The last thing you want to see on a summer's night with gooey cheese and rich tomato sauce on your mind is a dirty, unusable pizza oven. To avoid disappointment, follow this simple yet effective guide on how to clean a pizza oven to ensure you're always prepared.
While you may already know how to clean a BBQ, tackling your pizza oven, no matter what type, will offer up a few different obstacles. For your oven to work at optimal efficiency, it's important to deep clean it at least once a month, depending on usage.
So, whether you've already got one of the best pizza ovens in your garden or are looking for outdoor kitchen ideas and want to be ready for your new appliance, here's our expert guide for keeping a pizza oven functioning at its best.
How to clean a pizza oven
Unfortunately, knowing how to clean your oven in your kitchen isn't going to be too helpful here; however, a cleaning expert from Smol, Catherine Green, has a simple four-step method that you can't go wrong with.
Firstly, Catherine explains that whatever type of pizza oven you have, you need to make sure it's completely cooled before you even attempt to start cleaning. "And never throw water onto a hot pizza oven to cool it down as this could damage it," she says.
1. Sweep
Before you can start with any expert cleaning hacks, you will need to sweep your brick pizza oven. The chances are that there is probably some leftover food or ash in the oven that was left when the oven was cooling down the last time you used it.
Catherine says, "Brick pizza ovens can reach temperatures of 400°C - a lot hotter than our ovens indoors. So most food spills inside should burn down to ash."
She recommends using a dustpan and brush to sweep out the ash from the oven and into a container. This is a great opportunity to use the ash in your garden as a fertiliser for your plants, you'd be surprised how beneficial it is when sprinkled onto the soil.
RRP: £16.99 | If you regularly use your pizza oven, this is a great tool to have at hand. With a scraper on the end and bristles, you can make quick work of any burnt food and ash. It's also 53cm long, which means you can get those hard-to-reach areas!
Having worked for the cleaning brand Smol since its creation, Catherine has tested each and every product before its release. She is also involved with the production team's process and provides feedback for the development of the company's products.
2. Remove soot stains
This is where a little bit more elbow grease will be needed. If you know how to clean oven racks, you'll be well prepared for this step.
"Sometimes, soot stains build up on your pizza oven bricks. Soot is made up of things like carbon and tar, which are stickier and oilier than ash. It can be tricky to remove," explains Catherine.
Whilst you can leave it, Catherine recommends using a hard bristle brush, such as a specialised pizza oven brush, to rub the soot off the pizza stone. She does, however, warn against using any sort of cleaning products due to the porous nature of the brick; chances are, you can leave more marks than you started with.
3. Inspect the flue
You may have never thought 'inspect the flue' would be on your spring cleaning checklist, but if you're a pizza oven owner, you must inspect and clean the flue or chimney once a year.
Catherine says, "When burning solid fuel like wood in your pizza oven, it’s important to inspect and clean the chimney/flue once a year. Open the damper at the top and brush downwards so any particles fall into the oven itself to be removed."
4. Clean the door
Once you've cleaned the interior of the brick pizza oven, it's time to tackle the door, should your oven have one, of course.
"Many brick-built pizza ovens have a cast-iron door. Wipe this down inside and out with a damp cloth and multi-purpose spray before drying it off," suggests Catherine.
If necessary, you can also paint a little bit of vegetable oil onto the cast iron to protect it from the unpredictable weather.
If your door has a glass window, Catherine recommends using warm water with a little bit of washing-up liquid, and then you can dry it thoroughly with a clean microfibre cloth or towel. You can similarly clean your glass oven door, as it's the same kind of glass.
You could also try the 'ash hack', similar to when cleaning the glass on a log burner.
How to clean a pizza oven: portable or mixed fuel models
Having a portable pizza oven is a great way of bringing the quiet luxury garden trend to your space. It's much more affordable than a brick one and will certainly impress your guests.
1. Cleaning a pizza oven stone
Only when your oven is completely cool, it is best to start by cleaning your pizza stone.
"Scrape off stubborn bits of food or debris using a pizza brush," advises Francesca Fay, senior brand manager at Ooni Pizza Ovens. "Then, flip your stone over and reinsert it for the next cook. The heat from the oven should be enough to burn off any remaining residue while you’re making pizzas."
We wouldn't recommend using cleaning liquid or water to wash down your pizza stone, it's also one of the things you shouldn't clean with vinegar due to the porous material.
2. Clean fuel tray and surfaces
After you've cleaned the pizza stone, it's time to tackle the fuel tray. Whilst you may already know how to clean stainless steel, cleaning your fuel tray can be done in a rather simple way.
