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great looking pizzas @Duvel! what do you make of the nuvola flour, I’ve not tried it yet?

I should be on commission for them - I frequently bore people with how great the product is 😂 be good to see the pics of yours when you get the lighting sorted

we’re still really happy with our neolith. It’s been great and totally lived up to its billing in terms of indestructibility. And you definitely don’t need to worry about hot things - I’ve been putting red hot pans on it since day one and it hasn’t batted an eyelid.

I picked mine up from a UK company called dentons. The scraper was only about £7 but delivery nearly the same again. Old me would have found enough other things on their website to make the delivery “sensible”, but I’ve turned over a new leaf and promised myself I’d stop buying stuff I don’t need on a whim!

Great advice as always, Scott. That is pretty much my latest iteration to a tee. The only thing I’ve not yet tried is dropping down to 60% hydration. I might do a few balls of this lower water version next weekend…

never had the pleasure of eating them but that look is pretty much what I’m aiming to replicate (eventually…!)

perfect, I’ve just ordered one

I’ve had a couple of korin hi-soft boards for about a year. Really liked using it for that time. The larger one I have has warped slightly but nothing major. I’m more bothered about the surface really, it’s marked up quite badly - scratches and dings which seem to trap food debris. I’ve read that you can sand or smooth out the surface, has anyone done this with theirs? Any tips on how best to do it?

FWIW I’m happy to schlep mine out every time I use it. I keep it in a big dry garden box, the gas tank sits in our shed. the 16” is pretty manoeuvrable on my own but I’ve got quite long arms so some people might find it easier with a lifting partner. I’d love to have space (and climate!) to have a permanent installation but it’s no big deal bringing it out each time. to have the whole shaping, loading, cooking and serving setup in one place I’d probably want about ten linear feet of countertop. That said, I’m a klutz and like to spread out when I cook

thirded. I have a nice big countertop in the kitchen that’s at the right height for me. I make them in there then a quick step outside to launch.

What’s your process since getting the ooni? I’ve found that shaping on the worktop then dragging onto the bamboo launching peel works really well, gives the pie a final stretch then let’s me tinker yo get it as round as possible

they’re looking great 👍🏻 my current method is launch the pizza, wait until the back left edge is just starting to brown a tiny bit (really just before it starts to colour) then turn it 180°. After this I’ll usually do one or two more 90° turns to put any pale patches in the hotter zone. in a couple of weeks I’ve got my youngest kid’s third birthday party so (pandemic permitting) we’ll be serving pizzas to my biggest crowd yet. I’ll be doing probably a dozen or so pretty much back to back. Should be fun! Also I’d be interested if anyone has done a lot in one sitting - how many have you managed before having to reheat the floor?

Not sure I’ve ever gone quite to 16”. But once you get used to turning, 12-14” pizzas are a doddle to cook evenly. I guess whatever size your oven, cooking at the absolute limit is going to pose some challenges. The thing I love about the koda 16 is that making a single normal sized pizza is easy - a lot easier than trying to do a 12” in their smaller ovens. Obviously it would be easier still in a massive wood burning oven, but there are cost and convenience trade offs in that which would put it out of reach for a lot of people. I suppose it comes down to what you’re going to be cooking - if it absolutely has to be 16+” pizzas, or you want to crank out 20+ an hour then you’re going to need something different. But for “normal” sized Neapolitan pizzas I think ooni have really hit the sweet spot here.

when I was younger and had been out drinking we always used to order “half chips, half fried rice, half curry sauce” from our local Chinese takeaway ps - agree about irn bru. Terrible stuff.

Over this side of the pond my current favourite is Basco - they do loads of speciality Spanish meats and charcuterie. Whole suckling pig, milk fed lamb and (at the other end of the age spectrum) 10-12 year old Galician beef from ex-dairy cows: It’s been great being able to get hold of interesting food this last year, despite having eaten out maybe only 2-3 times.

that’s pretty spectacular value - one of those would set me back the equivalent of about $75 here in the uk

There’s nothing quite as satisfying as that feeling of flow, absolutely no conscious thought or effort going in to what you’re doing.

This really does explain a lot - I’ve had Hershey’s a few times when I’ve travelled to the states. I’d always thought it tasted odd, now I now why!

I can confidently say that you’ll love it 😊 it works so well, was a doddle to set up and even my first pizza came out half decent. the main thing I’ve learned with mine so far is the importance of fully proofed dough - times when I’ve tried to do it too soon haven’t been as impressive as when I’ve made sure it’s ready to go. But that doesn’t mean waiting an age if you don’t want to - the emergency dough recipe on the ooni site works really well and is ready to go in an hour or two. Having said that, if you’ve got a bit longer the last one I did was an overnight biga and I was pretty much delighted with it.

My mum had a set of the Raymond blanc pans. Truly awful. I was never a fan of the design but on top of that they barely lasted a couple of years. baffles me how chefs who have made a career out of minute attention to detail could put their name to tat like this. Pays the tax bill I guess…

I’ve done pitta and naan a few times. They generally turn out well. Kerry’s right about the heat coming mainly from the back, however, with pitta the amount they puff can put them a bit near the ceiling of the oven. If they touch that they scorch pretty badly. Best technique I’ve found is being ready with the peel and just shielding them if they start to get a bit close. the other thing I’m still getting right is the thickness to roll out the dough to. There’s a pretty narrow window between being too thick and doughy and too thin they turn out like a crisp cracker. I’ve had a look but can’t seem to find any pictures, will post some up next time I try them

Are we just ignoring the fact the pizzas look terrible?

I’d definitely get the gas one - have used the pellet/wood oonis and after the novelty wears off you won’t use anything but gas. it’s so much easier and the taste is identical

Would shrimp be acceptable? brined shrimp, cooked on cedar planks and dressed with lemon and chive butter might be a nice bridge between boring plain food and something fun to make. They’re bloody tasty too.

Also cannot wait for this, looks a great product. chris, any thoughts about using it to control a fan blower for kamado Cooker?