Product Review: Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven

January 8, 2008 | Reviewer: Guest Reviewers

Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven Regular Price: $70.00
On Sale at Amazon.com $39.79
Average Amazon Review: 4/5 stars

Presto says: Fresh or frozen, regular or rising crust, exclusive RotaBake(TM) technology assures great tasting pizza every time. Freezer to perfect in minutes with no preheating. Special control lets you make toppings as bubbly and crusts as crispy as you like.

Tiff says: This oven is fabulous. It does take a bit of experimenting but do not worry: no amount of experimenting will make your pizza inedible.

Getting Started

Reading the instruction booklet was necessary, because there is a special way to place the pizza pan on the rotating spindle, so it rotates and cooks correctly. There are two heating elements on this oven. One above the pizza (upper), and one that is underneath the pizza pan as it is spinning (lower). There are 3 settings on the oven. Lower, Dual and Upper.The booklet also includes a pizza dough recipe, as well as a guide that tells you how long to cook pizza depending on it’s thickness and preparation. For example:

Rising Crust Frozen Pizza: 9-12 minutes on Lower, then 9-12 minutes on Dual.

Regular Frozen Pizza: 9-12 minutes on Dual.

You’ll want to experiment to find the right times for your preferred pizza doneness.

Baking Pizzas

I have used two kinds of pizza with this oven, Freschetta PizzAmore Pepperoni Duo Pizza (a non-rising variety) and Freschetta Naturally Rising Pepperoni Pizza. Each had different cooking methods.

The Freschetta PizzAmore pizza was the first pizza I cooked with the Presto Pizzazz. I did as instructed and used the dual setting only. I found this particular pizza difficult to cook because it is already cut into slices. This made placing the pizza on the pan difficult and the end result, though thoroughly cooked, was unattractive. I won’t use the PizzAmore variety again; it tasted okay, but not great. Considering this was the first time I used the oven, it is possible I didn’t cook the pizza to my taste.

The rising crust pizza was a much, much better eating experience. The first time I cooked the rising crust pizza I cooked it exactly as the instructions suggested. The end result was great: melty, hot and tasty, but not as crispy as I would like. Luckily, you can adjust the settings for the oven as you prefer. My second round with a rising crust pizza involved 14 minutes of bake time on the lower setting (2 minutes longer than the recommended time) and 12 minutes on the dual setting. I found this was the perfect setting for this pizza! I was in heaven. It was exactly as crispy as I like, and the pepperonis were cooked as crispy as I like.

Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven Baking Process

Counter Space

Since receiving the Presto Pizzazz oven as a gift, every time I go to the store I buy 2-3 frozen pizzas. I know whichever brand is on sale will turn out great. I will never again use a normal oven to cook pizza. Ovens (especially in apartments) can be shady, while this device is straight-forward and effective.

Our George Foreman Grill used to take permanent residence in the corner counter space with the only open outlet in the kitchen. The Foreman is now under the counter and the Presto now lives there. Sure, we still take old Georgie for a spin once or twice a week, but knowing that there are frozen pizzas in the freezer, and a quick snack can be made easily at any time, the Pizzazz is now our staple kitchen item.

Frozen vs. Delivery

You are probably wondering if the frozen pizzas taste as good as pizzerias. Well, yes and no. I found it especially hard to compare the two, because pizzas vary so much from place to place. If the thing that makes your pizzeria special is the sauce recipe, you can’t replicate that with this oven. I will say that I will NEVER EVER order Domino’s, Papa John’s or Pizza Hut again as long as I live and while this oven is around. There there is absolutely no reason to waste 15-20 dollars on delivery from an average place with this oven in your kitchen. Frozen pizzas on sale are 2 for 7 dollars, 3 for $10.00, etc. That is some serious cash in your pocket if you simply have this oven and some pizza on hand - and no tips required! I recommend it to people who cook frozen pizzas often. I wish I could vouch for how homemade pizza bakes - but I assume it could only taste better that store bought pizzas.

Final Thoughts

The Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven earns 4 stars. The reason for the missing star is that one can only cook up to a 12 inch pizza (round) on this oven. This is fine for most frozen pizzas - but I am afraid to experiment with the square, brick oven style for fear I may need to use the real oven. That would be a tragedy!

comments

7 Responses to “Product Review: Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven”

Clevegal42 on January 8th, 2008

I love love love my Pizzazz. My mom got one a few years ago and she liked it so much I got myself one. It really is idiot proof. I like to bake my plain old pizza (usually Tombstone or Jacks) for about 15 minutes on dual and then on 4 minutes on upper to give me nice and toasty toppings. You can also make other things with the Piazzazz - garlic bread, grilled cheese, pizza rolls. It takes some experimentation, but it’s very handy. Good review.
sir jorge on January 8th, 2008

i’m going to forward this one to my wife; this might be something we get in the very near future thanks to this review
Hello Tiffy! » Blog Archive » Presto Pizzazz Review on January 8th, 2008

[…] Abi at HeatEatReview asked me to review my new Presto Pizzazz. You can see my review here! […]
Crow on January 9th, 2008

Does it cook any better than a normal oven? Does it use a lot of electricity, as it’s basically a specialized space heater/toaster?
Rose on January 11th, 2008

I actually own one of these, but I think it’s been in the dark untouched cupboard of electronics for a few years, since I don’t like pizza and my fiance prefers to order them from Papa Johns.
Christine on January 14th, 2008

I inherited this when I got married and I do love it! It is so much nicer then the oven and in the summer you don’t end up heating the whole house.
Liz on January 15th, 2008

We love this thing - We use it to reheat items like fried chicken - they don’t get all dried out like in the oven or microwave. We make our own pizzas - I make dough ahead of time and freeze - take out in the morning and that evening we are having fresh homemade pizza. Great for cooking buffalo wings and even biscuits - I use mine for my Pillsbury Cresent Rolls - they are nice and flaky. I love it because don’t have to PREHEAT which saves me on my electric bill and it’s a time saver. I’ve had mine for over 5 years and still ticking!! The Pan cleans up nice and easy there aren’t enough nice things to say about this thing. I thought it would be a waste of counterspace and time until I got it as a xmas gift and boy was I wrong - I am a true believer - this Pizza Oven ROCKS!