Gozney Arc XL Review: My go-to pizza oven at home
The Arc XL is consistent and reliable. What more could you ask for?
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Gozney launched the $799 Arc and $999 Arc XL gas-powered pizza ovens nearly two years ago now. The two gas-powered ovens are capable of handling 14 or 16-inch pizzas, respectively, in under 90 seconds.
More recently, Gozney announced the Arc Lite, a $399 gas-powered oven that's smaller and lighter than its namesake, maxing out with enough space for a 12-inch pizza.
The Arc and Arc XL are a step between the Roccbox, the limited edition Tread and the much bigger (and more expensive) Dome and Dome (Gen 2) line, in overall size with a much more palatable price.
I've been using the biggest of the Arcs since it launched, making countless pizzas and meals with it, and I have to admit – I'm smitten. I don't want to spoil everything, though. So let's just dive right in.
What I liked about it
Easy setup
The initial setup of the Arc XL was a breeze. You'll need two people to help lift the 73-pound box it arrives in, and then again to lift the roughly 59-pound oven out of the box.
After it's unboxed, you remove all of the protective foam inserts, place the flue outlet and flame guard in their respective places, connect the propane hose to the rear of the unit using the handy quick disconnect, insert a battery into the digital display and igniter, and you're set. All told it took me about 10 minutes to get the Arc XL all set up and ready to go.
It actually took longer to build the stand (which is super nice) than it did to get the oven ready.
Before you can use it though, Gozney recommends igniting the oven and letting it run at low to medium heat for 30 minutes.
After that initial burn in, if you will, you're ready to start making pizzas.
It gets hot, fast
I've used the Arc XL at least a dozen times throughout my testing. Sometimes for pizza, other times for various dishes (more on that in a minute), and each time, I give myself about 30 minutes for the oven to get to temp.
At the half-hour mark, the oven's built-in display with temperature gauge usually reads between 700 and 900 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the day. I don't rely solely on that built-in gauge, however. Instead, I check the stone's temperature using an infrared thermometer to ensure I'm not going to burn the bottom of a pizza (or take too long to get a good char on it).
Around an hour of preheating the oven, the temperature flirts with reaching 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. At one point, the displayed temperature just read "Hot," which meant it was over 1,000 degrees.
The display is a nice touch
Speaking of the display that shows the temperature of the oven – I love it. It's big, bright and bold. Having a quick and easy way to know what temperature the oven is at allows me to make decisions about adjusting the temperature knob on the fly.
And, truly, if you don't want to invest in an infrared thermometer and rely solely on the display – you could. I obsess about every detail when making pizza, so using the infrared thermometer is what I do. However, it's totally an extra step and not a necessity.
In fact, you don't even have to worry about the numbers on the digital display.
The color-coded bars just above the temperature go from blue to green to red and are a good reference for those who are just starting with making pizzas.
Just to be clear, for most Neapolitan-style pizzas, you want to bake it when the green bar is present. Blue means you need to wait a bit more, and red means you're going to burn the bottom, of course.
The screen turns off after around 30 minutes to save on battery, but it's a quick press of the button to turn it back on.
Consistency is king
Every pizza oven comes with a learning curve as you get acquainted with it. With the Arc XL, after the second or third outing, I had the oven's nuances figured out.
When a pizza is placed directly in the middle of the oven, the arcing flame that goes from the left side, along the roof, and down the right side, does a good job at evenly heating the top of the pizza.
Because the burner is on the left side, that side of your pie is going to brown and get a nice char on it before the right side, so you'll want to turn it about 45-60 seconds into the bake.
Usually, I'd put a pizza in, start forming and topping another one, turn the pizza around the minute mark to even out the browning, and then finish off any lighter spots around the 90 second mark with a couple more turns.
Whether you're new to homemade pizza and using a dedicated oven, or someone more experienced, the Arc XL is quick to learn and will provide consistent results.
It's very spacious
The inside of the Arc XL measures 16.8 x 20.3 x 6.8 inches, giving you plenty of room to bake pizzas up to 16-inches.
The spacious design of the Arc XL is something I appreciate for two main reasons. First, it gives me what feels like a giant window inside the oven to see how my pizzas are coming along. The actual opening is 4-inches high, but it's the same size across the entire width of the unit.
