I am a restaurant chef with over 10 years of experience at my restaurant, Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston. In this article, I will compare the Camp Chef Italia and the Bakebros 14 pizza ovens, since I’ve used both extensively in my kitchen. I evaluated their quality and materials, temperature control, shape, first-time usage impressions, power source, size, ease of cleaning, and also conducted a real pizza cooking test to see how long each oven takes to deliver a perfect pie. You can also check the thorough process of how I test pizza ovens in my separate article.
The Camp Chef Italia is a popular propane-powered oven designed for backyard cooks who want brick-oven results without a steep learning curve. The Bakebros 14 is a modern, compact oven that combines portability and high heat output for fast, crispy pizzas.
This article features a thorough comparison between the Camp Chef Italia and the Bakebros 14 based on my personal tests.
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Winner
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Loser
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Our Rating:
4.2
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Our Rating:
2.8
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Pros:
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Pros:
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Cons:
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Cons:
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- Made with stainless steel and has a double-layer ceiling
- Can reach 750°F
- Smooth dome shape
- Thinner metal frame may impact its durability over time
- Requires careful management, especially on windy days
- Propane-only
- Constructed from stainless steel
- Practical design
- Smaller and lighter (39.5 pounds), making it highly portable
- Struggles with consistent heat retention
- Requires a bit more practice to get used to
- Runs exclusively on LPG (propane gas)
- Requires more frequent maintenance due to less effective soot control
Finally, just so you know, this article contains referral links that help keep my blog alive. If you choose to buy through them, I’ll earn a small commission at no cost to you, and it genuinely supports the time I put into these reviews.
Camp Chef Italia VS Bakebros 14: Quality and Materials
| The Camp Chef Italia is constructed with solid stainless steel and a cordierite ceramic stone that feels more substantial and built for long-term use. The metal frame is thinner compared to premium ovens but still holds up well under repeated high-heat cooking. |
The Bakebros 14 uses stainless steel that feels lighter and less robust overall. While durable enough for casual use, it doesn’t have the same solid feel as the Camp Chef Italia and seems more prone to denting or heat warping over time.
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Camp Chef Italia VS Bakebros 14: Temperature Control
| Camp Chef Italia offers reliable temperature control through micro-adjust valves and a built-in thermometer. It can consistently reach and maintain around 700°F–750°F for crisp crusts. Adjustments are simple and precise. |
The Bakebros 14 impressed me by heating up to 900°F, but the control felt less refined. It required more active monitoring and occasional adjustments to maintain steady heat, which could be tricky for beginners.
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Camp Chef Italia VS Bakebros 14: Shape
| Camp Chef Italia has a smooth domed ceiling that circulates hot air evenly across the baking stone. This classic shape helps achieve uniform browning and cooks pizza thoroughly without rotating too often. |
The Bakebros 14 has a compact, rectangular chamber that distributes heat well but doesn’t create quite the same airflow as the Camp Chef Italia dome. Pizzas sometimes needed extra turning to avoid uneven cooking.
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Camp Chef Italia VS Bakebros 14: First-Time Usage Impressions
| When I first used the Camp Chef Italia, I was pleased by how intuitive it was to set up and operate. The assembly took under 30 minutes, and the controls were easy to understand even without reading the manual. |
The Bakebros 14 was extremely fast to assemble—only 5 minutes—but it took a little trial and error to learn how to manage the gas flame and get consistent results. It felt less confidence-inspiring at first compared to the Camp Chef Italia.
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Camp Chef Italia VS Bakebros 14: Power Source
| Camp Chef Italia uses propane, making it very convenient and mess-free. The included hose and regulator connect quickly to a tank, and you never need to fuss with wood or pellets. |
The Bakebros 14 also uses gas (LPG), which is similarly easy to operate. It preheats quickly and avoids the hassle of refilling wood fuel, but I found it needed more manual adjustments to hold temperature.
