[Ice10]

For many years I contemplated building a dedicated pizza oven but never did for a variety of reasons-high cost, finding a place for a large stationary oven, or just finding the time to design and build the thing.  Then about two months ago I stumbled on the Ooni brand pizza ovens and my life as it relates to pizza changed forever!  These ovens are inexpensive and amazing.  I bought the wood fired one which allows me to burn a variety of hard woods I already have at the ready.  Heat it up with a couple small blocks then periodically refresh with smaller pieces and it’s easy to get the oven and pizza stone up past 700 degrees. 

Along with the new oven we tried a new gluten free flour with incredible results.  The Antimo Caputo gluten free flour creates an incredibly light, airy, and delicious crust. I honestly don’t miss the pizzas from my pre-gluten intolerant days since we discovered this flour.

The downside is the oven is small so you’ll only get one 12” pizza in at a time, but considering that a pizza only takes 2 to 3 minutes to cook, it’s a minor detail to us.  The one thing about cooking one pizza at a time is it actually creates a sort of party atmosphere with the family as the kids try to out do each other pies (and if course dad has to out do the kids!).

I don’t work for the companies I mentioned, I don’t even work in the food service industry, I’m just a guy that loves a delicious Neapolitan style pizza and can now make them at home and have a heck of a lot of fun doing it. I highly recommend these ovens if your considering a pizza oven.

[avta]

Thanks for posting this. My wife is gluten sensitive and we've never been able to find a flour that works well enough. I'll certainly give this a try. BTW what's you dough recipe? Thanks in advance.

[Ice10]

Avta, I spent countless hours researching gluten free flours, trying pizza crust recipes, etc. and never made anything worth writing home about until I found the Caputo Fioreglut flour.  In addition to making incredible pizza crusts it looks like it makes amazing breads as well.  It’s truly a godsend to those that must avoid gluten.  The recipe can’t be easier:

500 grams Caputo gf flour
400g water (I usually add a drop or two of honey)
10g yeast
12g salt (I usually put between 10-12 g)
25g olive oil

Flour and salt in bowl of stand up mixer.  Warm water to approx 105 degrees and add yeast. Let bloom.  Pour water slowly into mixer with bread hook attachment and once added slowly add oil. Run mixer on slow and using rubber spatula make sure all is blended (just a couple minutes).  Put in warm area for an hour or so and let rise.  After rising I gently make four dough balls (I want to say they’re about 230g each) and cover.  This is when I start the fire in the oven, prepare and clean all the pizza toppings, get the counter ready, etc..  once oven is up to temp I call the family out and the pizza making really starts!
This makes four approx. 10” pizzas. 

Personally I bought my first 1000g bag of flour on Amazon and after I fell in pizza love with it I found an online store that sells 5000g bags at a better price.  Please note that the only comparable gf pizza I’ve tasted at a restaurant was over $30 a pie, which makes the price of the flour literally easier to swallow.

I’ve attached a picture where I tried to show the bubbly crust....my photography failed but the pizza was awesome.  Feel to reach out with any other questions.

[mresseguie]

Ice10,

What else can be cooked/baked in the Ooni pizza oven?

My wife and I eat far too little pizza to justify buying a dedicated pizza oven. I imagine flat breads, masa harina products (tamales for example) might work.

Michael

[avta]

What type of yeast are you using?

[DavidS]

great thread guys - have come close a couple of times to buying the Ooni.  Make pizza at home about once every two weeks although my gas oven gets to about 500 tops - this summer may have to be an Ooni summer.  No gluten issues here - lactose though which is challenging as well for a pizza lover.

[Ice10]

Regarding what else can be cooked in the oven, I actually haven’t tried anything else but I know Ooni sells several cast iron pan/plate products.  This summer I plan to try veggies and steaks in it.  I’ve heard the better steak houses use very high heat to cook their meat and one of our favorite restaurants serves almost charred, quick cooked veggies that are amazing.  I need to research this a bit more.

When you look at the inside of the oven it’s very well designed as the bottom (a pizza stone) gets upwards of 700+ degrees and the flames from the little fire in the back crawl up the roof of the oven to the vent so the food inside isn’t enveloped in flame, rather it’s cooked from the bottom with a nice flame broiler effect. It’s also very efficient, taking very little wood to get up to and maintaining temps.  I’ve heard of folks getting theirs to 900ish degrees, I haven’t seen a need to do that yet.

Yeast- I’m probably a simpleton but I just use what our local Winco sells, Red Star quick rise yeast.

After finding the flour I knew I needed a way to cook the crust quickly.  I originally bought a pizza stone but my oven didn’t get up past 500 degrees or so, so that was a bust. I then tried my four burner Weber gas grill and even that took way to long to get the pizza stone to a semi decent temp and wasted way too much propane.  That started my thinking about building a dedicated pizza oven but for reasons previously mentioned I passed on that idea.  After some research I found the Ooni for a bit over $300 delivered (thanks to Dicks sporting goods 20% discount) and packs away very easily taking up little space so that was a no brainer.

I have a couple teenage kids which means there’s usually a herd of kids here on the weekend (with an assortment of food allergies).  I’ll make up 8 dough balls, prepare an assortment of toppings, and the kids will go crazy making their pizzas to meet their dietary requirements. Judging by the ew’s, aw’s, yum’s and the laughter they enjoy the heck out of it and it’s cheaper and much less of a headache than making or bringing in take out.

And as a disclaimer I don’t have any affiliation to the companies I’ve mentioned. 

[rollo]

  What size pie can be made. 12" ? 10" ?

charles

[Ice10]

Rollo, the cooking surface is 13.2” and I just measured the opening which is a bit over 13” so I would think a 12” pizza would be the max (my model is the Karu 12 which I believe relates to a 12” pizza). That being said most of my pizzas are in the 10”-11” range. 

[avta]

Thanks so much for the recommendation and recipe. I've made pizza twice and although I had some trouble handling the dough at first my wife who is gluten sensitive told me " thats the best gluten free pizza I've ever had! " Thats all I had to hear. I ate some too and would agree completely.

[Ice10]

Hearing that she enjoyed the pizza crusts makes me very happy! 

I agree the dough has a bit of a learning curve but once you get the hang of it it becomes easy.  I make the 500g batch (500g of flour) then let it rise in the mixing bowl for anywhere from 30-60 minutes.  At that point I divide it into four dough balls (usually about 230g each), cover with a bit of clear wrap and let them rise while i get the other ingredients ready and warm up the oven.  I’ve found the key is a well floured counter top to form the crusts and making sure the crusts are thin before cooking them so they cook all the way through.  They should puff up a bit and form some air pockets when cooked.

Thanks for letting us know of your success!

[avta]

I found that leaving the dough in the fridge for a few hours makes it a bit easier to handle.

[rollo]

Rollo, the cooking surface is 13.2” and I just measured the opening which is a bit over 13” so I would think a 12” pizza would be the max (my model is the Karu 12 which I believe relates to a 12” pizza). That being said most of my pizzas are in the 10”-11” range.

 Thank you. I would prefer a larger one. Have fun Pizza is wonderful.

charles