Kevin James
Full Fledged Farker
I have an Ooni Karu 16 multi-fuel. For the first year I used lump charcoal with a little wood. It was just too hard to control for such a small oven so I switched to the propane burner about a year and a half ago and would never go back. It's so much better and more controllable. Thing that sucks is the igniter went out on it last week and it doesn't take a battery, so I need to buy new one. Oh well, for the time being i use a candle lighter to ignite and it works fine.
I'll admit I cheat and use the Trader Joe's dough, mostly because I'm too spontaneous and don't really pre-plan pizza nights. I do really want to experiment with my own dough that so that may be coming up pretty soon here. We'll see.
After lot's of trial and error this is what I found work for me. I get two dough packages from TJ's which are 16 oz each, and I break them into 3 10.5 oz dough balls. I have found 10-11 ounces is the perfect size for that oven and makes between a 10-11 " pizza which is nice and thin, but not so paper thin that you have tearing issues turning it (if your careful that is). Once they are floured and formed into 3 round dough balls I put them in a plastic container, cover them, and let them sit on the counter for roughly 3 hours to come to room temp which will make stretching easier. I preheat the Ooni until the stone floor is between 750 and 800 degrees and keep the door closed. I don't even pay attention to what ambient temp is inside anymore, it's the stone temp that matters. I typically am not making more than 3 pizzas in one session so I will get my crusts formed while the Ooni is preheating, but I do NOT build the pizzas yet, I just get the crusts formed. if you build the pizza and it sits too long it has more of a chance of sticking as you try to slide it off the peel into the oven. Once the stone is about 725 then I'll build the first pizza. One thing I have learned is for the cheese... wet mozzarella or fresh mozzarella works best. The shredded mozzarella from the grocery store melts too fast and doesn't work well in an oven that hot and if it's the finely shredded that's even worse. I will put a little shredded on top, but the main cheese is the wet mozzarella in little chunks spread out. For me, I will wait until the stone is above the 750 mark, probably 760 - 775 then I turn the flame down to the lowest setting and the pizza goes in and I close the door. Then I wait and watch as the crust starts to rise.
I will usually wait somewhere between 30-45 seconds for the first turn. It's a little bit of a balance that takes some time to master. You have to let the crust set up and the bottom bake enough that you can get under it and turn it without tearing it, but too long and the back side closest to the burner will be overly charred. This is why I have found a 750 degree stone temp gets me the best results. After the first turn I will continue to turn rough every 20 seconds or so but it depends, you just have to watch it and you'll know when to turn. Knowing when it's done is also a bit of a balancing act and you just have to watch it. Look for the color of the crust to darken so it's not super "blonde", and if it " leopards" that's even better but if you go too long you'll start to see your toppings burning. That's why it's super important to keep the flame low. Once you get used to it you can play with the flame level a little, but if it's too high for too long it will start overly charring things FAST. For me, total cook time is probably 2-2.5 minutes but I never really time it, I just watch it and I know when it's time to pull it. The last step, and I believe this is really important... when you pull it out, put it on a wire rack and let it hang out for a minute or two. This allows air to flow underneath it and will help to crisp the crust.
Here's a Pepperoni Pie I cooked a few days ago using this method. While some deeper leopard markings on the crust would be nice, that's difficult without charring things too much in this oven.
I'll admit I cheat and use the Trader Joe's dough, mostly because I'm too spontaneous and don't really pre-plan pizza nights. I do really want to experiment with my own dough that so that may be coming up pretty soon here. We'll see.
After lot's of trial and error this is what I found work for me. I get two dough packages from TJ's which are 16 oz each, and I break them into 3 10.5 oz dough balls. I have found 10-11 ounces is the perfect size for that oven and makes between a 10-11 " pizza which is nice and thin, but not so paper thin that you have tearing issues turning it (if your careful that is). Once they are floured and formed into 3 round dough balls I put them in a plastic container, cover them, and let them sit on the counter for roughly 3 hours to come to room temp which will make stretching easier. I preheat the Ooni until the stone floor is between 750 and 800 degrees and keep the door closed. I don't even pay attention to what ambient temp is inside anymore, it's the stone temp that matters. I typically am not making more than 3 pizzas in one session so I will get my crusts formed while the Ooni is preheating, but I do NOT build the pizzas yet, I just get the crusts formed. if you build the pizza and it sits too long it has more of a chance of sticking as you try to slide it off the peel into the oven. Once the stone is about 725 then I'll build the first pizza. One thing I have learned is for the cheese... wet mozzarella or fresh mozzarella works best. The shredded mozzarella from the grocery store melts too fast and doesn't work well in an oven that hot and if it's the finely shredded that's even worse. I will put a little shredded on top, but the main cheese is the wet mozzarella in little chunks spread out. For me, I will wait until the stone is above the 750 mark, probably 760 - 775 then I turn the flame down to the lowest setting and the pizza goes in and I close the door. Then I wait and watch as the crust starts to rise.
I will usually wait somewhere between 30-45 seconds for the first turn. It's a little bit of a balance that takes some time to master. You have to let the crust set up and the bottom bake enough that you can get under it and turn it without tearing it, but too long and the back side closest to the burner will be overly charred. This is why I have found a 750 degree stone temp gets me the best results. After the first turn I will continue to turn rough every 20 seconds or so but it depends, you just have to watch it and you'll know when to turn. Knowing when it's done is also a bit of a balancing act and you just have to watch it. Look for the color of the crust to darken so it's not super "blonde", and if it " leopards" that's even better but if you go too long you'll start to see your toppings burning. That's why it's super important to keep the flame low. Once you get used to it you can play with the flame level a little, but if it's too high for too long it will start overly charring things FAST. For me, total cook time is probably 2-2.5 minutes but I never really time it, I just watch it and I know when it's time to pull it. The last step, and I believe this is really important... when you pull it out, put it on a wire rack and let it hang out for a minute or two. This allows air to flow underneath it and will help to crisp the crust.
Here's a Pepperoni Pie I cooked a few days ago using this method. While some deeper leopard markings on the crust would be nice, that's difficult without charring things too much in this oven.
