Pizza Geek Tries Portable Pizza Oven For The first Time (unexpected ending)
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- Опубликовано: 20 окт 2023
- The oven I used is the Ooni Karu 16 :amzn.to/3Fq0w4r . Sponsor : Use code frenchguy at the link below to get exclusive 60% off annual Incogni plan incogni.com/frenchguy
More OOni pizza ovens including a few affordable options and some gas-only options too :
amzn.to/45J0CPr
A portable pizza oven is a compact and often lightweight cooking appliance designed specifically for baking pizzas. These ovens are designed to be easily moved and used in various locations, such as your backyard, patio, camping site, or even indoors. They come in various styles and fuel sources, but the most common types of portable pizza ovens include:
1. Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens: These ovens use wood as the primary heat source, and they are known for imparting a smoky flavor to the pizza. They can be a bit larger and heavier than other portable options due to the wood-burning chamber.
2. Propane or Gas Pizza Ovens: These pizza ovens are powered by propane or natural gas. They are often easier to control in terms of temperature and are more convenient to use, as you don't need to worry about wood or charcoal.
3. Electric Pizza Ovens: Electric pizza ovens are typically the most compact and lightweight options. They are easy to plug in and use, making them suitable for indoor and outdoor settings.
4. Pellet Pizza Ovens: These ovens use wood pellets as their heat source, combining the convenience of propane with the flavor of wood-fired cooking.
Portable pizza ovens are designed to reach high temperatures quickly, typically over 700°F (370°C) or even higher, which is essential for cooking pizzas quickly and achieving that crispy, charred crust and gooey cheese. Many models feature built-in thermometers, pizza stones, and other features to help you create authentic, delicious pizzas.
These ovens have gained popularity due to their versatility, allowing pizza enthusiasts to enjoy homemade, restaurant-quality pizza in various settings. They come in a range of price points, so you can find one that suits your budget and pizza-making needs.
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Salut,
Alex 
Развлечения
Alex, your blur plugin seems to not be cooperating, it shows some of the people's faces, just thought you might want to know! Awesome pizzas, must be great to be your cameraman! ;D
@Alex at 11:37, 11:52 & 11:54 the blur went of the person showing their faces.
Great video, can't wait for more Pizza creations (or other things to cook in a pizza oven?)
I think that was on purpose. HAHA
@@gildardo he has an automatic filter that "detects" faces, not working properly tho
@@RaidMonkeys Oh, I don't do video editing myself. It looked intentional since the video is public.
@@gildardo The tracker probably couldn't catch up with the motion in the image, very common in video editing programs. Most of the time you need to fix it by hand
@@LeeAnnGlenn That make sence, thanks for explaining it.
As someone that owns an Ooni myself, I've learned through trial and error that you need to lower the flame once you slide your pie in. Even if the stone is up to temp, the bottom won't cook enough by the time the top burns. Once you do that you'll get an amazing neapolitan!
💯 this. I've got a Koda 16 and find I get best results if I preheat on high between pizzas then turn it right down as soon as I put it in. Position matters in the Koda too, if you've got a pizza with a bit more toppings positioning it further from the burner (front right in the Koda 16) will give the base more time to set before you have to turn it
Literally says to do this n the owners manual of the koda
I imagine the Koda has a stronger flame than the Fyra, for the Fyra it works great heating the stone to 430C and then putting the pizza in, no change to the flame.
Without trial and error he has almost no content. It's all for show folks...
@@thecrowfliescrooked Trial and error is how people use things for the first time. I don't understand your point.
Hey Alex, I am thrilled that you love the oven! I am an engineer at Ooni and I take great pride in watching people bond over our products and more importantly pizza! That is what our company revolves around and it’s amazing you got to show that in the video!
To improve your cook going forward make sure you have the door and chimney on. The door helps with the heat up, the chimney (make sure the baffle in it is open too!) helps draw the flame through the oven. I love to wait a little longer then after I launch the pizza turn the flame down and turn the pizza a few times then turn it back to full for a final bake for 15-20 seconds! All in all do experiment and find what works best for you, that’s the fun part! 😁
I also keep the door closed while cooking the pizza as it tends to get too cold otherwise
Is it possible to add wood/wood chips to the oven to get a smokey effect?
