A real review of the BioLite BaseCamp PizzaDome pizza stone with thermometer dome accessory.
The Biolite Basecamp is a wood-fired jet stove that disperses extreme heat without using gas. The fire jets from a cast iron body up through 13.25 inch grill grate cooktop. It allows campers to burn any combustible material affectionately called biomass.
Cooking our own pizzas on the BioLite BaseCamp PizzaDome was the highlight of our day the first time we used it. Preparing pizzas was fun and so was sampling several different flavors. Once the fire within the BaseCamp reaches flashpoint and the pizza stone has absorbed the heat fully cooking a crispy pizza can be done within 10 minutes or so. We split 2 16 ounce pizza doughs from Kroger into 4 crusts and topped each with a base of canned tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese and toppings like mushrooms, salami and pepperoni. The pizzas easily filled up 2 adults and 4 kids.
The PizzaDome accessory comes with a 12 inch pizza stone, triangular base and handled dome with built-in thermometer. The whole setup conveniently fits beneath the BaseCamp’s carrying handle, so it is super-easy to pack and carry. That is if you are already used to the weight of the BaseCamp. The triangular base may seem curious at first, but after cooking a few pizza pies you’ll quickly realize the convenience it offers of pulling the pizza stone off the stove by providing just enough space to slip a spatula underneath. The conveniently sized stone is nice to have, but the winner here is the versatile dome. Use it to make pizzas or trap heat to speed up cooking anything else on the stove. With its built-in thermometer you can easily prevent charring food to the point of no return, which is easy to do with the heat generated from the BaseCamp stove.
Be sure to let your stone heat up before laying your pie on it and consider dusting the bottom with plenty of flour for easy transfers to and from the stone. Also, don’t limit yourself to the BaseCamp alone. You can just as easily toast an authentic Italian pizza on your grill at home or in your oven. Just don’t risk your PizzaDome inside the oven!
