The Oonies
Outside pizza ovens are becoming rather popular as well as it’s not hard to see why! They provide a easy as well as quick way to obtain that wood-fired pizza flavor right in your very own yard. They’re as hassle-free as a classic grill however extremely flexible given that they can get to such a heat and prepare all type of foods.
We had actually been wanting an Ooni pizza oven permanently and also finally got ours just a few months earlier. I know you’ve been curious about whether I assume it’s worth the hype or not so I’m below to share my thoughts, methods, and also ideas – AND whether I believe the Ooni is worth the investment!
Ooni pizza oven on a steel table outside on a deck
Complete disclosure – Ooni gifted me this pizza oven. As always, all viewpoints as well as thoughts are my very own.
THE OONI PIZZA OVEN
The Ooni is a mobile, exterior pizza oven. It warms up to concerning 950 degrees in 20 mins and can prepare your pizza in 60 seconds. It has a pizza rock inside that offers you that scrumptious, crispy crust of a typical wood-fired pizza oven.
DIFFERENT MODELS
Ooni has numerous versions to pick from, which implies there’s likely one that will certainly fit your demands and also budget plan. They offer 12″ or 16″ ovens that are either wood pellet or gas-powered or make use of both wood as well as gas. They vary in rate from $299-$ 799 depending upon the dimension as well as requirements you pick.
We went with the 16″ Koda due to the fact that we suched as the convenience of being able to make use of gas as well as additionally desired a larger dimension to make sure that we had the alternative to cook bigger pizzas or other points like fish, steak, and so on.
AN INVESTMENT
At $299 for their base model, the Ooni pizza oven is definitely an investment. Nonetheless, including a pizza oven to your exterior location might truly stimulate some joy for you and make pizza night extra exciting!
This is a well-made, quality cooking appliance that is going to last for years as long as you take treatment of it. So while it is a bit spendy, in my viewpoint – if you’re going to utilize it a minimum of a couple times a month or more – it’s absolutely worth it!
Expenses shot of a pepperoni jalapeno pizza on a wood pizza peel
SETTING UP
The Ooni comes almost entirely constructed out of package. All you need to do is unravel the legs and also put the pizza stone in it!
If you’re getting a gas-powered Ooni, you will certainly require to buy a 1 pound or a 20 extra pound gas storage tank. Tracking down that propane tank and having it loaded may have been the hardest part of the entire assembly for us! I’m uncertain why, but right here on the West coastline, we had a hell of a time discovering a gas tank, and then when we found one we needed to discover a area to get it filled up. Thankfully, our regional hardware store had one left, and the gasoline station down the street can fill them so we didn’t need to take a trip much, however I called a TON of places prior to I could even discover one.
HOW TO USE THE OONI
Using the Ooni pizza oven is easier than you could assume! It was most definitely easier than I expected it to be. When you attach the gas tank, you simply turn it approximately high as well as let it warm up for 20 mins. Then reduced the heat, throw your pizza in, and allow it cook for a pair mins. My partner and also I were both pleasantly surprised at how simple the Ooni is to utilize and exactly how fun it is to watch the pizza chef!
The nice component is that the oven just has flames on the back and also left side, so the front right side is the great spot which provides you more control over exactly how the pizza is food preparation. The 16″ Koda provides you a lot of area to move the pizza around and likewise a great distance between the pizza and also the flame itself in case it starts to prepare as well rapidly.
FOOD PREPARATION TIME
Ooni’s specialty is that it can prepare a pizza in 60 seconds – which it absolutely can. For amateur pizza chefs like ourselves, we found a pair YouTube videos that stated transforming the heat to cooking as well as reduced it for a bit longer at a lower temperature could be easier. With that stated, our liked food preparation approach is to:
- Warm the oven on high for concerning 15-20 minutes.
- Reduce the warmth to low and also include a pizza to the oven.
- Cook the pizza, turning it every 20-30 seconds approximately for regarding 2-3 mins depending upon the size of the pie and the quantity of garnishes
Goat cheese and also tomato pizza entering into an Ooni pizza oven
THE LEARNING CURVE
I will say I was a bit nervous concerning the learning curve of cooking with the Ooni. I thought it was going to be a little tricky to obtain the heat ideal as well as maintain it moving. Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that after simply a couple pizzas you actually start to get the hang of it!
I think we get a little better each time as we excellent the dough shaping and covering. Honestly, we maintained our Ooni in the box for a few weeks since I simply had not been fairly all set to tackle what I thought was going to be a difficult cooking process. I could NOT have actually been much more wrong. Making use of the pizza oven is extremely simple and I want we would certainly have opened our Ooni the day we got it!
COOKING TIPS
- Gently powder the job surface area where you’re making the pizza. As well as lightly powder the pizza peel.
- You’ll have to construct the pizza, then relocate it to the pizza peel, and also after that scoot it off the peel as well as into the oven. The smaller your pizza, the simpler it is to do. The larger the pizza, the a lot more most likely it is you’re going to finish up with a mangled mess.
