Cooking With The Ooni Pro
Exterior pizza ovens are ending up being fairly popular and it’s not tough to see why! They provide a simple and also fast means to get that wood-fired pizza taste right in your very own yard. They’re as practical as a classic grill yet extremely flexible given that they can get to such a heat and also prepare all sort of foods.
We ‘d been desiring an Ooni pizza oven permanently and also lastly got ours just a couple of months ago. I know you’ve wondered regarding whether I assume it’s worth the hype or otherwise so I’m right here to share my thoughts, methods, and suggestions – AND whether I believe the Ooni is worth the financial investment!
Ooni pizza oven on a metal table outside on a deck
Full disclosure – Ooni talented me this pizza oven. As always, all thoughts as well as opinions are my own.
THE OONI PIZZA OVEN
The Ooni is a portable, exterior pizza oven. It warms up to about 950 levels in 20 mins and can cook your pizza in 60 secs. It has a pizza rock inside that offers you that tasty, crunchy crust of a conventional wood-fired pizza oven.
VARIOUS MODELS
Ooni has a number of designs to choose from, which indicates there’s likely one that will fit your requirements and also spending plan. They supply 12″ or 16″ ovens that are either wood pellet or gas-powered or make use of both wood as well as gas. They range in rate from $299-$ 799 depending upon the size as well as requirements you select.
We selected the 16″ Koda due to the fact that we suched as the convenience of having the ability to use gas and also desired a bigger dimension to make sure that we had the choice to cook bigger pizzas or other things like fish, steak, etc.
AN INVESTMENT
At $299 for their base model, the Ooni pizza oven is certainly an investment. Nevertheless, including a pizza oven to your outdoor area may truly trigger some pleasure for you as well as make pizza night more amazing!
This is a well-crafted, high quality food preparation appliance that is going to last for years as long as you take treatment of it. So while it is a little bit spendy, in my viewpoint – if you’re going to use it a minimum of a pair times a month or even more – it’s totally worth it!
Expenses shot of a pepperoni jalapeno pizza on a wood pizza peel
SETTING UP
The Ooni comes virtually entirely put together out of package. All you have to do is unfold the legs as well as put the pizza stone in it!
If you’re getting a gas-powered Ooni, you will certainly need to buy a 1 extra pound or a 20 extra pound lp container. I’m not sure why, but here on the West coastline, we had a heck of a time finding a gas container, and also after that once we discovered one we had to discover a place to get it filled.
HOW TO USE THE OONI
Using the Ooni pizza oven is much easier than you could think! It was definitely easier than I expected it to be. As soon as you attach the propane storage tank, you just turn it approximately high as well as let it heat up for 20 minutes. Then reduced the heat, toss your pizza in, and allow it cook for a pair mins. My partner as well as I were both pleasantly amazed at how simple the Ooni is to utilize and how enjoyable it is to see the pizza cook!
The wonderful part is that the oven only has flames on the back and left side, so the front best side is the trendy area which offers you a lot more control over how the pizza is food preparation. The 16″ Koda offers you plenty of area to relocate the pizza around and likewise a good distance in between the fire as well as the pizza itself in case it starts to cook as well rapidly.
COOKING TIME
Ooni’s claim to fame is that it can prepare a pizza in 60 secs – which it absolutely can. Nonetheless, for amateur pizza chefs like ourselves, we found a couple YouTube videos that claimed turning the heat to reduced and also cooking it awhile longer at a reduced temperature could be less complicated. With that claimed, our chosen cooking approach is to:
- Heat the oven over for regarding 15-20 mins.
- Lower the warm to reduced and add a pizza to the oven.
- Prepare the pizza, revolving it every 20-30 secs approximately for regarding 2-3 minutes depending on the dimension of the pie as well as the quantity of toppings
Goat cheese and tomato pizza going into an Ooni pizza oven
THE LEARNING CURVE
I will state I was a little bit anxious regarding the discovering contour of food preparation with the Ooni. I believed it was going to be a little challenging to obtain the warm ideal and also keep it moving. I was happily shocked to discover that after simply a pair pizzas you truly begin to get the hang of it!
Truthfully, we maintained our Ooni in the box for a few weeks due to the fact that I simply wasn’t rather ready to tackle what I believed was going to be a tough cooking procedure. Utilizing the pizza oven is very simple and I wish we would certainly have opened our Ooni the day we obtained it!
COOKING TIPS
- Lightly powder the job surface where you’re making the pizza. As well as lightly flour the pizza peel. This will make it much easier to move the pizza to the pizza peel and move it to right into the oven. I’ve heard semolina flour functions best, but we use all-purpose without any concerns.
- You’ll have to assemble the pizza, after that relocate it to the pizza peel, as well as then scoot it off the peel as well as into the oven. The smaller your pizza, the less complicated it is to do. The larger the pizza, the more likely it is you’re going to finish up with a mangled mess.
- The key to getting that trademark pizza crust is touching the dough as little as possible. I truly lucked out because my companion utilized to make pizzas for a living so he’s basically a expert. This will certainly offer you that signature wood fired pizza oven appearance you’re looking for.
- Do not add too many toppings to your pizza. Another means to ensure that your pizza chefs through, is to top it very minimally. I would certainly advise including half of what you ‘d generally contribute to a pizza you’re going to cook in a normal oven. Like I stated, the transfer of the pizza is a little difficult, and also the more garnishes you have, the harder it is. So maintain it basic and top gently. This is not the moment to make your signature additional extra cheese pizza!