Compare that to the Ooni Koda 16, which is 4.5 inches in the middle, but tapers down to 2.5 inches. That's an area where I always struggled with the Koda 16. The mouth of the Koda 16 is bigger in the middle of the oven, measuring 4.5-inches, but it gradually tapers down on both sides until it's only 2.5-inches high. The end result makes it feel very closed and narrow.
But the second aspect of its overall size I rather enjoy is the ability to cook all sorts of dishes inside the Arc XL. I've made a few Detroit pizzas with a full-sized Detroit pan during my testing, but one dish we keep coming back to in the Arc XL is making Serious Eats sheet-pan chicken fajitas.
The entire sheet pan fits inside the Arc XL, and the added heat and char from the flame that circles over the top of the chicken and veggies adds flavor and crunch that you just don't get in a standard oven. We tried it, and the entire family agreed the Arc XL fajitas are superior in every single way.
The stand isn't a must, but it sure is nice
Gozney makes a few different accessories specific to its Arc lineup, including a Booster that lifts the oven off your work surface so you don't have to bend over to monitor your bake, and a cover if you plan on leaving the oven outside.
However, Gozney sent me the $250 Stand that works with both Arc oven sizes. It's not cheap, but the same can be said about stainless steel shelves that are sturdy enough to hold something like a pizza oven.
The Stand has two shelves that fold out on either side of the oven when you need them, and collapse down when not needed. The shelves are probably my favorite aspect of the Stand, simply because they're a convenient place to place your turning peel between bakes, or a hot pan when you're not making pizza.
The base has a platform, complete with indentations for your propane bottle so you don't have to carry it around when you move the oven.
Its build quality is impressive, with wheels that glide across my patio -- going over cracks in the concrete with ease.
If you already have a space to place the oven and can get away with using the less expensive Booster, that makes sense. However, if you feel like splurging a bit because you need a better place to store the oven, the Stand is worth considering..
What we didn't like about it
Igniting it is kind of annoying
I have a few minor gripes about the Arc XL. One is the ignition process. More specifically, the fact that you have to hold the dial in, triggering the ignition switch, for upwards of 30 seconds before you can let it go and the flame will remain lit.
The reason you have to hold it in for so long, with the ignition clicking the entire time, is because the flame failure device needs to get hot. If it's not hot, and you let go of the dial, it cuts off the gas and the flame disappears. Granted, this is a safety feature of the Arc XL to ensure your oven isn't spewing gas if the flame gets blown out, so I understand the premise, but it takes far too long to get the sensor hot enough that you can let go and walk away. ensure
I don't recall having to do this on the Ooni Koda 16, or even Gozney's Dome S1.
Not ideal for a windy day
Using the Arc XL on a windy day has proven to be a bit of a chore. Gozney officially recommends, as do other pizza oven manufacturers, to point the mouth of the oven away from the wind when in use. That means the back of the oven receives the brunt of the wind, bypassing the opening.
However, I've tried using the Arc XL on windy days a couple of times, with the back of the oven facing the wind, and ran into issues with the flame randomly turning off.
To be clear, it took a pretty strong wind for there to be an issue. It's a non-issue on a slightly breezy or completely still day.
The housing is hard to clean
When I received the Arc XL it was only available in a single, off white color. By the time I was done with my first pizza, the right side of the face of the oven was covered in black soot. I've tried multiple times to wash it off using warm water and soap with no luck. The oven is stained. Which, I guess, is a badge of honor to show you've actually used it.
However, if I had received one of the limited edition colors for Gozney's partnership with Hedley & Bennett, I'd be pretty sad about the added color.
Bottom line
The $999 Arc XL is a clear winner in my book. I have several Gozney and Ooni ovens taking up space on my back porch, but since receiving the Arc XL, it's been the oven I start up when it's pizza night at home, or when we're workshopping recipes for Sips & Pies. It's easy to work in thanks to its large opening, it heats fast, is consistent, and has a handy digital thermometer display.
Its smaller sibling, the $799 Arc, is likely a better fit for most, and with a lower price tag and the same feature set as the XL.