Solo Stove is well-known for hearth pits. Can they also make nice pizza?
Updated February 3, 2023
Solo Stove is effectively-known for creating quality merchandise, and we’ve examined quite a number of of them. We cherished the model’s hearth pits for their almost smokeless options, and Solo Stove’s charcoal grill impressed us with its capability to heat charcoal quicker than a daily grill. As a former professional chef who ran a wooden-fired pizza restaurant, I’ve spent numerous time cooking pizza in a restaurant setting, and I’m fairly keen about it. I love that outdoor pizza ovens make it potential for anybody to turn into a pizzaiolo. After i heard that Solo Stove was releasing the Solo Stove Pi (available at Solo Stove) outside pizza oven, I was so excited I actually giggled and clapped my hands.
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– In regards to the Solo Stove Pi
– Solo Stove Pi buying options: Wooden only or wooden and gasoline
– How the Solo Stove Pi works
– What we like concerning the Solo Stove Pi
– What we don’t like concerning the Solo Stove Pi
– Ought to you buy the Solo Stove Pi?
– Pi elements
– Concerning the Solo Stove Pi
– Solo Stove Pi purchasing options: Wood solely or wooden and gas
– How the Solo Stove Pi works
– What we like in regards to the Solo Stove Pi
– What we don’t like about the Solo Stove Pi
– Should you purchase the Solo Stove Pi?
– Pi substances
– Heats exceptionally rapidly
– Cooks pizza evenly
– A number of gasoline sources
– Lightweight
– Small gap in pizza stone
– Temperature regulation with wooden takes observe
Through the years, we’ve put a number of high-name pizza ovens to the check, including Gozney and Ooni. We had beforehand named the Gozney Roccbox our prime decide for best outdoor pizza ovens, but after placing the Solo Stove Pi by means of the same set of tests as the other ovens, we have been pleasantly surprised to find that it outperformed them all.
About the Solo Stove Pi
The Solo Stove Pi has a slightly bigger opening than different pizza ovens we have reviewed, making it simpler to maneuver cooking pizzas.
– Dimensions: 15.125 in. excessive x 20.5 in. x 12 in.
– Weight: 30.5 lbs (13.83 kg)
– Supplies: Stainless steel
– Features: Multi-fuel option, cooking area for 12-inch pizzas; extra equipment and canopy obtainable for buy separately
– Fuel Sort: Multi Gasoline: Wooden and propane gas burner offered individually
– How scorching it gets: Wood burning: stone 750°F, ambient air 850°F; Gas burner: stone 800°F, ambient air 900°F. Please note that outdoors ambient conditions can affect stone and air temperatures. The temperatures of the wood burning setup can fluctuate depending on the kind of wood and the frequency and quantity of gas added. diameter (38.Forty two cm excessive x 52.07 cm diameter)
– Cooking floor: 12 in.
Solo Stove Pi purchasing options: Wooden only or wooden and gasoline
The wood-fired version takes some observe to get just right, but the flavor is price it.
There are two choices for purchasing the Solo Stove Pi pizza oven. broad x 5 in. lengthy) to function the pizza oven. You will want to use small wooden chunks (1 in. The primary is Wood Only, which features a wood burning assembly with an 11-inch gasoline grate and ash tray.
The second option is Wood & Gas and offers a alternative of using the wood burning meeting or removing it and screwing a propane burner attachment into the again of the unit. We advocate this feature for learners or casual pizza cookers. It’s a lot quicker to start out the oven with propane, and there’s little or no learning curve in comparison with cooking with wood.
Bundle options
Solo presents several bundle options, together with one with a stand, so you may get a setup that works for you.
Solo Stove gives several bundle options, out there in Wood Solely or Wooden & Gasoline. The Pi Starter Bundle features a stainless steel pizza peel and a pizza cutter, and an infrared thermometer for measuring the stone’s temperature (when they arrive again in stock later this yr). The Pi Necessities Bundle consists of every little thing in the starter bundle together with a cover for the pizza oven and a stainless turner to turn and rotate pizzas as they bake.
