tools – My House of Home Oven Pizza

Black Friday 2022: From November 21st to November 29th, all Ooni pizza ovens are 20% off! Don't miss this amazing deal—get all the details here. To make a good pizza at home, you need the right tools. That includes high-quality ingredients and an Ooni oven to cook them in. But that's not all, because without a few often overlooked items like, a peel and a bench scraper, the whole process can quickly become fruitless. The Ooni accessories you absolutely need to get started making pizza at home are: a peel, a digital scale, an infrared thermometer, an oven brush, and high-quality fuel. Other Ooni accessories I recommend are a turning peel, a carry cover and a modular table to work from. Scroll down for a quick overview of the most essential Ooni accessories, or keep reading for an in-depth review of some of my favorites. Bottom Line: If you're on a tight budget, get an Ooni pizza peel that fits your oven—you'll need it. If you can afford it, get a digital scale, an infrared thermometer, and a protective cover. Bundle-up if you can to save money, and always use high-quality fuel. Bundle Up To Save Money If you haven't purchased your oven yet, you're in luck, because you can save quite a bit of money by bundling the oven and accessories together. Below are a few bundles that might interest you. Koda 16 Bundle $689 $739 Karu 16 Bundle $959 $999 Fyra 12 Bundle $489 $514 Peel Bundle $124.99 $130 Cooking Bundle $113.97 $120 Ingredients Bundle $88.87 $108.55 Certain Ooni Accessories Are Necessary To Use An Ooni Oven: Like most high-quality cooking equipment, Ooni pizza ovens are not cheap. So, it's natural to want to skimp out on the extras once you've already dropped hundreds of dollars on your purchase. But that would be a mistake, because certain tools, like a pizza peel, are essential for getting your pizza safely into (and out of) the oven. In fact, without a proper pizza peel, you can't use a pizza oven at all. You Need A Pizza Peel Think about it—how will you get a wet, raw, floppy pizza dough from your counter into your Ooni oven without it falling all over the place? You can't use a plate or pizza pan, because it's not big enough and the lip will interfere with the dough landing evenly on the baking surface. Thankfully, there's a specialized tool for this. To launch a pizza into a pizza oven, you need something large and flat, so that the dough can easily slide off onto the baking stone. You also need something with a long handle, so you don't burn your hands inside the hot oven. This is exactly what a pizza peel is designed to do. When it comes to Ooni pizza peels, you have a few options: perforated, non-perforated, and wood. If compatible with your pizza oven, I recommend getting the perforated metal peel because the small holes on the bottom prevent sticking and help remove any excess flour before launching it onto the baking stone. Wood vs Metal The wooden pizza peels Ooni offers are great for serving, but I personally prefer to use the perforated metal peel when making 14 inch pizzas or less. The thinner edges of the metal peels make it easier to slide prepped dough from the countertop to the peel. That said, the wooden peel (and the non-perforated metal peel) is among the largest that Ooni offers at a full 16 inches, compared to the 14 inch perforated metal peel. So, if you want to make pizza larger than 14 inches, a perforated metal peel might not be an option for you. It's not all bad news, though. A wooden peel has its own benefits, even if it isn't perforated. Wood absorbs moisture and prevents sticking, which is why I prefer the perforated metal peel in the first place. I wish the wooden peel was a bit thinner, but it's not a deal-breaker. Size Matters: Pick The Right Pizza Peel For Your Oven When looking for a peel, you can't just pick the one that looks the best—it has to fit the size pizza you plan on making as well as your pizza oven. To make a 16 inch pizza, you can't use a 12 inch peel because the dough will dangle off the edges while it's still raw. Likewise, you can't use a 16 inch peel in a 12 inch oven because the peel will be too wide for the opening. Remember, when launching a pizza into a pizza oven, the peel needs to fit all the way into the back of the oven in order to land successfully. These Are The Ooni Pizza Peels I Recommend To be clear, you don't need an Ooni brand peel to use an Ooni oven, but Ooni peels are actually great quality and not much more expensive than similar quality peels from other brands. So, whatever brand you choose, just make sure it's the right size for your oven and pizza preferences. Tip: Neapolitan style pizza is typically around 12 inches in diameter, while New York style pizza is generally 16 inches or larger. Keep your preferences for each in mind when planning your pizza purchases. Wood Peels Wooden Peel - 16 inches (Karu 16, Koda 16, Pro) Perforated Peels Perforated Peel - 12 inches (Fyra 12, Koda 12, Karu 12) Perforated Peel - 14 inches (Karu 16, Koda 16, Pro) Metal Peels Metal Peel - 12 inches (Fyra 12, Koda 12, Karu 12) Metal Peel - 14 inches (Karu 16, Koda 16, Pro) Metal Peel - 16 inches (Karu 16, Koda 16, Pro) Oven Gloves Just like you need oven mitts when baking, you need oven gloves while using a pizza oven. Oven gloves are similar to mitts but are designed to be more tactile and durable. This is incredibly useful because pizza oven