Gozney Roccbox Pizza Oven: Tested and Reviewed 2023

The quest for a perfectly cooked Neapolitan style pizza at the ease of your backyard never comes to an end if you are a true pizza enthusiast. Pizza enthusiasts never get tired when it comes going to great lengths to have all in hand what it takes to cook a delicious pizza anytime, anywhere and at any day.

What if this all happens with a lot ease and in style? Thanks to the stylish and elegant outdoor pizza oven by Gozney, known as the Roccbox portable outdoor pizza oven. The name describes it all.

As soon as you smell this beauty, your eyes fall in love with this masterpiece due to its superior build. Silicone-coated material and the liberty to choose between two cool colors is just superb; one olive and the other grey.

If you want  to add a classy cooking product to your outdoor collection and want to cook pizzas more often, then Gozney Roccbox is the right choice. Believe me, if you love hosting pizza parties, this would be your best companion for many years to come due to its exceptional longevity.

If you want to buy it for commercial purposes, it is again a great option.

Standing on its three legs with its gorgeous hot looks, this oven is sure to get hot enough to cook the desired pizza. Once in action, it never disappoints. Ahh! Enough flattering. Let’s get to the review where I am good at.

You might be eager to hear about our opinion regarding Gozney Roccbox. So, here’s our take on Roccbox!

What Comes with the Box?

• Oven
• Gas burner
• Wood burner
• Pizza peel
• Hopper tool
• User manual

Build Quality

The build quality is where Gozney shines. The oven is made of 304 grade stainless steel which makes it quite sturdy. Don’t get confused by this fancy name. Just know that this type of steel has excellent corrosion resistance.

The material used is one thing, the engineering is another. Though the build quality is slightly lower than that of the Gozney Dome (so is the price), it still is pretty respectable. It’s on the same level as those of Ooni’s ovens, if not less. But rather, I would say that I liked Gozney Roccbox more in terms of quality than most of Ooni’s ovens.

Gozney Roccbox Dimensions

The mouth of the Gozney Roccbox oven is 12.2 inches wide and 3.34 inches tall.

The dimension of oven with legs extended are 18.6″ H x 20.9″ L x 16.2″ W. Height becomes almost 11 inches when legs are folded.

The dimensions of the cooking floor are 12.4″ W x 13.3″ D.

Insulation

When the oven reaches high temperatures, the exterior gets only warm. Considering how high the temperatures reach inside the oven, this is extremely impressive.

This effective insulation is thanks to the Calcium Silicate used and the commercial grade silicon used as the outer jacket. The silicon primarily gives the oven such a great insulation.

You can literally touch the oven easily from outside while it is at burning hot temperature from inside. Isn’t it cool? Ys it is! (pun intended)

Cordierite Stone: The Good and the Bad

The cordierite stone’s thickness is 19 mm compared to Ooni’s 15mm and other oven’s 13 mm. This is both something good and something not-so good. The extra 4 mm help with the heat retention.

Because the stone has such a high thickness, it retains heat VERY effectively. However, because of this, the heating time is increased a lot. This is one of the main reasons why the Gozney Roccbox has such a high heating time.

Another thing: the stones cannot be taken out for cleaning. Though the stones don’t really get dirty as they experience high temperatures which make it self-cleaning, a little cleaning every now and then can’t hurt it.

You’ll have to get inside the oven to clean it. Here is a video that shows how to clean the oven from inside:

Built-in Thermometer

The Gozney Roccbox comes with a built-in thermometer. The thermometer isn’t digital, however. Even though the thermometer isn’t digital, it’s fairly accurate. The dial is nicely divided into separate sections. When the needle enters the last red/orange-coloured section, the oven is hot enough for pizzas to be cooked safely.

The temperature sensor is placed beneath the stone floor. I think, this is the reason why the built-in thermometer is close to accurate.