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Camp Chef Italia VS Bakebros 14: Size
| This oven is roomy enough to bake a standard 12” pizza comfortably, although rotating a larger pie can be tight. It weighs about 47 lbs, which feels sturdy without being too heavy to reposition. |
Despite being called a 14” oven, in practice the Bakebros 14 worked best with pizzas under 13”. The compact design (39.5 lbs) is very portable, but the cooking space feels a bit cramped when handling larger doughs.
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Camp Chef Italia VS Bakebros 14: Ease of Cleaning
| Camp Chef Italia cleans up quickly. After a burn-off cycle, any remaining bits come off with a scraper and damp cloth. The exterior wipes clean easily, and the stone is simple to maintain. |
The Bakebros 14 is also straightforward to clean—just remove the stone and wipe it down. However, the lighter materials felt like they could be scratched or dented more easily during cleaning.
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Pizza Cooking Test
To see how each oven performed under real conditions, I tested them side by side using my classic Margherita pizza recipe with fresh dough, mozzarella, tomato sauce, and basil.
The Camp Chef Italia took about 30 minutes to reach an internal temperature of 700°F measured with an infrared thermometer. Once preheated, the pizza cooked in roughly 9 minutes. The crust came out evenly golden with a gentle crunch, and the bottom was fully baked without any raw spots. The toppings were nicely caramelized without overcooking. Overall, the Camp Chef Italia delivered a balanced, traditional-style pizza that would satisfy most pizza enthusiasts.
The Bakebros 14″ Outdoor Pizza Oven preheated a bit faster, reaching close to 900°F after about 25 minutes. Thanks to that higher heat, the Margherita pizza baked in just 60 seconds. The result was a crisp, airy crust with a beautiful char around the edges and gooey melted cheese on top. The only downside was that the intense heat made it easy to overcook certain spots, so it required more frequent rotation and close attention. After a little practice, though, the Bakebros produced an authentic Neapolitan-style pizza with excellent flavor.
Overall, both ovens delivered delicious results, but I found the Camp Chef Italia gave me more consistent outcomes with less monitoring, while the Bakebros 14 rewarded careful technique with a fast, restaurant-style bake.
How We Tested
To evaluate the Camp Chef Italia and the Bakebros 14 pizza ovens, I used them side by side over several days in my professional kitchen at Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston. I followed the manufacturer’s instructions for assembly, preheating, and operation, making sure each oven was tested in similar outdoor conditions to keep things fair.
For consistency, I prepared identical batches of fresh pizza dough and used the same toppings on every test bake. I preheated each oven fully and monitored the internal stone temperature with an infrared thermometer. During cooking, I timed how long it took to reach optimal heat and measured how quickly the pizzas cooked once placed inside.
I also tested how easily each oven maintained temperature between batches, how evenly the crusts baked, and how simple it was to clean them after use. These hands-on trials gave me a clear picture of each oven’s strengths and trade-offs in real-world use.
Conclusion
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Winner
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Loser
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Our Rating:
4.2
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Our Rating:
2.8
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|
Pros:
|
Pros:
|
|
Cons:
|
Cons:
|
- Made with stainless steel and has a double-layer ceiling
- Can reach 750°F
- Smooth dome shape
- Thinner metal frame may impact its durability over time
- Requires careful management, especially on windy days
- Propane-only
- Constructed from stainless steel
- Practical design
- Smaller and lighter (39.5 pounds), making it highly portable
- Struggles with consistent heat retention
- Requires a bit more practice to get used to
- Runs exclusively on LPG (propane gas)
- Requires more frequent maintenance due to less effective soot control
It’s your choice whether you prefer the Camp Chef Italia or the Bakebros 14. Both ovens can deliver delicious pizzas, and each has unique strengths depending on what you value most—whether that’s the dependable build and consistent performance of the Camp Chef Italia or the high-heat capabilities and portability of the Bakebros 14.
If you decide to buy one, I’d highly appreciate you using my referral links for purchasing. I’ll earn a small commission at no cost to you, which helps me keep this blog alive and continue testing more equipment.
Here they are: