Nice video to the point. I picked this oven @costco about 1 month ago for $249 i figured it was worth a shot. You are right it great for NY or pan pizzas but Neapolitan it takes getting use to it.What i do is when i lunch the pizza I shut off the oven and then turn it back on. Ive enjoyed watching your videos keep them coming.
Results may vary, even here on TH-cam reviews of this oven. But it does deliver that pizza restaurant flavor for a fraction of the cost. At just 249.99 from Costco, this makes the learning curve much more tolerable. Thanks for your review. It would be nice if Chefman offered accessories, like stones and oven covers. 🙂
I hope my general tone wasn't too negative in this video - for $250 from Costco, it's an excellent deal and a fun indoor oven that can make great NYs. But the top burner seems finnicky to control and wasn't capable of making true Neapolitan.
great video - I ordered this recently and it came today. I'll preface this by saying i'm not a pizza snob ... at all - i'm generally happy with dominos (lol), but wanted to be able to make my own at home indoors and try the different styles. Great tip about the top - i'll have to try that! I recently got a bread machine so I've been lazying out and letting it make dough for me - lol. I'd say it's a ny style dough as it has oil and sugar. I literally took the dough out after the cycle was done (still a bit sticky), attempted (and failed miserably - lol)) to stretch out a 10-12" pie - probably only 8" as it wouldn't stretch very well and of course I tore it (250g so it should have been ok - probably just needed rest time) - anyhoo - I saw another video where he said 800/800 was too hot and burned the crust as you saw in your first attempt so he lowered bottom to 650 and was happy with the result (I think 650), so I was going to try that - like a dummy I accidentally set the top to 650 and the bottom to 800. I noticed the crust needed more time after 2:30 mins (and I was rotating but it wasn't done - super newbie move just losing heat for no good reason - lol). Long story short it took about 6 mins total (I think) and ended up being the best pizza I've ever made at home , and I've tried in the oven many times! I think I had something similar to a NY style in the end and had a nice flavorful and airy crust with a good crunch (woo hoo!), but I'm not sure why the bottom didn't burn on me - maybe I wasn't generating enough radiant heat to the stone from the top ? A good experiment to try if you want to see what you get. I'm looking forward to trying the tip and pseudo-neapolitan next. I realize the pizza aficionados may not be impressed with this machine, but it's just about perfect for me (well that super long cool down with the fan was a bit annoying, but I can live with it)
I'll admit my ranking criteria is a bit rigorous these days after using so many ovens, but this is a great introductory oven. And it sounds like you're not only having fun with it, but getting good results too so win win! A bread machine should be fine to knead the dough. if it's tough to stretch, that's because it needs to proof and/or rest longer before stretching. After you take it out of the bread machine, ball the dough (look up a video on how to ball dough) and let it rest at room temp until it relaxes. You'll notice a huge difference.
Just out of curiosity, have you been able to check other samples of this Chefman oven to see if you just had a bad oven, or do they all seem to have a loose-fitting door?
I just got this oven and i couldnt be more happy with it for thw price. If ooni is qorth 900 then this oven suits my needs for 250. So much better then a home puzza oven
Interesting. Physically that looks identical to the Unold pizza oven, but with a much, MUCH, better front panel. Have to look out for it. The Unold is a German brand using a Chinese oven, so it's probably an OEM part.
Just received this unit and I am having an issue with temperature control. Both upper and lower knobs have no indicator marks for setting the temp. When turned left or right they will never stop so how do you determine what temp you have set?
There's a blue indicator light to show where your current selection is. The lights are already illuminated blue, but the selection makes it a different shade blue. Very poor choice on their part, just look close.
@@palapizzaovens Thank you, I was using this during the day on my patio and could not see an illuminated dial. It's is very faint. Now that I know it's there I can see it.
Other people have mentioned the top burner not getting hot with neapolitan-style pizza people in the comments have said you need to turn the timer on to get the top burner to fully engage can you please try this? Everybody is saying unless the timer is on you will not get the top cooked properly please try this try this and let us know
I didn't have any dough tonight, but I turned it on to mess with it a bit and here's what I tried. I set the stone to 700 and top to 800. It started a 22 minute timer. After 5 minutes, the top burner was red hot and stayed red all the way until the timer was down to 5 minutes, in which the top burner seemed to shut off. Even before the set preheat was complete, the top burner went out. I waited for the preheat to finish, and then tried setting the timer for 5 minutes and in that time I didn't see the top burner turn red at all again (there's a chance it could have still been but hadn't turned red yet, but with the oven already at 800F I doubt it). I wonder if it's just coincidence for those people who are setting the timer - maybe the oven turned the burner back on to maintain temperature or regain temp from heat loss.
