Ever experienced Pizza Oven Envy? If so, how much can it cost you, both in dollars and regret?

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So, dear reader, what form has your pizza-oven lust taken?

And if you're a female of the species, I'm aware: this is a problem about hardware desire, which is virtually unique to the male of the species. If you feel left out, I'm sorry. If you feel superior, well, you probably are. 

So, anyway, do you lust for an outdoor pizza oven like an Ooni or a Roccbox?
 
Do you harbor a higher level of lust, maybe for a Gozney Dome or a Forno Bravo?
 
Or are you looking straight to the top, aiming for a supermodel oven like a half-ton Earthstone, which can go into your home kitchen, sitting there ready to make your most lustful pizza-oven fantasies come true anytime in any weather to the astonishment and envy of your assembled friends on any given night?

I admit, the latter lust was mine. I've lived the reality of being married to that supermodel. And lemme tell ya, it's a lot of work.

So, which lust is yours?
 
I ask this because it's related to exactly why this weird little thing called Free The Pizza happened in the first place: as a kind of public service against the emotional trap of oven envy.

When this all started, I knew of many a wannabe pizzamaker with a tiny, cruel oven in the garage, covered in dust.

When asked about their experience, they didn't want to discuss it.

Free The Pizza was designed to help prevent the misunderstanding that making pizza is about buying an oven.

There's nothing wrong with owning a pizza oven. There are some fantastic ovens out there in a range of prices. And the CEO of Ooni is an incredibly nice guy who has one of the extraordinary entrepreneurial success stories of the 21st century. 

​But pizza is no more about buying an oven than pizza photography is about buying a camera. Your phone works fine for shooting pizza. You just have to understand what you're doing.

Example: the pizza below was a) made in my home oven and b) photographed with my phone. 

Some people will see those photos and believe that a) they were taken with an expensive SLR or mirrorless camera, and b) attaining such a level of pizza in a home oven is impossible.

That's because there's a level of romance here that is designed exactly to inspire lust. The truth is, a smartphone camera and a home oven are both capable of delivering far more than the uninitiated owner believes. 

Pizza is less about a new oven, and more about what you do with the oven you already have.
 
And that begins by understanding that oven in relation to a pizza.
 
I realize there's a good chance you already know that.
 
Or maybe you're just learning it.
 
Maybe you haven't even made pizza yet. Maybe you're waiting for just the right oven to be on sale. 
 
Or you've tried making pizza with the oven you already have, using that quickie dough recipe you downloaded from Pizza Web (A Division of Skynet).

​That was an unfortunate experience, wasn't it? How much of that pizza went in the trash? 
 
Or maybe you were lucky. Maybe you've started making pizza in your home oven and are feeling the joy.
 
What is your oven lust about, and how does it affect your making (or not making) pizza?
 
Tell us about it.

If enough folks play Confess Your Oven Envy, we’ll talk about it in the next edition of The Saturday Afternoon Pizza Post.
 
To tell your story, fill out the contact form and put “Oven Envy” in the subject line.
 
NOTE: All tales of oven lust will be shared in strict anonymity unless you instruct otherwise. So feel free to cut loose with your tale of lust for oven.

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Want to learn how to make pizza starting at zero (including how-to-use-a-home-oven part)? My weird little book is one way to do it—and it’s really a manual for how to get from zero to pizza. There’s not much else you can do with it. In fact, you can’t even use it to level a table leg if you buy the Kindle edition (which is less expensive than print and has active links to the videos and printable kitchen worksheets). To learn more about Free The Pizza: A Simple System For Making Great Pizza Whenever You Want With The Oven You Already Have, click here. ​