Ooni Wood Pellets

It also takes up little space in your shed (which is always a plus when it's already crammed into the rafters), so it can be stored easily when not in use. Ooni-branded covers are also available to fit this oven. This cover has carry handles so it can be easily taken to the beach or to a friend's place, as well as on camping trips.

The Ooni Fyra 12 is a relatively small pizza oven that, under the right conditions, can cook 12" pizzas and the fuel hopper, which is where you add wood pellets to keep the fire burning. To operate the oven you need a thin pizza peel, all-natural fire starter, and wood pellets, all available through Ooni but not included with the purchase of a Fyra 12. (They do offer all of the above, plus an infrared thermometer and waterproof carry cover, in one bundle.) As of publication it is the least expensive Ooni oven, at $349, and it comes with a three-year warranty.

It's all about how they feel. The learning curve is steep. My theory is that a lot of it comes down to the small firebox mentioned in the previous section.

You can check to see how the oven is burning by using the viewing hole on the door. Once your first set of pellets is ignited and well burned, you can continue adding pellets to the fuel container on top of oven until the hopper is full. The hopper automatically puts the pellet into the oven. To maintain the oven temperature, make sure to top up your hopper frequently. A full hopper can last for around 15 minutes.

Only the Ooni Fyra 12 has a couple of drawbacks that I didn't anticipate and which I ultimately found acceptable. Cleaning the oven is not easy. After the oven has cooled completely, remove the ashes and wipe it down with a dry towel. The company also suggests that you use a pizza brush to scrape any food off the surface. To clean the baking sheet, I used a fish spatula along with elbow grease. I did however find that the high heat was effective in burning any stubborn bits.

If you're looking for 100% certainty about when the oven is up to temperature, you can buy an Ooni Infrared Thermometer. However, this gadget might not be necessary if you're going to cook pizzas in the oven. After using the oven a few times, I was able get a good idea when it was ready to bake.

A good pizza pan is a must-have, as it would be difficult to make a pizza in the oven if you didn't have one. To make it easier to setup a production line, I plan to purchase a second one. While it's not necessary if you are cooking for four people, you may find it useful to have the ability to prepare a pizza on an additional peel while the other one is being used to bake the first pizza.

Ooni Fyra 12 pizza is easy to make. Simply roll the dough out on a floured sheet of pizza dough and after 15 minutes of preheating, transfer the pizza onto the baking surface. To ensure your pizza is at the right temperature (Ooni recommends 950 degF), rotate your pizza approximately every 30 seconds to make sure all sides are exposed to the flames. You will get a perfectly cooked pizza in just one to two minute.

It takes up minimal space in our shed (which is always a benefit when it's already up to the roof), and can be easily stored when not being used. Ooni can make a cover for your oven that will fit into any available storage. You can carry it with you on trips to the beach, friends' houses, and even camping.

Ooni has added an inch of open space between the handle and the handle. This is an additional feature that is missing from their other models. It is a peephole that allows you to look at pizzas from the outside, but it can sometimes be difficult to see after cooking a few pizzas.

I cooked the pizzas in Ooni Fyra by heating it up for 30 minutes and then letting it cool down. Ooni says that this is important in order to remove any residues of the manufacturing process prior to cooking in it.

In general, pellets have a lot going for them. As mentioned elsewhere, they and they burn very efficiently (though this last point is debatable when cooking at the high temperatures needed for proper pizza-making).