(Photo: Hannah Whitaker/New York Magazine)

Wood-burning
You can’t have a proper Neapolitan pizza without a meticulously proportioned, firebrick-lined dome oven like the one at Kesté (pictured). At 1,000 degrees, it can cook a pizza in 45 seconds.

(Photo: Hannah Whitaker/New York Magazine)

Gas
The standard slice-joint oven. Without it, there would be no Ray’s. True, there’s nothing particularly sexy about a gas oven, but certain pizzerias, like Di Fara in Midwood and Nick’s in Forest Hills (pictured), are able to achieve greatness with it.

(Photo: Hannah Whitaker/New York Magazine)

Coal
Coal burns hottest, up to 1,200 degrees, but is hard to control. Detractors call it dirty, fickle, and apt to dry out the dough. But it also creates a characteristic char that distinguishes the pies at Lombardi’s, John’s, Totonno’s, and Patsy’s (pictured).

(Photo: Hannah Whitaker/New York Magazine)

Electric
Electric ovens may not get very hot, but they’re easy to control and produce consistent results, and the high-tech Italian models—like this triple-decker at Farinella—look great.

Related:

• Archive: “Features”
• Articles by Robin Raisfeld | Rob Patronite
• Table of Contents: Jul 20, 2009 issue of New York | Subscribe!