Can I just say your customer service is the best I have experienced as well. I picked up a 12 from a garden centre, ex display and it was missing a bit and you guys sent it out for the price of postage, good stuff.
@@Scubadooper there’s a wood version as well
@@m1r4c thanks.
You prompted me to search. There's a multi fuel option as well, which I think is the one I want... Now to save up my pennies!
Alex: I don't want to make a ruckus in my new neighborhood
Also Alex: throws an impromptu pizza party 🥳❤
I think you needed to let the stone heat up more. I use an IR thermometer to check the stone before putting in a pizza.
Yes, and lower the flame little bit, in that way the bottom and the top cooking speed will be equal ;)
@@gabor.kovacsyes I was going to comment the same, blast it until the stone is hot enough then lower the flame after you launch the pie
also there is an un-even cooking bc the door looks to be left open also
Agreed
@@RedRisotto Great idea, do you know where I can find said small smoker box or tube? Any images, links or product names you can let me know of? Smoke flavor is where I struggle to mimic true neapolitan style pizza.
I LOVE that this is how you got to meet your neighbors. How could they not love you? We all do.
Unexpectedly heartwarming
IMO, Pizza is the ultimate shareable food that everyone seems to enjoy.
I would forgive any grievances I could ever have if my neighbor provided free neapolitan pizza semi regularly
It must be rough being one of Alex's neighbors. The daily struggle of if you should bring lunch or is Alex going to make something a few times for a video and feed everyone to not waste food.
oh 100% and for more factors than just taste. its highly customizeble, so lets say you have vegan friends or friends thar have Coeliac disease you can just make a vegan pizza or a gluten free pizza. its a shareable food that anyone can enjoy.@@tiacho2893
I love unexpected edings.
Don't we all
@Alex between 11:53 and 11:57 the automatic blur is blurring the lines of what it should be blurring and also 11:36 and 11:38
Small hints from a humble amateur : maybe let the stone preheat a bit more, then lower the flame while cooking the pizza. And before going in, you should just pop the big air bubbles to avoid the pie starting to burn 🙂
Very good suggestion, plus I would try to buy a special pizza stone the saputo kind.
As a long term Ooni pizza oven owner I can confirm the original message in this thread
+1
I wonder if a (preheated) pizza steel would bring more concentrated heat to the underside?
@@BiggMo it's not necessary with the Ooni ovens, you just have to let the stone preheat properly (+/15min for the Ooni Koda 16 in general).
11:36 the face being blurred can be easily seen
Salut Alex ! Here's an idea for you:
I've been experiencing putting a thin layer of olive oil on the crust around the pizza using a small brush before putting it in the oven. Although it is not the proper traditional way, I think it brings something more to the crust : as crunchy, but less carbonated, and more flavorful thanks to the taste of the oil.
Maybe something you might want to try out someday 😉
Thank you for your great videos!
Some tips from an Italian home pizza maker who has built his own portable oven (electric with rotatory stone):
1)Wait at least 45 minutes to heat up well the stone
2)To make a fluffier pizza increase the hydration of the dough at minimum of 70%
3)Under 400° the air bubbles doesn't expands (i use 420° and 1:30 minutes)
4)If you want step up in pizza game try to make a "pizza contemporanea" (contemporary pizza) by doing the "biga" which is a preferment of the dough with only 45% of hydration and that will increase the the flavor
5)If you use flour type 0 (instead of type 00) the pizza will be more flavorful (eg. Caputo nuvola) and use a flour of 270W/300W, don't go to high or the pizza will be like bread (for my contemporary pizza i make the biga with a mix of type 0, type 1 and regrinded semola and hydration of 75%) tip. Use icy water
6)Flatten the pizza dough on regrinded semola and not flour so it doesn't absorb much humidity and doesn't stick to the pizza peel. Also be careful to push the air of the pizza ball from the center outwards and don't flatten the crust
7)Use a pizza peel with holes, so the excess regrinded semola stuck in the bottom of the dough will fall and doesn't burn
8)I strongly recommend to replace the refractory stone with a "biscotto" fiesoli and you can leave the pizza in the oven for as long as you want, and the under side will always be perfectly cooked (search on google "fiesoli arte biscotto")
Great comment
bro can you make a video about this please, I'd like to see!
