Ooni pizza oven

[Duvel]

Sometimes, all things align in an unexpected way …

 

Last Wednesday I was casually getting drunk at night when - for whatever reason - I checked my private calendar on my phone. I actually had long given up using that one and use my work one for everything, but …

 

On Wednesday, June 30th there was an entry saying “M&M miles expire tomorrow”. I had lost my frequent flyer status at Lufthansa two years ago, so naturally they expire at one point. I logged in and discovered there were a lot of miles to spend (and two hours left to do so). Browsing through the list I picked up a few unnecessary items when the I came to the entry “Ooni Koda 16”. And - it pretty much matched the miles I had 🥳

 

There was no waiting time. Seems M&M had purchased some stock. Today, I got a huge package …

 

 

 

I set it up outside, threw together a 62% hydration dough and gave it a test run…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is really a lot to learn, but if feels good to cook with. Learning curve will be steep I hope. 
 

One happy Duvel !

 

Edited July 7, 2021 by Duvel (log)

[rotuts]

this thread is killing me

 

thank you

 

[rotuts]

@Duvel  

 

interesting

 

was the basil a bit ' burnt ?'

 

Modernist , on their trailer for

 

Mod. Pizza 

 

on their demo pizza , they place the cheese over the basil

 

to prevent that in a very very hot oven

 

new idea for me

 

I used to puttee basil on after cooking''

 

 

 

 

[Duvel]

7 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Duvel  

 

interesting

 

was the basil a bit ' burnt ?'

 

Modernist , on their trailer for

 

Mod. Pizza 

 

on their demo pizza , they place the cheese over the basil

 

to prevent that in a very very hot oven

 

new idea for me

 

I used to puttee basil on after cooking''

 

 

 

 

I put the basil “under” the cheese, but as the fior di latte came in larger chunks, it did not fully cover. But the basil was in contact with the tomato sauce, so there was some sort of protection. It did not char … 

Edited July 7, 2021 by Duvel (log)

[Anna N]

22 minutes ago, Duvel said:

There was no waiting time. Seems M&M had purchased some stock. Today, I got a huge package …

Fabulous! Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Now I can watch duelling pizza ovens!  

[Barrytm]

Nice looking pies, you obviously have some good skills at turning. One of the things that impressed me is the money they spent on the internal boxing -  the artwork is well done, and the instruction manuals seem to be printed on high quality stock.  My one complaint is that the temperature difference between the left rear and right front is excessive, IMO, and that makes it extremely difficult to actually cook a 16 inch pie in that oven .  

[KennethT]

8 hours ago, Duvel said:

Sometimes, all things align in an unexpected way …

 

Last Wednesday I was casually getting drunk at night when - for whatever reason - I checked my private calendar on my phone. I actually had long given up using that one and use my work one for everything, but …

 

On Wednesday, June 30th there was an entry saying “M&M miles expire tomorrow”. I had lost my frequent flyer status at Lufthansa two years ago, so naturally they expire at one point. I logged in and discovered there were a lot of miles to spend (and two hours left to do so). Browsing through the list I picked up a few unnecessary items when the I came to the entry “Ooni Koda 16”. And - it pretty much matched the miles I had 🥳

 

There was no waiting time. Seems M&M had purchased some stock. Today, I got a huge package …

 

 

 

I set it up outside, threw together a 62% hydration dough and gave it a test run…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is really a lot to learn, but if feels good to cook with. Learning curve will be steep I hope. 
 

One happy Duvel !

 

wow... for a first run, your results are really impressive!!!

[&roid]

6 hours ago, Barrytm said:

Nice looking pies, you obviously have some good skills at turning. One of the things that impressed me is the money they spent on the internal boxing -  the artwork is well done, and the instruction manuals seem to be printed on high quality stock.  My one complaint is that the temperature difference between the left rear and right front is excessive, IMO, and that makes it extremely difficult to actually cook a 16 inch pie in that oven .  

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. 

[Duvel]

40 minutes ago, &roid said:

But once you get used to turning, 12-14” pizzas are a doddle to cook evenly.

I agree. As you can see, I burned the sides of the first two Margheritas slightly; the third pie was turned a bit quicker and came out relatively fine.

 

And fully with you, @&roid: the 16” gives you plenty of room to maneuver a 12” pie around without getting stressed.

[&roid]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

I agree. As you can see, I burned the sides of the first two Margheritas slightly; the third pie was turned a bit quicker and came out relatively fine.

 

And fully with you, @&roid: the 16” gives you plenty of room to maneuver a 12” pie around without getting stressed.

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?

Edited July 8, 2021 by &roid (log)

[Duvel]

7 hours ago, KennethT said:

wow... for a first run, your results are really impressive!!!

Thanks ☺️

 

I was fine with the results as well, although there is plenty of room to improve. My goals would be:

 

1) Prepare a better dough. This one was a same day, 62% hydration dough, my usual strong flour. Gluten was underdeveloped, and dough was a bit overproofed and deflated to much. I want something more delicate in texture with better flavor.
 

