Caporegime
Good choice imo. I went straight to a Koda 16 and I honestly don't think I'd ever use wood. It's so convenient. Wouldn't want it any smaller either.
The Official Pizza Discussion thread (was: Cooking Neapolitan Pizzas with the Uuni 3)
- Thread starter Loki
- Start date
Soldato
I agree, I get some people like the taste that wood fired can give, and people can like the cooking process as much as the food, but some of us love the convenience!
In other news, I unwrapped the Koda 16 and it had two scratches that they’ve painted over on the powder coat finish which wasn’t ideal, but contacted customer service and they’ve offered 10 % refund or 15% off any accessories in the shop, so asked if they could sort out a turning peel as that’s the only thing that might be useful.
And despite search, Imcouldnt find any decent looking cart or table that can accommodate the gas bottle.. so despite the aggro, I decided to just build my own..
1200 x 800 top dimensions, 1050 high, and braked castors on all 4 corners, I’m 50% the way through but enjoying doing some wood work, and even at B&Q prices, it was £150 all in for all the materials… which is a fraction of the cost of anything I could find online..
will post pictures later!
Edit - Ooni pulled through, great customer service, super helpful and a free £60 turning peel on its way!
Last edited:
Soldato
So knocked up the basic table/trolley:
It's not complete yet, I was going to clad the exterior, making 2 doors at the front and some shelving on the left, gas bottle on the right.. I had loads of 22mm T&G from the shed build as well as some Loglap cladding which (I thought) was nicely wrapped in tarp stored down the side of the shed, it turns out the people who did the patio/garden/drives had borrowed some of the tarp, cutting a large chunk of it, and didn't wrap the wood properly once they'd done that, so it just let it all the rain water and effectively made a nice warm damp environment which had loads of growth on it that wouldn't sand out, so wanting a 'wood' finish, had to ditch that idea! Will have to buy some more and finish that another day.. However, it serves a purpose, the height is perfect (108cm) so when the Koda 16 is on top, you barely have to stoop to see right to the back.. definitely good to be loading/checking without having to bend in half..
So we did a batch of 7 Pizza's (Should have been 6, but, slight disaster on one!)
As it was a first go, we just used premade fdough balls (Asda and I think Sainsbury's)..
The Asda ones actually stretched OK (first time attemping this!), that's a 14" peel, so around 12" quite easily.
Note the excess semolina/flour mix on the peel.. I didn't realise at the time, but the 'bundle' deal they do comes witht he solid paddle.
However the first launch was a bit tricky, but managed to get it in cleanly! (note the semolina/flour mix getting everywhere..
And with it cooking so quickly, pictures stopped at that point (shame!)..
First Pizza - Just waited for 400-420 in the centre and fired, I left the gas on max. Actually OK, slightly burnt crust outer in one place, but overall, cooked really well..
Second Pizza - Same dough, stretched to 12", but turned the flame down to min on firing, and turned a bit quicker, the only feedback was the base was slightly overdone (personal preference, it looked good to me!)
Clearly the turn it down as you fire, then back up once done to preheat for the next pizza seemed instantly 'easier'.. so did this for all following pizza's.
Third Pizza - Same dough again, same stretch, but started turning as soon as I see brown blistering on the rear corner, peel picked it up nicely, turned 4 times every 15-20 seconds, looked good, but I thought some fresh mozarella was not quite melted enough, so held it up in the oven with the peel, but not looking too much and completely
singed a section of crust in the flame.. ignoring the crust issue (entirely my fault), perfect pizza.. we used Mutti Pizza Sauce, Fresh Mozarella, some grated Moz, a touch of chedder, and some veg/meat toppings.. delicious.
Fouth Pizza - Sainsbury's dough which is smaller, had to limit to 8-10" and wasn't so stretchy.. however, on instruction from the recipient who stood with me firing it, we turned early, then every 15 seconds about 6 times, came out absolutely perfect.. crust, base, toppings, I snook a tiny slice of it to sample and yum!
Fifth Pizza - Sainsbury's again, did a BBQ pizza sauce with fresh Moz, a touch of grated Moz and veg.. same smaller stretch, cooked similarly, came out almost perfect, slight charring.
Sixth Pizza - Disaster, this was meant to be mine, so went back to the Asda dough for a 12" stretch, all looked good, loads of toppings, small amount of fresh Moz dotted around, tried the BBQ sauce.. however, trying to fire it, immediate small issue, two loose topping pieces of veg ended up flinging on the burner.. which is minor, and then based on the previous attempts, thought I'd turn 'early' so the merest browning of the crust nearest the flames and attempted to get the peel under.. Boom.. rips through the middle of the Pizza.. sauce/toppings everywhere!
..
Stupidly, I then tried to drag it out of the over, which just brought the mess to the front of the stone, but charing my new Ooni brush in the process, I managed to retrieve the bulk of it..
