Home and Professional Oven Differences

Pizza Ovens and wood-fired ovens

These types of ovens can naturally be used for making pizzas, but they are also very suitable for baking breads with a robust wet dough. They can generally reach a temperature of between 300°C and 600°C (570°F and 1110°F).

Professional pizza ovens in a pizzeria can typicall reach about 300 degrees, and are covered on the inside with stones.

Firewood and charcoal-fired ovens are usually made entirely of stone, and typically reaches 500°C - 600°C (930°F - 1110°F).

There is a lot of mass in the stones, which can store a lot of heat. The heat is also transferred relatively quickly from the stones through the air.

This means that, for example, a pizza can be baked in about 2-5 minutes.

Home Oven

Most home ovens can reach 250°C (480°F). A few can reach 300°C (570°F). I have read that one can tinker with pyrolysis settings so that they can reach 600°C (1110°F) and make pizza at that temperature. But I seriously doubt that it is good for the oven in the long run.

So a home oven cannot reach the same temperature as a pro-oven. Which is one of the reasons that it can be difficult to make good bread at home.

Oven capacity

Professional ovens run at 400 volts and use three phases. They are generally able to produce 27kW of power.

Home ovens running at 230 volts in Europe, can typically provide 2-3 kW of power.

Pizza and pro ovens can therefore pump 10 times as much power, and thus heat, into their heating chambers. So even if you open the door and some cold air rush into it, it does not matter much. The combination of the heavy stone in the oven and the abundant power do that they hold their temperature very well.

Bakery ovens does typically not use stones. They just have lots of power, which keeps the temperature stable.

Steam

Another difference between pro- and home- ovens is that the pro ones can run steam into the oven. The steam typically transfers heat ten times as efficiently as hot air. So the bread is more quickly heated up.

The steam also prevents the drying up of the surface of the dough. Which does that the bread can raise even more. The steam also adheres to the surface of the dough and give it the shiny, smooth and crunchy surface, known from the bakers bread. Therefore, it is hard to make as crisp a bread in a home oven.

Pizza and stone ovens typically do not use steam. Therefore, the loaves from such ovens have a deeper, rougher and tougher crust. And are not glossy.

Convection / hot air

Bakery Ovens circulates the air in the oven so that the temperature is uniform throughout the oven. Virtually every home oven has convection these days.

