Cuisinart Electric Indoor Pizza Oven, capable of hitting 700°F, RRP $399

[Yeasty Boy]

I found this thread while researching the Cuisinart indoor pizza oven and it seemed to fit a recent experience of mine.

In 2009 I lucked into buying a condo south of Scottsdale (it was really cheap, due to the recession). It's across the street from my mother-in-law, and we've gone out there 3-4 times per year ever since to take a break from the Cleveland weather and visit.

The main oven in this condo is pretty lame. It's got something like a 22 gauge wire (probably only a slight exaggeration) on the bottom that takes roughly 75 minutes to pre-heat a pizza stone. It makes an "ok" home NY style, but I can't coax a great one out of it regardless of the dough recipe, broiler etc.

When we visit Az we often go to Pizzeria Bianco...probably been there 20 times. The pizzas are always great, and it's been worth the long wait to get a seat. The last time we went, the prices had taken a big jump. The pizza I typically get was $31. My wife's was $25. Since the wait to get a seat was 90 minutes, we each had a beer next door, which totaled $28. Two glasses of wine with the lunch added another $30. When all was said and done, I was out $150 for a pizza lunch. I told my wife I was going to order a decent pizza oven for the condo and make my own from here-on-out.

Fast-forward to last month...we're sitting in the Cleveland airport waiting for our Frontier flight to Phoenix and I get an email showing Cuisinart indoor pizza oven on Amazon for $199.98 (regular price - $399).  I researched it on my phone, and it seemed be capable of generating a legit 700 ºF, so I ordered one. It only accommodates 12" pies, but that is ok with me. It arrived a couple days after Christmas.

Backtracking a short bit - Prior to Christmas I'm walking through the local Fountain Hills Goodwill and I came across a Breville Crispy Crust pizza oven/grill/waffle-maker-looking thing for $20. A Clam Shell w/stone. The Cuisinart was on the way, but for 20 bucks I had to give this Breville unit a try.

So here's my review/comparison:

I made 4, 300g dough balls. 62% hydration, 2% oil, 1% sugar, 2.8% salt. Poolish starter. 24 hour ferment.
The Breville unit lists for $179. It cooked the pizza a little uneven, with the back crust getting appreciably browner than the front. It took 45 minutes to pre-heat (really long), and then 8-ish minutes to complete a pizza (again a bit long...so I'm guessing it was only around 500 ºF?).  The pizza was crisp and absolutely acceptable. My son and his girlfriend put it away in about 10 minutes. IMO – while it cooked an acceptable pizza, it wasn't much better than my large, lame regular oven w/stone @ 525 ºF.

Next up – The Cuisinart (model CPZ 120)
I set the temp dial for 650 ºF, and in exactly 25 minutes the oven buzzer sounded signaling it was ready for a pizza. This is what Cuisinart promises. I gave it an extra 5 minutes pre-heat just to be safe, then opened the door and launched pizza #1. After launching I noticed in my pizza #1 excitement I'd forgotten the pepperoni. Oh well...too late.

I don't have a laser temp gun in Arizona, but it seemed like a legit 650 degrees. The crust puffed up nice, and it was done in just over 6 minutes. It produced a beautiful, even cook on both the top and bottom. I was really impressed.

I then upped the temp to 700 degrees, just to see the cook difference. After 10 minutes I launched pizza #2. This time, with pepperoni. It also turned out great. This cook was closer to 5 minutes 30 seconds, so it legitimately upped the temp.
I think I preferred the 700 degree pizza, but I'd need to make a couple more before being certain.

In addition to creating a great 12" NY pizza, the preheat time was perfectly acceptable. 30 minutes to get to 650 degrees is WAY faster than a standard home oven. The oven light is very nice and bright. The digital displays and control knob worked great. It included a decent peel and an enamel 12 x 12" pan that it says is for Sicilian pizzas. It looks like a broiler pan bottom, but I guess it would work fine.

Several YouTube reviews complain the Cuisinart doesn't bake a "Neapolitan" pizza as it promises. No kidding...it only gets up to 700 degrees...what do you expect? One guy made a video showing how pale his Caputo 00 based crust was after 3.5 minutes. Who knew?!

Final answer – If you have an extra $200 lying around and want an oven that will deliver a solid 700 ºF, buy a Cuisinart CPZ 120. It works. It's a cheap, "baby Pizzamaster". Unfortunately, I won't be back in Az to try round #2 until the end of February when I'll be cooking a couple NY Style pies for my mother-in-law's 91st birthday.

I took the Breville unit back to Goodwill. I figured rather than just storing it in the garage collecting dust, I'd put the $20 credit towards some tomatoes, flour, sauce and toppings for the Cuisinart.
I don't feel the Breville suffered from being in "used" condition. I think it performed as it should. But when compared to the Cuisinart, it wasn't nearly as functional. It definitely didn't get as hot.

Hope that helps someone.

[DDT]

I'd say those are damn nice looking pizzas from the cuisinart. Wish they made one that would for a 14" pizza.

[Pizza_Not_War]

I didn't know you could return stuff to Goodwill. Figured it was as is deal 

[Yeasty Boy]

I didn't know you could return stuff to Goodwill. Figured it was as is deal

They give you a store credit for the paid price as long as you don't remove the price tag. The paper tag was a bit baked from the cook, but it still scanned. 

[TXCraig1]

I didn't know you could return stuff to Goodwill. Figured it was as is deal

I return pretty much everything to Goodwill - most of it I didn't even get there. Of course they only give me a receipt for it and no money...   

[Davydd]

I have the Breville Crispy Crust. It now is in my garage. I also have the Chefman. It too has not been used in a while. I want 14" pizzas so have gone to my kitchen oven.

The Crispy Crust clamshell is rated at 672F and can get that. I put a steel stone in it and it got a little better. Still, I was not satisfied compared to my Chefman. The only thing I didn't like about the Chefman is I couldn't make two pizzas in a row and get the same results even if I waited a few minutes. It makes 12" pizzas so I needed to make 2. There are clamshells on Amazon cheap at $97 that claim up to 800 degrees but they are still only 12"

I am not going to make pizza (15 degrees right now) with propane outdoor ovens so I need an electric. There are few that make a 14" pizza. They are too expensive or 220v or they are cheap and don't get to a high enough temperature so I might well as use my kitchen oven. The market needs to make a 14-16" electric pizza oven. Not only for winter but the convenience of making them in the kitchen.

You need not say 220v is available in your kitchen behind the stove or in the laundry room. I know that. It is not convenient, you might need an extension cord nor no longer portable in plugging in wherever you want like a kitchen counter island for one.

Q-Stoves promised a 16" 120v capable of over 900 degrees oven but now I doubt it will ever come to be unless the Chinese start making knockoffs.