Ooni Tactics and Tricks from the PROs
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- Ooni Pizza Oven Tips and Tricks
- Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #1
- Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #2
- Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #3.
- Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #4
- Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #5
- Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #6
- Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #7
- Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #8
- Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #9
- The Last Slice
- Check Out these Ooni Must-Haves
- Ooni Additional Resources
Here are nine innovative Ooni pizza oven tips and some tricks to enhance your pizza baking experience.
Because we understand, that dealing with an Ooni pizza oven can sometimes be challenging. But don’t worry we got you covered.
What do you need to know about using this pizza oven? How do you go about baking and serving your first pizza? Let’s find out.
Ooni Pizza Oven Tips and Tricks
Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #1
Use the Best Flour
One of the essential pizza oven tips when it comes to home production is using the best flour. For instance, Caputo Pizzeria is suitable for temperatures above 700F.
Caputo Pizzeria flour has a higher gluten content (13%) which makes the dough strong. The dough can stay in its original shape for about a day or two for fermentation.
It will also help if you use flour with high strength properties to easily stretch the dough without tampering with the delicate texture.
An alternative flour would be King Arthur Bread Flour.
Moreover, don’t forget about the need for bold taste and flavors. This pizza flour offers just that and much more to enhance your baking experience.
While there are many flour options in the stores, this one will yield the best results, especially if you’re an amateur.
Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #2
Go Easy with the Sauce and Toppings
Your final pizza product’s texture and flavor will depend on how you add the sauce and the toppings. While you are at liberty to choose your ingredient and tastes, we recommend not overdoing it.
More spice and toppings will only add unnecessary moisture and weight to the dough.
You can follow a specific order of dressing the pizza to avoid the taste of raw, mushy, and tasteless ingredients.
What order should you use when adding sauce and toppings to the pizza?
Please follow this procedure:
Add Sauce to the Dough
The sauce layer should be very thin. Keep in mind the sauce will add weight and moisture to the dough, which may cause the dough to stick.
Add cheese
Use your favorite cheese, we recommend using fresh mozzarella when making Neapolitan pizza and a low-moisture mozzarella cheese when making NY-style pizza. And of course, parmesan or pecorino to finish it.
Add toppings
The same with the toppings, you need to be careful not to add that many toppings, and if you are adding any vegetables like mushrooms, make sure to pre-cook them prior to placing them on the dough.
Following this order helps create bold tastes and flavors. The cheese coming in between the sauce and the toppings will allow it to bubble and turn brown.
The toppings coming last will expose the ingredients to direct heat, making them crispy. Depending on the type of pizza you’re making, there are some exceptions where the order of ingredients may change.
In that case, referencing reliable recipes and guidebooks will always save the day.
Pro Tip
Keep in mind that no matter how hot your oven is if you don’t have a flame, the pizza won’t bake correctly. Usually, the bottom of the pizza will burn, while the top will still be uncooked. When the stone temperature and flame height are at the optimal temperature and height, you will get a consistent bake.
Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #3.
Oven Placement
When placing the oven, make it perpendicular or away from airflow as it can either increase the flame or extinguish it. An overheating oven will likely produce overbaked or burnt pizza.
Conversely, if the oven extinguishes in the middle of the baking process, it will yield mush and semi-cooked toppings. Unless you like raw vegetables, such a pizza will be hard to ingest.
Important Note:
It is also important to note that Ooni ovens are for outdoor use only. Their design doesn’t make these pizza ovens safe for indoor use.
The hard work of making a homemade pizza lies in preparing the dough and adding the sauce and toppings.
You don’t want to waste all that at the last moment when you should wait for a few minutes to serve your pizza.
Pizza Pun
A lot of people cry when they cut onions.
The trick is not to form an emotional bond.
Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #4
Use Low Hydration Dough at 55% to 60%
Use Low Hydration Dough at 55% to 60% and keep it at room temperature (68-72 degrees F).
Caputo Pizzeria pizza flour will give you an easy time with dough preparation. It is suitable for low hydration doughs, and you’ll hardly find yourself struggling to balance the portions of the ingredient.
After fermenting the dough, it is time to stretch it out to your desired shape. We recommend stretching at an optimal room temperature to have an easy time.
