Anthony Built This Oven by Hand — Here's Why It Matters
In 2017, before Nonna's Kitchen opened, Anthony spent three months building a wood-fired oven. He sourced the firebricks from a supplier in Mexico — the same dense, heat-retaining brick used in traditional Neapolitan pizza ovens. He mixed the mortar himself. He shaped the dome by hand, brick by brick, following the proportions of the wood-fired ovens he had studied on visits to Naples.
The oven has been burning oak wood every night the restaurant has been open since 2018. It reaches 900 degrees Fahrenheit at full temperature. A pizza made with our 48-hour fermented dough goes in and comes out 90 seconds later. That speed and that heat is what creates the char on the bottom, the leopard spots on the crust, and the texture that no conventional oven can replicate. See the full pizza menu or read about Anthony's morning pasta routine.
Why He Built It Instead of Buying One
Pre-built wood-fired ovens exist. They're available, and they work. Anthony built his own because he wanted to understand every part of it — how it holds heat, how it distributes the fire, where the cool spots are. If something goes wrong, he knows exactly what to fix and why. That's not possible with a piece of equipment you bought.
The San Marzano Tomatoes
The tomato sauce on every pizza at Nonna's Kitchen starts with San Marzano tomatoes imported from the Campania region of Italy. San Marzanos are grown in volcanic soil near Mount Vesuvius, which gives them a sweetness and low acidity that California or Texas tomatoes don't match. Nonna Rosa used San Marzano tomatoes in Naples. Anthony uses them here.
The 48-Hour Dough
The pizza dough is 00 flour, water, salt, and a tiny amount of yeast. It ferments for 48 hours in the refrigerator before service. The slow fermentation develops complex flavor and a dough structure that blisters and chars properly under high heat. Fast-risen dough doesn't behave the same way in a 900-degree oven.
What '90 Seconds' Does to a Pizza
At 900 degrees, the outside of the pizza sets almost instantly while the inside stays soft. The bottom picks up direct heat from the brickwork. The edges balloon and char. The mozzarella melts without becoming greasy. The whole pizza cooks faster than you can have a full sentence of conversation. That's the point.
The Difference You Can Taste
A pizza from this oven has a crust that's simultaneously crispy and chewy — not one or the other. The bottom has some char, which tastes slightly bitter and balances the sweetness of the San Marzano tomatoes. If you've eaten pizza in Naples, this is what you remember. If you haven't, this is what you've been missing.
See the oven. Taste the difference.
1847 E 6th Street, Austin TX • Dinner Tue–Sun from 5PM