Watch out, Ooni – this hybrid smart oven cooks with gas and wood to make authentic, Italian pizzas

If you’re looking to upgrade your outdoor cooking set-up this year, then the new Volta oven from Fontana Forni could take your pizza-making skills to the next level. Available in two sizes, the Volta oven claims to be the first ever smart outdoor oven with true temperature control.

Looking outside at the gloomy, rainy weather, firing up my pizza oven is the furthest thing from my mind. But I may have to make an exception with Fontana Forni’s new Volta oven. Designed and built in Italy, the Volta oven has the quintessential, Italian dome pizza oven design, complete with a stone cooking surface and chimney flume.

The Volta oven is made from stainless steel, and has a generous internal cooking space. There are two versions available – the Volta 70 has 480 square inches of cooking space and Volta 90 has 672 square inches. Despite its internal size, the Volta oven is surprisingly compact and can sit on a countertop and other versatile outdoor spaces.

At the front of the Volta oven is a digital display and control knob which allows you to customise the oven’s temperature and timers. For consistent heat and precise temperatures, the Volta oven has a patent-pending smart control system that features an electro-gas valve and smart control module.

How this smart control system works is users pick the exact temperature they want, and once the Volta oven has reached your desired temperature, it automatically modulates the gas flame and flow to maintain a steady and consistent heat.

For further versatility, the Volta oven comes with two temperature probes and connects to an accompanying app so you can check the heat via your phone or on the oven’s display. Both the display and app show the temperature of the oven and your food in real-time, so you can be as hands-on or off as you’d like to be in the cooking process.

As a hybrid oven, the Volta oven offers both gas and wood cooking. The hybrid kit is mounted above the burner, so users can easily switch between gas flames or wood fire. While the Volta oven looks and acts like a traditional pizza oven, it can be used to cook other foods, like flatbreads, meat, fish and even desserts, so it’s an ideal centrepiece of your outdoor kitchen.

Pricing and availability of the Fontana Forni Volta oven hasn’t been announced yet, but I definitely want to get my hands on it – once the UK weather clears up, that is!