With electric heat, indoors or outdoor use, and Wi-Fi for remote control, theCurrent Model Ppizza oven is an ultra-convenient appliance. It might even be able to get people making home-cooked pizza on a weekly basis.
Current Pizza Oven
The Current Model P pizza oven brings restaurant-quality pizza to your home with advanced heat technology and intuitive controls.
Price and Availability
The Current Model P retails for $699 and is available for purchase now. It has been on sale recently for $525 or less. It comes in two colors, either Sand or Slate.
A Pizza Oven for the Rest of Us
Making pizza looks easy, but it’s not. It’s surprisingly tricky. It’s one of the reasons I’ve avoided going down this path previously. I was hesitant to buy a pricey pizza oven, only for it to sit, unused. How would I know the right temperature or the duration? How much propane would I need? There were a bunch of questions that gave me reason to pause.
The Current Model P goes a long way to simplifying the pizza-making experience. First, it’s electric and can be used with a standard 110V outlet, inside or outside. Not having to worry about fuel is a huge relief. The oven can draw a lot of power, so you will need to make sure the circuit it’s on isn’t overloaded. I have a temperamental circuit that trips frequently, but didn’t have any issues with that and the Model P.
In terms of some of the logistical questions, the oven comes with a few temperature presets for New York, Neapolitan, frozen, thin crust, and broiling, with timers for the pizza styles. The connected, smart aspect of Wi-Fi allows you to handle these items from your phone if you want to, but you don’t need to. I stuck to making pizzas and didn’t get a chance to broil anything, but fajitas could be a fun regular dinner addition, too.
The beauty of the Model P is its simplicity. Despite it being high-tech, there’s not much to it. A pizza stone sits on a metal frame that can slide in and out of the oven. And a big knob that twists and can be pressed lives in the middle of a giant display to show time and temperature. Anyone can operate this appliance.
The Process of Making Pizzas Is All in the Prep Work
Overall, I’ve made some decent pizzas using the Model P. In fact, all of them I would consider good. But when I consider the experience and results, the last thing on my mind is the actual oven. It has done its job perfectly and performed exactly as I expected it to. Over the course of the dozen or more pizzas I’ve cooked, it has been nearly invisible in the process.
Instead of fussing with the product, I spent my time worrying about the dough, flour, types of ingredients, and the details that turn an okay pizza into a satisfying one. In fact, the time I got a little smoke out of the back of the unit was because I had a little too much flour on the stone. The food still turned out fine.
The Model P takes about 15 minutes to heat up to the 635-degree New York style and an extra five minutes for the hotter Neapolitan style.
Once it reaches temperature, the timer is ready to go and only needs a tap on the center dial to begin. Each and every time I used it, the oven performed uniformly. The heating didn’t burn one side or the other. Even when I occasionally pushed a pizza farther toward the back or left it right at the opening, the crust still browned pretty evenly.
The first time I made pizzas, I used the app to set the temperature and start it. But after that, I favored the on-device controls. They were too simple and easy not to reach for.
The drawbacks I encountered are minor. For example, the 42-inch cord length is generous, but I could have used a few more inches for the location where I was using the oven. Also, sliding the pizza stone on its metal rail in and out wasn’t overly smooth. I mostly left it in place. You’ll want to add a thin pizza peel to your collection to make getting the food in and out seamless.
Does a Pizza Oven Need to be Connected?
If there’s one thing I’m unsure of, it’s the need for Wi-Fi and a mobile app. I love it when products have a companion app because a lot of times it makes controlling them easier and offers extended settings. But in the case of the Model P, I’m not sure that it’s needed.
Inside the app, available on iPhone and Android, there are five presets, and selecting one changes it immediately on the oven. Normally, I’m a big proponent of notifications from connected devices but the pizza-cooking time is just so short. The reason I love timers on myconnected countertop ovenis because they’re usually for at least 20 minutes, or up to an hour or more.
The longest preset timer is six minutes on the Model P. There’s just not much time to leave the room and start doing something else before the pizza or broil is done.
As down as I may sound on the Wi-Fi connection, I’m not. I’m glad it’s there and that aspect works fine. I would just recommend tempering your expectations for this specific feature. Making pizzas can be a fast-paced and messy operation that might not have room for using smartphone controls.
Should You Buy the Current Model P?
TheCurrent Model Pis a good pizza oven. Its size is limited to making 12-inch pizzas, but that limitation also keeps it compact enough to fit on a kitchen countertop. I’m not sure that its Wi-Fi connection and companion app are a major reason to consider buying this oven, but the feature doesn’t hinder its use in any way. If you don’t find yourself using the technology aspect you won’t be penalized. And who knows, maybe it will be more helpful once you have your pizza-making skills dialed in after several months.
The reasons to consider the Model P are tied to how simple the appliance is to use. It’s a versatile machine that can make anyone a pizza chef, as long as you spend some time getting the ingredients right.
