Gozney Dome Pizza Oven review: a stylish multi-fuel cooking machine

Transform your outdoor cooking experience with the Gozney Dome pizza oven, the versatile kiln that's taking the market by storm due to its innovative and practical design, as well as being incredibly versatile.

There’s nothing quite like cooking outdoors. With the smells, tastes and social affairs that outdoor cooking creates, it enhances our experience and helps us to form fond memories with family and friends. Gozney's Dome pizza oven is improving outdoor cooking experiences across the globe, especially for pizza lovers.

Our in-house tester has thoroughly reviewed the Dome and compared it against Gozney’s Roccbox to help you decide whether it’s worth investing in a professional-grade outdoor oven. At the end of this review, you can find out their final thoughts and whether it’s worth investing in this pizza oven for your outdoor kitchen, along with a few tips and tricks you can use to get the most out of the Dome.

Gozney Dome Pizza Oven overview

Gozney offers a variety of ovens that are easy to use and of a professional standard for both residential and commercial use.

The Dome not only cooks magnificent pizzas, but you can also cook a wide variety of meats, vegetables and bread using many cooking methods, including roasting, steaming, smoking, and baking.

Requiring very little assembly, the Dome is a fantastic option if you’re looking for a high-quality and easy-to-use pizza oven. With a five-year warranty, this outdoor oven is constructed from professional-grade materials, so it's built to last

The Dome uses a multi-fuel cooking system, meaning you can conveniently switch between wood and gas to cook your food. I would highly recommend using wood if you want the best result and taste or gas if you’re looking for convenience. The temperature can be easily controlled using a dial and can reach up to 500°C in minutes.

Key features of the Gozney Dome Pizza Oven

Digital thermometer

The Dome comes with a digital thermometer that displays the temperature of the oven so you know when it’s ready to use. Also, you can hook up probes to the thermometer so you know when the food is safe to eat.

Heat retention

Due to its dome shape and professional-grade materials, the Dome has astonishing heat retention, which means you can cook evenly, and you don’t need to keep adding more wood to maintain the heat inside the oven.

Air ventilation control

Using the dial, you can manage the airflow so you can easily control the flame and heat inside the oven.

GozneyShield

GozneyShield is a ceramic bonded outer coating which makes the Dome more durable, water-resistant and UV stable. You can use the oven all year round, regardless of the weather.

5-year warranty

This is one of the best quality outdoor ovens on the market, however, you can still feel assured with the Gozney 5-year warranty (that you won’t need)!

Dual-fuel system

The Dome allows you to cook with either wood or gas, so you have the convenience of choosing and easily switching between cooking methods. Want an unbeatable taste to your food? Use wood to cook. Have a bunch of people over and don’t have much time to tidy up? Use gas to cook.

Pros

Versatility

One of the reasons why the Dome is so popular is because of its versatility. With this outdoor oven, you can cook so much more than just pizza. In fact, you can cook a full BBQ with incredible efficiency. As the oven can reach such high temperatures, you are able to cook pizza, meats and vegetables much faster than you could with a regular BBQ. My favourite foods to cook using the Dome were pizzas, halloumi and steak.

Easy assembly

This oven requires very little assembly other than to lift it to where you want it to sit (which can be slightly challenging as it weighs approximately 60kg). After lifting the oven to your desired location, you will need to attach the flue, ash tray, gas canister and digital thermometer before you’re ready to start cooking. The entire assembly took two of us around 30 minutes to complete.

Low maintenance

Not only is it quick and easy to assemble, but also easy to maintain. If you’re using gas, there isn’t much oven cleaning involved. Using wood creates ash, so requires more cleaning, however, you can easily brush the ash into the ashtray and wipe any soot off the oven's surface using a damp cloth. It's the same principle as cleaning a BBQ. Depending on fuel, the best way to clean a BBQ varies, so be sure to read our full guide.

Quality design

As well as being designed for creating incredible food, the Dome is easy-to-use, practical and aesthetical.

Due to the domed design and professional-grade materials, this oven heats up quickly and efficiently. I was able to heat the oven to 500 degrees Celsius in approximately 10-15 minutes and it retained the heat very well. I rarely had to add more wood to the fire.