Pizza Sizes

The Gozney Roccbox is a 12” pizza oven, so you can only cook up to 12” pizzas in it at a time. For cooking larger pizzas, slice them up and cook the pieces separately.

Fuel

The Gozney Roccbox is a multi-fuel pizza oven. However, you cannot use natural gas with it. Gozney itself has recommended that it has no plans of including a natural gas kit converter anytime soon.

You can use either wood or gas with this oven. Using gas will give you a relatively lower heating time. Even with gas, however, the heating time is quite a lot (around 30 minutes) – not comparable to Ooni’s ovens.

Propane gas kit comes standard with the oven whereas you’ll have to buy the wood burning kit separately if you like cooking with wood.

Using wood will result in a longer heating time, but it will induce a smoky BBQ flavour that you won’t get using gas. If time is an issue, go with the gas option.

Both the burners are easily detachable. You just have to twist them to remove them from the oven. This may add a little contribution to the portability of the oven.

Fuel Consumption

Unlike the Gozney Dome, the fuel consumption of the Gozney Roccbox is a lot lower. To be precise, the fuel consumption of the Gozney Roccbox is around 0.5 – 1 kg / hour which is almost 50 – 75% lower than the Gozney Dome.

This makes it a very economical option in the long run. Even for domestic use, this change in fuel consumption can help you save up a lot of money. If you’re buying this for commercial purposes, you’ll save up a lot.

In just one month, you’ll realize how much money you saved.

Recommended Wooden Pellets

Though you can use almost any wooden pellets with this, I would recommend you go with kiln-dried wood. Performance of the oven is also very dependent on the wood too. It is recommended to use hard wood and avoid using sappy and soft woods. We used hard wood and got good results.

The Gozney Wood works quite well. However, it is a bit expensive compared to its competitors. The wood costs £22 for 19 lbs. (8.6 kg). Gozney claims you’ll get 6 uses per pouch, but expect only around 5. However, the quality of the wood is impressive.

I also recommend you to get the Gozney Wood for best experience.

Cooking Efficiency

The cooking efficiency of the Gozney Roccbox is tremendous. It cooks a 12” stoned pizza from scratch in under 2 minutes. Moreover, the recovery time of this oven is also superb. You won’t have to wait much to cook another one as in case with other ovens.

I was impressed by the heat retention of this hottie. I could literally cook 9-10 pizzas in just 30 minutes and this would still be saying ” Ready or Not, Here I Burn”. 

Accessories

The Gozney Roccbox comes with the peel which is good especially considering the price point. With the Gozney Dome, which comes at a really high price tag, there is no pizza peel. So, I think that’s a really good thing.

You can have a look at some other accessories that you can get:

Roccbox Cover

This is a simple cover as the name suggests. The oven itself isn’t water proof or anything like that, so you’ll be needing a cover to protect it from the weather. Just a heads up, the oven isn’t meant to be used in the rain.

It is always recommended to get a cover for the oven to add to the life. If you have bought the oven but not the cover, then you are definitely compromising on the longevity of the oven. I would strictly suggest to get one. “A stich in time save nine”.

You can get the Roccbox Cover from here.

Roccbox Wood Burner 2.0

“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to.”

The same applies to this. Just because you can buy this, doesn’t mean you have to. This is DEFINITELY not worth the money. For the slight performance boost it gives, paying just a hefty price is not a good deal (unless you are a big fan of  fired pizzas and have experience cooking with wood).

I said so because cooking with wood isn’t an easy task and a lot of people get frustrated soon. You will also have to ensure that wood hopper is always full so that the temperature does not drop.

However, you can get the Roccbox wood burner by clicking here.

Hardly Portable 

The Gozney Roccbox weighs 20 kg (or 44 lbs.) which makes it just an okay choice for portable ovens. It’s definitely not that much portable oven which everyone expects to be and that too taking into account that it cooks only 12″ pizzas. Though it’s lighter than Ooni’s pizza ovens capable of cooking 16″ pizzas but almost twice as much heavier than the ones capable of cooking 12″ pizzas.

