The product is designed to be space-saving in order to take up as little real estate as possible on your counter or in the cupboard. The unit consists of a somewhat triangular cooking element with a large, round pizza pan. The round pan rotates both above and below heating elements in order to evenly cook the pizza. The top heating element heats at 350F and the bottom one heats at 400F. There is a control to set both elements, or just the top or the bottom individually. This way you can heat your toppings for longer (handy if you really pile on the toppings), or you can get your crust crispier.
When cooking, two things are crucial. The first is that you MUST set the built-in timer otherwise the oven will not heat up. The timer controls whether the oven is on or off, so you have to set it regardless of whether you want to use it. This also controls the cooking so that you don't forget about your food. It's really a good thing in the end.
The other crucial thing is that you need to set which elements you want to heat. I rarely change this setting (and I'll tell you why later) because I've seen the consequences. Unless you need one part of your pizza cooked more than the other, make sure the oven is always set to the "both" setting.
This product is fantastic. I don't just cook pizza on it, I also cook frozen chicken strips and frozen fries on it. One particularly creative thing I started doing is making toasted sandwiches using this oven. You just butter your bread a little bit, pile on the cheese, meat, vegetables, or whatever you like and cook it open-faced. Once the inside is hot, you can close the sandwich and let it toast for a while longer. This pizza oven makes THE BEST grilled cheese sandwiches.
One mistake I've made a few times is forgetting to set the oven to heat with both elements. Sometimes I've put chicken on the oven and cooked it for 25 minutes, only to find it cold, soggy, and raw on the inside. I don't have to tell you not to eat raw chicken. There are other cooking tips that I have for you when using this pizza oven.
If you're counting on cooking a large Papa Murphy's pizza on this, it won't fit. Sorry. But you can probably do a smaller pizza or some cheese bread. When you go to cook a fresh pizza that you're making yourself, it's best to pre-bake the dough a little bit. It will make it so your pizza finishes all at the same time. Just place the crust on the pan and let it cook for about eight minutes or so, then pile on the toppings and let the pizza bake the rest of the way.
Like I said, I love this product. It's easily worth the $50 or so that it costs. You can bake just about anything on it and it's easy to use. Baking a frozen pizza on it turns a so-so pizza into a great pizza! I don't know what it is, specifically, that makes the pizza better, but I think it's that everything is heated to the correct temperature. The crust comes out crispy and the toppings come out all melted and baked to perfection.
You can find this in some grocery stores, stores that sell kitchen appliances, or online. Check it out if you want to make baking frozen (or fresh) pizza or other foods in the summer a more tolerable experience. If you have some kids and you don't want them to use the oven, this is a good option. It turns the heat elements off by itself, so you don't have to worry about the kids heating the whole house or running up the gas bill.
Like pretty well all product photos on this blog, this image does not belong to me.
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