Solo Stove also presents the Pi Ultimate Bundle, which comes with a bamboo pizza peel that doubles as a horny serving piece. The 2 shelves on each aspect are handy for storing cooking instruments and building pizzas, and 360-degree rotating caster wheels make it simple to retailer the oven when not in use. For those who don’t have a table in thoughts to your new pizza oven, this bundle is a great option as a result of it additionally includes a stand.
The perfect half? The Pi oven nests into the stand instead of locking in place, so you can still take it on the go if you want to convey the pizza social gathering with you.
– Pi Stand Dimensions: 38.1 in. excessive x 47.3 in. lengthy x 35 in. vast (96.77 cm excessive x 120.14 cm long x 88.9 cm wide)
– Pi Stand Weight: 45 lbs (20.41 kg)
– Pi Stand Supplies: Powder-Coated Steel
– Pi Stand Options: 360° rotating caster wheels with locks; propane tank storage shelf; two side shelves and one beneath shelf for software and accessory storage.
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How the Solo Stove Pi works
Novices and veterans alike will discover the Solo Stove Pi straightforward to arrange and use.
The Solo Stove Pi has the identical look because the model’s fireplace pits and grill, with a sleek, stainless steel exterior and perforated holes lining the bottom. The unit comes pre-constructed, and all it’s essential do is place the 2-piece cordierite pizza stone inside the unit.
From there, you’ve two options. Should you purchased the wood solely unit, you’ll place the wooden burning assembly inside the oven. There are straightforward-to-comply with instructions for lighting a fireplace within the proprietor’s handbook or on Solo Stove’s weblog, however it is going to take some time and observe to perfect your method. The amount of gas you add, the type of wooden used, and the timing of the wood additions will have an effect on the temperature inside the oven.
The gas choice, then again, is tremendous easy to use. You may depart the dial on excessive to heat the pizza oven as high as doable (the very best we reached during our checks was 780°F for making Neapolitan pizzas). Screw within the gasoline burner attachment, connect the hose to a propane tank, and ignite the burner by turning the knob until you hear a loud click.
There are a collection of white and orange dots on the dial as you scale back it from high to low, which we discovered helpful for locating the fitting setting to heat the stone to 500°F for brand new York-fashion pizzas.
What we like in regards to the Solo Stove Pi
The Solo Stove Pi heated up a full 10 minutes sooner than different pizza ovens we have examined.
The pizza stone heats up shortly and maintains heat exceptionally effectively
When utilizing the propane attachment on its highest setting, the pizza stone reached 650°F within 10 minutes and hit 780°F at the 20 minute mark. That’s pretty quick, contemplating that many of the pizza ovens we’ve examined earlier than take round 30 minutes.
We were additionally impressed at how shortly the stone recovered after making the first pizza. For the reason that stone is chargeable for cooking the bottom of the pizza, the second pizza will lack shade and cooked texture if the oven doesn’t get well rapidly. The stone heats up because the oven preheats, however it naturally cools down as quickly as you load the primary pizza.
With some pizza ovens, you might have to attend as long as 5 minutes for the stone to heat again up. It was ready to load a second pizza inside two minutes of removing the primary, so we will positively advocate this oven for anybody who wants to throw a yard pizza get together! We didn’t expertise this problem with the Pi, although.
The design promotes sizzling airflow on top of the pizza
The outcomes of our testing put this Solo Stove pizza oven at the top of our record.
We were actually impressed at how the airflow inside this pizza oven worked like a convection oven, moving hot air excessive of the pizza because it cooked. This feature shouldn’t be much of a surprise if you’ve used Solo Stove merchandise before. The airflow design is considered one of the reasons these fireplace pits are largely smokeless, and it’s why the portable grill heats so evenly.
Solo Stove explains that the design is named “Demi-Dome Building,” and it creates convection airflow that distributes heat to the whole oven. Chilly air is brought in via the holes at the underside of the oven, and it’s heated as it passes through the flames. The heated air then flows over the top of the pizza, so the pizza cooks concurrently from the bottom and the highest when it’s in the oven.