I think, the extra weight as due to the superb insulation and the build quality of the oven. Secondly, the cordierite stone used in this oven is much thicker than the one used in other ovens. To me, these are the factors which might have added an additional weight to the Roccbox.

But compromising on the weight and portability, the oven has exactly what one wants in terms of performance and longevity. So consider the lack in portability a trade-off for performance and longevity.

Gozney sends the carry strap with the oven which makes moving this oven a little easier. Strap comes installed on the oven once you unbox it. It also helps to take the oven out of the box.

This strap might be only for the reason to take the oven out of the box. But, you can use it afterwards also as it makes the work easier. Anyhow, you still have to be much careful as the oven can fall if the balance is lost.

This is a great choice for portable outdoor pizza ovens. I would definitely recommend you get this if you want a portable oven.

Professional Use

Yes, the oven is a bit more affordable compared to its Dome counterpart. However, it isn’t exactly VERY affordable. If you’ve been reading this article, you’ll know there’s nothing phenomenal about this oven.

“Where is my money going then” is what you may be asking. This here. The oven is equally fit for professional use. You can use it consistently for hours, and it won’t betray you.

Though it may not look like it, the Gozney Roccbox makes an excellent commercial outdoor pizza oven. However, there is a drawback – the size. If the 12” pizza limitation isn’t a deal breaker for you, go for it by all means.

Life and Longevity: Does It Last Any Long?

You might be wondering whether this oven lasts for a long time. Yes, the Gozney Roccbox is a very durable oven and can last for many years even with low maintenance.

In terms of longevity, it leaves Bertello in the dust. Even the Ooni’s ovens have a shorter lifespan than this bad boy does.

Is the rolling flame any good?

The company boasts a patented technology that allows it to produce a rolling flame. All that fancy stuff sounds really good on paper, but does it actually make any difference.

The rolling flame does make a difference. However, the difference is too minute for one to notice. Don’t let the rolling flame be the reason you’ll buy this.

The Long Heating Time: Still There

Gozney clams that you can heat up the oven in just 20 – 30 minutes. That is just B.S. When the time was actually measured, it turned out to be almost 40 minutes – that, too, for the thermometer to just touch the red part.

If you want the needle to hover somewhere in the middle of the red/ orange part, you’ll have to give it 45 minutes. The 20 – 30 minutes claim is somewhat true in the sense that this time allows you to just barely cook your pizza.

However, I DEFINITELY do not recommend you to heat it for any less than 40 minutes (unless you’re in the Sahara Desert). Otherwise, the pizza might be a little raw, and that’s not healthy.

Can I Use the Gozney Roccbox Indoors?

The smoke produced by the Gozney Roccbox isn’t a lot and isn’t dangerous, and the oven classifies as a household BBQ. You can use this oven indoors but I will also not recommend it. Though, it’s okay to use it with gas but using it indoors with wood will be a horrible idea.

The bottom-line is that you can use this oven indoors with gas but not with wood. Even with the gas, I suggest only using it outdoors. Safety is the first priority.

Warranty Claims

According to Gozney, you can claim your oven for warranty within five years of buying it. I personally have never had to claim their warranty, so I can’t say for sure whether they accept the claim easily or not.

With the build quality I’m seeing, I doubt I’ll have the need to claim the warranty. The oven is just that good.

Pricing and Price to Performance Ratio

Priced at $499, We all know that Gozney sells premium products, so they are priced high than other competitors. But, if you take into account the performance of this oven, it beats its competitors and provides a great value for money in the long term. It all depends on your way of thinking and personal preference. If you value quality and performance more than some extra bucks, then Gozney Roccbox is ready to serve the purpose.

Yes, you should definitely go for it especially if you’re looking to use it quite often. If you’ll be using it just every now and then, I would suggest you look at some alternatives like the Ooni Karu 12, the Ooni Koda 12, the Ooni Frya 12 and the Bertello.