gloves need to withstand the wear and tear of frequently adjusting and refueling an incredibly hot, and often quite sooty, pizza oven. Ooni oven gloves are perfect for moving and disassembling your pizza oven that might still be hot from use, as well as for getting in those small nooks and crannies for cleaning. These gloves are very high-quality and reasonably priced. Tools I use: Scales, Bench Scrapers, Thermometers, and Brushes A digital scale, a bench scraper, an infrared thermometer, and an oven brush are all things I insist on having when making pizza. Ditch The Cups And Spoons Using cups and spoons for measurements is a familiar practice for most North Americans, but when it comes to making pizza dough, it's a bad habit. Measuring ingredients like water, flour, and yeast with cups and spoons is simply imprecise and inconsistent. For example, 1/8 of a teaspoon of yeast can vary greatly depending the moisture level of the air, the ambient temperature of the room, and even the brand of yeast you're using. Likewise, a cup of water can vary from one recipe to the next if the water is slightly above or below the measuring line. The same goes for flour, oil, salt, etc. This may not seem like a big deal but it really matters when it comes to baking. For example, if you're following a recipe for a 70% hydration pizza dough, a slight discrepancy in the amounts of flour and water can have a big impact on the final hydration level you're left with. If the dough is too wet, it will be difficult to work with and risk tearing. And if the dough is too dry, it will dehydrate while baking. All of this can be avoided by using a digital scale. With a scale, 0.35 grams of yeast will be 0.35 grams every time because weight is not a subjective measurement. Likewise, 1000 grams of flour and 700 ml of water will give you a hydration level of exactly 70% every time. Which Digital Scale Is Best? There are lots of digital scales out there, but not all of them are accurate or have been calibrated correctly, especially the cheaper ones you can find online. You should also be aware that cheaper digital scales are only good for larger weights over 3-5 grams, while amounts under 1 gram won't even register. This is a problem when it comes to measuring things like yeast which don't weigh much but need to be measured extremely accurately for the best results. I like Ooni's dual platform digital scale because it's accurate, has a separate scale for smaller measurements, and is reasonably priced. The small scale even registers weights as little as 1/10th of a gram, which is perfect for the very small amounts of yeast I use in my recipes. At less than $50, this scale will do everything you need to take your pizza game to the next level. Bench Scraper Every baker should have a bench scraper, even if you only make pizza dough. A scraper is what I use to keep my counter free of debris, so nothing sticks to the dough, and how I work with particularly sticky ingredients like high-hydration pizza dough. I also like using my bench scraper to cut large chunks of dough into smaller pieces before weighing. A bench scraper is a must-have tool, in my opinion, and makes my life so much easier when preparing pizza dough. I love Ooni's bench scraper because it's made of metal, has an easy to grip handle, and is reasonably priced. Infrared Thermometer When you light up your Ooni oven and let it preheat, you can wait 20-30 minutes and hope it reaches 900F, or you can use an infrared thermometer and know for certain. An infrared thermometer will instantly tell you the exact temperature of the surface of your baking stone, so you know when it's safe to launch your pizza into the oven. All you have to do is point the infrared sensor at the surface of the oven and a digital display will tell you the temperature. An infrared thermometer is useful for all types of cooking. This is particularly useful for knowing when to start cooking, and especially so when cooking multiple pizzas one after the other. Pizza ovens lose heat as you cook with them, both because the ingredients absorb heat and because heat escapes when you open and close the door or chimney vents. An infrared thermometer will let you know when your oven's baking stone is hot enough to cook the next pizza. Tip: An infrared thermometer is useful for measuring the temperature of a pizza stone (or steel) in a home oven as well. Pizza Oven Brush Keeping your pizza oven clean is just as important as how you use it to make pizza. Cleaning your pizza oven involves scraping off any baked-on debris from the stone baking surface, as well as any ash or soot that may have built up while cooking. All pizza ovens require cleaning, especially if they burn solid fuel, like wood or charcoal, that produce smoke and ash. Without regular cleaning, your pizza oven will not burn cleanly and ultimately have a negative effect on the taste of your pizza. Ooni's pizza oven brush is a simple and effective brush with a stainless steel scraper and bristles. This brush is perfect for scraping off anything that sticks to the stone and brushing away any soot or ash. Extras If you have room in your budget and want to get even more out of your Ooni pizza oven, consider the following accessories. None of these are strictly necessary, but are all extremely useful. Turning Peel A “turning peel” is different from a regular pizza peel. The main between a regular