The Dome has an outer coating called GozneyShield that enables improved water resistance, durability and UV stability, allowing you to use the oven all year round whatever the weather.

Cons

It takes some getting used to

I found cooking meats such as steak, kebabs and burgers very easy with the Dome. However, getting the perfect pizza will take some practice.

Cooking floor space

The cooking floor could be slightly wider to fit larger pizzas and have more space between the ash and food. There were a few occasions when ash would get on the food inside the oven.

Testing the Gozney Dome Pizza Oven

Gas cooking vs wood cooking

I found that gas cooking gave me easier control over the heat of the oven than cooking with wood. In turn, I was able to get a better-looking pizza when cooking with gas. Using wood to cook was more difficult, especially when baking pizzas. However, the taste that comes from cooking with wood is unmatched. It just takes a little getting used to in order to achieve the perfect pizza.

Both methods proved easy when cooking meat such as chicken, sausages and steaks, and they both produced a luscious taste. In fact, I would argue it could be impossible to get that same taste using a standard kitchen oven.

Cleaning and maintenance

I found that cleaning and maintaining the Dome was easier than expected. The oven doesn’t leave a big mess to clear up, as it has been designed for convenience. When cooking with wood, the ash inside the oven can be brushed into the ashtray that sits beneath the stone cooking floor. All you have to do is remove the puck and gently brush the ash into the hole.

You’ll notice after the first use of the Dome, soot will build up just above the opening of the mouth. This can easily be cleaned using a warm damp cloth. Be sure to remove the sticker before using the oven for the first time.

The oven takes quite a while to cool down, so I usually waited until the next day to clean it.

Final verdict: Is the Gozney Dome Pizza Oven worth it?

The Dome is a fantastic solution for outdoor cooking that perfectly combines convenience for residential use and professional quality. With this oven, you get a fine balance between the primitive feeling that comes with cooking outdoors using wood and modern-day convenience, due to the option of switching to gas cooking. So, despite the slight learning curve of getting a perfect pizza when cooking with wood, the challenge is what makes the oven so great. It’s fun and rewarding to cook outdoors using the Dome.

Having a pizza oven in your garden means you can have a new dynamic to your barbecues… pizzas! If you're bored of your current repertoire, this is a worthy and different outdoor cooking appliance. Plus, it gives you the option to transform your outdoor dining with a wider range of foods.

If you can afford the price tag of the Dome, I highly recommend investing in this outdoor oven. But, if the oven is out of your price range or you need a more portable option, the Roccbox (Gozney’s portable outdoor oven) is a worthy alternative.

One thing that could improve the Dome: I would make the cooking floor space wider to allow more space between the ash and food. This would also allow you to cook multiple items at once more easily.

Similar product to consider

The RoccBox is Gozney’s other popular and more portable residential pizza oven.

A few tips for getting the perfect pizza

Heat the oven up correctly

When using wood, start the fire in the centre of the oven and leave it to warm up for 8-10 minutes. Then move the fire to the left side of the oven and leave for another 8-10 minutes. After this, move the fire to the right-hand side of the oven and begin cooking once it has reached your desired temperature. This method will help you heat the oven evenly. Add an extra piece of wood to the fire if the temperature starts to drop. Read our guide on the best way to light a BBQ for more information.

It’s important to heat the oven up slowly and gradually so you can get the optimal temperature for what you’re cooking and avoid cracking the stone cooking floor.

Heavy duty cooking trays

When I first used the oven, the high temperatures caused my trays to bend. So, when purchasing the Dome, I would recommend investing in some highly durable ovens and pizza trays to avoid this issue.

Placement and turning peel

All the accessories turned out to be handy. However, the placement peel and turning peel are both necessary for convenience.

The turning peel makes it easy to move the pizza once it’s in the oven. The placement peel is very useful for placing the dough and cooking trays in the oven. When you need to take the pizza out of the oven, the placement peel makes it very easy to do so without the risk of burning your hands.

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Natalie Knowles is a Homes & Garden Product Writer for Modern Gardens, specialising in garden trends. When she's not flexing her mow-how, Natalie is a successful artist and illustrator.