Ooni Karu Wood-fired Pizza Oven
Outside pizza ovens are ending up being fairly popular as well as it’s not hard to see why! They supply a very easy and quick means to obtain that wood-fired pizza flavor right in your very own backyard. They’re as convenient as a classic grill but very versatile since they can reach such a heat as well as prepare all type of foods.
We had actually been desiring an Ooni pizza oven forever and lastly got ours simply a few months back. I understand you’ve wondered regarding whether I assume it’s worth the hype or not so I’m here to share my suggestions, ideas, and techniques – AND whether I assume the Ooni deserves the investment!
Ooni pizza oven on a metal table outside on a deck
Complete disclosure – Ooni talented me this pizza oven. As always, all point of views and also thoughts are my very own.
THE OONI PIZZA OVEN
The Ooni is a portable, exterior pizza oven. It heats up to regarding 950 degrees in 20 mins as well as can prepare your pizza in 60 secs. It has a pizza stone inside that provides you that scrumptious, crispy crust of a conventional wood-fired pizza oven.
VARIOUS MODELS
Ooni has several models to select from, which indicates there’s likely one that will certainly fit your demands and spending plan. They provide 12″ or 16″ ovens that are either wood pellet or gas-powered or make use of both timber as well as gas. They range in cost from $299-$ 799 depending on the size as well as requirements you choose.
We went with the 16″ Koda due to the fact that we suched as the convenience of being able to utilize gas as well as additionally desired a larger dimension to ensure that we had the choice to cook larger pizzas or various other things like fish, steak, etc.
AN INVESTMENT
At $299 for their base model, the Ooni pizza oven is certainly an financial investment. Adding a pizza oven to your outside location might really stimulate some joy for you as well as make pizza night a lot more exciting!
Likewise, this is a reliable, top quality cooking device that is mosting likely to last for many years as long as you look after it. While it is a little bit spendy, in my point of view – if you’re going to utilize it at the very least a pair times a month or even more – it’s totally worth it!
Overhead shot of a pepperoni jalapeno pizza on a wood pizza peel
ASSEMBLY
The Ooni comes nearly entirely assembled out of package. All you need to do is unfold the legs and put the pizza stone in it!
You will certainly require to purchase a 1 pound or a 20 pound lp tank if you’re getting a gas-powered Ooni. Tracking down that gas tank and having it loaded could have been the hardest part of the entire setting up for us! I’m not exactly sure why, however right here on the West coastline, we had a hell of a time locating a gas storage tank, and then once we discovered one we needed to locate a area to get it loaded. The good news is, our regional hardware store had one left, and also the filling station down the street can fill them so we really did not need to travel far, but I called a TON of places prior to I could also find one.
HOW TO USE THE OONI
Using the Ooni pizza oven is easier than you could believe! It was definitely easier than I anticipated it to be. Once you attach the gas container, you just turn it as much as high as well as allow it heat up for 20 mins. Lower the warm, toss your pizza in, and allow it cook for a couple minutes. My partner as well as I were both happily surprised at just how simple the Ooni is to utilize as well as just how fun it is to see the pizza cook!
The good part is that the oven only has flames on the back as well as left side, so the front right side is the awesome place which gives you more control over exactly how the pizza is cooking. The 16″ Koda provides you lots of space to move the pizza around as well as likewise a excellent distance between the pizza and also the flame itself in case it starts to prepare also quickly.
FOOD PREPARATION TIME
Ooni’s claim to fame is that it can cook a pizza in 60 seconds – which it entirely can. For amateur pizza chefs like ourselves, we located a couple YouTube videos that claimed transforming the warm to reduced and cooking it for a bit much longer at a lower temp could be simpler. With that said said, our chosen cooking method is to:
- Heat the oven on high for about 15-20 mins.
- Lower the heat to low as well as include a pizza to the oven.
- Prepare the pizza, revolving it every 20-30 secs or two for concerning 2-3 mins depending on the dimension of the pie as well as the amount of toppings
Goat cheese and tomato pizza going into an Ooni pizza oven
THE LEARNING CURVE
I will certainly claim I was a little bit worried about the understanding contour of cooking with the Ooni. I assumed it was going to be a little difficult to obtain the heat ideal as well as keep it moving. Nonetheless, I was pleasantly amazed to find that after just a pair pizzas you really start to get the hang of it!
I think we obtain a little much better each time as we excellent the dough shaping and topping. However truthfully, we maintained our Ooni in the box for a couple of weeks because I just wasn’t rather ready to tackle what I assumed was mosting likely to be a tough food preparation procedure. I could NOT have actually been much more incorrect. Using the pizza oven is super easy and also I wish we would have opened our Ooni the day we got it!
COOKING TIPS
- Lightly powder the work surface where you’re making the pizza. And also gently flour the pizza peel.
- Don’t roll the crust out also big unless you’re very comfy with the process of relocate. You’ll have to set up the pizza, after that relocate to the pizza peel, and after that run it off the peel and also into the oven. The smaller your pizza, the simpler it is to do. The bigger the pizza, the more likely it is you’re mosting likely to end up with a mangled mess. The 16″ Koda can take care of a 16″ pie, we still maintain them around 10″ -12″. I commonly split a one pound ball of dough in 2, and after that present two pizzas from that.
