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Cooking a delicious pizza is a skill that is easily learned. Individuals that make the best pizzas understand how to balance the heat in a pizza oven but accomplishing the task of creating the perfect pizza, is easier with specific tools.
Arguably, the most beneficial tool in any pizza chef’s arsenal is a high-quality pizza oven thermometer.
Best Pizza Oven Thermometers
Before we give you lots of information about what pizza oven thermometers are and how they work we’ll show you 5 of the best pizza oven thermometers on the market.
The first is from one of the best pizza oven manufacturers, Ooni, meanwhile, the others are some of the best selling pizza oven thermometers right now in 2021!
Ooni Pizza Oven Thermometer
With the Ooni pizza oven thermometer, you will know exactly when your pizza stone is ready to cook the perfect base.
Straight from one of the premier pizza oven manufacturers, this handy thermometer will ensure you’re always up to temperature. Although slightly more expensive than others on the market, the quality is second to none. It has a laser pointer that is easy to use and means that you can easily measure the surface temperature of your Ooni pizza oven within seconds.
Current PriceBest of the Rest
Although Ooni produces a pizza oven thermometer there are many other brands, types, and styles available on the market, some of which are much cheaper.
Below you’ll find 4 of the best-selling infrared pizza oven thermometers available in 2021.
Sovarcate Infrared Thermometer
The Sovarcate infrared thermometer combines the latest temperature sensor technology with an advanced Fresnel lens, meaning it can measure the temperature of different objects more accurately.
The built-in laser helps to aim and the large colour display screen means you can easily see the readings.
The thermometer offers readings between -50°C and 600°C which is perfect for pizza ovens as the optimum temperature is between these ranges.
One of the great things about this thermometer is that it comes with a free meat thermometer. The meat thermometer can measure the internal temperature of meats between -50°C and 300°C.
Using the two thermometers together means that you’ll easily be able to cook anything from pizzas to large joints in your new pizza oven!
Current PriceHelect Infrared Thermometer
The Helect infrared thermometer is perfect for all types of applications and especially cooking perfect pizzas every time.
It can easily switch between °C/°F and has a backlit LCD to help tell the temperature even in darkness.
It is very simple to use and allows you to easily and quickly measure temperatures from a safe and hazard-free distance.
The built-in red laser is perfect for precision aiming and can easily measure temperatures between -50°C and 550°C which is the optimum range for pizzas.
Current PriceEtekcity Lasergrip 1080 Digital Laser IR Infrared Thermometer
Etekcitys’ Lasergrip 1080 is a digital infrared thermometer the provides a high degree of accuracy linked with speed.
The laser on the 1080 can accurately measure longer-distance targets which makes it much better than cheaper alternatives on the market.
It can read temperatures from -50°C to 550°C which is perfect for pizza ovens and you can easily swap from Fahrenheit to Celsius if required.
The LCD screen has a backlight so you can easily read the temperature along with an automatic shutdown function to extend battery life.
Having an Etekcity Lasergrip 1080 will mean you can quickly and easily measure the temperature of your pizza oven that will in turn mean you’ll be able to cook better pizzas.
Current PriceBBQGO Infrared Thermometer Gun
The final pizza oven thermometer on our list is the BBQGO Infrared Thermometer Gun.
Like the others on our list, the BBQGO is one of the most popular selling thermometers on the market.
It can quickly and accurately measure temperatures between -50°C and 550°C, which is perfect for pizza oven operators and also BBQs/
This IR infrared thermometer gun has a colour LCD screen with a backlight which can easily be read in all lights.
You can also quickly swap between °C and °F so no matter which ranges you are comfortable with you can measure away.
Current PriceWhat is a Pizza Oven Thermometer?
A pizza oven thermometer is a tool that measures the heat inside a pizza oven to ensure that your oven is cooking at the correct temperature.
Producing a yummy pizza can be more challenging than most people realise. A pizza oven thermometer provides detailed knowledge about how your oven cooks that helps you create an evenly cooked pizza.
With a pizza oven thermometer, you can easily control the oven’s temperature and manage baking times. Additionally, information on oven temperatures helps you know when to turn your pizza to get the most consistent bake.
A pizza oven’s high cooking temperatures demand a quality thermometer. A traditional wood-burning pizza oven can generate temperatures of over 500 degrees centigrade. Because of this fact, you want to select a thermometer that can handle high temperatures.
