Experts reveal the best temperature for cooking pizza – for a perfect al fresco dinner

We're heading into party season now, and there's nothing like homemade pizza to feed a crowd. If you're anything like me, you'll have bought the best pizza oven you can get.

However, mastering a pizza oven is another step entirely. Even once you've learned how to make your dough and sauce, and practiced launching your pie, it isn't immediately obvious how hot your oven should be.

I spoke to expert chefs – including a pizza champion – about the right temperature for your pizza oven. The experts gave me two simple rules. In a pizza oven, you should aim for about 800°F; in a kitchen oven, just crank the temperature up as high as it will go.

What's the best temperature for cooking with a pizza oven?

The chefs I spoke to said it depends on the style of pizza you're trying to cook. New York-style pizza - sugary, heavy dough rolled thin - and Neapolitan - lighter, puffy, crispy dough - need different temperatures.

World pizza champion Michael Vakneen recommends that New York-style pizzas need 550°F, and Neapolitan pizzas need between 775-800°F.

Chef Phillip Bollhoefer agreed and told me that the best temperature for pizza 'depends on the style of pizza you are cooking and the type of oven. For Neapolitan pizza, this temperature can range from 650°F to 900°F depending on the dough hydration.

Pizza chef Frank Kabatas gave me even more precise tips. 'For a dough with 65% hydration, which is typically used for NY-style pizza, you should aim for a minimum of 450°F. However, if your dough has 85% hydration, which is more typically used for a Neapolitan-style pizza, you should increase the temperature to 800-plus degrees Fahrenheit.'

Frank Kabatas

Frank Kabatas is Owner and Operator of East Village Pizza, the popular New York pizzeria where tradition meets innovation. With a career spanning three decades in the pizza industry, Frank continues to use his experience and expertise to hone his craft of pizza-making

What's the best temperature for making pizza in a kitchen oven?

If you don't own a pizza oven, you can still make pizza at home in a regular oven. Thankfully, the rule here is very easy to follow. You just need to get the oven as hot as you possibly can.

Michael Vakneen told me there's no real temperature for making pizza at home. His only advice? 'Crank it up all the way. Most home ovens max out at 500°F.'

Food blogger Aleka Shunk agrees, telling me that 'A kitchen oven cannot get that hot so cook your pizza on the highest temperature your oven will allow, ideally between 450-500°F'. 10 minutes should be enough to cook the pizza - just keep an eye on it so that it doesn't burn.

If you want to get a little fancier, Phillip Bollhoefer suggests using a pizza stone at 500°F. You can get a pizza stone and peel set like this at Amazon for around $40. If you decide to use this method, Philip recommends that 'The pizza stone or cooking surface needs to be properly pre-heated in order to have a restaurant-style crust.'

Philip Bollhoefer

Philip Bollhoefer is a Cordon Bleu trained chef. He is Vice President of food and beverage at Parks Hospitality Group, which owns and operates Soprana Rooftop Cucina, the newest rooftop restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina, offering brick-oven pizzas and Italian-inspired lunch and dinner.

Aleka Shunk

Aleka is a recipe creator, photographer and writer, and runs Aleka's Get-Together, a website of recipes for food, drinks, and advice on entertaining.

What's the best temperature for deep dish?

Deep dish is a lot heavier and wetter than other styles of pizza, so it's about as low-and-slow as a pizza gets. Aleka Shunk told me that in an oven, '400-425°F will work well. Pizza ovens should be around 600-700 °F.'

Michael Vakneen suggests a similar temperature with a pizza oven, and told me that 575°F 'gets the bottom nice and crunchy.' He also says to 'use baking steel or stone so that the pizza gets a nice cook on the bottom.'

Chef Philip Bollhoefer roughly agrees, recommending '450°F with a pizza stone. Again, Philp recommends a stone because 'The heat transfer from the deck or pizza stone to the pan is extremely important for the crust to cook fully.'

Pizza oven FAQs

How long should I cook a pizza for?

It depends on the pizza style and topping, but a general rule of thumb is that a pizza in a pizza oven will take around a minute, and a pizza cooked in a regular kitchen oven needs around 10 minutes.

For more help with pizza ovens, take a look at my advice on how to clean a pizza oven.