Al Fresco Pizza Ovens

How Long To Bake Pizza

Everybody loves a good pizza, especially when it’s enjoyed in the comfort of your own home. Making the perfect pizza at home has never been easier with easy-to-follow steps and the proper setup.

Not just a delicious, saucy and crisp treat, pizza is fun for the whole family and a bit of comfort all in one. Knowing how simple making homemade pizza is, the famous food will go from a now-and-then treat to a weekly meal enjoyed by all.

What are the steps to making pizza at home?


First, you need to get the dough right. This will be the base for a great pizza and can be achieved in a few simple steps. You can check out our guide to the perfect pizza dough here (add the pizza dough link here) to get started!

Next, you will need to ensure you’ve got all the right equipment and at-home setup to get the pizza right. There are different ways to go about making homemade pizza, such as using a pizza stone vs using a tin tray.

It depends on your personal preference, as well as what is best for the oven in question. If you have an at-home pizza oven, your choices expand rapidly; however, the options are a bit more limited with the average home oven used for everyday cooking.

Lastly, we have the delicious toppings that will finish your pizza. Depending on how you would like your pizza to come out, you can use different cheeses, vegetables, sauces and herbs. Make sure to add certain toppings once the pizza has come out of the oven to avoid ‘cooking’ toppings such as avocado, basil or rocket, to name a few.

How long do I bake pizza in the oven?

This will differ depending on the type of pizza you’re making, but as a general rule of thumb, work with timing it for 8-10 minutes. Make sure to gauge it as your pizza is baking, adjusting the time accordingly.

Thicker bases or larger pizzas will take a bit longer than thinner or smaller ones. Also, adjust timing accordingly when it comes to more or fewer toppings and what finish you are after. If you are making a frozen pizza, account for the time it will take to thaw, as this will add a few minutes and affect the overall outcome.

What is the best way to cook a pizza?

Ideally, you would want an oven that can get extremely hot and withstand high temperatures in order to bake a pizza correctly.

Depending on their base, there are different types of pizzas that will differ in how they need to be cooked. A thicker base will need to be cooked differently from a thinner, crispier base, affecting the pizza’s overall outcome.

What temperature do you cook homemade pizza?

In order to correctly bake a pizza, the oven has to reach about 250 degrees Celcius. This ensures that the pizza will be adequately baked throughout, distributing the heat evenly.

The use of pizza stones can help achieve this even more as they are an excellent base for the pizza to be placed on while baking. Pizza stones conduct the heat effectively and distribute it evenly throughout.

Alternatively, using a pizza dish is also a great way of baking pizza at home in the oven. A lower threshold of heat is reached; however, the concept is the same and your pizzas will turn out delicious either way!

Can you make pizza in a regular oven?

It is most definitely possible to cook pizza in a home oven however, the results will be less desirable when compared to baking pizza in a pizza oven. The difference comes in with the temperature that can be achieved in a pizza oven versus an at-home oven. Most ovens will be able to reach and sustain a maximum temperature of around 200 degrees Celcius, which is already lower than the desired temperature to bake pizza correctly.

The convenience of having a pizza oven at home allows you to not only be able to make pizzas at home whenever the craving hits but also so much more from the convenience of one versatile cooking space.

Is it worth getting a pizza oven?

In terms of home cooking, a regular home oven can only get you so far. With an Al Fresco pizza oven, you aren’t limited to just making pizzas but rather anything that you would ordinarily cook in your oven or on a braai. The possibilities are endless, with meals ranging from meat dishes and potjie, to lasagne and bread.

Taking 45 minutes to heat up, you will have ample time to prep and get other components of the meal done while you wait to get the pizzas started. With the convenience of a pizza oven, a delicious homemade meal is just a thought away.

Convenience At Your Fingertips

At the end of the day, an at-home pizza oven is a culinary investment that keeps on giving. Get everyone together over a cosy, warm meal you’ve made from scratch and understand why our clients keep coming back for more of what Al Fresco offers.

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