I was disheartened, the stone looked a mess.. but having seen a few video's, just whacked it on max for 20 minute, which cleaned 3/4 of the stone but the front is heavily stained and as the Koda 16 is open fronted, that never gets to pyrolytic temps.. but a bit of brushing and got the food matter off, the rear of the stone had almost recovered nicely.. I should have let the split pizza cook until really well done and then lifted it out and kept the mess to the middle where it will pyrolytically clean nicely.. lesson learnt.. I'll turn the stone over tomorrow (shame the Koda 16 stone can't be rotated!)..
However, I carried on and did a seventh (since it was supposed to be mine!)
Seventh Pizza - I used the last Asda dough ball, similar stretch and ingredients to the failure, but just waited longer before initial turn and no issues.. turned regularly and came out spot on.. absolutely loved it.. the ever so slight charing you get from the odd spot is just the right amount of flavour..
I left it on for 20 mins longer to do a bit more cleaning, but will reapproach tomorrow, and turn the stone over after cleaning the interior out with an electric air duster.. the semolina/flour mix I used on the peel to make them launch easily was getting on the stone, making loads of ash which I then brushed off to the side before firing the next pizza, so whilst it cleans off nicely, it's a lot! will have to experiment using far less..
The good news is everyone enjoyed their pizza, sharing them and already wanting to try a different toppings..
I'll do some poolish this week and then fresh dough (and have some pre-made dough on standby!) and will experiment with that!
I'd say 7/10 for a first attempt, aside from (an inevitable) disaster so early on, which was entirely my fault and a lesson learnt, making 6 out of 7 very edible and satisfying pizza's was a success. I was also impressed with the Asda dough, it stretches OK, but the main downside is the crust didn't really inflate, but they are cheap (£2.50 for 4 x 250g balls) so will be good to compare to the home made stuff! I might also order a batch from Great Balls of Flour, 24 dough balls for £35 delivered sounds good, and for that ultimate convenience of just popping a few out to the fridge night before and then at room temp for 3-4 hours, it's comically simple..
It's not complete yet, I was going to clad the exterior, making 2 doors at the front and some shelving on the left, gas bottle on the right.. I had loads of 22mm T&G from the shed build as well as some Loglap cladding which (I thought) was nicely wrapped in tarp stored down the side of the shed, it turns out the people who did the patio/garden/drives had borrowed some of the tarp, cutting a large chunk of it, and didn't wrap the wood properly once they'd done that, so it just let it all the rain water and effectively made a nice warm damp environment which had loads of growth on it that wouldn't sand out, so wanting a 'wood' finish, had to ditch that idea! Will have to buy some more and finish that another day.. However, it serves a purpose, the height is perfect (108cm) so when the Koda 16 is on top, you barely have to stoop to see right to the back.. definitely good to be loading/checking without having to bend in half..
So we did a batch of 7 Pizza's (Should have been 6, but, slight disaster on one!)
As it was a first go, we just used premade fdough balls (Asda and I think Sainsbury's)..
The Asda ones actually stretched OK (first time attemping this!), that's a 14" peel, so around 12" quite easily.
Note the excess semolina/flour mix on the peel.. I didn't realise at the time, but the 'bundle' deal they do comes witht he solid paddle.
However the first launch was a bit tricky, but managed to get it in cleanly! (note the semolina/flour mix getting everywhere..
And with it cooking so quickly, pictures stopped at that point (shame!)..
First Pizza - Just waited for 400-420 in the centre and fired, I left the gas on max. Actually OK, slightly burnt crust outer in one place, but overall, cooked really well..
Second Pizza - Same dough, stretched to 12", but turned the flame down to min on firing, and turned a bit quicker, the only feedback was the base was slightly overdone (personal preference, it looked good to me!)
Clearly the turn it down as you fire, then back up once done to preheat for the next pizza seemed instantly 'easier'.. so did this for all following pizza's.
Third Pizza - Same dough again, same stretch, but started turning as soon as I see brown blistering on the rear corner, peel picked it up nicely, turned 4 times every 15-20 seconds, looked good, but I thought some fresh mozarella was not quite melted enough, so held it up in the oven with the peel, but not looking too much and completely
singed a section of crust in the flame.. ignoring the crust issue (entirely my fault), perfect pizza.. we used Mutti Pizza Sauce, Fresh Mozarella, some grated Moz, a touch of chedder, and some veg/meat toppings.. delicious.
Fouth Pizza - Sainsbury's dough which is smaller, had to limit to 8-10" and wasn't so stretchy.. however, on instruction from the recipient who stood with me firing it, we turned early, then every 15 seconds about 6 times, came out absolutely perfect.. crust, base, toppings, I snook a tiny slice of it to sample and yum!