We not only observed this convection airflow at work after we cooked pizza-creating an evenly cooked pie without a burnt bottom or charred toppings. We additionally noticed it when cooking steak and broccoli in a forged-iron pan contained in the pizza oven. The top of the steak seared just as nicely because the facet that was involved with the preheated pan.
It can be utilized with multiple gasoline sources
Who doesn’t love decisions? If you’re a newbie, we suggest beginning with the propane burner till you get the cling of creating pizza dough, building your pizza, and cooking it inside a super-scorching oven. Purchasing the Wood & Fuel Pi means that you can decide whether or not you want to go the traditional wood-hearth pizza route or the short-and-straightforward weeknight pizza route.
These who are slightly extra experienced can have a ton of fun learning how to build a right-sized fireplace inside the oven, and cooking over fire is a fantastic strategy to up your pizza-making game.
It’s lightweight and easy to retailer
The Solo Stove Pi is much lighter than many of the pizza ovens we tested. It’s half the weight of the Ooni Karu’s 62.6 pounds, and it’s 15 pounds lighter than the Gozney Roccbox. That makes it possible to transport the Pi to your friend’s yard barbecue, convey it camping, or pack it along to a beach get together (although we’d be cautious of all that sand).
We also appreciated the compact round design. It’s low-profile sufficient to tuck properly onto a shelf in the storage, too. The 21-inch diameter oven sits just 15 inches high, so you won’t have to buy a special desk to accommodate the addition to your backyard setup.
It boasts a panoramic opening
The opening on most pizza ovens is the same measurement as the pizza stone. A tough activity for these new at pizza making! Meaning there’s very little room for maneuvering, and it’s important to be spot-on when launching your pizza into the oven.
The Solo Stove pizza oven’s opening is thirteen inches-one inch bigger than the size of the pizza stone. That further inch doesn’t sound like much, nevertheless it made a huge difference when it got here to loading and turning the pizza when it was contained in the oven.
It’s super simple to clean
To clean the Pi, hearth it on high to burn off any accumulated cheese or dough. To wash the exterior, simply wipe it down with a soapy cloth. Then, let it cool completely and brush it out with a stiff-bristled brush or a damp cloth. If desired, the pizza stone could be eliminated for thorough cleansing, though it’s not needed frequently.
Solo offers a lifetime guarantee
The Solo Stove Pi has a lifetime guarantee to be free of manufacturing defects, and Solo Stove will exchange any genuine Solo Stove product sold by an authorized retailer that’s deemed defective. Merchandise will not be warrantied towards regular wear or misuse, however the customer support staff will assist you analyze any misuse harm.
If it’s unable to be repaired, they’ll lengthen a one-time courtesy offer to buy a new Solo Stove product for 50% off the MSRP prices listed on the website (excluding web specials).
Solo Stove additionally affords a 30-day guarantee for purchases made by way of Solo Stove authorized retailers. Any orders shipped throughout the contiguous U.S. (lower forty eight states) will be returned within 30 days of when the order was shipped and they’ll process a full refund back to the unique cost technique.
What we don’t like in regards to the Solo Stove Pi
There’s a small gap within the pizza stone
The stone for the Solo Stove Pi breaks apart into two items. This is useful for eradicating the stone whenever you want to wash it, but it surely leaves a small gap when both items are positioned inside the oven. Actually, this isn’t an enormous deal-it didn’t seem to have an effect on the cooking of the pizza-but it surely did set off our OCD alarm every time we checked out it.
Regulating the temperature with wood takes practice
Solo Stove is aware of all about burning wood, so it was no shock that the Pi excelled at making wooden-fired pizzas. That mentioned, it actually takes some time and follow to get it proper, and there’s a steep learning curve.
The wooden burning assembly tray could be very small-11 inches long- so you’ve got to chop your wooden right down to 1-inch large by 5-inches long to get it to suit. But if you set too much wood in, the hearth will smolder and smoke as an alternative of construct heat. In the event you place a couple of starter cubes in with the wooden, the pile will catch very quickly and start to heat up the oven.