An optimal room temperature means the environment is neither too hot nor too cold. Usually from 68 to 72 degrees F.
Some people love to prepare the dough a day earlier and refrigerate it. In that case, you’d want to leave the dough in the opening for at least four hours to gain room temperature.
Kindly note that cold dough is hard to work with as it springs back to itself every time you try to stretch it.
Conversely, if the dough is too hot, it will sweat as the trapped moisture tries to escape. You’ll end up with a sticky dough that peels as you try to stretch.
Moreover, a hot dough will often stretch too far, outside your desired shape.
Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #5
Preheat the Oven for 30 Minutes
Let preheat the oven for 30 minutes or until the pizza stone center reaches 750F. Ooni suggests that you can preheat the oven for between 15 to 20 minutes.
We’ve found that preheating it for a little longer gives better results because there is enough time for the stone to preheat evenly.
The pizza stone is the last component that makes your pizza assume an excellent taste and look. It will help if you preheat the oven for about half an hour and let the pizza stone gain high temperatures of up to 750F.
Ooni Pizza Oven Tips
A preheated pizza stone will give you that crunchy crust and well-cooked toppings.
Most importantly, it ensures that the pizza cooks evenly.
Even so, it is essential to ensure that the pizza stone is in the proper condition. Like other oven parts, it can also be inefficient due to repeated use and general wear and tear.
In that case, you’d want to replace it for a better cooking experience.
Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #6
Be Fast!
Be fast when assembling the pizza. The process of assembling the pizza is more vital compared to heating it.
There are no automatic settings, and it will depend on your hands’ speed. A fast assembly process allows you to handle the dough while still soft and at the right temperature.
It also means you can get the shape together without having to use excess flour to prevent sticking.
Ooni Pizza Oven Tactics
Please, don’t let the pizza dough sit around for a long time.
Also, be keen not to punch some holes while assembling. Gaps will allow the sauce and toppings to filtrate into the pan and leave you with a sticky pizza.
When assembling the pizza, don’t forget to drizzle olive oil on the top to allow the toppings to cook well.
The amount of olive oil that you add depends on the pizza’s size and the number of toppings.
Vegetarians like to go a little extra with fruit and vegetable toppings to replace meat ingredients.
In that case, you need enough oil that will cook the vegetables well.
Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #7
Use a Perforated Pizza Peel
Since you’ll be working around a surface full of flour, it will help if you use perforated pizza peels.
This trick will reduce the amount of flour that gets trapped beneath the pizza dough, especially when placing it in the oven.
Remember, excess flour on the dough will always yield brownish and bitter-tasting pizza. The last you want is to serve a pizza that everyone will frown at when tasting.
Moreover, perforated pizza peels will also give you an easy time by stopping the dough from sticking.
A sticky dough will deform the shape that you put in a lot of work to achieve.
If you find it hard to use a perforated peel, you can always use two peels. A wood peel works better for launching the pizza into the oven and a metal peel to turn it and remove it from the oven.
Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #8
Set a Timer
Set a timer and turn the pizza 90 degrees every 15 seconds for about 2 minutes.
Set the timer, depending on the type and size of pizza that you’re making. Let your pizza cook as you turn the pizza quarter every 15 seconds.
This process will enable the heat to spread around the pizza at the same rate.
Hence, it will cook evenly. Turning the pizza frequently also allows the olive oil to burn evenly and cook the toppings without overheating.
Ooni Pizza Oven Tip #9
Finish Your Pizza
After your timer ticks off, it is now time to get the pizza out of the oven. To protect yourself from heat, kindly use tongs or a spatula to pull the pizza from the oven.
You can place it onto an upside-down baking sheet or a plate. To make it nicer, you can plate it in a wood or a slate platter.
Let it settle for a minute; use a clean-cut pizza cutter and garnish. You can enhance the flavor with a finishing salt like truffle salt, Malden salt, or black salt. You can add parsley or basil for color. Serve in desired shapes.
The Last Slice
All the Ooni pizza oven tips shared above will help you prepare a high-quality home pizza that rivals that of any restaurant around your neighborhood.
We have had a pleasurable experience using the Ooni Pizza Oven, and we believe you’ll also find it amazing.