- Do not exhaust the dough. The key to obtaining that trademark pizza crust is touching the dough as little as feasible. Due to the fact that my companion utilized to make pizzas for a living so he’s basically a expert, I really lucked out. He suggests using your fingers to carefully develop the crust while relocating the dough in a circle. After that slapping it backward and forward in between your hands/forearms until it gets huge enough. Ideally, you want the dough to be thicker on the edges, and afterwards very slim in the center. This will certainly offer you that signature wood discharged pizza oven texture you’re trying to find. , if the crust is too thick in the middle it won’t prepare all the way via.
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- Don’t add way too many garnishes to your pizza. Another method to guarantee that your pizza cooks with, is to top it really minimally. I ‘d suggest including half of what you ‘d usually contribute to a pizza you’re mosting likely to cook in a normal oven. Like I discussed, the transfer of the pizza is a little complicated, and the more garnishes you have, the trickier it is. So maintain it straightforward and leading gently. This is not the moment to make your trademark extra additional cheese pizza!
- Do not get sidetracked. When you’re cooking pizza in the Ooni, you want your full attention on that particular pizza. With the inside of the oven reaching temps over 900 levels, it’s vital to keep a close eye on the pie because it can go from perfectly done, to completely burned immediately.
Go here to check out the Ooni Pizza Oven
FLAVOR
I will certainly confess, I was confident yet cynical that the taste would certainly be close to that of a wood-fired pizza oven. And holy cow – I was surprised!
The flavor is almost identical to wood-fired pizza despite the fact that it just uses gas. You get those completely charred little bits all over, the crust hurts on the within and also very crisp on the outside, and also the cheese gets ooey-gooey melty in just mins.
I could try to remain to define how tasty the pizza is, yet let me simply claim, you will certainly be impressed at the difference in between the pizza you may in your Ooni as well as the pizza you make in your oven. They simply do not compare.
WHICH DOUGH TO USE
Honestly, we use dough from the supermarket 9 times out of 10. They have a really tasty dough that’s cost-effective and also chefs actually well in the Ooni. If I’m in the mood for homemade however, we either use 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 love the 16″ pizza peel! The lengthy handle makes it very easy to place the pizza right into the oven.
- Pizza Turning Wheel – We have actually not acquired the turning peel yet but I ‘d extremely suggest the pizza turning wheel to help you turn the pizza while it’s in the oven. We presently simply make use of the pizza peel to do it but it’s a little bit extra difficult.
- Big Modular Table – The big modular table is something I went and back forth about. I had not been certain if we must acquire it or simply try to discover something else similar online. For $250 you are really obtaining your cash’s worth.
- Wood Pizza Peels – We obtained these charming little pizza peels as well. Mostly just for convenience of having something to make the pizza on and after that something to cut the pizza on after it’s baked. They’re extremely cute and also quite inexpensive.
- Infrared Thermometer – We have actually not yet obtained an infrared thermostat however I’ve listened to that it’s incredibly practical in knowing if the pizza oven has risen to temp and also is ready to prepare!
>> Visit this site to have a look at the Ooni Pizza Oven <<
WHERE TO BUY AN OONI
You can find the Ooni pizza ovens on their site, Amazon, or Williams-Sonoma. The rates are rather similar, however occasionally they have sales, so examine around to see where you can obtain the most effective deal.
CLEANING
One thing that actually lured me about the Ooni was that you don’t have to cleanse it! The temperature inside the oven gets so hot that there’s truly no need to sanitize the inside or disinfect of it. Undoubtedly, you’ll need to clean down the outside periodically as dust chooses it, yet other than that no cleansing is called for!
STORAGE
The Ooni Koda 16″ is 25 x 25 x 20 inches. If you don’t have any kind of protected room to keep it though, Ooni does make a weatherproof cover.
A tiny pizza cooking inside an Ooni pizza oven outside
GREAT FOR WEEKNIGHT USE
It could feel like a lot of job to get the Ooni ready up just to make two pizzas (which is what we generally do as a family of three) however I guarantee you, it’s truly not. The Ooni modular table we got makes it very easy to wheel in and out of the garage. After that you simply attach the gas and allow it heat while you make the pizzas. It’s totally workable on a weeknight and we haven’t prepared a pizza in our oven given that we got it!
IT IS WORTH THE HYPE?
The Ooni is worth the price for the experience that it delivers. I do claim experience because I think that making as well as cooking food actually can be an experience.
My general ideas on that particular Ooni are that I was anticipating every little thing to be a lot even more work. I was expecting the arrangement to be a problem, the real preparing and prepping to be a little bit taxing, as well as I had not been certain what the cleansing procedure required. Overall, I am absolutely elated to locate that the Ooni is in fact a truly simple, uncomplicated, outdoor pizza oven experience. The arrangement fasts. Prepping, heating up the oven, and also preparing the pizzas is quite easy. As well as clean-up is practically non-existent.
When the wildfires aren’t raging, it’s likewise very lightweight as well as mobile so I can totally see us taking this camping with us!
IS THE OONI RIGHT FOR YOU?
If you like pizza, have a tiny outdoor area, a little bit of storage area to maintain it completely dry, as well as delight in having a beverage outside while you prepare supper, after that of course – the Ooni is for you!
If you’re prepared to look into the Ooni pizza oven and make a decision which one is right for you – CLICK HERE!
It has a pizza rock inside that provides you that scrumptious, crunchy crust of a traditional wood-fired pizza oven.
When you’re cooking pizza in the Ooni, you want your complete attention on that pizza. If I’m in the state of mind for homemade however, we either utilize my No-Knead Pizza Dough or my Quick Pizza Dough.
Wood Pizza Peels – We got these adorable little pizza peels off. Primarily just for ease of having something to make the pizza on as well as after that something to cut the pizza on after it’s baked.