About Pizza Planet

We're home pizza obsessives who got tired of conflicting advice, gear hype, and recipes that don't work. So we built the resource we wished existed when we started.

Our Mission

Pizza Planet exists for one reason: to help you make better pizza at home. Everything on this site is free. We fund the project through affiliate commissions when you buy gear through our links — but we only recommend products we've personally used and genuinely believe in. A bad recommendation costs us more in trust than we'd ever earn in commission.

We focus on what matters: precise dough formulas, honest oven reviews, and clear instructions. No fluff, no listicles rewritten from press releases, no “top 10” lists where every product is “amazing.”

The Team

Marco Rivera — Founder & Lead Tester

Home pizza maker since 2018 · 7 ovens owned · 2,000+ pizzas baked

Marco started making pizza in a tiny apartment kitchen with a $30 pizza stone and a bag of all-purpose flour. After years of experimenting — upgrading to a baking steel, then an Ooni Koda 12, then a Koda 16, and eventually a Gozney Dome — he realized most online pizza advice was either wrong, outdated, or trying to sell something. Pizza Planet started as a spreadsheet of dough ratios he shared with friends. The dough calculator was the first tool he built, and it's still the heart of the site. Marco personally tests every oven reviewed on the site, baking a minimum of 20 pizzas in each across Neapolitan, New York, and Detroit styles before writing a word.

Priya Patel — Recipe Developer

Culinary school graduate · Former pizzeria line cook · Sourdough specialist

Priya spent two years on the line at a wood-fired pizzeria in Brooklyn before moving to recipe development. She brings professional technique to home-kitchen constraints — adapting restaurant methods for standard ovens, grocery-store ingredients, and real-life schedules. Every recipe on Pizza Planet is tested at least 5 times in a home kitchen before publishing. Priya developed the fermentation timeline feature in the calculator, translating professional baker's intuition into the time and temperature schedules you see on the site.

Jake Lindgren — Developer & Data

Full-stack engineer · Built the dough calculator · Neapolitan purist

Jake builds and maintains all of Pizza Planet's tools. The dough calculator uses baker's percentage math validated against AVPN standards, and the advanced mode lets you dial in preferments, hydration, and bowl residue compensation. Jake is also responsible for the site's speed — Pizza Planet loads in under a second because he believes a pizza site should be as fast as a pizza oven is hot.

How We Test Pizza Ovens

Every oven reviewed on Pizza Planet goes through the same rigorous testing process. We don't rely on spec sheets or manufacturer claims — we fire up the oven and make pizza.

1Unboxing & Assembly — We time setup and note any frustrations. If it takes 45 minutes and pliers, we say so.
2Heat-up Time — We measure actual time to reach cooking temperature with an infrared thermometer, not the manufacturer's claim.
3Temperature Mapping — We check for hot spots and cold zones across the cooking surface using multiple probe points.
420+ Pizza Bake Test — Each oven gets at least 20 pizzas across Neapolitan, New York, and Detroit styles over several sessions.
5Real-World Durability — We use each oven for a minimum of 4 weeks before reviewing, noting any issues with rust, warping, or component failure.
6Cleaning & Maintenance — We evaluate how easy (or annoying) each oven is to clean and maintain over time.

Editorial Standards

→We buy every oven ourselves. No manufacturer samples, no loaner units.
→Affiliate links are always disclosed. We use rel="nofollow sponsored" on every affiliate link.
→We include “Skip If” sections in every review. If an oven isn't right for you, we'll tell you.
→Recipes are tested a minimum of 5 times in a home kitchen before publishing.
→Dough calculator formulas are validated against AVPN standards and professional baker feedback.
→We update product prices and availability monthly and refresh reviews quarterly.

Get in Touch

Questions, corrections, or just want to talk pizza? Reach us at hello@thepizzaplanet.com.

Found a broken link, wrong price, or outdated info? Email us and we'll fix it within 24 hours.

Ready to Make Pizza?

Jump into the dough calculator or browse our tested recipes.

Open the Calculator Browse Recipes