Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo Review

Similar to the less purpose-built Smart Oven (of the same product line), the Smart Oven Pizzaiolo utilizes Breville's patented Element iQ system for “smart cooking.” The system presets have been specially designed to direct power to specific heating elements depending on the type of pizza you are baking. Additionally, the system employs temperature sensors and a PID control unit inside the well-insulated oven to achieve the optimal baking environment based on the particular pizza variety you want to achieve.

Performance Comparison

Cooking Performance

The Smart Oven Pizzaiolo borrows its name from the UNESCO-protected art of pizza making in the Naples region of Italy. It refers to the chef who oversees the traditional production of pizza making: from the precise preparation of dough to specialized baking techniques of wood-fired ovens. This Pizzaiolo oven seeks to recreate the experience of Neapolitan-style pizza, adding the satisfaction of baking these specialty pies from the comfort of your kitchen. After a 20 minute preheat on the “Wood Fired” setting, this is the only electric model capable of reaching a measured average stone temperature of 756°F. After a preset 2 minute bake time, this oven turns out a practically perfect Neapolitan-style pizza ready to be cut into. The pizzas consistently turn out “soft and fragrant,” with an impressively airy crust that is lightly singed but never burnt.

But the incredible capability of the Smart Oven Pizzaiolo does not stop at just Neapolitan-style pizzas. The brilliance of Breville's patented Element iQ design is that this cooking system can easily adjust to achieve optimum baking environments for multiple kinds of pizzas. The list includes Bar-style (listed as "Thin & Crispy"), New York, and Pan pizzas (better known as Chicago-style Deep Dish). It even has a setting for takeaway frozen pizzas if home-cooking isn't exactly your thing. These preset options span the spectrum of pizza varieties and are an essential distinction in design because each type requires specific baking conditions to achieve its style particulars.

Depending on the setting, the top and bottom heating elements automatically adjust heat output and distribution to switch between internal and exterior coils according to the temperature control system. Other sensors monitor internal air temperature and humidity while operating a fan to control the oven environment automatically. Instead of replicating a wood-fired oven's hot and dry environment, the New York preset heats the pizza stone to an ideal average of 520°F while maintaining a bit of humidity for the requisite foldability of the chewy crust. For a deep-dish pie, your purchase includes a carbon-steel pan to efficiently cook these skillet pies in only 18 minutes, producing a pizza with the key combination of a crunchy base, fluffy crust, and a thoroughly cooked filling.

Output Power

Every oven that successfully reproduces a wood-fired pizza utilizes the three pillars of a Neapolitan-style oven: intense direct heat from the source, ambient air temperature in the range of 800°F, and an insulated pizza stone capable of absorbing and transmitting similarly extreme temps. According to the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), the organization that sets the international regulation for Neapolitan pizza, this combination of conductive, radiative, and convective heat are required to bake perfectly puffed pies quickly.

Indeed, the Smart Oven Pizzaiolo skillfully combines all three key components with the capable Element iQ system. Dual heating elements — one on the top of the oven and another tucked away underneath the pizza stone in the slide-out deck — each have an interior and exterior coil to distribute heat throughout the oven evenly. Although this electric oven only puts out 1800 watts (equivalent to the standard Breville Smart Oven), the thoughtful design points specifically direct heat to significantly improve baking quality.

This oven uses a durable cordierite stone, which is thermally shock-resistant and can heat up quickly without cracking. This trait allows it to rest directly against the deck coils, providing an even conductive heat distribution that creates an ideal crust consistency, regardless of pizza type. We used an infrared thermometer to take temperature readings across the stone surface, averaged those numbers, and then used a standard deviation approach to compare pizza stones of different ovens. The Smart Oven Pizzaiolo has, by far, the most even temperature profile across the stone of any oven we tested, with an optimal temperature of 756°F on the Neapolitan setting. Even though the average internal temperature of the oven is less-than-ideal on this setting — averaging only 663°F — it is still capable of producing beautiful pizzas in this style, thanks to key designs to control radiant and convective heat distribution.

Control

To achieve ideal upper and lower crust consistency alongside timed perfectly with the finish time for prepared toppings, you need a perfect balance of heating elements. The convective and radiant heat delivery relies not only on the automatically adjusting heat elements but also on the highly reflective interior of a highly insulated oven body.

While regular gas- or wood-fired ovens require constant attention and consistent turning to avoid burning a Neapolitan pie, the dual-coal heating elements in the Pizzaiolo deliver even radiant heat across the top of the pizza for consistent results. Because of this feature, the oven earned an 8 out of 10. For settings other than “Wood Fired,” the inner heating element switches on and off throughout the cooking process — this is how the oven achieves the characteristically browned cheese on the “New York” preset.

This process is enhanced by parabolic reflectors encircling the heating elements, which help improve the precision for radiant heat delivery and improve efficiency. And that is how the oven can cook at sub-800°F air temperatures and yet still produce similar quality pies to a traditional Neapolitan wood-fired oven. The reflectors also are designed to direct radiant heat outward towards the crust to achieve the sought-after “leopard-spotted effect” — the browning of the crust instead of burning — rather than overcooking toppings or burning cheese. There is a knob that adjusts for lighter or darker crusts depending on your preference.

Ease of Use

Much of the allure of the Pizzaiolo is around its user-friendliness, and it earned a very high score relative to other ovens in our review. For those who want to turn out flawless pizzas each and every time but are a bit wary of their own cooking skills, this oven is all-but automatic. It offers all of the same convenience as other electric ovens but actually delivers high-quality pies. With the style presets and obvious alarm system for things like preheating and cooking times, you can focus on pizza preparation and leave the worry to the oven.

However, for those who do want to be more involved in the cooking process, this oven also offers a “manual” setting. It allows you to dial in the deck and oven temperatures and set whether the top heating element distributes heat evenly or directs it more towards the crust. Despite its purposeful design specific to pizza making, the Pizzaiolo delivers a full-value experience — from fully automatic to entirely manual operation. This feature is part of what makes this oven such a versatile option for such a wide array of cooking abilities.

Should You Buy the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo?

For those seeking the best pizza oven for ultimate at-home pies, the fully automated design of the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo should be incorporated into your arsenal of kitchen tools. This extravagant oven is a remarkable feat of engineering by a design team that clearly loves pizza. It does, however, carry a price tag that will outshine its marvel for many, but if the price does not bother you, we do not hesitate to recommend this modern oven to anyone.

What Other Pizza Ovens Should You Consider?

The size and expense limit the desirability of this oven, not its cooking performance or ease of use. There is no way around it: the Pizzaiolo is an expensive, single-purpose appliance that will likely only appeal to those designing a lavishly technical modern kitchen or for the truly pizza-obsessed. If you don't fall into either category, you may want to check out some other options. The Gozney Roccbox is one of our top-rated options and actually scores higher overall than the Pizzaiolo, although it entails a more involved cooking process. The BakerStone Original is a much more affordable option that produces quality pies on par with other much more expensive machines. We also love the Solo Stove Pi if you're looking for an eye-catching addition for your back patio.