Thank you for testing this, there was a different video that a few people in the comment section said the timer needs to be on to have the top burner to work. Seem like you have proven this wrong. I guess I will keep looking since I will mainly be doing Neapolitan style. Thanks again for testing this @@palapizzaovens
@@Sheisintomalakasdino confirming what @palapizzaovens found, Chefman says the timer has nothing to do with controlling the elements. They cycle on and off according to the oven temp.
Wow this oven is not ideal on so many levels. I guess it’s fine for NY style but then you’re limited to a 12” pie. I’ll spend the extra 600 on a better oven.
Why would you do Neapolitan on manual to 800 instead of the preset? That’s a user error. In my ninja woodfire outdoor oven, the preset is at 700 for 3 minutes. You took a shot in the dark then said the oven missed the mark on Neapolitan when you didn’t even attempt the oven’s preset. That’s misleading to people who know that’s way too hot to start with.
I did preset too, and it's worse results. I do a lot more testing that what is shown in these videos' I don't show all the footage since I keep my reviews short. We have different expectations of what counts as Neapolitan. Any 00 flour based Neapolitan needs a sub-2 minute bake to be even remotely good.
Very true. However the reason why I would buy it is because I can transport the oven to my garage where there’s more space for dough rolling. Also I won’t have to heat up my kitchen in the summer months too and I won’t have to worry about smoke alarms going off in the house too
The reaaon would be that it heats up mutch faster and with his fiddling (turning off and back on again) it's much easier to launch back to back pizzas (5 min wait period)
You can make great NY pizza in the right home oven. But, to do a great job it's a pain. The preheat is longer, and detail matter a lot. This makes it easy.
Had to delete and republish this video - thanks to those who called out the audio issue (still learning as I go here!)
Nice video to the point. I picked this oven @costco about 1 month ago for $249 i figured it was worth a shot. You are right it great for NY or pan pizzas but Neapolitan it takes getting use to it.What i do is when i lunch the pizza I shut off the oven and then turn it back on.
Ive enjoyed watching your videos keep them coming.
Thank you! Yeah that $249 price was awesome. Great piece of advice about just shutting it off and turning back on, I'll give that shot.
Results may vary, even here on TH-cam reviews of this oven. But it does deliver that pizza restaurant flavor for a fraction of the cost. At just 249.99 from Costco, this makes the learning curve much more tolerable. Thanks for your review. It would be nice if Chefman offered accessories, like stones and oven covers. 🙂
I hope my general tone wasn't too negative in this video - for $250 from Costco, it's an excellent deal and a fun indoor oven that can make great NYs. But the top burner seems finnicky to control and wasn't capable of making true Neapolitan.
@@palapizzaovensSir, your tone is not negative - just delivering the facts like "Jerry Rig Everything". Well done!
the one I received did include an oven cover October 2024.
It needs a thick metal plate on the top, between the heater and pizza, to hold and evenly distribute the radiant heat.
you gotta show us what youve done to your dough
great video - I ordered this recently and it came today. I'll preface this by saying i'm not a pizza snob ... at all - i'm generally happy with dominos (lol), but wanted to be able to make my own at home indoors and try the different styles. Great tip about the top - i'll have to try that! I recently got a bread machine so I've been lazying out and letting it make dough for me - lol. I'd say it's a ny style dough as it has oil and sugar. I literally took the dough out after the cycle was done (still a bit sticky), attempted (and failed miserably - lol)) to stretch out a 10-12" pie - probably only 8" as it wouldn't stretch very well and of course I tore it (250g so it should have been ok - probably just needed rest time) - anyhoo - I saw another video where he said 800/800 was too hot and burned the crust as you saw in your first attempt so he lowered bottom to 650 and was happy with the result (I think 650), so I was going to try that - like a dummy I accidentally set the top to 650 and the bottom to 800. I noticed the crust needed more time after 2:30 mins (and I was rotating but it wasn't done - super newbie move just losing heat for no good reason - lol). Long story short it took about 6 mins total (I think) and ended up being the best pizza I've ever made at home , and I've tried in the oven many times! I think I had something similar to a NY style in the end and had a nice flavorful and airy crust with a good crunch (woo hoo!), but I'm not sure why the bottom didn't burn on me - maybe I wasn't generating enough radiant heat to the stone from the top ? A good experiment to try if you want to see what you get. I'm looking forward to trying the tip and pseudo-neapolitan next. I realize the pizza aficionados may not be impressed with this machine, but it's just about perfect for me (well that super long cool down with the fan was a bit annoying, but I can live with it)
I'll admit my ranking criteria is a bit rigorous these days after using so many ovens, but this is a great introductory oven. And it sounds like you're not only having fun with it, but getting good results too so win win! A bread machine should be fine to knead the dough. if it's tough to stretch, that's because it needs to proof and/or rest longer before stretching. After you take it out of the bread machine, ball the dough (look up a video on how to ball dough) and let it rest at room temp until it relaxes. You'll notice a huge difference.
