What temperature do commercial pizza ovens cook at?

There are few foods on the planet that are more universally known and loved than pizza. What’s not to love? It’s cheesy, it’s crispy, it’s loaded with delicious toppings… it’s honestly the perfect dish. 

The inventors of pizza, back in Italy all those years ago, quickly discovered the right temperature at which to cook the tasty dish. Too hot, and it would burn up like a crisp. Not hot enough, and it would burn the base while the toppings were undercooked. Thankfully, our ancestors went through the process of trial and error for us, so that we could enjoy the perfectly cooked pizza.

Commercial pizza oven temperatures

While some commercial pizza ovens are able to hit temperatures in the high hundreds, the ideal temperature for commercial pizza ovens to cook at is around 400 degrees Celsius. At 400 degrees, the base of the pizza cooks quickly and turns out beautifully crisp and evenly cooked. The cheese is melted and the toppings are cooked to perfection.

Keep a consistent temperature

It’s not enough to just get the oven to 400 degrees and forget about it: the temperatures needs to be monitored consistently and adjusted accordingly. If the temperature fluctuates too much, you’ll end up with an unevenly cooked pizza. Putting the pizzas in when the pizza oven isn’t hot enough is a rookie error, resulting in an undercooked pizza… and possibly an overcooked pizza as a result of trying to correct it by sticking it back in the oven. 

Timing

Timing is the other most important part of cooking pizza in a commercial pizza oven. At 400 degrees Celsius, it should only take between two and three minutes, possibly shorter, to cook a restaurant-style pizza. Not cooking your pizza for long enough will result in a chewy, undercooked base and possibly raw toppings – something you simply can’t risk when cooking with chicken and seafood. Cooking for too long will, obviously, result in burning.

Wood-fired vs gas-fired vs electric commercial pizza ovens

No matter how your commercial pizza oven is powered (wood-fired, gas-fired or electric), the temperature at which the oven cooks pizza should always be the same. While there are some big differences between each type of commercial pizza oven, the one golden rule for all of them is to cook the pizza at 400 degrees.

Now that you know exactly what temperature a commercial pizza oven cooks at, the next step is to invest in a quality oven or upgrade your current one. Alfa Ovens are one of the world’s best creators of domestic and commercial pizza ovens. Each oven is carefully and precisely crafted in Italy before being shipped around the world, including to Australia. Make the move to an Alfa Oven today and start living the Alfa life!