You additionally have to watch out to not burn a lot wood. If you’re planning to cook more than five pizzas in one setting, gas is certainly the option to go. If the ash pan fills up, the fire will exit and you’ll must empty it out earlier than persevering with. Contemplating every part contained in the oven is so scorching, that’s not as simple as it sounds!
The screws for the propane burner might be simply lost
If you’re the kind of person who loses issues, and you plan to change between fuel and wooden fuels, you’ll want to be very, very careful when storing the propane attachment. There’s a spot to store them on the bottom of the Solo Stove, so be certain that you put them back there every time you take away the attachment so that you don’t misplace them. The 2 screws that attach the propane burner to the again of the Solo Stove can’t be simply changed with one thing purchased at the hardware retailer.
Should you buy the Solo Stove Pi?
Steak cooked beautifully in a solid iron skillet in the Pi, making a multi-use out of doors cooking appliance.
Sure, if you have any curiosity in cooking pizza frequently.
Backside line, the Solo Stove Pi is a joy to use. The propane burner is convenient when firing up the oven for one or two pizzas on a weeknight, and the option to make use of the oven as a wood-burning stove is improbable for anyone who wants to delve deeper into craft pizza.
The Solo Stove Pi is somewhat bit dearer than a few of the Ooni choices, but we were impressed with how easy it was to make use of for novices and veterans alike. It’s laborious to say how long the ovens last-they just launched in 2022-but they’re made with the same excessive-quality materials as the fire pits, so we have no motive to consider they won’t last for years.
Pi substances
The pizza equipment can assist you to pizza like a professional
An out of doors pizza oven makes it doable to make restaurant-quality pizza at residence, however it’s not the only element to building an incredible pie. You’ll additionally need a solid dough recipe to create pizza with the proper texture and consistency, and getting there can take somewhat practice.
If you’re not ready to begin that journey, but you’re desirous to dive into the world of pizza, take a shortcut and buy pre-made dough (just not the sort you find in a tube). We’ve tried dough from a number of stores-Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Kroger, to name a couple of-so we have been desperate to strive Solo Stove’s Pi Elements to see the way it stacked up. You may purchase the dough by way of the Neapolitan Dough Balls package, which comes with 24, 9-ounce dough balls specifically designed to make 12-inch pizzas.
For individuals who don’t need to buy for extra ingredients, the Neapolitan Artisan Pizza Box reduces the dough rely to 12, but it additionally comes with all the things it’s essential to make these pizzas: San Marzano pizza sauce; contemporary mozzarella; and a 24-ounce Ezzo’s Pepperoni Stick that’s nearly two feet long.
We had been pretty impressed with the high-quality nature of these substances, and all in all, these kits are an ideal option to take the guesswork out of making pizza. They come shipped frozen and might be thawed overnight to be ready for a pizza celebration inside 24 hours.
We wish the dough came individually packaged so it was simpler to freeze, however it was simple enough to wrap each ball in plastic wrap earlier than tossing it into the freezer. As with all dough (store-bought or homemade), it’s vital to let the dough ball sit on the counter for at the very least half-hour (or up to 2 hours) before baking for straightforward stretching.
In comparison with other grocery store dough, the Solo Stove dough was straightforward to work with and didn’t exhibit any signs of resistance or tearing. When it hit the hot pizza oven, it had an ideal rise, cooked completely, and had a slightly sweet flavor.
The San Marzano sauce is rich with a nice acidity, and it does not have the concentrated, sweet style that comes from utilizing tomato paste (certainly one of our largest complaints about retailer-purchased sauce). The pepperoni was a little troublesome to slice, so you’ll need to succeed in to your sharpest knife. The mozzarella can also be rich and creamy, and it melts exceptionally well. However we loved the spicy, salty quality that got here from that as well.
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Costs have been correct on the time this text was published but could change over time.
Meet the tester
Lindsay D. Mattison
Professional Chef
Lindsay D. Mattison is knowledgeable chef, meals author, and novice gardener. She is at the moment writing a cookbook that goals to show house cooks how to write without a recipe.
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