- Do not exhaust the dough. The secret to getting that trademark pizza crust is touching the dough as little as feasible. Because my partner utilized to make pizzas for a living so he’s generally a expert, I really lucked out. He suggests using your fingers to delicately develop the crust while moving the dough in a circle. Then slapping it backward and forward in between your hands/forearms up until it gets big enough. Ideally, you desire the dough to be thicker on the brink, and afterwards very slim between. This will provide you that trademark wood fired pizza oven appearance you’re searching for. , if the crust is too thick in the center it won’t cook all the method through.
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- Do not add also lots of toppings to your pizza. An additional way to make certain that your pizza chefs with, is to top it really minimally. I ‘d advise adding fifty percent of what you ‘d generally add to a pizza you’re going to cook in a normal oven.
- Don’t obtain distracted. When you’re cooking pizza in the Ooni, you desire your complete focus on that pizza. With the within the oven reaching temperatures over 900 levels, it’s vital to keep a close eye on the pie because it can go from completely done, to flawlessly burned immediately.
Visit this site to look into the Ooni Pizza Oven
TASTE
I will certainly admit, I was skeptical however hopeful that the taste would be close to that of a wood-fired pizza oven. As well as holy cow – I was blown away!
The flavor is almost similar to wood-fired pizza although it only uses gas. You obtain those flawlessly charred little bits around, the crust is tender on the inside as well as very crisp outside, and also the cheese obtains ooey-gooey melty in just minutes.
I could try to continue to describe how tasty the pizza is, yet let me simply state, you will be surprised at the distinction between the pizza you may in your Ooni as well as the pizza you make in your oven. They simply don’t contrast.
WHICH DOUGH TO USE
Honestly, we make use of dough from the grocery store 9 times out of 10. They have a really scrumptious dough that’s cost-effective and also chefs truly well in the Ooni. If I’m in the state of mind for homemade though, we either use my No-Knead Pizza Dough or my Quick Pizza Dough.
Expenses 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 long handle makes it simple to put the pizza right into the oven.
- Pizza Turning Wheel – We have not purchased 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 however it’s a little bit a lot more difficult.
- Huge Modular Table – The large modular table is something I went as well as back forth regarding. I wasn’t certain if we must acquire it or simply attempt to discover something else comparable online. For $250 you are really obtaining your money’s worth.
- Wooden Pizza Peels – We got these cute little pizza peels. Primarily 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 adorable and also quite budget-friendly.
- Infrared Thermometer – We have not yet obtained an infrared thermometer however I’ve listened to that it’s super helpful in understanding if the pizza oven has stood up to temp and also is ready to prepare!
>> Visit this site to look into the Ooni Pizza Oven <<
WHERE TO BUY AN OONI
You can discover the Ooni pizza ovens on their internet site, Amazon, or Williams-Sonoma. The rates are quite comparable, however often they have sales, so examine around to see where you can get the very best bargain.
CLEANING
One thing that truly lured me about the Ooni was that you don’t have to clean it! The temperature level inside the oven gets so hot that there’s really no demand to disinfect or disinfect the inside of it. Undoubtedly, you’ll require to clean down the outside periodically as dirt decides on it, but besides that no cleansing is needed!
STORAGE
The Ooni Koda 16″ is 25 x 25 x 20 inches. After that the modular table that we placed it on is 30 x 30 inches. We keep it in the corner of our garage and it does not use up way too much area. Keeping it out of the snow and also rainfall will aid it last much longer. If you do not have any type of protected space to keep it however, Ooni does make a weatherproof cover.
A tiny pizza cooking inside an Ooni pizza oven outside
GREAT FOR WEEKNIGHT USE
It might seem like a lot of work to get the Ooni good to go up simply to make two pizzas (which is what we generally do as a household of 3) but I guarantee you, it’s actually not. The Ooni modular table we got makes it very easy to wheel in and out of the garage. Then you just connect the gas and allow it warm while you make the pizzas. It’s absolutely manageable on a weeknight and we have not prepared a pizza in our oven given that we got it!
IT IS WORTH THE HYPE?
The Ooni is worth the rate for the experience that it provides. I do claim experience because I assume that making as well as cooking food really can be an experience.
My general thoughts on that Ooni are that I was expecting everything to be a great deal more job. I was expecting the configuration to be a problem, the real preparing as well as prepping to be a bit lengthy, and also I had not been sure what the cleansing process involved. In general, I am definitely elated to discover that the Ooni is in fact a truly easy, uncomplicated, outdoor pizza oven experience. The configuration fasts. Prepping, heating up the oven, and also cooking the pizzas is pretty very easy. As well as clean-up is practically non-existent.
When the wildfires aren’t raving, it’s likewise very lightweight as well as portable so I can totally see us taking this outdoor camping with us!
IS THE OONI RIGHT FOR YOU?
If you like pizza, have a tiny outside room, a bit of storage room to maintain it dry, as well as take pleasure in having a drink outside while you prepare dinner, after that of course – the Ooni is for you!
If you’re ready to check out the Ooni pizza oven and also make a decision which one is right for you – CLICK HERE!
It has a pizza stone inside that offers you that delicious, crispy 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 mood for homemade however, we either use my No-Knead Pizza Dough or my Quick Pizza Dough.
Wooden Pizza Peels – We obtained these adorable little pizza peels off. Mainly just for ease of having something to make the pizza on and also then something to slice the pizza on after it’s baked.