Fifth Pizza - Sainsbury's again, did a BBQ pizza sauce with fresh Moz, a touch of grated Moz and veg.. same smaller stretch, cooked similarly, came out almost perfect, slight charring.
Sixth Pizza - Disaster, this was meant to be mine, so went back to the Asda dough for a 12" stretch, all looked good, loads of toppings, small amount of fresh Moz dotted around, tried the BBQ sauce.. however, trying to fire it, immediate small issue, two loose topping pieces of veg ended up flinging on the burner.. which is minor, and then based on the previous attempts, thought I'd turn 'early' so the merest browning of the crust nearest the flames and attempted to get the peel under.. Boom.. rips through the middle of the Pizza.. sauce/toppings everywhere!
..Stupidly, I then tried to drag it out of the over, which just brought the mess to the front of the stone, but charing my new Ooni brush in the process, I managed to retrieve the bulk of it..
I was disheartened, the stone looked a mess.. but having seen a few video's, just whacked it on max for 20 minute, which cleaned 3/4 of the stone but the front is heavily stained and as the Koda 16 is open fronted, that never gets to pyrolytic temps.. but a bit of brushing and got the food matter off, the rear of the stone had almost recovered nicely.. I should have let the split pizza cook until really well done and then lifted it out and kept the mess to the middle where it will pyrolytically clean nicely.. lesson learnt.. I'll turn the stone over tomorrow (shame the Koda 16 stone can't be rotated!)..
However, I carried on and did a seventh (since it was supposed to be mine!)
Seventh Pizza - I used the last Asda dough ball, similar stretch and ingredients to the failure, but just waited longer before initial turn and no issues.. turned regularly and came out spot on.. absolutely loved it.. the ever so slight charing you get from the odd spot is just the right amount of flavour..
I left it on for 20 mins longer to do a bit more cleaning, but will reapproach tomorrow, and turn the stone over after cleaning the interior out with an electric air duster.. the semolina/flour mix I used on the peel to make them launch easily was getting on the stone, making loads of ash which I then brushed off to the side before firing the next pizza, so whilst it cleans off nicely, it's a lot! will have to experiment using far less..
The good news is everyone enjoyed their pizza, sharing them and already wanting to try a different toppings..
I'll do some poolish this week and then fresh dough (and have some pre-made dough on standby!) and will experiment with that!
I'd say 7/10 for a first attempt, aside from (an inevitable) disaster so early on, which was entirely my fault and a lesson learnt, making 6 out of 7 very edible and satisfying pizza's was a success. I was also impressed with the Asda dough, it stretches OK, but the main downside is the crust didn't really inflate, but they are cheap (£2.50 for 4 x 250g balls) so will be good to compare to the home made stuff! I might also order a batch from Great Balls of Flour, 24 dough balls for £35 delivered sounds good, and for that ultimate convenience of just popping a few out to the fridge night before and then at room temp for 3-4 hours, it's comically simple..
Last edited:
Talk about a tease. Should have to post the final product!
Soldato
I know.. I asked for people to take photos for me, as I was a bit pre-occupied trying to get all pizza's fired nicely, once done, they grabbed them immediately, cut and stuffed their faces..
I shall set things up better next time, all I can say is.. delicious.. hmm...
Soldato
Picked up a Fyra bundle in the Ooni sale last week, and very happy with it so far.
I know some people have mentioned issues with pellets not feeding, struggling to keep temperatures up etc., but so far we've used it 3 times and not had any such problems (although we've only been using it for an hour or so at a time). Only problem we've had is the first pizza is always a bit burnt on the bottom (probably due to letting the stone heat up too much on the initial heating.
We've just been using the basic dough recipe on the Ooni site, and so far so good - couldn't find any "00" flour locally, but used some Allinson's strong bread flour and they've turned out really well.
Also made a batch of the sauce on their site, and again, very happy with it, occasionally interspersed with Jack Daniel's Honey BBQ sauce (yum!).
Might try some sourdough, but need to do a starter first.
Still figuring out the best quantity of toppings - did one the other day which was super tasty, but a bit overloaded and the centre wasn't quite cooked!
We do now have a bit of an argument as to who makes the best pizzas. My partner worked in Domino's for 10 years, so has a bit of an unfair advantage when it comes to stretching them >_<
I know some people have mentioned issues with pellets not feeding, struggling to keep temperatures up etc., but so far we've used it 3 times and not had any such problems (although we've only been using it for an hour or so at a time). Only problem we've had is the first pizza is always a bit burnt on the bottom (probably due to letting the stone heat up too much on the initial heating.
We've just been using the basic dough recipe on the Ooni site, and so far so good - couldn't find any "00" flour locally, but used some Allinson's strong bread flour and they've turned out really well.
