Pizza query

mcswny said:
I've got opinions.

First. I love pizza. All pizza (yes, even dominos). Second, I love to make pizza. That second one is important to your question. Making pizza can be a lot of work (but also very worth it). Keep this in mind when you decide which oven to buy and how much to spend. I've built 2 brick ovens for myself and helped with 2 others.

The only other ovens I have experience with besides DIY brick ovens are the Ooni's and the Gozeny's. All things considered there's not much difference except fit and finish. They both get hot, they both make pizza. The Gozeny's are pretty slick for sure and if it's your budget I'd get that. But before you shell out 1,500$ I may suggest getting a used Ooni off marketplace and make sure makin' pizza is your thing. I know a lot of people that think they want to make pizza, they buy their oven, maybe make pizza a couple times and then next thing you know it's sitting for years. With that being said, regardless of fit and finish, the Ooni's make fantastic pizza--just get the biggest one they sell.
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Spending hundreds of dollars for the 'perfect' pizza seems a lot to spend for something that is fine and under $10 each..
 
Evan B said:
Are you already making pizza in the home oven and perfecting your doughs and sauces? I think doing that first is the way to go, because as has been said, turns out not everyone likes making pizza.

My dough goes through a 3 day ferment. It's a process.
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One thing I’d say is if dough making is not something you feel you have the stomach for, you can usually find a source for good dough locally. A shop, or even your local grocer though you’ll need to cycle through some trash to find the good stuff. I’ve been making pizza once a week for about 20 years now and the Essential Baking Company pizza dough is one of the best I’ve used for homemade pizza.

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Essential Baking Pizza Dough - 16 oz

Turn your kitchen into a pizzeria with Essential Baking Company's Pizza Dough! Roll out this organic dough ball into your desired size, load with your favorite cheese, meat, or veggie toppings, and bake to perfection.
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Sorry, no portable oven recommendation. I use my home oven set to 515 and occasionally my BGE.

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RCF said:
Spending hundreds of dollars for the 'perfect' pizza seems a lot to spend for something that is fine and under $10 each..
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If I applied this sort of logic to all of my cooking I’d be eating frozen dinners from grocery outlet everyday.

With that being said, let’s do some math to figure out the value of my oven. For starters, I think I spent about $1500 on building it (this is pre covid materials pricing). The average pizza at my favorite spot that’s comparable to mine is $17 (Gracie’s apizza) I never make less than 4 pies at a time and often up to 14 during a party. Let’s call it average of 6 per dinner because it’s more former than latter. I make pizza on average about 2x a month (more in the summer, less in the winter). And I’ve had the oven done for about 5 years. Unless my math is wrong, that’s 720 pies in 5 years (I’m sure I’ve made more…) and a grand total of $12,240 (holy shit, this might be more than most Americans have in their retirement accounts) I would have spent on pizza if I bought comparable pies. If I bought say, the same amount of Dominos, it would have been ~7,200 (although I’m not convinced you can actually get out the door with $10 a pie). Again my math may be wrong—I did go to art school after all. I understand I’m not factoring in the cost of ingredients, just trying to illustrate my point.

Also, I just like making pizza. And my friends and family like eating it.


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mcswny said:
If I applied this sort of logic to all of my cooking I’d be eating frozen dinners from grocery outlet everyday.

With that being said, let’s do some math to figure out the value of my oven. For starters, I think I spent about $1500 on building it (this is pre covid materials pricing). The average pizza at my favorite spot that’s comparable to mine is $17 (Gracie’s apizza) I never make less than 4 pies at a time and often up to 14 during a party. Let’s call it average of 6 per dinner because it’s more former than latter. I make pizza on average about 2x a month (more in the summer, less in the winter). And I’ve had the oven done for about 5 years. Unless my math is wrong, that’s 720 pies in 5 years (I’m sure I’ve made more…) and a grand total of $12,240 (holy shit, this might be more than most Americans have in their retirement accounts) I would have spent on pizza if I bought comparable pies. If I bought say, the same amount of Dominos, it would have been ~7,200 (although I’m not convinced you can actually get out the door with $10 a pie). Again my math may be wrong—I did go to art school after all. I understand I’m not factoring in the cost of ingredients, just trying to illustrate my point.

