I have been a pizza lover for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I remember turning anything and everything into pizza with my dad – bagels, french bread, actual pizza dough – the creativity was endless. He was the kind of guy that would sliver off 1 inch slices until the pizza was gone throughout the night (that is, if there were any leftovers to begin with).
That said, it is no surprise that my love of pizza is so strong. When I got the opportunity to test out the Gozney Roccbox, I didn’t waste a second getting the review lined up!
All Gozney ovens offer an aesthetic design with the heat to bake up a Neapolitan style pizza in 90 seconds. The Roccbox was Gozney’s debut non-commercial design, offering high temp baking in a go-anywhere package – well, maybe not backpacking, but certainly car camping!
Let’s get baking, and by baking, I mean kneading our way through this review!
Design
At first glance, Gozney’s Roccbox is not all that dissimilar from other ovens on the market – a stout, tri-legged design with a wide mouth for pizza control and compact design to move around easily from the backyard to the campsite. However, that is where the Roccbox’s similarities with other brands end. Gozney offers bold colors, like mine, which was a limited Brad Leone collab, and lots of well-thought-out features that set it apart from the competition.
The Roccbox heats with a single flame from the back of the oven that creates an efficient rolling flame that, at the high flame setting, nearly touches the front of the oven. Not only is it a beautiful burn to watch, but it also allows the oven to heat to a scorching 950º F and stays hot!
The Roccbox includes a built in stone thermometer and has a rubberized soft-touch coating on the top. It also offers a detachable heating element that allows you to swap in a wood burner for a more smokey flavor, however, I have personally found propane gas/LP to drive the most consistent results. Perhaps it is just my patience, or lack thereof.
Heating & Prep
Heating the Gozney using the gas burner can take anywhere from 30-50 minutes to get up to cooking temp. It all depends on where it is stored… if you’re out camping in 30º F, you’re going to wait longer than if you have it stored in your 70º F house. I personally store mine in our pantry, of course without the propane attached and when it is fully cooled. Perhaps I am weird, but I love looking at the Roccbox.
I generally start baking when the stone reaches about 600º – I know it is meant to get hotter, and definitely bakes faster at higher temps, but I have been able to make great pies at 600-800º F.
Before heating, I also give the stone surface a quick brush to loosen any bigger remnants from the last bake with a food-grade brush. Likely not a necessary step, but I like a nice, clean start.
Baking Quality
Gozney claims the Roccbox was the oven that started a pizza revolution, and I’ll admit, it impresses me everytime. I find myself smiling every time I fire it up, and smiling even wider when I make someone their first Roccbox pie.
The single flame design does two things very well:
- It creates a really nice hot spot in the back of the oven to get that lightly crispy, but slightly charred exterior crust that neapolitan pizzas are famous for.
- The rolling ceiling flame allows for even cooking of pizza toppings, especially cheese melting – yum!
The single flame also gives you a LOT of control. You can spin the pizza toward or away from the flame for corners that need more or less baking. You can also very easily control the amount of direct flame heat that is hitting the top of the pizza. I have found that for certain toppings like cup and char pepperoni, that full-flame, high heat really curls the pepperoni, while more delicate ingredients like mushrooms require a slow and low approach where you hold the pizza off the stone surface (after a nice crust bake) with the turning peel to slowly cook heat and sweat the shrooms.
I am no pizza expert, by any means, but with a few rounds of practice, the Gozney Roccbox makes anyone look like a pizza chef. I have gotten to the point where I’d rather make my own pizza than order it from any store, but admittedly, there’s no good pizza in Ogden, Utah.
Maintenance
Taking care of the Roccbox is relatively straightforward. Burn off any spilled ingredients at the end of your baking session, and make sure to sweep that char out of the oven before your next bake. Every few bakes, I will really get in there with a shop vac and suck up every last crumb.
The worst part about keeping the Roccbox clean is the flame soot. Propane/LP gas is not a clean burn, so after 2-3 uses, the silver facade above the oven mouth will become black as tar. I don’t have a great recommendation on how to clean… I generally take a pass or two with a wet paper towel to release the top layers, then I get in there with a soft brush and soapy water. After that, you’re good for another few uses. Only caveat is if you’re storing it in a truck or camper, then it is ideal to clean it before loading it up.
Overall, it is not a labor intensive job to keep the Roccbox in good working order. A lot less laborious than a cast iron griddle, for example.
Durability & Value
At $499, the Roccbox is on the steeper end of available portable pizza ovens, but the quality is apparent from your first interaction with the Roccbox. The materials are premium, the metal edges are clean and burr free, and the weight is proper.
I have dropped my Roccbox at least 2-3 times with fear that I had disturbed the cooking stone and was pleasantly surprised to see no damage. It is built to last and withstand the knockaround expected with a portable oven.
Take a look at Brad Leone’s videos of Roccbox cooking, he’s proof the Roccbox can take a beating! At the time of this post, the Brad Leone special edition Roccbox I have been testing is no longer available from Gozney, but there are plenty of cool colors to choose from!
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