluten-free bases sold at the supermarket taste pretty good.
Pizza toppings can be as simple or as complex as you like, and there are options to suit all tastes.
Everyone gets involved
Sometimes, catering for a family can feel like a lonely pursuit. You’re in the kitchen while everyone else waits for you to deliver the meal. Not so with the pizza oven. Everyone wants to get involved! From stretching the dough to form a circle, to laying it on the paddle and arranging toppings to your liking, to sliding it into the oven and manipulating the peel to get the perfect cook on all sides – all of it makes cooking feel more like a fun group activity than a chore.
At a recent pizza night for my extended family, it seemed like the entire crowd of 15 people took a turn with the oven. It has quickly made our place the number one choice for family get-togethers, with everyone keen to have another go.
Not convinced? Here are more reasons why the pizza oven has won a place in my heart.
When the weather is hot, I can cook outside and not make my kitchen even hotter.
It’s fast! Once you get the pizza oven heated up (ours takes less than half an hour to come to temp), you can cook a pizza in under two minutes.
It’s for more than just pizza. My husband decided that to really get the most out of a pizza oven, we needed a special cast-iron skillet so he could use the oven to cook steak. The high heat means the steak is rapidly seared while still staying juicy and tender.
Fancy a go yourself? If you think a pizza oven could become a valued member of your family, CHOICE’s pizza oven review looks at 12 of the latest products on the market. We put each pizza oven through its paces, testing how well they cook thin and thick-crust pizzas, and how easy they are to use and clean.
Margaret Rafferty joined CHOICE in 2018 as a Content editor and since then has filled the roles of Commissioning editor, Managing editor and now Editorial consultant. Margaret has written on a wide variety of topics and enjoys making complex subjects easy to understand. With over 20 years of media experience, Margaret brings a strong storytelling background to CHOICE. She works closely with people across the organisation to help tell stories that make a positive difference to people and is passionate about uncovering bad practices and helping Australians to avoid falling victim to shonky products and services.
Find Margaret on LinkedIn.
Margaret Rafferty joined CHOICE in 2018 as a Content editor and since then has filled the roles of Commissioning editor, Managing editor and now Editorial consultant. Margaret has written on a wide variety of topics and enjoys making complex subjects easy to understand. With over 20 years of media experience, Margaret brings a strong storytelling background to CHOICE. She works closely with people across the organisation to help tell stories that make a positive difference to people and is passionate about uncovering bad practices and helping Australians to avoid falling victim to shonky products and services.
Find Margaret on LinkedIn.
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