The Japan Times - Firebloom EP01 Delivers Fast Stone-Baked Pizza Indoors and Outdoors

Pizza night happens regularly in my house because it’s tasty, quick and easy. But, after a few weeks eating the same shop bought pizzas again and again it can get a little boring.

That’s especially the case for me as a vegetarian because there doesn’t tend to be a lot of variety in the veggie toppings available with ready-made pizzas. That’s why I like making homemade pizza, but it’s hard to get that proper stone-baked finish in an average oven.

The Firebloom EP01 Electric Pizza Oven is designed precisely to make authentic pizza, however, and combines a compact design with dual 1800W heating elements and temperatures of up to 400°C to get that classic thin and crispy crust.

At £199, it is a significant purchase, but it is considerably more accessible than some of the premium pizza ovens on the market. That’s because it can accommodate pizzas up to 12 inches, it can be used both indoors and outdoors, and is designed to cook a stone-baked pizza in as little as 90 to 120 seconds.

So, did it make pizza night more exciting? Keep reading to find out.

The biggest selling point for me is just how quickly this oven can warm up and then cook pizza. Reaching temperatures of up to 400°C, the EP01 is capable of producing the intense heat needed for that authentic stone-baked style of pizza, rather than leaving you with something that looks and tastes like it could have come out of a conventional oven.

The dual heating elements are another clever feature. With one element positioned above and another below the pizza, heat is distributed from both directions, helping to cook the base while also getting the toppings beautifully hot. The adjustable thermostat means you can also control the temperature rather than simply relying on one preset setting.

I particularly like the included 325mm square pizza stone. There's something satisfying about putting your homemade pizza directly onto a stone and watching it transform in the intense heat. The stone helps give the base that crispier, more authentic texture too, which just simply cannot be achieved in a standard oven.

And then there is the speed. Firebloom says pizzas can be cooked in around 90 to 120 seconds, which really changes the experience of making pizza at home and means you can pretty much have your meal ready in the blink of an eye.

Instead of having to plan food around a lengthy cooking time, you can soon be sat down and enjoying a delicious meal - and one that you’ve made from scratch too. Although, there’s no judgement if you don’t want to make your own dough and would rather get a shop-bought pizza base to make the overall process even quicker.

In practical terms, I also like that the EP01 has been designed with storage in mind. Its retractable aluminium legs fold away, which means the oven can be folded flat when it isn't being used. I certainly don’t have space to keep a pizza oven out permanently out on my kitchen side, but I have been able to find space for it in a cupboard thanks to this design.

I also really appreciate that it can be used both indoors and outdoors. That means I know I can always make delicious homemade pizza, and actually get plenty of use out of this gadget no matter what the weather. So many pizza ovens, typically the ones operated by gas, can only be used outside. That’s understandable, but it’s also very restrictive given that the number of days that are suitable for alfresco cooking and dining in the UK are very few. But, this will get plenty of use because of its versatility.

The final thing to note is that as soon as you get it out of the box you can see and feel that the Firebloom EP01 Electric Pizza Oven is a substantial piece of cooking equipment. The exterior is made from cold rolled carbon steel with a high-temperature powder-coated finish, while the interior and heating components use stainless steel, so I am confident that it will be durable and help me make fresh pizzas just the way I like them for years to come.

The main consideration is that the £199 price tag is a significant amount to spend on an appliance that essentially has one main purpose. Though I have also used it to make calzones, but this is just essentially another take on pizza.

If you only make pizza occasionally, you may struggle to justify the outlay, but if you eat pizza regularly then it’s well worth the investment. This is particularly the case as it gives you the freedom to make pizza to your own tastes, which means you can actually have different toppings every time.

I'd also bear in mind the size of the cooking surface. The oven is suitable for pizzas up to 12 inches, so you'll need to be reasonably precise when preparing your pizza. That's not necessarily a problem, but it may just mean you need to make more pizzas if you’re feeding more people or have a larger appetite.

The other thing to consider is the size of the overall gadget. While I love that the legs retract and the oven folds flat, at 12kg in weight it is still quite heavy. As something you'll need to move around to use, you need to bear this in mind.

One last thing to note is that the light for the top heating element will turn off during the cooking process if you are cooking multiple pizzas. I have discovered this is because the internal thermostat has reached the preset temperature and so the top heating element will turn off for a little while. It can then take a little while for the top heating element to come back on, and that means I’ve had a few pizzas that are very chargrilled on the bottom but not cooked on the top.

I’ve been able to rescue them, and it hasn’t ruined the quality or taste of the pizza. To do this, I have simply taken the door of the pizza oven off to allow the temperature inside it to drop so the thermostat will then click back on. But, this has slowed the cooking process down. In subsequent cooks, however, the way I have got around this is by turning the thermostat down a little once the oven is pre-heated, so then I have room to turn it up if needed to reactive that top heating element quicker.

The Firebloom EP01 is a great option if you want to take homemade pizza beyond what your standard oven can achieve without committing to a huge, expensive outdoor cooking set-up that can only be used for a limited amount of time due to the great British weather.

At £199, I'd say it’s best suited to true pizza lovers and foodies who expect to use it regularly. If that's you, the speed, high temperature and stone-baked results make it a much more tempting investment. For me, this appliance has quickly become one of my favourite in the kitchen.

M.Yamazaki--JT