@@palapizzaovens I really like you man. It's interesting to see people around the globe's different hobbies and specialties
Just out of curiosity, have you been able to check other samples of this Chefman oven to see if you just had a bad oven, or do they all seem to have a loose-fitting door?
No, I haven't. But this oven is pretty well built for the price anyway (assuming you can get it discounted from retail, as you often can).
they are all like that.
I just got this oven and i couldnt be more happy with it for thw price. If ooni is qorth 900 then this oven suits my needs for 250. So much better then a home puzza oven
Interesting. Physically that looks identical to the Unold pizza oven, but with a much, MUCH, better front panel. Have to look out for it. The Unold is a German brand using a Chinese oven, so it's probably an OEM part.
Will you review the Gourmia Pizzeria Indoor Pizza Oven from Walmart?
I've got one on the way, but I might not get to it until January I'm afraid! It's a busy time of year.
Now it's down to $89
Just received this unit and I am having an issue with temperature control. Both upper and lower knobs have no indicator marks for setting the temp. When turned left or right they will never stop so how do you determine what temp you have set?
There's a blue indicator light to show where your current selection is. The lights are already illuminated blue, but the selection makes it a different shade blue. Very poor choice on their part, just look close.
@@palapizzaovens Thank you, I was using this during the day on my patio and could not see an illuminated dial. It's is very faint. Now that I know it's there I can see it.
Ours is so loud and almost sounds like the fan is rubbing against something
Hi is it for commercial use also?
no, the recovery time is too long. you would 220v for commercial use.
Other people have mentioned the top burner not getting hot with neapolitan-style pizza people in the comments have said you need to turn the timer on to get the top burner to fully engage can you please try this? Everybody is saying unless the timer is on you will not get the top cooked properly please try this try this and let us know
I didn't have any dough tonight, but I turned it on to mess with it a bit and here's what I tried. I set the stone to 700 and top to 800. It started a 22 minute timer. After 5 minutes, the top burner was red hot and stayed red all the way until the timer was down to 5 minutes, in which the top burner seemed to shut off. Even before the set preheat was complete, the top burner went out. I waited for the preheat to finish, and then tried setting the timer for 5 minutes and in that time I didn't see the top burner turn red at all again (there's a chance it could have still been but hadn't turned red yet, but with the oven already at 800F I doubt it).
I wonder if it's just coincidence for those people who are setting the timer - maybe the oven turned the burner back on to maintain temperature or regain temp from heat loss.
Thank you for testing this, there was a different video that a few people in the comment section said the timer needs to be on to have the top burner to work. Seem like you have proven this wrong.
I guess I will keep looking since I will mainly be doing Neapolitan style.
Thanks again for testing this @@palapizzaovens
@@Sheisintomalakasdino confirming what @palapizzaovens found, Chefman says the timer has nothing to do with controlling the elements. They cycle on and off according to the oven temp.
re-watching the video just so you can get the watch time again :P for the algorithm
You rock - thanks buddy!
You sound destoyed lol - nice video as usual
No wonder why these went on sale at costco lol.
Wow this oven is not ideal on so many levels. I guess it’s fine for NY style but then you’re limited to a 12” pie. I’ll spend the extra 600 on a better oven.
$400, only a fraction of the cost...
Why would you do Neapolitan on manual to 800 instead of the preset? That’s a user error. In my ninja woodfire outdoor oven, the preset is at 700 for 3 minutes. You took a shot in the dark then said the oven missed the mark on Neapolitan when you didn’t even attempt the oven’s preset. That’s misleading to people who know that’s way too hot to start with.
I did preset too, and it's worse results. I do a lot more testing that what is shown in these videos' I don't show all the footage since I keep my reviews short. We have different expectations of what counts as Neapolitan. Any 00 flour based Neapolitan needs a sub-2 minute bake to be even remotely good.
22min pre-heat
I'll just deal with my Pizzazz knocking out my pizza in 20 min cook time.
If it can't make a Neapolitan style, there is no need for this oven. You can make a NY style in your home oven.....hard pass
agree
Yea😊
Very true. However the reason why I would buy it is because I can transport the oven to my garage where there’s more space for dough rolling. Also I won’t have to heat up my kitchen in the summer months too and I won’t have to worry about smoke alarms going off in the house too
The reaaon would be that it heats up mutch faster and with his fiddling (turning off and back on again) it's much easier to launch back to back pizzas (5 min wait period)
You can make great NY pizza in the right home oven. But, to do a great job it's a pain. The preheat is longer, and detail matter a lot. This makes it easy.