2) Make round pies. I am very OCD about that, but my shape on a baking paper and transfer doesn’t work with the Ooni. This is purely technique, and it will get better.

 

3) Balance the sauce. I thinned my usual recipe down to compensate for the higher temperatures. It was good, but I want it more intense.

 

4) Get a more even browning. Technique again, and I am confident by time it’ll be fine. A nice leoparding would be a bonus, that ties in with #1 …

 

5) Balance the cheese. I want to experiment with different fior di lattes/ mozz di bufalla and ratios cheese to crust. I have an idea what I like, but I find it difficult to describe it.

[Kerry Beal]

2 hours ago, Duvel said:

Thanks ☺️

 

I was fine with the results as well, although there is plenty of room to improve. My goals would be:

 

1) Prepare a better dough. This one was a same day, 62% hydration dough, my usual strong flour. Gluten was underdeveloped, and dough was a bit overproofed and deflated to much. I want something more delicate in texture with better flavor.
 

2) Make round pies. I am very OCD about that, but my shape on a baking paper and transfer doesn’t work with the Ooni. This is purely technique, and it will get better.

 

3) Balance the sauce. I thinned my usual recipe down to compensate for the higher temperatures. It was good, but I want it more intense.

 

4) Get a more even browning. Technique again, and I am confident by time it’ll be fine. A nice leoparding would be a bonus, that ties in with #1 …

 

5) Balance the cheese. I want to experiment with different fior di lattes/ mozz di bufalla and ratios cheese to crust. I have an idea what I like, but I find it difficult to describe it.

The dough I've been using is the modernist bread recipe for high temp cooking so a poolish with fairly low hydration - 00 flour. It mades a wonderfully silky dough - a real treat to work with. 

 

Also made a batch of the modernist recipe for sauce - those Stanislaus tomatoes are the bomb. 

[&roid]

3 hours ago, Duvel said:

 

2) Make round pies. I am very OCD about that, but my shape on a baking paper and transfer doesn’t work with the Ooni. This is purely technique, and it will get better.

 

 

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 
 

 

[Duvel]

5 minutes ago, &roid said:

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 

I only got the Ooni yesterday, so I have only 4 pies “experience”.

 

I also shape it on the bench and then slide the (perforated) peel under and transfer. I have not really adjusted the shape while the pie was on the peel, mostly because I was worried about the dough getting stuck on the peel. Once this anxiety subsides I will follow your suggestion to bring the pie into a rounder shape on the peel itself …

[weinoo]

My only question is how this all squares with the beginning of your "diet," @Duvel?

[Margaret Pilgrim]

1 hour ago, &roid said:

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 
 

 

Duval and &droid, FWIW, I dust peel with polenta, then shape the pizza on the peel.   Less stress for me.   Then shoot loaded pizza into the oven. 

Edited July 8, 2021 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[Duvel]

14 minutes ago, weinoo said:

My only question is how this all squares with the beginning of your "diet," @Duvel?

If you follow my posts you will clearly see that limiting myself to four pizzas at night can be counted as diet 😉

[blue_dolphin]

57 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Duval and &droid, FWIW, I dust peel with polenta, then shape the pizza on the peel.   Less stress for me.   Then shoot loaded pizza into the oven. 

Where are you doing the above shaping and topping?  In the kitchen? Outdoors next to the oven?  

 

My Ooni has yet to ship so I'm biding my time by taking in all this excellent info and thinking about where I should set the thing up. I don't have a grill or any sort of outdoor cooking area so considering what else I want nearby.  Seems to be some sort of propane shortage around here so I should get that sorted, too. 

 

8 hours ago, &roid said:

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.

I ordered the Koda 16 but was thinking of cancelling and getting the 12.  I don't plan on making 16" pies but ordered it because of the burner config and to have a little extra room so I was especially happy to read this.  I'll stick with the 16. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

11 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Where are you doing the above shaping and topping?  In the kitchen? Outdoors next to the oven?  

 

Indoors.  

[Duvel]

48 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Indoors.  

Second that …

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, Duvel said:

If you follow my posts you will clearly see that limiting myself to four pizzas at night can be counted as diet 😉

 

True...I didn't notice too much of the cured meat platters floating around...just that one pie. Good job!

[&roid]

47 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Second that …

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. 

[&roid]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

My Ooni has yet to ship so I'm biding my time by taking in all this excellent info and thinking about where I should set the thing up. I don't have a grill or any sort of outdoor cooking area so considering what else I want nearby.  Seems to be some sort of propane shortage around here so I should get that sorted, too

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

[rotuts]

my friend who does not post

 

is gearing up for a Pizza Night 

 

@ WoodsHole  MA :

 

 

That's Penny and Archie

 

prepared to ' help out '

 

 

[quiet1]

12 hours ago, rotuts said:

my friend who does not post

 

is gearing up for a Pizza Night 

 

@ WoodsHole  MA :

 

 

That's Penny and Archie

 

prepared to ' help out '

 

 

Quality control is a tough job but someone has to do it! 🤣