Do know, though, that super-high heat cooking like this can only be controlled so much. As I was testing the oven, I regularly checked the temperature with an infrared thermometer (like I do with all the outdoor cooking equipment I use), and it would fluctuate as much as 30°F on either side. The difference with the Volta is that it will self-correct when that happens.

Fancy features like temperature control are great, but if they aren’t built on top of a high-quality base, they’re just particularly noisy bells and whistles. Fortunately, long before it came out with the Volta, Fontana Forni developed a reputation for building some of the best home wood-fired ovens out there, dating back to the 1970s.

A thick, heavy, two-piece stone floor helps to retain the temperature and stands up to the elements without cracking. The domed design throws searing heat over the top, creating a super-charged broiler effect more intense than more basic outdoor ovens. And the spacious interior makes it easy to launch and turn multiple pizzas simultaneously. Other ovens have some of that, though; in terms of better-known outdoor oven brands, Gozney’s Dome comes to mind.

Wonderful, but can the Volta do anything else?

However amazing they perform, pizza ovens can feel niche. There are only so many nights you want to serve pizza for dinner, and only so many other things you want to hit with the high heat pizza ovens generate. The thing that moves the Volta from a narrowcast hobbyist’s obsession or a trendseeker’s toy is its versatility. Not only can it hold the high temperatures to make 90-second Neapolitan pies, it can also be set as low as 300℉ and hold the more modest temperatures used in everyday cooking.

Lots of outdoor pizza ovens come with claims that it’s easy to roast vegetables or bake bread in them, but I’ve found that frequently isn’t the case; they still get so hot they’re impractical. The control offered up by the Volta really does turn it into an extension of the kitchen. Caramelizing something in the oven? Roast those carrots in the Volta. Want a crispier finish to your potatoes than your range will provide? The design of the Volta gets it done. It also has ports to attach temperature probes, which connect to an app for monitoring purposes, to cook thicker proteins to a precise level of doneness.

Keep in mind this range and control are all done with a propane burner. The Volta also quickly transforms into a wood-burning oven for more hands-on types. In this mode, it functions like a traditional pizza oven, and all the techy add-ons are unavailable. If you want something that will control a live fire for you, you’ll have to look at some of the newer grills out in the last few years.

Noah Kaufman