OR ‘HOW DO I STOP MY PIZZA BURNING IN THE OONI KODA’Thought I would share my top 10 tips for using the OONI Koda, I was struggling to get an even bake and not burn the back of the pizza before the first turn. I spent an evening making lots of pizza to practice these are my findings; 1. Heat up the oven and lean something (metal) over the opening I’m not saying this is recommended, or safe, I’m just saying it can help to get the temperature up higher, with the front open it takes a while to reach 450 °C (842°F) and if its windy it can take even longer, I used an old aluminium peel and lent it up covering the opening, reflecting heat back in (Caution it gets hot!) This gave me a reading of over 500°C (932°F) in the centre so but the time I had removed the peel and launched it was around 475°C. (887°F) 2. Leave the temperature at full blast I was turning the temperature down after launch to try and stop the burning, the result was that the pizza was taking longer to cook at a lower temperature so ended up burning anyway. 3.Set a stopwatch running and turn it every 15-20 seconds learning how long I could leave your pizza before the first turn (before it burned!) helped me replicate it time after time, as you cant see the back you cant tell its burned until its too late. Launch, wait 15-20 seconds, and then keep turning every 15-20 seconds until it is done (between 60-80 seconds in my experience) 4. Don’t over flour the peel I was using semolina flour, but this was causing small fires behind the pizza as the excess flour burned off, use regular flour but keep it to a minimum. I find it best to flour the dough ball before you stretch and shake of the excess. 5. Use a wooden Peel for launch This tip came from Richer Taylor posting on Ooni Enthusiasts UK The flat aluminium peel that you can buy from Ooni seems to stick, I have made a Peel from Birch plywood, sanded and lightly oiled with Osmo top oil , once used the surface texture holds some of the flour so you can use less. A sloped front edge also helps the pizza slide off during launch. I have also used a perforated Roccbox peel and the wooden peel is my favorite tool for launch. 6. Make the pizza on the peel – Quickly… Ok, so the Pros make the pizza on the board and slide it onto the peel after – if you can do it then great, but most people fill find it hard to get it onto the peel without messing it up (me included). Get all of your ingredients lined up and top the pizza super quick once it is on the peel then launch it before it settles in and sticks. 7. Use a round turning peel This helps you turn the pizza, it can be used to deliver the pizza to the table too, just remember to leave it next to the oven so you don’t have to run and find it mid bake… 8.Use hot (warm) sauce I’m not talking Tabasco or Sriracha (however nice those are) I’m talking your base sauce, whether its homemade or from a jar have it warmed in a saucepan with a spoon or ladle ready then you can top it in no time and will help the pizza to cook in the middle. 9. Dry your Cheese If you are using balls of mozzarella which are in a little watery bag, then drain it, slice it and let it dry on some kitchen roll before you use it or it will make your pizza watery on top. 10. Practice without the pressure of hungry guests Make up enough dough ball for as many pizzas as you can, keep it simple tomato sauce, Mozzarella, Basil and olive oil and just make loads of pizzas, fine tuning as you go. Practicing with hungry guests around just ramps up the pressure. All those pizza can be frozen for an emergency meal (reheated they are still better than a supermarket frozen pizza, if not as good as a fresh one) Using these tips the pizzas where cooking in just over 1 minute and managing to reduce the burned crust.
Make loads, and loads of Pizza in your Ooni Koda until you get it right! (it still tastes good with some hot sauce on it even when a bit burned!)
6 Comments
Jack
6/10/2021 10:54:15 pm
Every time I cook my pizza they always end up with a pale and slight undercooked bottom don't know how to get it more cooked
chris
6/11/2021 08:53:15 am
Hi Jack, Make sure you pre-heat the Ooni Koda for at least 20 minutes on high before you cook your pizza, most of the base cooking comes from the retained heat in the stone - Good luck!
Tony
6/17/2021 03:10:53 am
I have the opposite problem. My bottom
chris
10/1/2021 01:57:38 pm
Hi Tony, Normally that is caused by too much flour on the base of the pizza when you launch it - try putting the dough ball in flour before you stretch it and use minimal flour (or use semolina) on the base when you get it onto the peel to launch.
Mike McCorm
10/1/2021 01:11:21 am
We just got the ooni koda 16. It sure is practical as a hot pizza oven. It has failed so far as it relates to burning the crust, just like pictured here. The idea of constantly turning the pizza did dawn on us, so the second night of pizza making was spent turning the crust several times. We still got black-burnt crust, thus rendering the crust inedible by my standards. We have an infrared gun, so know the various temperatures, and when pointed at the blazing fire it reads "Too High to measure." At that point, I realized that it is the extremely high radient heat of the flame, coupled with the temperature of the flame that was causing the problem. Next time we are going to try a different style of dough, and turn down the flame when the pizza goes in the oven. If this balance can't be fixed, the Ooni will have been deemed a massive failure. That said it takes several times to get any pizza oven, of any type, to get dialed in. So far it is showing good potential. If you have any further comments or insights that would be great.
chris
10/1/2021 02:04:23 pm
Hi Mike - If you look at the second gallery of pictures above you will see lots of unburned pizza, now I am used to it I can turn out pizza without a burned crust every time. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
G&B Recipes
instagram @grind_brewChrisloves to grind&brew, talk about and drink coffee. Archives
April 2021
Categories |
RSS Feed