I love pizza. Although I don't subscribe to the theory that any pizza is good pizza, I will take a bite or two more than I should out of a subpar slice, just to give it an extra chance to redeem itself.
Living in the greater New York City area, I'm blessed with an abundance of great pizza options, but sometimes, it's more satisfying to make it yourself. If you're looking to develop your pizzaiolo skills and don't want to spend too much dough, then you should check out this deal for the Ooni Fyra 12 Wood Fired Outdoor Pizza Oven, which is currently on sale for $279, a savings of $80 off its regular price.
My wife bought me the Ooni Fyra 12 two years ago as a Christmas present; at the time, pizza ovens were a hot commodity, so even though she ordered it in November, I didn't get it until March.
Reader, the wait was worth it: The Fyra 12 can crank out wonderfully charred Neapolitan pies in as little as 90 seconds — that's because you can get the inside of the oven up to 950º Fahrenheit. I learned you have to be very attentive — I've turned more than one pie into ash if I waited too long.
The Fyra 12 uses wood pellets as its fuel source (you can buy a huge bag of them for about $20 at any hardware store). It takes a little more effort than gas-powered stoves, but not much.
To keep the best pizza ovens up to date, I've tested a number of other models, and found that the Ooni Fyra 12 performs just as well as ones that cost five times as much. And while the Fyra 12's small size means it's not as good for baking larger items, like loaves of bread, it is portable enough to pop in the trunk of your car if you want to bring it over to a friend's house or on a camping trip.
You'll want to pick up a pizza peel (this one is on sale for $23 on Amazon), and I also recommend Marc Vetri's Mastering Pizza ($17, Amazon) for some great dough recipes.
