Thoughts on outdoor pizza ovens

[nashusky109]

I've been eyeing down an outdoor pizza oven for a while now and fortunately won an instagram giveaway for a $500 Ooni gift card and a bunch of pizza ingredients. I ended up getting the Ooni Karu but was wondering if anyone here has an Ooni or any other pizza oven and what your thoughts are on it. Anyone have any good dough recipes and tips that they wanna share?

 

[8893]

@August_West

 

[Deepster]

I just got the Ooni Fyre. It's powered by wood pellets and I have a pellet stove.

Pros: It's sleek, cool and compact. Doesn't take up much room. Gets to 900 degrees in 15 minutes.

Cons: It's not as simple as sliding a sheet pan into an oven. It is on the small side and is very hot so you need to monitor it, rotate your pie and learn the oven. It also took a little learnin' to get it lit and stay lit at that temp.

First attempt was a disaster. Dough ripped while rotating it. Burned all over the place. Next attempt was much better and the last attempt you could really see the potential of this thing. It does give you a chewy crisp that a conventional oven (even with a pizza stone) doesn't give you at 450-500 degrees.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

I have an Ooni that I got back in March. I don’t make my own dough, but the biggest advice I can give you is to weigh out the dough to the suggested proportions and to let the oven heat for a good 5-10 min prior.

You also need to have a pizza peel for the oven and make sure you really lather the bottom of the dough and the pee with flour or semolina.

The biggest trouble I’ve had is not stretching the dough thin enough which can lead to the middle of the dough being raw. Before stretching the dough you need to let it get to room temp otherwise it will tear very easily.

 

[Deepster]

The biggest trouble I’ve had is not stretching the dough thin enough which can lead to the middle of the dough being raw. Before stretching the dough you need to let it get to room temp otherwise it will tear very easily.

Great point. The edges get cooked so fast, you can leave the middle on the raw side. That's sorta what I was getting at when I said you have to learn the oven.

 

[husky429]

What's your budget?

Nothing beats real wood fired. They are more work and finnicky as you learn though.

 

[nashusky109]

I just got the Ooni Fyre. It's powered by wood pellets and I have a pellet stove.

Pros: It's sleek, cool and compact. Doesn't take up much room. Gets to 900 degrees in 15 minutes.

Cons: It's not as simple as sliding a sheet pan into an oven. It is on the small side and is very hot so you need to monitor it, rotate your pie and learn the oven. It also took a little learnin' to get it lit and stay lit at that temp.

First attempt was a disaster. Dough ripped while rotating it. Burned all over the place. Next attempt was much better and the last attempt you could really see the potential of this thing. It does give you a chewy crisp that a conventional oven (even with a pizza stone) doesn't give you at 450-500 degrees.

thanks for the tips! I wanted a fyra initially but was drawn to the karu because of the option to use both fuel and wood/charcoal. Everything I’ve read points towards a steep learning curve but I’m okay with that.

 

[nashusky109]

I have an Ooni that I got back in March. I don’t make my own dough, but the biggest advice I can give you is to weigh out the dough to the suggested proportions and to let the oven heat for a good 5-10 min prior.

You also need to have a pizza peel for the oven and make sure you really lather the bottom of the dough and the pee with flour or semolina.

The biggest trouble I’ve had is not stretching the dough thin enough which can lead to the middle of the dough being raw. Before stretching the dough you need to let it get to room temp otherwise it will tear very easily.

Does store bought dough turn out fine? Some doughs have sugar in them which can burn at high temps so curious to see where you get it from.
Thanks for the tips! With the leftover credit on the gift card I’m going to get a wooden peel and perforated metal peel. Wooden to launch and the metal one to turn (for now).

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

Does store bought dough turn out fine? Some doughs have sugar in them which can burn at high temps so curious to see where you get it from.
Thanks for the tips! With the leftover credit on the gift card I’m going to get a wooden peel and perforated metal peel. Wooden to launch and the metal one to turn (for now).

I have the perforated metal peel and it’s good, it can be tricky sometimes when pulling it out to turn, I’ve definitely pushed it into the flame a few times and torched it.

I use the pizza dough they sell at Costco which is made locally in CT. Its obviously huge so I portion it out and freeze it, then let defrost for a few hours the day I want to use it. It’s worked well for me.

I have friends that make their own dough and swear by it, but I got my oven right when the pandemic started and yeast was sold out everywhere so I just never got into it.

 

[8893]

I used to make my own dough; and then I used to buy it from a decent local pizza place. But I just got tired having to plan enough ahead to let it rise properly, and I got really frustrated spreading it.

It's obviously very rewarding when you nail it, but the stars aligned so infrequently for that that once we discovered these, I was hooked:

 

[TheRealKBuks]

I have an ooni 3 and it's some of the best money I've ever spent. Hickory wood chips give you unbelievable flavor but keeping a consistent temperature can be tricky. If your cooking more than 3 or 4 pizzas it's best to use propane instead.

 

[August_West]

I just got the Ooni Fyre. It's powered by wood pellets and I have a pellet stove.

