Two years ago, Ooni brought the pizza party indoors with the Volt 12. With that device, the company entered new territory and proved that its brand of outdoor cooking could be transformed for use in home kitchens. That model wasn’t without its flaws though, including its bulky stature and high price. Still, it impressed me enough to earn a spot on our best pizza ovens list.
With the Volt 2 ($699), Ooni completely overhauled its concept of what an electric indoor pizza oven could be. That starts with a more polished design that’s slightly smaller than the first generation. The company also reconfigured the controls, creating a button-based system that’s easier to understand and centers on newly developed Pizza Intelligence technology. Given Ooni’s track record for consistency and performance, it shouldn’t be any surprise that the Volt 2 is another hit for the pizza oven maker.
Design updates
As part of Ooni’s redesign for the Volt 2, the exterior looks completely different, right down to the updated controls and large digital display. This new model has a more refined, more modern aesthetic — one that will certainly fit in amongst today’s small kitchen appliances. The overall design is softer and rounder where the first version was angular and blocky. Plus, Ooni opted for a white version in addition to its standard gray, giving you the ability to choose the one that fits in your kitchen best. There’s also a new orange-ish light that shines down onto the counter, or whatever surface you have the Volt 2 on, which serves as an indicator that the oven is preheating.
Up front, a collection of buttons have replaced the three control knobs and tiny dials from the Volt 12. There’s one for each of Ooni’s new Pizza Intelligence-powered presets and there are additional options for dough proofing, oven and broil/grill modes. The last two buttons in the main cluster on the left side are for saving custom presets. Closer to the center, there are three buttons for temperature control, crisping intensity and the timer. To set any of those, you’ll use the larger silver knob all the way to the right. This knob also doubles as the boost activation when you need extra power from the top heating element.
Ooni also installed a new digital display on the front, giving you temperature and timer updates at a glance. This is a huge improvement over the dials on the Volt 12, which couldn’t be read from a distance. With the large numbers on the Volt 2, I can just walk to the door of the kitchen and peek in if I want an update on the preheating process.
There are other refinements, like the larger viewing window on the front door, but a major one is the size reduction for the Volt 2. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a large device; it’s about the size of a low-profile microwave. It’s also still quite heavy at nearly 39 pounds. But Ooni did manage to shave a few inches here and there, and when combined with the rounder design cues, this makes the Volt 2 seem like it isn’t as massive or imposing as the Volt 12.
New features
Nearly all of the Volt 2’s new features center around what Ooni calls Pizza Intelligence. The technology is an adaptive control system for the oven that uses unique heating elements and internal sensors. The setup can adjust the oven’s temperature in real time “for speed, accuracy and baking consistency,” according to the company. This technology serves as the basis for those style-based presets I already mentioned.
More specifically, the Volt 2’s presets include Neapolitan, Thin & Crispy and Pan Pizza that enable you to start cooking without much thought to time and temperature. All of these can be adjusted as each one has a temperature range for further fine tuning. Each one also has its unique crisping intensity and cook temperature, both of which can also be tweaked as needed.
After using all of the presets during testing, I like that Ooni made its second pizza oven easier to use for beginners. Even though I have some at-home pizza making experience (thanks COVID-19), it was nice to not worry about time and temperature in my research and planning. For more advanced users, the ability to use the presets as a starting point and tweak the parameters ensures that the Volt 2 remains a staple in the kitchen for a long time. Plus, the two slots for completely custom presets means Ooni experts will have space to save their refined, personalized configurations.
Making pizza with the Volt 2
You’re probably wondering how good the pizza is out of this thing, right? After all, the design prowess, features and specs mean nothing if the end result is terrible. That’s not the case here, nor has it been on any Ooni oven I’ve tested. I particularly enjoy baking pizzas with the Volt 2 (and the Volt 12 before) because I can do so in the comfort of my own kitchen. Everything I might need in a pinch is close by and there’s no open flame to maintain or monitor for safety.
First, let’s discuss preheating. Ooni says the Volt 2 can be ready to cook pizza in 12 minutes, and I suppose that’s true if you’re doing a lower-temperature bake. In my tests, the oven took exactly 25 minutes to get to its 850-degree Fahrenheit maximum (ideal for Neapolitan pies) and just over 18 minutes to hit 660 degrees. That latter figure is the target temperature of the Thin & Crispy preset, which was my favorite of the three Pizza Intelligence options. Both of these save time over using your home oven since a lot of recipes tell you to preheat that appliance for an hour.
A major consideration with the Volt 2 is pizza size. The oven’s baking stone can accommodate 12-inch pizzas, which means family pizza night will entail everyone making their own or baking multiple pies at the very least. For my family, I made four during my Neapolitan test, stretching and topping each new pizza after the previous one finished baking. After removing a pizza, the stone temperature drops, but the Volt 2’s Boost feature uses a 45-second burst to help it recover. I found that by the time I carefully stretched and topped the dough, the oven was ready for the next pizza.
Across Neapolitan, Thin & Crispy and Pan Pizza modes, the Volt 2 produced truly stellar results for each style. I’ll note that I used dough recipes for each style from The Ooni Pizza Project by Scott Deley. I’ve found that his guidance leads to amazing pizzas, even if you’re planning to just use your home oven. Using the Volt 2, Neapolitan pies had ample leoparding and cooked quickly in the high heat. Thinner, New York-style pizza was indeed crispy on the bottom and perfectly browned on top while still having a pleasant chewiness. And my Detroit-style pan tests were crispy on the edges and pillowy soft inside.
There are two important things to note about using the Volt 2. First, the exterior gets hot, especially at 800 degrees and above. For that reason, you’ll want to avoid sitting anything on top of the oven while you’re using it (or very close to it, really). You’ll also need to allow ample time for the outside to cool before storing the Volt 2. The oven runs its own shutdown cycle, but the exterior may still be too warm to put away when that’s complete.
Second, despite a steam and smoke filter, the Volt 2 still expels steam out of the back. I combated this by putting the oven on my flat-top stove under the exhaust fan, but you’ll need to plan accordingly if you don’t want that wafting around your kitchen. I could see this being a problem for small living spaces like apartments.
The competition
If you’re looking for Volt alternatives, there are two main competitors. The long-standing incumbent is Breville’s Pizzaiolo. It too offers easy-to-use presets and features in addition to a degree of manual operation. My main issue with it was the price, which was initially $1,000 but is now $800. That reduced price is still $100 more than the Volt 2. I also had trouble with the confined round baking area and how difficult the oven is to clean since debris could fall down around the bottom heating element.
There’s also the Current Model P. This one wins the price war at under $500 and it too has presets and a max temperature of 850 degrees. Current’s app has a Pizza Build Calculator that assists with time, temperature and ingredients. I haven’t tested this one yet, but it’s on my list for the near future.
Wrap-up
There’s no sophomore slump here. The Volt 2 is a big upgrade over the original Volt — that much is undeniable. It’s easier to use for all skill levels thanks to its clearer controls and large display. Presets work well, but they can also serve as a starting point for further recipe refinement for experienced users. And the pizza — my goodness, the pizza is consistently restaurant quality (or better) across a range of styles. Combine that performance with a better looking design, slightly smaller footprint and lower starting price and you’ve got a compelling case for a standalone indoor pizza oven.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/ooni-volt-2-review-a-strong-case-for-an-indoor-pizza-oven-193000311.html?src=rss
