Pizza Oven Thread

[Stevil]

Scabutz said:

I really CBA to get the Ooni out in the cold and wet but am missing the home made pizza.

Can I get at least some average results using a pizza stone in an electric oven? I know it wont be the same, but close? Anything I should do differently with the base?

You'd be better off looking at a more New York style dough as it'll need longer in the oven and is usually better off cooked at traditional oven temps instead of the super high heat a Neopolitan needs.

[Scabutz]

Stevil said:

Scabutz said:

I really CBA to get the Ooni out in the cold and wet but am missing the home made pizza.

Can I get at least some average results using a pizza stone in an electric oven? I know it wont be the same, but close? Anything I should do differently with the base?

You'd be better off looking at a more New York style dough as it'll need longer in the oven and is usually better off cooked at traditional oven temps instead of the super high heat a Neopolitan needs.

OK cool. Can I take the stone out of my Ooni and put it in the oven?

[Stevil]

Scabutz said:

Stevil said:

Scabutz said:

I really CBA to get the Ooni out in the cold and wet but am missing the home made pizza.

Can I get at least some average results using a pizza stone in an electric oven? I know it wont be the same, but close? Anything I should do differently with the base?

You'd be better off looking at a more New York style dough as it'll need longer in the oven and is usually better off cooked at traditional oven temps instead of the super high heat a Neopolitan needs.

OK cool. Can I take the stone out of my Ooni and put it in the oven?

Yeah shouldn't be a problem, will need at least half an hour in there to get up to temp, possibly more. The other thing is if you're doing multiple pizzas, it'll take longer for the stone to get back up to temperature, as each pizza will draw quite a bit of heat out of it.

I used to use Joe Beddia's recipe from his Pizza Camp book and it always came out great, but if you do decide to use that, I used to halve the salt content.

[fourstardan]

Scabutz said:

I really CBA to get the Ooni out in the cold and wet but am missing the home made pizza.

Can I get at least some average results using a pizza stone in an electric oven? I know it wont be the same, but close? Anything I should do differently with the base?

I liked doing mine in Jan/Feb last year when it was dry, the wood burning smell is nice.

Buggered if I'm doing it in rain though.

[Roboticarm]

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice, I've made some pizzas today and they were soooo much better:
I ran the oven for 25 mins at max temp to warm up
I replaced the Jamie Oliver dough with some pizza express premade from Sainsbury's
I used semolina to avoid the sticking
I cooked at the lowest temp setting

Much, much better

Thank you

[Greendubber]

Awesome, glad it's turned out a bit better for you!

[P1Fanatic]

Great news. I always point people to pre made dough for first time as it just takes some of the stress out of making pizza and gives you a decent benchmark for when you do want to make your own.

I must admit I was firmly in the camp of why make dough when I can get almost as good from shop bought (was using the ooni sourdough pucks for ages) then I gave it another go using a poolish recipe from Vito Iacopelli and it blew my mind how good it was (and that was after knocking it down from 70 to 65% hydration).

One tip I would offer is use decent mozzarella and not grated. I buy mine online and just portion and freeze it.

[illmonkey]

P1Fanatic said:

Great news. I always point people to pre made dough for first time as it just takes some of the stress out of making pizza and gives you a decent benchmark for when you do want to make your own.

I must admit I was firmly in the camp of why make dough when I can get almost as good from shop bought (was using the ooni sourdough pucks for ages) then I gave it another go using a poolish recipe from Vito Iacopelli and it blew my mind how good it was (and that was after knocking it down from 70 to 65% hydration).

One tip I would offer is use decent mozzarella and not grated. I buy mine online and just portion and freeze it.

Vito is the man. The dough is so good! I've passed him onto several people and they rave about it too.

[P1Fanatic]

illmonkey said:

Vito is the man. The dough is so good! I've passed him onto several people and they rave about it too.

Aye. Which one do you use? I use this one:

https://youtu.be/u7Hd6ZzKgBM?si=a7HK-_TH0zK-hjFD

sounds hassle at 48hrs but stage 1 is a simple 5 min task. I wrote down my own recipe notes as easier than watching the video each time. I found it very sticky at 70% so do 65% which is manageable for me hand kneading. Comes out great even from frozen. I did a batch last weekend (first pizzas in a couple of months). After the hour out of the fridge it hadnt seemed to rise as much as I remember come balling time so I was a little concerned. However probably the airiest crusts to date.

[illmonkey]

P1Fanatic said:

illmonkey said:

Vito is the man. The dough is so good! I've passed him onto several people and they rave about it too.