Pros: It's sleek, cool and compact. Doesn't take up much room. Gets to 900 degrees in 15 minutes.

Cons: It's not as simple as sliding a sheet pan into an oven. It is on the small side and is very hot so you need to monitor it, rotate your pie and learn the oven. It also took a little learnin' to get it lit and stay lit at that temp.

First attempt was a disaster. Dough ripped while rotating it. Burned all over the place. Next attempt was much better and the last attempt you could really see the potential of this thing. It does give you a chewy crisp that a conventional oven (even with a pizza stone) doesn't give you at 450-500 degrees.

You making your own dough? Let’s talk about it. It’s more important than cooking it. Once you get you dough right in all phases ( mixing, Proofing, rolling) then worrying about how different doughs do at different temps in the oven comes to play.



Sounds like your getting the hang of it. People think pizza is easy. It’s really hard, until you know your gear and recipes. Then it’s really easy

 

[husky429]

I have an ooni 3 and it's some of the best money I've ever spent. Hickory wood chips give you unbelievable flavor but keeping a consistent temperature can be tricky. If your cooking more than 3 or 4 pizzas it's best to use propane instead.

If you're cooking hot enough with an ooni you shouldn't really be getting any flavor from the smoke

 

[Deepster]

You making your own dough? Let’s talk about it. It’s more important than cooking it. Once you get you dough right in all phases ( mixing, Proofing, rolling) then worrying about how different doughs do at different temps in the oven comes to play.

Sounds like your getting the hang of it. People think pizza is easy. It’s really hard, until you know your gear and recipes. Then it’s really easy

I haven't yet but always made my own dough in the past. I didn't want to go through the effort until I got confident in the cooking process. Maybe I'll give it a whirl this weekend.

 

[UCDaveD]

Spring for one of these bad boys.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

I have the Ooni Pro and love it. I go back and forth using wood pellets or a combo of coal and wood. I would recommend getting a stainless steel cart or table to store the oven on. I plan on building something for it soon.

Every oven is different so you have to learn yours to perfect the time and temp. I actually have found ways to make pizza oven quality pizza in the oven but nothing beats having that wood or charcoal flavoring.

 

[August_West]

Spring for one of these bad boys.

View attachment 59000

A kitchen aid pro mixer with a dough hook. or a food processor does just fine. Albeit in smaller batches

 

[TheRealKBuks]

If you're cooking hot enough with an ooni you shouldn't really be getting any flavor from the smoke

using a laser thermometer and it reads approx 750-850 degrees, plenty of hickory flavor

 

[TheRealKBuks]

using a laser thermometer and it reads approx 750-850 degrees, plenty of hickory flavor

I'm not going to give away my recipe because I use to work at a very prominent and award winning new haven style apizza place (not one of the big 3 but new haven county), and all the flavor comes simple but quality ingredients and from long term cold fermentation of the dough, so even the slightest bit of hickory added really comes through.

edit: its why my avatar is not far off from the real thing

 

[storrsroars]

A kitchen aid pro mixer with a dough hook. or a food processor does just fine. Albeit in smaller batches

By hand also works well. There's a zen to it. When I was demoing the Berville pizza oven, I used to make dough for 16 pizzas, four different types of crust, for weekend demos. Didn't take all that long for hand mixing/kneading. The real work comes afterwards.

 

[August_West]

By hand also works well. There's a zen to it. When I was demoing the Berville pizza oven, I used to make dough for 16 pizzas, four different types of crust, for weekend demos. Didn't take all that long for hand mixing/kneading. The real work comes afterwards.

I dunno. The only dough I’ve done by hand is Neapolitan.

 

[dogpause]

I had the Ooni and hated it. Sent it back. No heat control, no longer includes a peel, and imparted a bad smoky flavor.

My advice is to buy a Pizza Steel on Amazon for about 50 bucks, and a pumice block for cleaning it (works great). A steel is similar to a stone, but it heats faster and its easier to slide on and off. Bad part -- it's heavier.

 

[husky429]

Pizza Party: Gas fired pizza ovens Wood fired pizza ovens and Pizza Peels

Buy your favorite pizza oven directly from the producer and save money with wholesale prices

www.pizzapartyshop.com

I really liked these guys' wood-fired ovens. Never tried the gas. Much better than Ooni or the others... but obviously way pricier too

 

[CTMike]

I had the Ooni and hated it. Sent it back. No heat control, no longer includes a peel, and imparted a bad smoky flavor.

My advice is to buy a Pizza Steel on Amazon for about 50 bucks, and a pumice block for cleaning it (works great). A steel is similar to a stone, but it heats faster and its easier to slide on and off. Bad part -- it's heavier.

I appreciate this because it's honestly the first bad thing I've heard about the Ooni ovens.

 

[husky429]

I appreciate this because it's honestly the first bad thing I've heard about the Ooni ovens.

I didn't particularly like it. They're really small and finnicky compared to the one I built. They burn pizzas really easily.

They are probably the best option at a budget though