Deck Ovens
Deck ovens are beloved by pizza purists for their ability to produce crispy crusts and warm toppings, but these models offer benefits well beyond that. Discover all the benefits of a commercial deck oven here. More
Countertop deck ovens are more compact, so pizzerias can maximize their cooking capacity without sacrificing quality.
High-volume operations can use a floor model deck oven to quickly bake several pizzas or loaves of bread at one time.
Commercial Deck Ovens: What You Need to Know
From broiling and roasting to baking, commercial deck ovens can be found in a wide variety of commercial kitchens. High-volume establishments employ double-deck ovens to increase productivity, and some models can be stacked even higher than that to save space in a crowded restaurant kitchen.
Common Questions About Deck Ovens
What are deck ovens good for?
Commercial deck ovens are optimized for long, flat foods, as they were originally designed and primarily used as pizza ovens. However, they offer this same consistent heat with anything that fits within the baking cavity. Pasta, bread, and proteins all can be prepared to perfection in a deck oven. Some models are equipped with convection capabilities, agitating the air around the cooking food and decreasing the necessary cooking time. Double-deck ovens offer the same functionality but with an increased cooking area; stacking the ovens utilizes excess heat that would otherwise be vented and wasted.
What can you cook in a deck oven?
The deck pizza oven is popular in Italian eateries, where they do everything from the obvious – heating pizza – to baking pasta dishes. A good steakhouse chef can produce a perfect prime rib in this oven without needing to move the steak from an oven to a pan. Because of the oven's low profile and adjustability, chefs can get the perfect finish on an impressively wide array of dishes, with each oven set to the exact needs of the given dish.
How does a deck oven work?
Both electric and gas deck ovens typically have burners both below the deck and above the cooking area, which means complete heating for your foods. This gives some models the strength to bake, broil, and roast, so the pizza oven can bake perfectly crisp crusts while heating toppings and melting cheese. Having that full coverage from the heating elements means fast, consistent cooking.
What's the difference between a baking oven and a commercial pizza oven?
Certain models are designed just for baking pizza. These units have a short cavity that puts the baking deck closer to the overhead heat, providing fast, even cooking and preventing energy being wasted to heat a larger cabinet. Models designed to bake large items, such as loaves of bread, have taller cavities. This provides more room for bigger items and keeps them sufficiently away from the hot upper element so the top of the food doesn't burn or overcook.
Should I get a gas or electric deck oven?
The primary difference between electric and gas deck ovens comes in the utility cost of each resource. Consider the relative cost of each and purchase the oven that will save you money over the long run. Other considerations include potential wasted energy, which is slightly less for an electric deck oven than a gas deck oven, and recovery time, which is slightly better for gas than electric. Gas-powered equipment also requires a hood to catch escaping vapors, so take the cost of this hood into account before making a purchase.