Guide
Oven Guide
Tell the guide which oven you have and it returns a tailored bake plan for your favourite pizza style: temperature, preheat, surface, rack, and what to watch out for.
WHAT OVEN ARE YOU USING?
About the Oven Guide
Most home pizza problems are oven problems. A domestic oven tops out far below a wood-fired one, which changes how long the base needs, how much bottom heat you have to create yourself and which styles are realistic at all.
Pick your oven type and the guide returns the temperature range it can hold, how long it genuinely needs to preheat, where to put the rack, which baking surface to use, the mistakes that oven type invites, and how each dough style should be adapted to it. All temperatures follow the unit you set in the site settings.
How it works
- Choose your oven type: home electric, gas, convection or dedicated pizza oven.
- Set it to the temperature range shown and preheat for the full time listed, including the stone or steel.
- Position the rack and baking surface as described for that oven.
- Check the style tips for the dough you are baking before you launch.
Questions about baking pizza at home
How hot should a home oven be for pizza?
As hot as it goes, which for most domestic ovens is 250–300°C (480–570°F). The exact range and the preheat time your oven type needs are shown once you select it, the stone or steel takes far longer to reach temperature than the air does.
How long should I preheat a pizza stone or steel?
Considerably longer than the oven's ready signal suggests: the beep reports air temperature, not the surface. Plan for the preheat time listed for your oven type, typically 45–60 minutes, so the surface can store enough heat for the base.
Stone or steel, which is better?
Steel conducts heat faster and gives a stronger bottom bake, which helps in cooler home ovens. Stone is more forgiving and less prone to burning the base in hotter ovens. The guide names the recommended surface for each oven type.
Should I bake pizza with convection on?
In a fan oven, the moving air speeds up the top bake and dries the surface. That is useful for pan styles with a longer bake and a problem for thin, fast bakes. The convection entry in the guide covers the setting and the trade-off.