I have cooked over 150,000 pizzas and the best ones I ever made were in this Gozney

The Gozney Dome S1 has a lot of bases covered. It's dual fuel (you can use gas or wood); it fits two or three pizzas, but will cook just one equally well; and it looks very elegant, unlike most pizza ovens I've tested.

If you've done some research into the best pizza ovens for your garden, you'll know that Gozney makes top-tier ovens. I say that from an objective perspective, as a reviewer and a pizza enthusiast, but also as someone who grew up with a Gozney in their garden (and workplace). In fact, having run a quick calculation, I've easily made over 150,000 pizzas in my lifetime and the best ones that I've made have been in the Gozney Dome S1.

I've put the Gozney Dome S1 through its paces to bring you a review that'll give you a good idea of what you'll get from your £1,000 investment. It sounds like a lot of money, but if you're willing to get experimental, I truly believe this threatens the usefulness of your oven. 

Specifications

Unboxing

At nearly 50kgs, pizza ovens aren't the sort of home accessory that you can mess around with when it comes to delivery. I've received pizza ovens from plenty of reluctant and unhelpful drivers before, which is why I was so relieved with how this arrived. The delivery driver was helpful at lifting and positioning the Gozney Dome S1 at home. Having read through customer reviews, I know this isn't a special treatment for the journalist (there are perks to the job), but part of the Gozney promise. It's nice to have the weight of a difficult delivery lifted off your shoulders. Goodness knows there's enough weight to these as it is.

Mine came in lots of carboard boxes, which is more sustainable than most other brands will deliver on. I also had the stand and cover (both of which cost extra), btu I'd recommend buying these or at least getting a bundle deal. They help a lot with positioning and styling your Gozney.

After you've got the parts out of the box, you can take a look at the set up. It's a two-person job, lifting this onto the stand, but that's about it. There are some blue tags and films that will need to be removed from around the stone and you'll need to buy some gas and connect that up to the oven. Aside from that, this should be good to go in fifteen minutes.

Who would it suit?

The Gozney Dome S1 is the perfect garden centrepiece. It's bigger than lots of the popular tabletop, compact pizza ovens, but it won't dominate the space, especially if you get the Gozney stand . I wheel this around the patio, up to the kitchen door and then back to its resting place, to give you an idea of just how mobile this is.

The aesthetic is very simple and elegant. In fact, it looks like it should be the kind of pizza oven that only serious chefs use. Whilst I would recommend it to big pizza fans and people who make pizza commercially (like my family), I would also happily hand it to someone who has never used a pizza oven before. It's simple, foolproof, and reliable enough that you'll be able to home cook plenty of pizza and wood-fired recipes without needing any skills. 

There is the rather obvious price tag to consider too. Whilst this is expensive, for the size and build quality, I think it's actually pretty good value. Everyone I know that owns a Gozney (which is a surprisingly high number) uses theirs regularly. In the summer, it seemed like everyone was in the garden with their Gozney ovens. If you know you'll make good use of it, the investment is worth it. If you're still on the fence, it might be worth investing in something a little less high risk.

What is it like to use?

The Gozney Dome S1 controls are simple. I'd recommend using the gas flame, especially if you're new to these kinds of oven, because you'll find it easier to manage the heat. The instructions give you lots of advice and tips for what you need to avoid and be cautious of (it's quite a lot) and then Gozney advises that you run the flame for half an hour on the first use. This'll get the oven heating up. 

I wanted the temperature to reach 350 before I cooked anything. Almost perfectly on time, the temperature gauge read 350 27 minutes after I lit the oven. That means it's pizza time.

You can see that there's plenty of space inside the Gozney Dome S1, so even though I only cooked one 12" pizza at first (8oz of dough), I've managed two and even three (with one in the mouth of the oven) when I've needed to expand the Dome's capacity. The oven mouth is nice and wide, the base is smooth, and the heat distribution across the base and dome is really good. I got some beautiful speckling across the base of my pizza, with golden cheese on top within just one minute.

You'll want to watch until the crusts of your pizza puff up (after about thirty seconds) and then you can slide the peel under. The S1's mouth lets you spin the pizza effortlessly and, whilst there is a knack to this, you'll pick it up very easily with the Gozney. 

 I've been cooking in this for nearly a year now (and I dread to think how many pizzas that adds to my 150,000 statistic last year) and I've never had a problem with the heat and performance of the Dome S1.  

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You'll be pleased to know that pizza isn't the limit of the Gozney's offering. I have made calezones (folded pizzas), naan breads, roasted vegetables, grilled chicken, and even brownies in the Gonzey. They have a whole host of different recipes and suggestions of foods that you can make in the Gozney available online.

If you choose to cook these with logs and kindling, you'll need to be more confident in yourself. You can't monitor and adjust the temperature quite as quickly and precisely as you can with gas, but it is very possible. Again, Gozney has lots of advice on this. I've always found the Gozney Dome S1 to be very reliable and predictable, as far as you can be with cooking on fire. However, I generally find myself gravitating towards the gas option. The flame responds instantly, making it easy to slow cook my brownies (they actually only needed 30 minutes) and roast some vegetables for a salad. If you click through the images in the gallery above, you'll be able to see some of my Gozney feats.

Cleaning

The one thing that you cannot be with a pizza oven is precious. The base will scratch and it will begin to look dirty. You're cooking with fire and food, so expect some blackening and burning. Gozney says you should avoid cleaning products (including Pink Stuff) on your oven. Make use of a wire brush and, if you have to, when the oven if completely cool, use a warm damp cloth with a gentle detergent to wipe the base clean. 

Generally, the Gozney is low maintenance with high reward in terms of aesthetics. That's why I'd recommend using a cover too; it's a reliable way to protect the outside of your oven from rain, snow, wind, and organic debris that might put more wear and tear on your precious pizza maker.

How does it compare?

If you've done your research, you'll know that Gozney makes some of the most expensive pizza ovens on the market. If you like the name and foundations of Gozney, but you're not quite ready to part with that much cash, the Gozney Arc XL is well worth considering. It's much smaller, so you'll only be able to fit one pizza in, but it looks like a shrunken version of the Dome S1. It works just as well in terms of heat transfer, but you can't use wood fire in it. This is gas only, which is perfect for beginners, but it does limit your creativity. The big plus is that the Arc XL is almost half the price, which saves you a lot of money, especially if you're a beginner.

If you like the idea of a smaller, less expensive pizza oven, you might also want to investigate Ooni. These make great pizzas and they're smaller and cheaper. I'd put these down as the 'tabletop pizza ovens', so they won't make any style statements in your back garden, but they'll cook you a decent pizza. I think they're a little slower, but you might find that less intimidating too.

Should you buy it?

If you want a beautiful stylish pizza oven, you can't go wrong with the Gozney Dome S1 Pizza Oven. It'll cook pizza in a minute and you get the joys of dual-fuel sources, so even though it's a more expensive option, it serves you well in the long-term.