Pizza ovens are all the rage in outdoor tech, and one of the biggest names in the game is Ooni. The company has a full line of models that use wood, charcoal or gas to give you the hot-and-fast pizzeria experience in minutes. Ooni promises high-heat cooking for Neapolitan-style pizza, plus the ability to bake other styles, bread and even sear steaks with its ovens. Until now, all of the company’s products have been made for outdoor use, but today it’s debuting its first indoor model: the Volt 12.
Taking design cues from the high-end Karu 16, the Volt 12 is also Ooni’s first all-electric pizza oven. The company says you can use it indoors or outside thanks to a powder-coated carbon steel exterior and “advanced” insulation that retain heat and withstand the weather. A front-mounted control panel offers temperature, time and balance controls to help you dial-in your cooks. That balance dial allows you to adjust the Volt 12 for different styles, according to Ooni. What’s more, an optional boost function returns the baking stone to ideal temp between pies so you’re not waiting to launch the next one.
Interior lighting for the 13-inch surface and an insulated glass door let you keep an eye on things. The company explains that the oven can get hot enough for Neapolitan-style pizza in 90 seconds and is capable of hitting 850 degrees Fahrenheit in 20 minutes. Compare that to the multi-fuel Karu 16 which takes 15 minutes to hit 950 degrees. Ooni says the Volt 12 will turn off after 45 minutes if it detects that nothing is being cooked. The company also touts built-in handles for portability, but the oven does weigh nearly 40 pounds, so it’s not so easily tossed in the back of the car on a whim. The Volt 12 also costs $999, on par with Breville’s Pizzaiolo, which that company says was the first countertop oven capable of hitting 750 degrees and offers a variety of presets for different styles.
Ooni
In addition to the Volt 12, Ooni is also revealing the outdoor Karu 12G. A more compact version of the Karu 16, this 12-inch model also offers the ability to use wood or gas to bake pizzas (gas burner sold separately). Design wise, it looks a lot like its predecessor, with the key difference being an analog thermometer on the 12G replacing the digital temperature gauge on the 16. The new 12G also keeps the wide-leg design from the Karu 16 with a locking rear leg for extra stability.
Ooni says the Karu 12G stays hotter for longer versus the Karu 12 thanks to better heat retention and insulation. There’s also a hinged door that helps keep the heat inside, and it’s built with a glass panel for baking views. The company explains that better airflow on the Karu 12G leads to more even cooking on the oven that’s capable of hitting 950 degrees Fahrenheit. Ooni says this model can hit 850 degrees 29-percent faster than its previous models and it uses 46-percent less gas. The Karu 12G will be available for $429, which is more expensive than the $300 Karu 12, but a little more than half the cost of the $799 Karu 16.
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