Buying guides

What to look for in a pizza oven

Choosing a dedicated pizza oven by its specifications: the floor temperature it can hold, how much heat comes from above, how quickly the floor recovers between pizzas, the opening and cooking area, fuel, warm-up, turning, where you can legally and safely use it, and why the headline maximum temperature on the box tells you less than it seems.

Choosing a pizza steel or stone: material, thickness and size

Stone or steel, and how thick: what the material of a baking surface changes in a domestic oven or grill, how thickness trades heat capacity against preheat time and weight, how to size it to your oven, how to look after it, and when a steel is more than you need.

Choosing pizza pans and trays: material, finish and depth

For pan and tray pizza, the pan does much of the work. This covers aluminium, blue or carbon steel, cast iron and anodised finishes; gauge; dark versus light; side height for Detroit and deep dish; non-stick versus seasoning; and what perforated pans and screens do.

Choosing a pizza peel: wood, metal, perforated and turning peels

Wood or metal, perforated or solid: what each kind of peel does well, what independent testing found about perforations, how to size a peel against your pizza and your oven opening, when a small turning peel earns its place, and how long the handle should be.

Thermometers for pizza: infrared versus probe

Pizza makers use two kinds of thermometer for different jobs: infrared for the surface of a stone, steel or oven floor (range, emissivity, distance-to-spot ratio), and probe for the inside of food, where food safety rests on a calibrated reading.

Scales, mixers, dough boxes and cutters: what matters

Which small tools earn their place around the dough and the finished pizza: scale resolution for yeast and salt, when a mixer is worth it and how it warms dough, dough containers and boxes, and cutters.

Buying flour for pizza

Flour labels mix three different things: how strong the flour is (protein, W), how refined it is (the Italian 00/0/1/2 types) and what has been added (malt, bleach, bromate). Match strength to your fermentation and additives to your oven.

Buying tomatoes for pizza sauce

For pizza sauce the important label facts are the form (whole, crushed, passata), how watery the contents are, and what has been added. A protected origin tells you where and how the tomatoes were produced, not that they will taste best.

Buying mozzarella and pizza cheese

Moisture and fat decide most of how a cheese behaves on pizza: whether it browns, weeps or oils. Choose by oven and style first, then by taste.

Buying pepperoni and cured meats for pizza

Cured meats change a pizza through fat, salt and how they react to heat. Casing and diameter predict cupping, slice thickness predicts crispness, and some meats are best added after baking.

Buying olive oil for pizza

Olive oil does three jobs on pizza: an ingredient in dough, a frying medium in pans, and a finishing flavour. Freshness matters most for finishing; for baking and pans, an everyday oil does the job.

Buying yeast for pizza

All commercial yeasts make good pizza. The differences are convenience, shelf life and how you measure; freshness matters more than type.

Buying frozen pizza: what the pack can and cannot tell you

What to look for when choosing a frozen pizza — crust style and thickness, cheese, sauce, topping load, size and whether it suits your oven — which label information helps, and why claims like 'stone baked' and 'artisan' tell you little.

Cooking chilled and take-and-bake pizza

Why chilled pizzas and take-and-bake pizzas cook differently — one usually has a set crust, the other is raw dough — what that means for tray, shelf and surface, and why the seller's instructions and the use-by date come first.

How to order pizza well

What common menu style names usually mean, how size, area and topping load change how much you get, how to order for mixed groups, the dietary questions to put to the seller, and which styles cope with a journey.