this is interesting
At 11:55-12:00 there are a few times the face blur isn’t actually on people’s faces
A huge thing that most people miss is using either poolish or biga in their dough recipes, and the importance of keeping the top part of the dough on top always so it cooks correctly. If you wonder why some of your pies come out doughy and others almost perfect, that might be why! 🍕
I had a similar epiphany last year. I got the Ooni Fyra wood pellet oven, and it was life changing! Instantly went from pretty average pizza, to pizza that rivals most restaurants around here (there are still a few that blow mine out of the water 😅). Just like pancakes, the first one is usually under or over cooked.
Alex mate! *Ending😅😅😅😅😅
Thats the best reason ever to get a pizza oven, you're feeding your neighbours and letting everyone get to know you. The right reason to cook food - much love.
The thermometer reads the ambient temperature inside the oven not the stone's temperature. It takes my Roccbox around 40-60 minutes to get the stone up to temp. You can use an IR thermometer to check the stone before launching a pizza.
As a passionate pizza amateur cook and having used multiple portable pizza ovens from multiple brands including Ooni, my gas-based oven preference goes to Gozney's Roccbox because of it's thicker stone and better insulation. It retains heat better when making multiple pizza's in a row compared to the Ooni.
Getting yourself a pizza turning peel to rotate the pizza's during cooking is super handy for all these ovens 😉
You could also start try cooking with cast iron skillets in these ovens for new-york style pizza's or other brilliant non-pizza oven dishes
LOVE your pizza series Alex! Learned so much! You're the Best 🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤
My brother has one and uses it every sunday to make pizza for his family. With a 5 and 3 year old, they all have their particular tastes but it's fun whenever I'm visiting to see the whole group celebrate a good home made pizza all for themself!
I borrowed one of those Ooni ovens from a grood friend of mine for a weekend. I did not change anything concerning my dough recipe. That was exactly the same as always. And normally I do the "first in a cast iron pan on the hub, then under the grill in the oven"-method, which works fine. But its just not the same.
With this oven and real woodfire the difference was astonishing. And those things are absolutely fiercely hot. You basically have to count maybe to like 20 in your head and then need to turn the pizza or it will immediately burn.
But some things that I learned from this experiment (which was delicious):
1) The closer you are to the burner the faster the TOP of the pizza cooks.
2) To cook the bottom first and really nicely you should put the pizza closer to the entrance of the oven first, let it bake a little bit and then move it closer to the burner
3) The best result was using 2 first, and then using the Pizza peel to lift the pizza up and nearly into the flames for some seconds to get the top really bubbling and cripsy.
This gave the best overall result.
And dont instantly put in the next pizza. If you have a laser thermometer you should check the temperature of the stone. if its below 400°C you should wait a bit, until it comes up to temperature.
As alwys love your videos and was excited, since I got a chance to test the same thing as you :D
Have bought an Ooni Koda a few years ago and it's been so awesome. I've invited lots of people to my place to make pizza and all of them have been in awe of how awesome that pizza is.
Amazing video as always alex! LOVED the ending! Food always has a way to bring people together, making us share great experiences and generally be friendlier. Very happy to see that you're beign welcomed! You deserve all the love❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊
That’s awesome! An impromptu pizza party with your new neighbors! I noticed you started whispering then at the end you were speaking normally. Glad you have cool people around you.
I'm a long time Ooni cooker. You want to keep the heat lower when you pop it in, so the stone gets more time to transfer its heat to the bottom. I've got a Koda 12, so unsure how this translates to your oven. It's trial and error. But lower flame heat = slower cook = more time on the floor; you need to get a feel for that balance. So stone pre-heat is important as others are stating, but a feel for balance is arguably even more important. Be sure to use your IR thermometer to gauge the stone heat. In the center you want it around 400-430 Celsius before you throw a pie on. Also you might wanna redo the censors at 11:37 and 11:54 😉
I'm so glad you have a proper pizza oven now and don't have to worry about burning down your studio with your "absolutely voided the warranty" domestic oven!
