Three years ago, I reviewed an Ooni electric pizza oven and was astounded by the difference it made compared to using your kitchen oven for home pizza making. However, I didn’t consider storage at the time, since this wasn’t a small appliance. I eventually found room for it in my laundry, but it takes up a large shelf.
When the Kenwood My Pizzeria home countertop pizza maker arrived, I noticed it was considerably smaller. I wondered if it could be any good being so small. Would it be a flimsy alternative to the bigger pizza ovens available? At $199 (often discounted to $149), it’s also a fraction of the cost of other pizza ovens currently available.
I shouldn’t have worried: this small appliance makes a tasty pizza.
A pizza oven that fits on your kitchen bench
Measuring 35.2 x 36 x 18.5 cm and weighing just under 5kg, the Kenwood My Pizzeria doesn’t take up much space. It has a removable 30cm pizza stone and comes with two pizza peels (metal pizza paddles) which make a 30cm circle when held together.
The secret to this oven is its ability to reach 400 degrees Celsius, powered by two elements above the pizza and below the stone, a much higher temperature than a standard oven. This heat cooks the pizza quickly, and the stone crisps the base.
On the top of the unit, you will find two knobs: one controls the temperature, and the other is a timer. Pizzas take between two and three minutes to cook, and you can watch the progress via the appliance’s top window. I found the perfect time was when you see the first sign of charring.
A small instruction book comes with the My Pizzeria, which didn’t include much information. However, after my first cook, I found a handy PDF on Kenwood’s website, which included some great pizza-cooking tips.
Kenwood’s guide includes a dough recipe and several handy hints to maximise your pizza-making ability. From experience, having the right tools is only part of the equation to making a good pizza. For example, the temptation to add too many toppings is great, but you will end up with a soggy pizza.
The pizza stone isn’t designed to be washed, and anything left on it will quickly burn to a crisp. You can use one of the peels as a scraper to remove any residue from the stone. Plus, you can wipe the case down when it’s cool if you spill anything else, then put it back in the cupboard for storage.
Pizzas for everyone
I was very happy with this oven’s pizza-cooking; it cooked a pizza almost as well as an appliance five times its price. One advantage over more expensive models I have tested is that the pizza cooks evenly and doesn’t need to be rotated during cooking.
If you have space in your kitchen, the Kenwood My Pizzeria is an economical way to produce authentic pizza at home without all the theatre. You can also use the oven to cook flatbreads and make s’mores.
This handy little appliance will be getting plenty of use, I can guarantee you.
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