The great sourdough craze of 2020 paved a gluten-rich road for the home pizza oven, the epitome of a thing nobody needs but everybody needs. Eager to improve my culinary skills and my backyard living setup, I recently had the opportunity to test the new Pi Fire pizza oven and Bonfire Solo Stove here in Philadelphia. With minimal setup and a reported pizza cook time of just eight minutes, I was eager to
But first, a quick primer on the product. Designed to be compatible with three sizes of the brand's best-selling smokeless portable fire pits—including the 15” Ranger, 19.5” Bonfire, and 27” Yukon—the elevated Pi Fire pizza oven attaches and sits safely above the fire to turn flame into pizza-making fuel. (Though not yet released, a ginormous Canyon Pi Fire for the 30” fire pit will soon offer the skilled home chef space to make full-size pies.)
Made of ceramic coated stainless steel with an internal pizza stone cooking surface, the sleek Pi Fire is as attractive as it is efficient. Set up requires minimal effort and tools, mainly a screwdriver to attach the support legs.
Read on for my full review of the Solo Stove Pi Fire pizza oven. But first, a quick TL;DR rundown for all you skimmers.
What We Like & Dislike About the Solo Stove Pi Fire
Pros:
- Works with all Solo Stove fire pits
- Comes with carrying case and fire-proof gloves
- Uses split wood as a fuel source (rather than propane gas or pellets)
- Heats up quickly and maintains temperature with minimal maintenance
- Available in three sizes to suit different Solo Stove fire pit models
- With a base price of $190, the Pi Fire Ranger is half the price of an Ooni Koda and a full $1,800 less than the robust Gozney outdoor pizza oven
Cons:
- Requires the purchase of a Solo fire pit
- Does not come with wood pizza peeler or steel turner tools
- Bulky design may not store well in smaller spaces or apartments
- Common Ranger and Bonfire models only offer 12” and 14” respective cooking surfaces
Solo Stove Pi Fire Review
With the Bonfire size fire pit in place, my primary test would be a weeknight pizza party (high stakes!). Though I usually like to make my own dough, time constraints and a pressing deadline led me to my neighborhood pizza shop, which was happy to sell me a couple of portions of their fresh dough. (A highly recommended move for fellow desk jockeys.)
Before prepping the toppings, I lit a generous fire to get the stone inside Pi Fire nice and hot. Using a laser thermometer made it easy to get a quick read of the stone’s temperature and maintain a target temp of 650ºF—a hot cooking surface makes for a swift and happy rise in the pizza crust! At this temp, I found the Pi Fire only took 7-8 minutes to bake a pizza.
And, thanks to the efficient design of the Solo’s fire pits, ample airflow made feeding the fire to maintain the target temperature easy and without constant log-turning. And smoke-free, too.
With minimal dough-stretching mishaps, I successfully chef’d up four Instagram Story-worthy pepperoni and plain cheese pies on my first go with the Pi Fire, all in the comfort of the concrete and fence-lined oasis of my little PHL backyard. Before you begin your wood-fired pizza journey, I’d like to pass on some learnings I’d pass to a budding pizzaiolo.
Pro Tips for Using the Pi Fire Pizza Oven
- While readying your pizza, flour the underside of your dough well and work quickly distributing toppings to make for a hassle-free launching into the oven
- Check the stone temperature between pies; you may need to add a log or two to the fire during a cooking session to maintain optimial temps
- Rotate the pizza a couple times while cooking to minimize hot spots and uneven cooking
If you’re thinking about adding a pizza oven to your culinary arsenal, I think Solo’s Pi Fire is a smart system that integrates with one of the most popular (and best looking) backyard fire pits available. Aside from the ease of use and reliability to turn out fantastico za, its split wood fuel source might be one of the most overlooked features compared to alternatives that require metal tanks of propane or wood pellets packaged in plastic bags to provide heat.
Overall, the Pi Fire is recommended.
Published 06-06-2024
