Back
Pizza oven mistakes – world champion pizza chefs reveal 7 basic errors that make them shudder, and how to avoid them
Mar 8, 2025
It takes a little practice to make a perfect pizza. Avoiding these 7 common pizza oven mistakes makes for better pies
Backyard pizza ovens are are becoming a hosting staple. They make fast, delicious pizza that's great for parties in summer - the whole family can make their very own pie.
However, even the best pizza ovens can be a little temperamental, and there's a steep learning curve before you can make perfect pizza.
I spoke to pizza chefs - including a world champion pizza maker - about the most common pizza oven mistakes, and how you can avoid them when setting up your oven.
1. Don't heat pizza stone at max
The most basic mistake when setting up a pizza oven is heating the stone too fast. Two-time pizza world champion Renato Viola explains 'Exposing the stone to extremely high heat too quickly can cause thermal shock.'
Thermal shock is when a cold pizza stone heats up too quickly. Though pizza stones can handle high temperatures, a sudden jump from freezing to hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit can cause the stone to expand and crack, ruining your oven before you've even had a chance to use it.
To prevent this, make sure your stone is right for your oven. It should be fine if you buy an oven from a known brand like Ooni or Gozney, but if you've built your own oven and are using an unbranded stone, or a using a pizza stone on a grill, you need to double-check its temperature rating
7Shares
0Comments
10Favorites
21Likes
No content at this moment.