Also, I just like making pizza. And my friends and family like eating it.


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Exactly. I have a pizza oven because it makes for killer dinner parties that your friends find special. I also do sushi dinner parties with the albacore I catch. Both are very labor-intensive, but that's part of why it's special.

I could catch a lot of fish with explosives and gillnets... but we all know why we choose the "harder" methods.

and hell, even $17 is a steal. The best pizza place in my 'hood is a few bucks more than that for a large.
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(just as an example... I personally dislike pepperoni+sausage because I'm a weird kind of heathen like that)
 
mcswny said:
If I applied this sort of logic to all of my cooking I’d be eating frozen dinners from grocery outlet everyday.

With that being said, let’s do some math to figure out the value of my oven. For starters, I think I spent about $1500 on building it (this is pre covid materials pricing). The average pizza at my favorite spot that’s comparable to mine is $17 (Gracie’s apizza) I never make less than 4 pies at a time and often up to 14 during a party. Let’s call it average of 6 per dinner because it’s more former than latter. I make pizza on average about 2x a month (more in the summer, less in the winter). And I’ve had the oven done for about 5 years. Unless my math is wrong, that’s 720 pies in 5 years (I’m sure I’ve made more…) and a grand total of $12,240 (holy shit, this might be more than most Americans have in their retirement accounts) I would have spent on pizza if I bought comparable pies. If I bought say, the same amount of Dominos, it would have been ~7,200 (although I’m not convinced you can actually get out the door with $10 a pie). Again my math may be wrong—I did go to art school after all. I understand I’m not factoring in the cost of ingredients, just trying to illustrate my point.

Also, I just like making pizza. And my friends and family like eating it.


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Also, try and tell me that’s not a kid that’s pumped as all get out that her dad makes the best pizza in the neighborhood?
 
Yeah a 10 dollar pizza is a dinosaur around my area...buried in a landfill somewhere 15 years ago.
Spending money on quality meals that you make at home is one of the best values there is...imho.

I do have to say though, somewhat suspicious of folks who don't like Italian sausage on a pizza...not judging here, but keeping my eye out for other types of similar subversive behavior for sure.
 
Mossback said:
Yeah a 10 dollar pizza is a dinosaur around my area...buried in a landfill somewhere 15 years ago.
Spending money on quality meals that you make at home is one of the best values there is...imho.

I do have to say though, somewhat suspicious of folks who don't like Italian sausage on a pizza...not judging here, but keeping my eye out for other types of similar subversive behavior for sure.
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I honestly don't really like many types of sausage on anything. Just never been something I enjoyed much. With pizza, I just plain don't like greasy meats on top. I especially find meat lover pizzas to be just too much. For me, "less is more" when it comes to pizza.
 
I hear ya on the greasy meats...gotta be careful how you prep and balance the meats on a pizza.
Pepperoni especially...a sea of red grease on top of a pizza isn't what I'm after either.
 
Mossback said:
I hear ya on the greasy meats...gotta be careful how you prep and balance the meats on a pizza.
Pepperoni especially...a sea of red grease on top of a pizza isn't what I'm after either.
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Good quality, Buffalo cup n char pepperoni is a thing of beauty.
 
mcswny said:
If you know me I have a bit of savior complex. I like to help and take care of people and that applies to my cooking as well. I cook 99% of meals for my family. It brings me joy.
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I do it because it's one of the only things I can think to do that makes people think I'm cool. I definitely don't have the personality to impress people beyond that :ROFLMAO:
 
Cooking for others is a joy...
I'm headed over to my 90 year old Mom's next weekend to make dinner for my sisters, some of their friends and bringing the wine too...
It'll be a great time, especially for Mom having a house full of people around the dinner table again, without having to do all the cooking and clean up after.
 
I think it's pretty cool when people can re-furb and set up their boats on their own.

You can get a single topping Domino's pizza for $7.99 just about anytime anywhere. The ingredients are cheap commodity style stuff that has mostly had the nutrition engineered and processed right out of it. But still--pizza and sex--even when it's bad, it's good.
 
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