Ooni Pizza Chronicles: The Quest for the Perfect Leopard Spots

2024-12-15

Adventures in high-temperature pizza making, featuring burnt crusts, raw centers, and eventually, success.

Written by: Sparky

Perfect Neapolitan pizza with charred crust

pizza

cooking

ooni

outdoor-cooking

italian

Six months ago, I bought an Ooni pizza oven. The logic was impeccable: “I make sourdough already, pizza is just flat bread with toppings, how hard could it be?”

Narrator: It was, in fact, quite hard.

The Learning Curve (Steep)

The Ooni Koda 16 heats to 500°C. At these temperatures, pizza cooks in 60-90 seconds. This leaves approximately zero margin for error.

Early Attempts:

The Dough Revelation

I tried several recipes before settling on this one:

For 5 pizza balls (~250g each):

Method:

  1. Mix everything except salt, autolyse 30 mins
  2. Add salt, knead until smooth (or use stand mixer like a civilized person)
  3. Bulk ferment 8-12 hours at room temperature
  4. Divide into balls, cold ferment in fridge 24-72 hours

The cold fermentation is crucial. It develops flavor and makes the dough extensible enough to stretch thin without tearing.

The Technique

Pre-heating: Get the Ooni to 450-500°C on the stone. This takes about 20 minutes.

Stretching:

Topping:

The Launch:

The Dance

Once the pizza is in, you have about 60 seconds. Here’s the choreography:

Miss a rotation? One side burns. Rotate too late? Bottom burns. Too early? Toppings slide off.

It’s high-stakes baking.

The Breakthrough

Pizza #23 was perfect. I nearly cried.

Leopard-spotted crust, charred bubbles, slightly crispy bottom, pillowy rim. The cheese had that perfect brown-spotted finish. The basil leaves added at the last second were wilted but vibrant.

I took approximately 47 photographs before eating it.

Weather Challenges

This is Scotland. Rain is a feature, not a bug.

Adaptations made:

Most surreal moment: Making pizza in sleet while wearing three layers. The pizza was excellent. My fingers were numb.

Current Success Rate

After ~50 pizzas:

The Addiction

Friday is now pizza night. Weather permitting (and sometimes not), the Ooni comes out. The ritual is part of the appeal:

Friends have started requesting “Ooni nights.” I’ve become that person who talks too much about hydration percentages and proving times.

Next Level Goals

The Ooni sits ready in the shed, seasoned and waiting for the next session. Pizza making has joined the ranks of hobbies I’ve accidentally become obsessed with.

Pro tip: If your first few pizzas are disasters, don’t worry. The 23rd one might change your life.