This is a question our customers ask us from time to time. It’s worth noting the distinction that both our wood fired & gas ovens share the same great construction methods, materials, and build quality that Fontana is known for. Each style of oven comes with its own unique benefits to consider.
To our customers who are in search of a Neapolitan pizza baking experience, we recommend our wood fired ovens. True Neapolitan pizza is baked in an oven that utilizes a wood fire in the cooking chamber heated to a specific floor temperature. The wood fired Margherita, Mangiafuoco, & Marinara are our best offerings to help you recreate a Neapolitan pizza baking experience in your own backyard. Our wood fired ovens are also available at a lower price point than our gas ovens which every consumer can appreciate. However, a wood fire will occupy about 6"- 8" of the oven's interior width so you do sacrifice some cooking surface area for the wood fired baking experience.
To our customers who are willing to consider a more modern approach to making their pizza, we suggest our product line of gas ovens. The Margherita Gas and Mangiafuoco Gas share the same robust construction as their woodfired counterparts. They heat up equally as fast and retain their temperature equally as well. What is sacrificed in the wood fired tradition is gained with the modern convenience of gas. Because the gas burner in these ovens occupies about 4” of the interior depth, these ovens have the added benefit of more cooking surface area than their wood fired counterparts. Temperature control is more instantaneous with the gas oven’s regulator. Our gas ovens can be fueled using either propane (stock) or natural (with a provided conversion kit). Additionally, there is no ash clean up that is required with the wood fired oven. However, the gas ovens do cost a little more than the wood fired ovens.
Great tasting Italian style pizza, meats, veggies, breads can be made in both ovens. It’s just a matter of your preference.