Also made a batch of the sauce on their site, and again, very happy with it, occasionally interspersed with Jack Daniel's Honey BBQ sauce (yum!).
Might try some sourdough, but need to do a starter first.
Still figuring out the best quantity of toppings - did one the other day which was super tasty, but a bit overloaded and the centre wasn't quite cooked!
We do now have a bit of an argument as to who makes the best pizzas. My partner worked in Domino's for 10 years, so has a bit of an unfair advantage when it comes to stretching them >_<
Just assembled one of these - TORVA Movable Pizza Oven Trolley https://amzn.eu/d/1HOpLaG
Was £160 on Prime. It's sturdy, looks decent and it is a nice size for our Ooni Karu.
It's some sort of solid composite plastic material, I'm pleasantly surprised with it as I was expecting to send it back due to price. It's a lot cheaper than my alternative option of building one myself out of timber.
Was £160 on Prime. It's sturdy, looks decent and it is a nice size for our Ooni Karu.
It's some sort of solid composite plastic material, I'm pleasantly surprised with it as I was expecting to send it back due to price. It's a lot cheaper than my alternative option of building one myself out of timber.
Soldato
Looks good..
That came up whilst I was searching but the Koda 16 has really wide front legs which would struggle to fit on those.. same with the Keter Unity that was popular...
And I've done another couple of sessions.. certainly got a very high success rate.. I've been trying all manner of bought doughs, but also made my own and to be honest, much of a muchness so far. Fresh rises slightly more but some shop bought doughs are 80% there.
I still have to not get distracted or risk catching the crust..
This was a herb dough... adds a slightly difference dimension and suits some Pizzas
I just do a more love it or hate it Hawaiian with BBQ sauce:
That was with home made dough, it really puffs up!
And I'm finding the Turning Peel useful, sometimes a bit tricky with larger Pizza's (10"+) but I'm getting better! Definitely better than pulling out on a large peel, turning and re-sending..
Yeah it's a decent unit for the price but if it ain't wide enough for the Koda 16 it's no use to you.
Your pizzas are looking fantastic. I prefer to slightly burn a crust than undercook it so I'd be all over that.
Turning peel is a great idea, I am on the lookout for a half decent one. Which do you have?
Your pizzas are looking fantastic. I prefer to slightly burn a crust than undercook it so I'd be all over that.
Turning peel is a great idea, I am on the lookout for a half decent one. Which do you have?
Soldato
Thanks.
I got the ooni turning peel but only as it was free due to my koda 16 turning up with painted over scratches, however it us well made.
I was looking at thus one on amazon:
Caporegime
Heavy rocker cutters are much better. Those roller ones pull toppings around too much.
I'm after one but Amazon's offerings aren't impressive. Returning one tomorrow as it is so poor quality.
Anyone have any experience with the Sage Smart Oven™ Pizzaiolo Pizza Oven? I have a gifted JL voucher to use and they finally have a sale on to make it worthwhile using the voucher. I originally wanted and still looking at the Ooni Karu 16 Multi Fuel Outdoor Pizza Oven and both a similar price point. I guess the main difference is one is indoors so could have more use when the weather turns but the fun part is being outdoors and creating batches for the family to enjoy. I could drop the budget and go for the Koda 16 and grab some accessories instead.
Just bought this Gozney rocker cutter - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B2PPWXSF/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_image_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I was persuaded when I saw the tick box for a 20% off voucher. Now to find some nice wooden serving boards.
I was persuaded when I saw the tick box for a 20% off voucher. Now to find some nice wooden serving boards.
Well after having my Karu 12 for almost two years, it's finally seen some use the last couple of weeks! First two times using were with Northern Dough, neither defrosted that well and the whole thing was a bit so-so.
Then I tried making my own using the poolish recipe on here and man, what a game changer. Had my folks over on Sunday and decided to make some - with that one recipe ended up with 6 pizzas; four basic margherita with basil, and two garlic pizza breads. All of them came out great, dough was much better - tasted better, texture was better, cooked better, even making it and stretching it was better! - and I was a lot more "on it" with prep and bashed all of them out inside 20 minutes and probably used the same if not less fuel than the first two times which were just two pizzas each...
Will definitely be getting a lot of use this summer I think if I can batch dough properly / it freezes well.
Then I tried making my own using the poolish recipe on here and man, what a game changer. Had my folks over on Sunday and decided to make some - with that one recipe ended up with 6 pizzas; four basic margherita with basil, and two garlic pizza breads. All of them came out great, dough was much better - tasted better, texture was better, cooked better, even making it and stretching it was better! - and I was a lot more "on it" with prep and bashed all of them out inside 20 minutes and probably used the same if not less fuel than the first two times which were just two pizzas each...
Will definitely be getting a lot of use this summer I think if I can batch dough properly / it freezes well.