I really hope that the blue wall is going to serve as a replacement for the blue fridge. Cooking equations will look so cool on there.
Amazing video as always. Thanks!
Great video Alex!! I wish i could as passioned as you on the things you do. Keep up the good work
Looks great! I would highly recommend a small round peel for turning.
New space looks nice. I am curious to see more.
Also, I hope that the courtyard is large enough for a solar pizza oven, to compare
Food is art, food is flavor, food is entertainment, food is nutrition, food is energy...but most importantly food easily is the center of community!
Thanks for sharing Alex! I will surely get one in the near future... can't wait for your next video!!
I also have the Ooni oven and i noticed that you have to preheat it much longer because of the special Cordierit-Stone. I usually preheat it for 30-40 minutes. So the bottom doesnt come out pale. Greetings from Graz/Austria. 😉 Ps: we also bought a woodfire oven from Aldi for 699€ and it is stainless steel so when it‘s a little bit colder outside it doesnt hold the temp so well but with a bigger oven and woodfired it‘s just 5 levels up. 😉
Yeah I'm not sure where "10 minutes" came from. I think the manual says 30 minutes.
If you wanna get next level results, consider either PizzaParty or Gozney. Pizza party has been around for 20 years and is an Italian company. Their Ardore and Emozione gas ovens our second to none in terms of what you get for the price you pay. Same goes for their wood fire ovens. Meanwhile, the Gozney options are just top quality. As someone who’s owned two different Ooni ovens, I can tell you that quality is severely lacking for Ooni. Once you’ve owned a Gozney oven, either the Roccbox or the Dome, or a PizzaParty you’ll understand.
@@ElGrecoDaGeek yes, there are also the „Alfa“ Pizza oven from Italy - also great. But we first wanted to try a cheap one to see if we can handle the woodfire and if we see a difference. Now we NOW that there is a BIG difference between gas, charcoal and woodfire - so we stick to the woodfire oven. We want to get a real one with bricks but about 5000€ is a bit too expensive - now. 😉
Ive got a Gozney pizza oven and it cooks some amazing pizzas. I've also used it for steaks. A great item to have for cooking.
When making the dough, you need to pay attention to the flour, the W strength is important to make the perfect Neapolitan pizza with leopard
look for my best flour what I use in my portable pizza oven EFFEUNO p134H 509
-PETRA 5037
- CAPUTO PIZZERIA
- 5 stagioni pizza napoletana
CAKE PARAMETERS
- number of balls: 6
- ball weight: 280 g
- hydration: 60%
NEEDED INGREDIENTS
- flour: 1031 g
- cold water with ice: 618 g
- salt: 31 g
- fresh yeast: 0.77g
RISING TIMES
- total time at ambient temperature(20*C-26*C): 8 hours
- total time in the fridge: 48 hours
Pizza souce is so simple
Just san Marzano pomodore with salt nothing more!
!!!!!
loooks amazing and simple
im love it
amazing recipe
nice
What a beautiful ending, and you're right. Food makes things so much easier, even if it's just for a moment. It can connect people and show people who you are or who you can be in some way.
Loved the eding
Alex, I think you’re wife must be thrilled that you’ve found something that will keep your from hacking the family oven. 😂 Glad to see that you have lovely neighbors at your new studio and are having fun!
11:54 great job on the face blur
I love how from your neighbor's perspective, you came in and threw a pizza party. Best neighbor ever.
Love your Sailor, I have 1 too and I'm very happy about it! Nice video as always!
Unexpected EDING
Where there's pizza, there's a party! 👍😋 That's fantastic that some of the neighbors came out to say "hello" and see what was going on. Bringing people together one slice at a time, nice job Alex.
I got my Ooni 2.5 years ago after watching your first pizza series. Been using it every weekend since! Thanks for sharing your love/knowledge of cooking. Have fun with your new oven. Can't wait to see what you do with it.
there is no bigger pleasure for the chef as to share his food with other and see they enjoy it! awesome thing!!!
I feel like you need to test Colin Furze's pizza oven, a truly portable pizza oven.
Great video as always.
11:35 Face blurring mistake...
11:55 Again, sorry.
