Been looking at pizza ovens lately but can't decide between gas/wood fired. The Ooni looks pretty neat but am curious how much of a difference there is in wood vs gas.

I've been wanting to try my hand at Napoletana style pizzas.

Has anyone used the Ooni or have any recommendations for a good outdoor oven.

Been curious as well thanks to this thread which had recently fallen off the first page.

https://texags.com/forums/67/topics/3182736

aggietony2010 said:

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Been curious as well thanks to this thread which had recently fallen off the first page.

https://texags.com/forums/67/topics/3182736

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Thanks for linking this thread. Oddly enough I did a search for Ooni and only one thread from a year ago popped up.

Strongly considering the purchase now.

FYI, Wirecutter just sent an email out recently noting that they are in the process of reviewing pizza ovens.

Kinda depends on how sure you are about this being something you will do regularly.

If you haven't already I would suggest getting a few of the top books and experimenting with the oven methods to make sure you like it enough. I started with Peter Reinhart's Serious Pie and then moved to The Pizza Bible. Ive also tried several others but those are the best imo. Also a ton of info on the Pizza Making forums

https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=g0bsa8vs9rgcu1jcs9s2vvjpc0&board=26.0

When I started, I purchased several stones, oven inserts and a pizza steel. Best oven experiences came from a combination of 2 stones/steels (above and below) or the insert (3 sided) with a stone above.

Once you are sure you want to invest in a dedicated oven, you can choose WFO or gas/electric. I love to cook with wood so purchased a Forno Bravo Primavera with a stand. Its been extremely fun and durable on my patio for several years.

Really want one of the nicer ovens but am likely to just get one of the Ooni ones at least until I find out if this is for me.

I'd buy the Pro today but they don't offer a natural gas kit. I'm sure I can rig one up but want to make sure there aren't better options available that run on Natural gas out of the box.

Cool. The best part of the process is making the dough. That's what makes killer pies. Be patient, get some cookbooks and read a lot. Lmk if you have any questions and I'll try to help out.

gigemags87 said:

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Cool. The best part of the process is making the dough. That's what makes killer pies. Be patient, get some cookbooks and read a lot. Lmk if you have any questions and I'll try to help out.

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Just ordered the pizza bible and the Ooni pro oven.

I'll probably upgrade my oven if this turns out to be something I'm into (I'm almost certain it will be) but spending $4k on an oven is a little much for a whim.

Ooni owner here. I almost purchased a Forno Bravo, but I have enough old-school clay bricks lying around to build my own (Forno Bravo provides instructions on how to build one on their website). The great thing about a smaller pizza oven like Ooni or Roccbox is how quickly they heat up. You'll be up and running in less than 30 minutes. Something like a Forno Bravo will take hours, but it will also retain the heat for much longer. I've heard of some people using the retaining heat to do a brisket the following day. Plus they look really nice in the back yard.

gigemags87 said:

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Cool. The best part of the process is making the dough. That's what makes killer pies. Be patient, get some cookbooks and read a lot. Lmk if you have any questions and I'll try to help out.

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This is good advice. I've made a lot of crappy pizza in the process of learning to make good pizza. Quality of toppings is important, but it's all in the dough. Personally, I think it tastes the best after 2 days of cold ferment, but you need 3 or 4 days if you want those really distinguishable bubbles.

I agree with the 2 days. That's what I've found too. Usually I'm making pizza Saturday nites on the wood fired oven and try to get the dough in the fridge Thursday nite.

The 2 things I've been messing with lately are if I care enough to use a starter and if I care about "true" 4-ingredient Neapolitan (vs tweaks with honey/sugar, different flours etc). I think my most favorite from a taste, consistency and simplicity perspective is Peter Reinhardt's neo-Neapolitan dough.

The dough in the Pizza Bible is ok, but overhyped. The Saturday dough actually works better than his other two. Also, avoid using 00 flour in his doughs. They lack flavor, you're better off with all purpose.

I would recommend Reinhart's books. A little more
Involved, but an much better dough

Get your Ooni yet? I just got one but haven't uncrated it yet. Looking for some tips.