peel and a turning peel is that while a regular peel is designed to get your pizza in and out of the oven, a turning peel's purpose is to rotate the pizza while it's still cooking in the oven. As a result, a turning peel is much smaller than a pizza peel, and usually round as well. This allows you to slide the peel right under the pizza to rotate it 180 degrees mid cook, ensuring each side gets exposed evenly to the flame. A peel is not strictly necessary, as you can always use a regular peel to pull the pizza out of the oven just enough to rotate it with your hands. But a turning peel can save time and spare your fingers from having to touch hot oil or cheese, so it's worth considering. Please Note: A turning peel is NOT a replacement for a regular peel. A turning peel is optional while a regular peel is necessary to launch raw pizza dough into the oven. Modular Table When you buy a pizza oven, you need to have somewhere to put it that's accessible and won't melt under extreme heat. Many people already have something in their backyard to serve this purpose, but if you don't, consider one of Ooni's modular tables. These tables are just the right size for an Ooni pizza oven as well as the perfect height for getting your pizza in and out without any hassle. There's also a bottom shelf for placing a propane tank, if you need it, and lots of room for other accessories as well. This modular table is relatively lightweight and equipped with wheels to make moving your oven around the yard easy. Ooni Koda 16 Natural Gas Conversion Kit The Ooni Koda 16 is a propane fueled pizza oven, but you may not realize that the oven can be converted to use natural gas as well. This kit for only $50 serves that very purpose and is perfect for those with a supply of natural gas who want the convenience of gas without the hassle of propane. Ooni Pizza Oven Carry Covers When you buy an Ooni pizza oven, don't forget to pick up a convenient “carry cover” to go along with it. These are not just generic oven covers—each one is designed specially for use with specific Ooni pizza oven models. These carry covers make it easy to pack up go with your pizza oven, all while protecting it from rain or snow in the process. While of course not strictly necessary, these carry cases are a small price to pay compared to the overall cost of a pizza oven, and will potentially extend its working lifespan. So, if you have any plans of moving your oven around from place to place, I highly recommend picking up one of these carry cases. High Quality Fuel Last but not least, every pizza oven needs high quality fuel. High quality fuel will burn longer, cleaner, and infuse your pizza with a rich, smoky flavor. Of course, there are many different brands of high-quality fuel available, but Ooni brand fuels are reasonably priced and right up there with the best in terms of quality. I recommend using Ooni hardwood pellets with the Ooni Fyra 12, and premium Hardwood Oak logs for use with Ooni Karu and Ooni Pro series pizza ovens. Don't forget firestarters A firestarter is a clean and efficient alternative to traditional kindling like rolled up newspaper or sticks and twigs. Ooni firestarters are made from shaved hardwood coated in wax for a slow, clean burn that lasts about 10 minutes. This ensures that all of your fuel, whether charcoal, pellets, or hardwood logs, has a chance to fully ignite. Ooni Pizza Ovens: Everything I Like If you're still deciding which Ooni pizza oven to go with, here's a list about what I like about each one. Try to buy your oven as part of a bundle to save money, if possible. Pizza OvenPriceAdvantagesOoni Karu 16$799Huge 16 inch baking surface, multi-fuel, viewing window, digital thermostat, only AVPN recommended oven, awesome for all types of pizzaOoni Karu 12$399Multi-fuel, highly portable, very affordable, great for Neapolitan style pizza Ooni Koda 16$599Big 16 inch baking surface, convenient "L shaped" propane burner, inexpensive for its size, very sleek lookOoni Koda 12$399Smaller version of iconic Koda 16 oven, easiest and least expensive way to make 12 inch Neapolitan pizza at homeOoni Fyra 12$349Best wood-fired pizza oven on market, least expensive Ooni pizza oven, gravity-fed pellet burner, easily make authentic 12 inch Neapolitan pizzaOoni Pro 16$599Good multi-fuel oven with large baking surface; less expensive, no-frills version of Ooni Karu 16. (Currently Discontinued) You can read my full comparison of all Ooni pizza ovens here. Related Questions: No, only an Ooni pizza stone can be used in an Ooni oven. Each Ooni oven has a unique set of dimensions and shape, so only a pizza stone designed specifically for your Ooni oven can be used. An Ooni pizza oven will work with any kind of pizza dough, including store bought. However, for best results, you should consider using a higher-hydration homemade pizza dough. Absolutely! You can cook anything in your Ooni oven that will fit, but remember to only cook dough based food directly on the pizza stone. For all other kinds of cooking, like meat and vegetables, you'll need to use an oven safe pan. Ooni carries a line of cast iron skillets that perfectly fit Ooni pizza ovens. Ooni pizza ovens can be placed on any surface capable of holding the oven's weight (possibly up to 62lbs) and able to withstand high temperatures. I recommend using an Ooni modular table which are specifically designed for using an Ooni oven.