Aye. Which one do you use? I use this one:

https://youtu.be/u7Hd6ZzKgBM?si=a7HK-_TH0zK-hjFD

sounds hassle at 48hrs but stage 1 is a simple 5 min task. I wrote down my own recipe notes as easier than watching the video each time. I found it very sticky at 70% so do 65% which is manageable for me hand kneading. Comes out great even from frozen. I did a batch last weekend (first pizzas in a couple of months). After the hour out of the fridge it hadnt seemed to rise as much as I remember come balling time so I was a little concerned. However probably the airiest crusts to date.

It wasn’t actually a Vito videoC rather someone working with him. https://youtu.be/OjsCEJ8CWlg?si=R-pY57jRUr0kS9AP

I done the same as you, wrote it down. Poolish is 100%, then 500g flour with 300g water, which works out about 70% I think (total).

But it’s not failed me or the people I’ve told yet! And has such an amazing flour.

Actually threw my flour out the other day as it was old, need to get more and fire up the oven again!

[dxbtiger]

An Ooni Karu 12 appeared unexpectedly for my birthday just before Christmas.

Having since ordered the gas burner attachment and getting Propane I've fired it up twice.

Using the dough recipe from the manual which means I've only had to prep it about 3/4 hours in advance, biggest struggle so far is shape and stopping the (admittedly cheap, pregrated mozarella) burning whilst waiting for the crust to cook.

Added bonus is the laser thermometer keeps our new puppy amused whilst I am cooking.

I'm launching at a min of 400 on the centre of the stone, for those using the same set up as me, what do you do with the flame whilst one is in the oven to balance topping vs crust cooking consistency?

First efforts



This was 'proper' mozzarella for SWMBO





Attempt 2





Used Burrata here, again for the Boss

[Stevil]

With the Burrata, try putting it on at the end. Bit of Mortadella and pistachio crumbs at the same time if you want to really show off.

[P1Fanatic]

I have a koda and launch at 400c middle of stone but turn the gas down to lowest setting just before launch for entire cook. Otherwise toppings & crust are burning before the base is cooked enough for an easy turn.

Grated will have lots of potato starch to stop it sticking together in the bag and that means it burns easier. Mozzarella balls are typically too wet for pizza. You can slice it and leave to dry on kitchen towel but will still have a lot of moisture. Better is pizza mozzarella like the galbani one or costco do arla. But if you want the nicest stringy texture by something like this if you have an italian deli locally. Can normally get it cubed or napoli cut - I prefer the latter as takes longer to melt:

https://www.adimaria.co.uk/fior-di-latte-mozzarell...

[P1Fanatic]

As for shape it will depend how pliable your dough is. Easiest method I found to keep it round was the steering wheel method where gravity does most of the work.

[Scabutz]

dxbtiger said:

Having since ordered the gas burner attachment and getting Propane I've fired it up twice.

Were you able to get a tank ok? I got the gas burner last year but went round a few places and no one would sell me a new bottle, only refills. Apparently there is a bottle shortage. I was waiting for one to turn up on FB marketplace and then kinda forgot about it.

If they are opening up again to new contracts will go and get one

[dxbtiger]

All helpful, thanks.

Re Propane, no issues, but I am based in Dubai..

If you are then I can give the numbers to whatsapp for delivery.

[Scabutz]

dxbtiger said:

All helpful, thanks.

Re Propane, no issues, but I am based in Dubai..

If you are then I can give the numbers to whatsapp for delivery.

Thanks, I am in the UK so delivery costs might be prohibitive!

[simon_harris]

dxbtiger said:

An Ooni Karu 12 appeared unexpectedly for my birthday just before Christmas.

Having since ordered the gas burner attachment and getting Propane I've fired it up twice.

Using the dough recipe from the manual which means I've only had to prep it about 3/4 hours in advance, biggest struggle so far is shape and stopping the (admittedly cheap, pregrated mozarella) burning whilst waiting for the crust to cook.

Added bonus is the laser thermometer keeps our new puppy amused whilst I am cooking.

I'm launching at a min of 400 on the centre of the stone, for those using the same set up as me, what do you do with the flame whilst one is in the oven to balance topping vs crust cooking consistency?

First efforts



This was 'proper' mozzarella for SWMBO





Attempt 2





Used Burrata here, again for the Boss

Worth remembering that with this style of pizza your toppings don't have very much time to cook, so things like mushrooms or veg in general is often better pre-cooked before being used as a topping.

[dxbtiger]

simon_harris said:

Worth remembering that with this style of pizza your toppings don't have very much time to cook, so things like mushrooms or veg in general is often better pre-cooked before being used as a topping.

Yep, agreed, it's all learning.

I'm apparently doing pizza for about 10 people on Sunday so need to think about some alternative recipes.

On the plus side, it means eating more pizza

[simon_harris]

When cooking for lots of people I tend to get to prep a load of toppings and then get them to choose/top themselves just before the point of cooking. The alternative is I just decide what is going on each one and they get what they are given as they come out of the oven. Both ways are fun in their own way.