Love the community outcome of this video
I totally agree! I have been using my Ooni Koda for two years now and with the help of your videos to perfect the dough I constantly make really good pizzas.
Here's the technique I've had the most success with if you want similar results without a pizza oven:
-use a high hydration dough (80%, do the whole stretch and folds to handle it correctly, it takes proper technique to handle it, but this will prevent the dough from solidifying too quickly when cooking)
-use a flat cast iron (pan/plate, etc. so it can retain heat when you transfer it to the oven later)
-get it ripping hot on a stove (5-10 min or so, this allows for a high enough temperature in the base, and to shock the pizza with enough heat as it rises into the dough from below)
-preheat your oven's grill/broiler for 10-15 min (again, more heat = better, and this gets you up to 300c unlike the oven)
-when you form your pizza and put it on the plate, it will take about 60 seconds to assemble - but this is good as it means the dough has a little time to heat from beneath and rise upwards around the crusts without solidifying straight away
-when the base is browned, put it under the grill/broiler
-once browned, take it out, and enjoy the chewey and floofy goodness
Alex, I found your channel a few years ago and devoured all of your content you had produced back then. Now I find myself doing a little bit of catching up. I know you have a new studio and it is lovely. My only wish is that you will post a video about how you constructed it like you did with your latest studio.
You have taught me a lot about cooking and I love your passion in your love of doing do. Merci bo coup mon ami.
Hey Alex
love all the pizza video's
If you want a indoors Pizza oven you should try and look into the EFFEUNO P134H 509 pizzaovn with a BISCOTTO pizzaston
I've got myself an ooni pizza oven and they're pretty darn fun to use! Same model too, the Karu 16 with gas.
YEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!! been waiting for you to get one of these. I got a karu 12 during the pandemic after many failed attempts at cobbling together a frankenoven from junk i had lying around and random building materials.
Definitively try making naan with your new oven! Garlic naan with some dal or channa masala with bread made with your setup is going to be tasty.
In the end you said a big truth, everyone loves pizza and can be a connection with the people, they appreciate your talent and taste something great done by a friend already! Big hug from Italy
Best eding of all time
Thanks for another upload Alex :)
Our oven has brought us closer to our neighbours too, great ice breaker. Looking forward to seeing where you take this. Thanks Alex!
When you let the oven preheat for a bit longer (or do pizza #2) you get a bit more heat from the stone tiles in the bottom of the oven. I have a wood-fired version of this oven and it's so awesome. It takes a little practise to be able to get the pizza into and out of the oven, without crashing it, but you probably have lots of experience from that already with all the other versions of pizza baking you have done in real pizza ovens etc.
Just found your channel today while searching mother sauces. I’m hooked. Thanks for the content and keep it going .
This was probably one of my favorite videos from you😁
nice tutorial i enjoyed this video,
got mine this summer and absolutly love it. Need to make much more pizza to get on a higher lvl but it is already very good and so much fun
I really wasn't expecting that eding
Congrats on the 2M! Great to see you sharing the joy with the new neighbours..
Bought my Ooni 16 last year. Best money I ever spent. Also the turning peel is a must-have!
Alex, great video, thanks for sharing. I'm sure with some more practice and with the very helpful comments posted by other viewers you will perfect this!
I’m really glad you now have a beautiful outdoor space to cook and dine.
You are one of the few creator/cook on RUclips that makes me excited about cooking. Thank you Alex.
I notice you use Franco Pepe's method of stretching the dough--chapeau! Very excited for your new studio and next series!
Welcome to the ooni family Alex! I love using my ooni and sharing it with the family!
As I’ve been watching your videos for the past few years, I just realised why I love your channel. Not only is it informative but also therapeutic 😍
Sensational video.
Great video and so happy to see this Alex! I have an Ooni as well and a few lessons I've learned:
You need a turning peel and IR thermometer.
Oven is ready when the center of the stone is just over 400. I load at 430 at the center which seems to work for my local humidity and temps.
You have to turn the burner down to low right before loading. Let the stone have time to do the cooking without scorching the top. Use the turning peel to rotate the pizza while cooking. It's much more precise and faster than using a loading peel.
