There are many types of pizza ovens, each with distinctive features that affect ingredient and dough performance, preparation speed, and overall taste of your pizza. That means there are also specific dough and crust types that are better suited than others for each type of oven.
Use this handy guide to determine the best crust for your pizza operation’s oven. Plus, we’ll share a portions guide for pizza toppings to ensure your pies are always tasty and top-quality.
Types of Ovens
All About the Way Ovens Cook Pizza: Deck, Wood-Fired, Conventional, and More
Deck Ovens
Deck ovens feature shelves where the pies are placed directly on pre-heated stones for baking. These ovens are popular with independent and specialty pizzeria operators because they provide authentic taste without a complex setup. The “Old World” care it takes to tend pies baking on stone shelves over radiant heat instead of forced air makes deck ovens the top choice for providing a time-honored pizza experience.
How Deck Ovens Cook Pizza
- Crust color: Rich, browned underside and lighter edge
- Crust texture: Crispy bottom and satisfying, chewy pull
- Crusts blister without burning and do not affect the cheese’s lightly baked color
Space Needs
Moderate space is needed, as decks are stacked vertically to minimize oven footprint.
Best for these Businesses
Decks are ideal for restaurant/pizzeria concepts fashioned around New York-style pies.
Best AK Pizza Crust Products for Deck Ovens
- High-gluten dough balls
- New York-style dough balls
- Custom recipe dough balls
- Lightly flavored dough balls (sour, garlic, herb)
Brick and Wood-Fired Ovens
Made of brick or clay, these ovens house a coal- or wood-fueled open flame that reaches 600–800°F to rapidly cook pies. Gourmet chefs and skilled prep staff generally prefer brick or wood-fired ovens because of the upscale results and unique flavor they create.
These ovens can use wood or coal. Wood provides a deep, smoky taste, while coal offers a more neutral taste, similar to that of a barbecue grill.
How Brick and Wood-Fired Ovens Cook Pizza
- Crust color: Light golden brown with intermittent deeper browning
- Crust texture: Among the crispiest available when baking is done directly on the deck
- Crusts significantly bubble and blister for enhanced visual appeal
Space Needed
The space needed for brick and wood-fired ovens varies. Usually, they need ample room, as these types of ovens are often custom-built as a focal point for customer/visual appeal.
Best for these Businesses
Brick and wood-fired ovens work well in upscale restaurants with experienced chefs. They’re ideal for “gourmet,” Neapolitan, or New York-style pie crusts.
Best AK Pizza Crust Products for Brick and Wood-Fired Ovens
- Neapolitan dough balls
- New York-style dough balls for high-heat ovens
- Custom recipe dough balls
Conveyor Ovens
Conveyor ovens are common in the industry because of their versatility and ease of use. The pizza is pulled through a forced air cooking chamber on a chain conveyor belt, so training time is minimal and results are consistent.
How Conveyor Ovens Cook Pizza
- Crust color: Evenly browned with a darker bottom
- Crust texture: Not quite as crisp as pies prepared in deck ovens, but with more pull and chew than convection oven crusts
- Crusts bake evenly with some blistering
Space Needed
Conveyor ovens are large and need lots of room, with 150 to 330 cubic feet required to accommodate entrance/exit conveyor belts as well as simultaneous side-by-side pizza baking.
Best for these Businesses
Conveyors are superb for QSRs, delivery-focused pizzerias, and non-traditional venues like athletic stadiums using dough balls, self-rising crusts, or par-baked crusts.
Best AK Pizza Crust Products for Conveyor Ovens
- Par-baked crusts
- Self-rising crusts
- Thin and crispy crusts
- All dough balls (except Neapolitan and New York-style for high heat ovens)
- Custom recipe dough balls
Rapid-Cook Ovens
These easy-to-operate ovens combine forced air and top-and-bottom infrared heating, so temperature and time settings can be adjusted to emulate the look and final bake of other ovens. Screens and stones are often used to ensure proper air movement and a quick, uniform bake of the outer edges, toppings, and cheese. Rapid-cook ovens also accommodate foods like sandwiches or appetizers, increasing menu flexibility without adding labor.
How Rapid-Cook Ovens Cook Pizza
Per the name, rapid-cook ovens bake pies quickly and evenly. They are known for their versatility and customizable settings.
Space Needed
These ovens are small, combining the benefits of a pizza oven and microwave into a single, compact piece of equipment.
Best for these Businesses
Rapid-cook ovens match non-traditional businesses and operations where pizza is a secondary product. These operations may use par-baked crusts with a pizza screen or dough balls and self-rising crusts with a pizza stone.
Best AK Pizza Crust Products for Rapid-Cook Ovens
- Par-baked crusts
- Self-rising crusts
- Thin and crispy crusts
- Neapolitan and New York-style dough balls for high-heat ovens
- Custom recipe dough balls
Conventional (Home) Ovens
The popularity of take 'n' bake pizza, pizza kits, and frozen pizza programs continues to rise. Pies that final bake in conventional (home) ovens are now a must—as is labeling with clear, accurate baking instructions.
How Conventional (Home) Ovens Cook Pizza
- Crust color: Evenly browned, sometimes with a darker bottom, depending on the accuracy of the oven calibration and bake time
- Crust texture: Depends on the crust type and type/number of toppings
- Crusts offer versatility and ease of preparation for operators and consumers
Best AK Pizza Crust Products for Conventional (Home) Ovens
- Par-baked crusts
- Self-rising crusts
- Thin and crispy crusts
- Neapolitan and New York-style dough balls for high-heat ovens
- Custom recipe dough balls
Bonus: Pizza Toppings Portions Guide for All Oven Types*
Let’s Find the Best Commercial Pizza Crust for Your Oven
If you have questions after reading this guide, we’re here to help you match your oven with the perfect pizza crust.
The experienced AK Pizza Crust team will help you land on a crust that boosts efficiency, supports profitability, and ensures the high-quality pies your customers expect every time. Check out our complete guide to AK Pizza Crust dough balls, crusts, and sauces and please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly.