- Don’t obtain sidetracked. When you’re cooking pizza in the Ooni, you want your complete attention on that particular pizza. With the within the oven reaching temps over 900 degrees, it’s important to maintain a close eye on the pie because it can go from perfectly done, to completely shed in a matter of seconds.
Go here to take a look at the Ooni Pizza Oven
TASTE
I will certainly admit, I was skeptical yet enthusiastic that the flavor would certainly be close to that of a wood-fired pizza oven. And also divine cow – I was surprised!
The taste is almost the same to wood-fired pizza although it just utilizes gas. You obtain those flawlessly charred little bits throughout, the crust hurts on the inside and extremely crisp outside, and the cheese obtains ooey-gooey melty in simply minutes.
I can try to remain to explain how tasty the pizza is, but let me just claim, you will be impressed at the distinction between the pizza you may in your Ooni and also the pizza you make in your oven. They just don’t compare.
WHICH DOUGH TO USE
Truthfully, we utilize dough from the supermarket 9 times out of 10. They have a truly tasty dough that’s low-cost as well as cooks actually well in the Ooni. If I’m in the state of mind for homemade though, we either utilize my No-Knead Pizza Dough or my Quick Pizza Dough.
Overhead shot of a tomato as well as goat cheese pizza on a wooden pizza peel
OONI ACCESSORIES
- 16″ Pizza Peel – We like the 16″ pizza peel! The lengthy handle makes it simple to put the pizza right into the oven.
- Pizza Turning Wheel – We have actually not bought the transforming peel yet but I ‘d extremely advise the pizza turning wheel to help you transform the pizza while it’s in the oven. We currently just use the pizza peel to do it yet it’s a little bit much more difficult.
- Big Modular Table – The large modular table is something I went as well as back forth regarding. If we should get it or simply attempt to find something else comparable online, I wasn’t certain. Let me conserve you some time and energy. There is absolutely nothing around that approaches this table for less costly. It’s the absolute ideal dimension, comes with a rack, hanging dowels and also it’s on the wheels so you can easily move it backward and forward. It additionally has brakes. For $250 you are truly getting your money’s worth. It was also rather basic to create – or at least I really did not hear my companion vouch way too much while he was putting it together and also I think it was performed in less than an hour, even with a 5 years of age “helping” him.
- Wooden Pizza Peels – We got these cute little pizza peels off. Mainly just for convenience of having something to make the pizza on and afterwards something to cut the pizza on after it’s baked. They’re extremely adorable and also pretty affordable.
- Infrared Thermometer – We have actually not yet gotten an infrared thermostat but I’ve listened to that it’s incredibly handy in understanding if the pizza oven has gotten up to temp and is ready to cook!
>> Go here to take a look at the Ooni Pizza Oven <<
WHERE TO BUY AN OONI
You can discover the Ooni pizza ovens on their website, Amazon, or Williams-Sonoma. The rates are rather comparable, however often they have sales, so examine around to see where you can obtain the very best bargain.
CLEANING
One point that actually enticed me about the Ooni was that you don’t have to cleanse it! The temperature inside the oven obtains so warm that there’s actually no need to sterilize the inside or disinfect of it. Undoubtedly, you’ll require to clean down the outside from time to time as dust picks it, however apart from that no cleaning is required!
STORAGE SPACE
The Ooni Koda 16″ is 25 x 25 x 20 inches. If you do not have any protected space to store it however, Ooni does make a weatherproof cover.
A little pizza cooking inside an Ooni pizza oven outside
HELPFUL FOR WEEKNIGHT USE
It may look like a lot of job to obtain the Ooni prepared up simply to make 2 pizzas (which is what we generally do as a family of three) yet I ensure you, it’s truly not. The Ooni modular table we obtained makes it very easy to wheel in and out of the garage. Then you just attach the lp as well as let it heat while you make the pizzas. It’s totally doable on a weeknight and also we haven’t cooked a pizza in our oven since we got it!
IT IS WORTH THE HYPE?
The Ooni is worth the price for the experience that it delivers. I do say experience because I assume that cooking and making food really can be an experience.
My general thoughts on that Ooni are that I was anticipating whatever to be a great deal more job. On the whole, I am absolutely elated to find that the Ooni is actually a actually basic, simple, outside pizza oven experience. Prepping, heating up the oven, as well as cooking the pizzas is rather very easy.
When the wildfires aren’t raging, it’s additionally very lightweight as well as portable so I can absolutely see us taking this outdoor camping with us!
IS THE OONI RIGHT FOR YOU?
If you like pizza, have a small outdoor area, a bit of storage room to keep it completely dry, and appreciate having a beverage outside while you cook dinner, after that indeed – the Ooni is for you!
If you’re prepared to check out the Ooni pizza oven as well as choose which one is right for you – CLICK HERE!
It has a pizza stone inside that provides you that tasty, crunchy crust of a traditional wood-fired pizza oven.
When you’re cooking pizza in the Ooni, you desire your full focus on that pizza. If I’m in the state of mind for homemade though, we either use my No-Knead Pizza Dough or my Quick Pizza Dough.
Wooden Pizza Peels – We obtained these adorable little pizza peels. Primarily simply for convenience of having something to make the pizza on as well as then something to slice the pizza on after it’s baked.