Catherine says, "Empty the fuel tray and brush it clean. If there are stains that won’t come off, you can try wiping with a damp cloth, but remember to dry it immediately afterwards."
For the external parts of the oven, she recommends using a multi-purpose spray and a micro-fibre cloth to wipe down the sides and inner roof before drying the surfaces off afterwards.
3. Clean the Hopper and Chimney
The hopper and chimney will most likely be coated on the inside with soot and an oily black build-up from the burning of fuel. If you notice your chimney is particularly dirty, then we'd recommend putting on some gloves for the task.
"If there is an oily black build-up on the outside of the chimney, you can clean off this soot with some warm soapy water," says Catherine. "You can use the same solution to clean the outside of the hopper. Remember to thoroughly dry both areas once you are done."
Similar to how you clean terracotta pots in your garden, a little bit of soapy water is the perfect cleaning agent to keep chemical use low but cleaning power high.
4. Clean the door
Most portable pizza ovens will have a stainless steel door with a glass window on them, whilst they don't usually get too dirty, it's a good idea to give them a clean. You may have to remove the door to clean it properly, so be sure to refer back to the instruction manual for how to do this.
Firstly, Catherine says you should wipe the glass with a dry cloth to remove any of the soot that may have collected there. She then suggests, "Use your washing-up liquid soapy water to wash down the glass and remove any of the more stubborn soot."
After cleaning, ensure the door is fully dried before you hang it back onto the oven and use it.
FAQS
How to keep your pizza oven clean between uses
If you're the type of cleaner who keeps to their daily habits to keep your home clean and tidy, you'll probably want to clean your oven in between uses. Should this be the case, there are a few steps you can take to keep your oven maintained from week to week.
Olivia Young, cleaning expert and product development scientist at Astonish, lists several ways to look after your oven. She says it's important to remove food residue immediately whilst it's warm with either a spatula or pizza oven brush, and also make sure you're removing the ash when it begins to build up too much. Whilst a little bit of ash can enhance the flavour of your pizza, too much can obstruct the airflow.
When your pizza oven isn't being used, Francesca suggests buying a waterproof cover for it. She stresses the importance of choosing one that is custom-designed to fit your model of the oven, as the snug fit will ensure it's fully protected from the elements.
Olivia has worked in both formulation science and analytical science for over three years, testing and designing household products from scratch. She now works at cleaning brand Astonish where she is based in the on-site lab testing and creating products to ensure they work effectively.
How should you cook pizzas to minimise cleaning?
You might not believe it, but the way you cook pizzas in your outdoor oven can make a huge difference to how dirty they become.
"There are a couple of nifty hacks to cooking pizzas that reduce the mess you can make. The first is to use semolina flour on your pizza as this form of durum wheat is far less likely to burn than your standard flour," explains outdoor cooking expert at AO.com, Katie Lilywhite.
She adds, "Similarly, try to limit how many toppings you load your pizza with. This is because wet toppings like mozzarella or tomatoes can cause the base to go soggy quicker and leak mess onto your pizza oven’s base."
Another trick she recommends is making sure to preheat your oven fully. This will help your base cook quicker and also prevent the dough from sticking to the pizza stone. And of course, always keep a brush handy so you can sweep away any food debris as you go.
Can I hose down my pizza oven?
Along with your BBQ, your pizza oven is one of the many things you shouldn't pressure wash or hose down in your garden.
"Hosing down your pizza oven is a definite no-no as it may cause irreparable damage to your appliance. When too much water is applied to your pizza oven, it may weaken its structure or even cause cracks when you’re next popping it on," warns Katie.
She also points out that hosing down the oven could damage its components, which would ruin your appliance altogether. Instead, it's recommended you follow an expert guide like the one above.
It's worth checking out the worst places to put a portable pizza oven to ensure your outdoor cookware stays in tip-top condition.
What should you do if your pizza stone is wet?
Whether you've left your pizza oven out overnight and it's soaked up moisture or you've recently cleaned it, thanks to its porous nature, a pizza stone can be wet when you go to cook with it.
Marco Biasetti, Pizza Chef at DeliVita says, "Never cook on a wet stone," Marco warns. "Moisture can cause the stone to crack when heated. If your oven has been exposed to moisture, hasn’t been used for a while, or is being used for the first time, it's important to cure it."
He continues, "The curing process involves gradually increasing the oven's temperature using kindling and an eco firelighter, maintaining a steady temperature of 200–250°C for 4–5 hours, and avoiding hardwood logs during this time.”
Following all these steps will ensure your oven is kept in its very best condition, however, Francesca does recommend you completely clean your oven after every use. She says, "At Ooni, we believe that the less time you spend cleaning your oven, the more time you’ll have to enjoy making and eating great pizza with friends and family."