Moreover, your thermometer needs to be accurate as an inaccurate thermometer will not aid in the proper cooking of your pizza.
Instead, you will end up with cooking problems that the thermometer sought to solve. For this reason, you must try out your thermometer before you bake your first pizza. Hence, knowing how to use your thermometer is key to getting accurate results.
To maintain the cooking temperature for multiple pizzas, you will want to add adequate kindling to your pizza oven. Use a thermometer periodically to check that oven temperatures have not changed.
What Types of Thermometer are Available?
When it comes to pizza oven’s there are two different types of pizza thermometers you use to get the correct oven temperature: an infrared thermometer and the probe thermometer.
The two thermometer types measure different areas in your pizza oven. An infrared thermometer measures the temperature of the oven floor.
In contrast, a thermometer probe measures air and reflected heat temperatures. More precisely, it gives the temperature of the oven walls and ceiling.
Together these thermometers give you all the information needed to ensure a well-cooked pizza free of any inadequacies.
If the oven floor heats faster than the walls and ceiling do, you may burn the crust before the toppings had a chance to cook.
Conversely, the opposite is also true, the pizza toppings will burn before the crust cooks if the reflected heating temperature is too high. Unbalanced temperatures lead to burnt inedible pizzas.
Another fundamental difference is how these two thermometers measure temperature. You typically mount the temperature probe to the oven door. In contrast, you operate an infrared thermometer at a distance from the oven.
What is an Infrared Thermometer?
An infrared thermometer’s primary purpose is to deduce the temperature of an object by using a laser, a lens, and a detector to read the temperature and provide it on a display.
An infrared thermometer can measure the surface of an object. In a pizza oven, this type of thermometer can measure the temperature of the oven floor. In addition, an infrared thermometer is capable of measuring the temperature of baking steels and pizza stones.
Many people prefer this type of thermometer because it allows a person to take the temperature of an object from a safe distance. The device negates the chance of the chef getting burnt by the pizza oven.
An infrared thermometer cannot measure the ambient temperature of your oven. The surrounding temperature is an additional measurement needed to understand how fast the top of your pizza will cook comparatively to the crust. To get an oven’s surrounding temperature, you will need to use a thermometer probe.
It is crucial to use an infrared thermometer the right way because these devices have a few limitations. Weather, moisture, or dust can temporarily affect the device.
Also, radio frequencies and rapid environment temperature changes can cause short-term issues. For accurate results, it is critical to avoid problematic environmental factors.
How Does an Infrared Thermometer Work?
Infrared thermometers, sometimes called laser thermometers or temperature guns, work by measuring infrared thermal radiation.
To calculate the radiation level of the oven floor, you need to focus the device’s lens on the specific spot you seek to measure. The visible laser will help make this process easier.
The machine’s detector reads the infrared thermal radiation produced by the oven floor. It converts this energy into an electrical signal. The electrical signal displays the object’s temperature in Celcius or Fahrenheit, depending on the model.
How to Use an Infrared Thermometer?
It is simple to operate an infrared thermometer. You point the gun-styled contraption at the floor of the pizza oven and click a button when ready to read the infrared thermal radiation levels.
Aiming your infrared thermometer becomes easy with the installed visible laser.
Infrared thermometers measure surface temperatures. They can measure the temperature of your pizza stone on your grill along with the floor of your pizza oven. Because they do not measure heat radiation or air temperature, they will not work on other areas of your pizza oven. These areas include the walls and ceilings of your brick pizza oven.
Measuring your oven temperature allows you to see where you have specific hot or cold pockets. Usually, it will be cooler near your pizza oven door.
The pizza will cook faster when closer to a heat source. An infrared thermometer will help you get an even cook on your pizza.
You do not want to cook your first pizza in an oven until it has reached about 850F or 450C on your infrared thermometer. The pizza oven needs to retain this temperature for 20 minutes before placing your dough in the oven.
Final Thoughts
Cooking a crisp pizza that tastes good every time comes down to balancing the temperatures in your pizza oven. A quality infrared thermometer and thermometer probe can help create the ideal oven temperature for cooking pizza. Both types of thermometers are critical to craft the perfect pizza.
If you like this article don’t forget to take a look at some of our other popular articles including 5 Best Pizza Ovens, 4 Best Pizza Oven Stand Reviews 2021 and our Pizza Peel Buying Guide.