The thing that makes wood fired ovens different
1. Chimney vs no chimney. Traditional pizza ovens result from either Italy or Spain/Portugal. There are a few types of Italian ovens, mainly Tuscan and Napoli. Every one has an effective chimney as you're watching oven door and not in the kitchen area. On the other hand Portuguese and Spanish ovens (“Mediterranean ovens” because they became known) usually come without any chimney at all with all the smoke appearing out of the door with the oven.
2. Shape with the dome. The dome inside the traditional Italian ovens is usually 15-16” high at highest internal point. The peak is measured from floor to inner dome surface. This assures best heat reflection. Mediterranean ovens less difficult higher Up to 25-30” at highest dome elevation. They don't get as hot as the Italian ovens but they stay warm for any very long time which serves the Portuguese tradition of keeping food inside them from morning to evening without burning it.
3. A special category is indirect combustion ovens like the ones created by Fontana Forni, Clementi, Tranquilli, and other companies. The cooking chamber is apart from the wood burning chamber. The advantages incorporate a larger area devoted to cooking only, multiple cooking levels (shelves), better heat distribution, modern looks, easy cleaning, lighting, and straightforward transportation. The cons are lack of the “real oven” feel, absence of burning wood smoke in the food, and better price.
4. Increasingly popular are modular oven kits, virtually all of these via Italy and USA. Good quality kits can be made into great ovens which will serve for many years. However all hangs around the quality of the masonry mixed utilized in producing the kit. The material is supposed to be high density, high alumina content, low conductivity, and completely chip-proof. If these factors can be found then all it lacks offers some layers of insulation both beneath the floor and over the dome.
5. The last category to mention is Beehive ovens. These ovens are popular in Portugal and usually come with a metal stand. Due to the model of the dome they're not meant to possess a chimney and quite often a door. They're meant primarily in order to smoke meat and fish and not pizza. Pizza can still be baked included nevertheless it is going to take more than a traditional Italian oven.