I have been using Stäedtler's cold ferment pizza dough recipe for Neopolitan pie with excellent results. Upping the water content and learning how to work with sticky dough has been a rewarding challenge. Enjoy your Ooni!!
This was the best damn episode ever. Outstanding in every way. The energy of your community and the potential for perfecting techniques and methodologies. Bravo 👏🏼
i saw the true joy in your eyes after the first bite of pizza and as someone who loves food seeing that brought such joy to myself
This is a perfect video, as a pizza enthusiast myself this video made every point necessary. The feeling of having friends over for a pizza party where everyone gets to make their pie and have fun is a top tier memories in my heart
I love that your baking attracted your neighbours and you got to meet them all like this! And share your passion :)
Seeing the few clips of you working with the dough, got me excited to get back to baking bread again.
I'm on my second ooni, and enjoyed all your pizza series videos. Really looking forward to seeing where your engineering brain takes this.
I am seeing this oven for a time ..I was wating for a serious report like Alex did of this. Thank you
This one made me feel warm and fuzzy❤
wonderful community you stumbled upon, i'm sure they're loving your presence!
I was thinking, that would be a great way to get to know the neighbors, I am surprised none have showed up.. then watched the end of the video, how amazing it would be to live near Alex
Apron foreshadowing there 😜 Well done Alex. Tes videos sont qualitatives, en tout point. Merci de nous faire rêver. Keep going ❤
Nice job Alex! Loved the video. I've always wanted to try one of these, it is as you said a bit melancholy that you can do many things to achieve perfection but nothing will beat simply buying the right equipment. I used to make pizza for the staff in the kitchen i worked in, using a pizza stone placed on a salamander to achieve that high heat, but still never could achieve that leopard spotting like that! One day I will be able to justify spending that amount on pizza but maybe not now while im a student still!! 😆Amazing video as always. ♥
I have one of there for 1 year now and all you have to do is try try try.... the oven can deliver percet temperature, but you have to understand it to the full extend. Its not like - set temperature to XY and everything will be fine. The stone has the have the right temperature and the air has to have a slightly lower temperature to get a perfect result.
Love that unexpected ending! 😊
I watched your pizza episodes many times, and now I have a pop-up pizzeria.
Thank you Alex!!!
Pizza party is such a good way to practice pizzaiolo skills
- ingredient cost is not that high.
- 1 pizza can be shared/feed an adult easily
- By continuously baking pizza, you will understand how your oven perform.
- many people love pizza😁
Good neighbors are key and everyone loves the neighbors who cooks and shares
I own a Roccbox pizza oven and honestly it takes a lot of practice to get right. The main learning curve is temperature control. You definitely need to get the stone as hot as possible before launching the pizza. Also, lower the flame right before launching because the heat will be so intense that the pizza would burn on top before the bottom cooks enough. Another thing to do is make sure you use semolina flour and 00 flour (~50:50 mix) to stretch, then shake off as much as possible before building the pizza. That way, there won't be a ton of bunt flour and the cook will be much better overall. Lastly, invest in a turning peel because it makes baking the pizza a lot easier and more even because you can turn the pizza while it is still in the oven. Hope this helps and I'm looking forward to your new pizza journey!
Sharing food work people, is one of the joy of life. It is like sharing love ❤
I backing Pizza in a self built, gas driven pizza oven without a stone but with using a backing tray made of 5 mm steel. Its got a type K thermocouple welded on the underside which makes the tray temperature perfectly controllable which is key due to the steel sheet. I get the best results with approx. 320°C on the tray before putting the pizza in. For backing, i suggest a higher temperatures then ~400°C. I'm usually runing approx. 460-480°C top heat which creates perfect results for not-too-thick neapolitan margheritas within 90 seconds backing time. During backing, the backing tray will drop from 320°C to ~270°C which is fine.
I've had the same Karu 16 for a year now and for best results I don't launch the pizza until the stone measures 450°C and that can take 20-30 minutes. An IR thermometer is your friend. After that I don't turn the gas down but with careful placement and turning 2-4 times it doesn't burn. It is such a pleasure to use this oven.