As you practice these Ooni pizza oven tips, don’t forget to factor in the cooking environment’s outdoor temperature and humidity. These factors will always influence the outcome of your pizza.
Lastly, don’t beat yourself if the pizza doesn’t turn out as perfect as you expected. There is still a next time and room to improve your skills.
Do you have any questions or opinions about the above Ooni pizza oven tips? Also, let us know if you have any other tips we can share with our community, we truly appreciate the sharing of your experience.
Check Out these Ooni Must-Haves
Ooni Modular Tables are the perfect surface for your Ooni pizza oven and accessories.
All Ooni pizza oven models fit perfectly on the stainless steel work surface, and your propane tank will fit neatly on the lower shelf.
These tables are made of robust powder-coated carbon steel. They also feature two height-adjustable shelves and built-in hooks for your Ooni peels and accessories. Plus, the two lockable casters will keep your table steady while you cook.
Designed for cooking pizzas up to 12 inches wide, our perforated aluminum Ooni 12″ Perforated Pizza Peel is a high-quality, lightweight peel for sliding, turning and retrieving pizzas from your oven with ease.
The two Ooni Pizza Topping containers ensure you have plenty of toppings to keep the pizza flowing. The custom-fit clear lids for each container means they can be easily stacked and stored in the fridge. The weather-resistant, powder-coated frame and stainless steel cover fit perfectly on our Ooni Modular Tables and it is easy to transport for cleaning and storage. Build your outdoor kitchen and level-up your pizza prep with the Ooni Pizza Topping Station.
We’re proud to reintroduce the Ooni Stack, originally funded on Kickstarter by you, the Ooni community, and now back by popular demand — and better than ever, thanks to some key design tweaks.
Now, it’s time to take your pizza prep game to the next level with our space-saving storage solution. Stuck-together dough balls stop here when you proof them individually in each of the Stack’s three durable, borosilicate glass bowls.
This cast iron pan is the perfect size for use with all your Ooni ovens!
Is it a Griddle? Is it a Sizzler? It's both! Say hello to the Ooni Dual-Sided Grizzler Plate.
Use the versatile smooth Sizzler side for fajitas or frying eggs, or flip and use the Ooni Grizzler ribs for those picture-perfect seared grill marks on the meats.
The new and first-ever cookbook, Ooni: Cooking with Fire, is written by Ooni co-founders Kristian Tapaninaho and Darina Garland to share our story, recipes, and inspiration for great outdoor cooking. Experience the beauty of cooking with fire and our favorite Ooni dishes inspired by their time spent living and working in Finland, London, and Scotland.
Streamline your pizza prep and make the perfect dough every time with our Ooni Dual Platform Digital Scales. Measure out all your ingredients to a tenth of a gram - yes, even those tiny amounts of salt and yeast - using the brushed stainless steel platforms, a dual LCD display to see both platform measurements simultaneously, and a custom-fit measuring dish for yeast or herbs.
The Ooni Pizza Oven Brush is a 2-in-1 stone baking board brush and scraper tool featuring a comfortable wooden handle, plus a durable stainless steel scraper and bristles.
Protect your Ooni Fyra 12 come rain or shine with the Ooni Fyra 12 Carry Cover, one of the best-selling pizza oven accessories.
The Ooni Fyra 12 Carry Cover is a waterproof outdoor cover and features aluminum buckles for maximum toughness meaning it’s one of our most popular Ooni pizza oven accessories!
Know exactly when your pizza stone is ready to cook the perfect base. The Ooni Infrared Thermometer with a laser pointer will allow you to accurately measure the surface temperature of your Ooni pizza oven instantly.
Protect your Ooni Koda from the elements and easily take it on the go with our 100% waterproof Ooni Koda Carry Cover. Featuring durable straps with a cushioned carry handle, cast aluminum harness buckles, and a loop for securing your gas regulator when on the move.
Start your pizza party off right with this awesome Ooni accessories bundle. Organize ingredients for maximum flavor combo creativity with our topping station. Gauge stone temp in seconds with an infrared thermometer, and use the turning peel to cook like a professional pizzaiolo. And when the pizzas are piping hot, use the pizza cutter wheel to slice them in a hurry, then serve those pies in style on our bamboo peel.
Ooni Additional Resources
Enjoy!
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