The Roccbox portable outdoor pizza oven was the innovative creation of Tom Gozney from the Stone Bake Oven Company.
What started out as a passion for food cooked with fire over stone evolved into the manufacture of a range of commercial and residential gas and wood-fired pizza ovens.
What followed was the world’s first insulated portable pizza oven which can use gas or wood to cook amazing pizzas on the thick Cordierite stone base.
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My Thought’s After 12 Months Using the Gozney Roccbox
So, I’ve had the Roccbox now for over 12 months and I seriously cannot fault it.
It is very easy to use, the most important thing would be making sure to let the Cordierite stone base heat up to 400°C before placing your pizza in the oven.
I’ve made the mistake before getting to anxious and starting to cook without the oven being hot enough and ended up with a soft based pizza. Not my favourite anyway.
So, What’s My Pizza Making Process
Prep the dough bases a few days before, I have been using sourdough for my pizzas for around 7 months now and when your 28 year old son says they would be the best pizzas he’s ever eaten, you’re on a winner.
I will do another post about my sourdough process shortly, but I did dabble with Poolish pizza dough here too. I do prefer sourdough though, it is a fairly simple process with time being the main ingredient.
Turn on the gas
Now I will fire up the Roccbox around 30 minutes before I’m ready to cook pizzas, you just reach around the back of the oven at turn the knob till it clicks, that’s the auto ignition.
You will hear the gas fire up, take a quick look inside the oven and you will see the flame at the rear, now let it heat up on full for around half an hour.
Prep the toppings
I will prep my toppings now just cutting up the ingredients I guess and placing them in separate containers.
I do tomato sauce 2 different ways, depends how I’m feeling, but either just hand squash the peeled tomatoes and add salt, fresh basil and a touch of honey.
If I want a bit more depth of flavour I will sweat down some finely chopped onion and garlic, then add peeled tomatoes and basil and simmer for at least half an hour.
This gives the pizza sauce a lot more depth, personal preference, I guess. Just do whatever you feel like.
Shape the dough
When I’m ready to make pizza I will take a dough ball out of the container and drop it into a plate of semolina flour, it doesn’t burn as easy as regular flour on the stone.
I will then shape the pizza add the sauce then the toppings and slide the peel under the pizza ready to bung in the oven.
Launch the pizza
Once the pizza is launched, I turn the gas down to low so the top doesn’t burn.
I make the transition from the pizza peel to the oven as quick as I can so that the pizza base doesn’t have time to stick to the peel, or you will have a disaster.
Believe me I had had a couple of doosies with a huge mess stuck to the top of the stone which then has to be cleaned.
After around 20 – 25 seconds I use my turning peel to turn the pizza around about a quarter of a turn, repeating this every 15 – 20 seconds.
By now pizza is just about cooked and may need another turn to finish it off. Remove from the pizza oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
Turn the gas back up to high to get the stone back up to temperature ready for the next pizza.
So, What Else Do I Need to Know
If it is windy you need to move the Roccbox to a sheltered area (outside of course) or the wind will play havoc with the temperature and the gas.
I have had the flame go out after going inside for a bit came back out and the gas was still going but no flame. Yikes could have been dangerous.
It would be good if Gozney could add an automatic cutoff valve in the event that the flame goes out, this would be a huge win for safety, I think.
If it is windy at home now, I have a screen I can place around the pizza oven along the back and 2 sides and still get access to the front for cooking, seems to work well.
The only other issue is after a couple of sessions you will notice some black soot on the top face of the oven which needs to be cleaned obviously.
The design of the firebox allows the flame to roll along the ceiling of the oven and eventually licks the top face leaving it blackened.
It’s not a huge problem but one you should be aware of.
I love the 19mm stone for its strength and heat withholding capabilities, yeah the oven is slightly heavier than the competition but I would prefer the stone to last for years.
One other problem which seems to be a common theme amongst the Roccbox is sometimes the thermometer gets condensation inside the dial but Gozney’s support is awesome and they have been replacing these at no cost.
Would I buy another Gozney Roccbox? Absolutely they are a very robust and fun pizza oven to use creating a good talking point when guests come around.
You will definitely be impressed.
Why is the Roccbox Portable Outdoor Pizza Oven Good?
This outdoor pizza oven is light enough to be totally portable and comes with retractable fold up legs. It literally takes a couple of minutes to set up.
Once the detachable wood or propane gas burner has been attached and lit, you will be cooking your first pizza in around 20 – 30 minutes.
The actual cooking time of your pizza is between 60 – 90 seconds, maybe a tad longer if you have a few extra toppings.
The design of the Roccbox portable outdoor pizza oven is quite unique. The internal design makes the flame roll along the surface of the oven heading for the open door. This ensures the flame is the ideal distance above the pizza for optimum cooking.
The Roccbox has thick insulation between the inner wall and the outer shell keeping the heat inside the pizza oven and allowing cooking without the need for a door.
19m thick Cordierite stone base, once heated up, also helps keeps the heat in the oven where it should be and creates the perfect artisan crispy based pizza, mmm, yum.
Another great feature with the cordierite stone is because of its thickness, breakages or cracking is extremely rare. Some of the competitor’s pizza ovens have a 10mm thick stone which has a habit of cracking over time.
The external wall has a safe-touch silicone jacket to help prevent serious burns and accidents meaning your pizza nights will be safe and worry free.
Don’t get me wrong, the outside of the oven is hot, but it won’t burn you like a hot piece of metal would. You’ll have time to get your hand off before doing serious injury.
304 grade stainless steel is used throughout the construction to keep your Roccbox pizza oven performing for many years to come.
What’s included in the Roccbox box?
Your order includes as standard a Roccbox gas fired pizza oven, gas burner, pizza peel, Roccbox bottle opener and user manual.
The wood burner, cover and an additional turning peel are available separately as optional extras.
Key Features
- External size: 16.25in W x 20.9in L x 18.6in
- Internal dimensions: 12.4in x 13.4in
- Fuel Type: Gas / wood
- Configuration: Countertop
- Pizza count: 1
- Max temperature: 932ºF / 500ºC
- Weight: 20kg
- Body & legs: 304 stainless steel
- Cooking surface: Cordierite stone
- Insulation: Calcium silicate
- Outer jacket: Safe-touch commercial grade silicone
To sum up
The Roccbox portable outdoor pizza oven is made for outdoor fun. Take this camping on weekends or picnics with family and friends, it is so quick to set up and start cooking.
The innovative eye-catching design is available in lime green or charcoal grey and looks amazing with the stainless steel body and legs.
The piece of mind that comes with the safe-touch silicone jacket is a great safety feature especially if the kids are hovering around.
With over 800 positive reviews the Roccbox pizza oven will definitely have a place in any serious pizza lovers life.