Actually all of this is quite simple and logical if you think about it. I can explain it if anyone is interested. If you have too low temperature (the stone is too cold and too low flame), the pizza will take longer to cook and it will become more "crispy" like a NY style pizza or "bari" style pizza. You will end up with a pizza that you might as well just make in your 300C electric home oven because it will give you the same result!!! Simply speaking, there are basically two sources of heat in an oven: top and bottom. In a pizza oven, this means the top of the oven (as well as the flame) and the bottom (the pizza stone). Yes, it's not straight from the top which is why you need to turn the pizza but let's keep it simple now...
Too cold pizza stone but too high flame = pizza gets cooked too fast on the top (burnt/charred on the top and sides) however gets undercooked on the bottom.
Too hot pizza stone but too low flame = pizza gets cooked too fast on the bottom and too slow on the top which makes your bottom overcooked (very crispy or even burnt) and the top undercooked.
So what you need is BALANCE between the top and bottom temperatures as well as a generally high enough temperature that will cook your pizza quick enough so it doesn't just end up crispy like in a 300C home oven.
To achieve this result, you need to emulate how Neapolitan pizzas are made. If you want true Neapolitan pizza with a both "soft and crunchy" crust you need temperatures of 400C or above which will cook the pizza in 60-90 seconds. AVPN says 430-480C but some famous pizzerias in Naples even cook at 500C (Da Michele). Gino Sorbillo cooks at 400C. And this is the pizza stone temperature. Generally you need at least 400C. But hey, you get my point, you need higher temperatures than a home oven... which can only be achieved in gas or wood-fired ovens (which is where the OONI etc. comes into the picture).
Let's not forget that you also need a dough with the right hydration. The less hydration dough, the "crispier" it will get. The more hydration, the "softer" it will get. Usually, 60-70% hydration will make it "soft and crispy". I personally use 70% hydration.
Also, there are some other reasons why your crust becomes charred on top like your first pizza, however if you take out your pizza too early then it will be undercooked right? So why is that and what can you do?
Like I said above, this has to do with your temperatures but let's say that you have at least 400C... then it has more to do with what flame you have... The first problem is that you had a too high flame.
But it is also your dough and how you stretched your dough. If there are too big air bubbles in your dough, those areas of your crust will puff up too much like in your first pizza and it will become burnt/charred easily. So, the second problem is a dough issue.
Also, the third problem is how you stretch your pizza. If you basically just use a rolling pin and roll the dough out, you will remove all of the air in the dough and your crust will not puff up properly. Trust me, try to make a pizza rolled out with a pin flat as a pancake and you will see how flat and compact the crust becomes even after cooking it. However, if you use the proper method to stretch out the dough you will somewhat "push" and keep the air to the outside of the crust and this will make the sides of the crust puff up nicely.
For some pizzerias, this is what is mainly desired and then it is called pizza "Canotto" style and this is when they try to be as gentle as possible and push as much air to the oversized sides of the crust for it to puff up as much as possible.
For the more traditional method, like in Naples, it is called the "Ruotta di Carro" style which literally translates to "Cartwheel". The pizza is stretched out to a bigger size as the sides of the crust has less size (but still somewhat puffs up). Nowadays, mostly what you see however is the "contemporary" style which has pretty puffed up sides of crust but just not as much as the "canotto" style.
But even if you had the perfect dough you could still get the crust too dark and this is because you simply had too high flame which cooks your pizza's top as well as the crust too fast compared to the bottom. So, after reaching the desired stone temperature, try to lower your flame and see how much flame you need for the perfect balance.
Practice makes perfect and if you want to become better then make pizza Margheritas at 400C, then 430C, 450C and 480C with the same type of dough at first. Try a lower flame, medium flame, as well as higher flame on all temperature levels and after doing this you will 100% understand it all.
** disconnect the gas after cooking **
Hi Alex - the gas regulator gets 'tired' if you leave it connected to the Ooni - make sure you always disconnect the gas supply as soon as you finish cooking. Otherwise the oven's maximum temperature will progressively get lower... If other people are experiencing this problem - then simply buy a replacement regulator from Ooni. 😊
Great video, Alex - and enjoy your Ooni!
OMGaaaa, Im starving for some now!!!😋