Pizza ovens

Peckham

One thing I've struggled with is getting the base as thin as possible around the edges. The centre is pretty much translucent, but always end up with a doughy thick edge. Any suggestions?

The Nal

Peckham wrote: »

One thing I've struggled with is getting the base as thin as possible around the edges. The centre is pretty much translucent, but always end up with a doughy thick edge. Any suggestions?

Rolling pin!

magicbastarder

you shouldn't use a rolling pin on pizza dough, it forces all the gas out so you will get a heavier crust.

The Nal

magicbastarder wrote: »

you shouldn't use a rolling pin on pizza dough, it forces all the gas out so you will get a heavier crust.

Nah nothing wrong with a few strokes of a rolling pin to get the edges up a bit. Some of the best pizzas I've ever had in Rome, in Little Italy NYC etc have been touched by a rolling pin.

Agree it does stiffen the bread up if used too much though yeah. Best pizzas are the ones that have been touched the least!

PARlance

Peckham wrote: »

One thing I've struggled with is getting the base as thin as possible around the edges. The centre is pretty much translucent, but always end up with a doughy thick edge. Any suggestions?

How are you pressing the pizza? For a Neopolatin (big crust) you should work out from the centre, pressing the air out but leaving approx an inch as a crust.
For a New York style or Roman, you can start pressing at 6 o'clock and work it all the way out to the edge...that should ensure you've got it even enough/no real crust before stretching.

Maybe stretch it on the workbench rather than picking it up and letting gravity stretch.

If you YouTube New York style or Roman you'll get an idea.

Use a smaller dough ball as well for a Roman style. 220g Vs 270g that I use for Neopolatin.

Springwell

We did a bunch of blind taste tests - the Ripasso julienned fior di latte tubs won out, a block of mozzarella from a local Polish store second with dried out Aldi buffalo mozz third.

Sauces - Mutti Aromatica Spicy sauce a clear winner, home made second and Ciro far too sweet and not popular.

Flour - Nuvola gives a lighter more crisp crust when used for the same 24h RT over Caputo pizzeria but not so much I'd actively chose one over the other.

Love my spoodle (bought from Nisbets) - makes measuring and spreading the sauce easy.

Our favourite 'nduja has been from Supervalu often paired with, gasp, pineapple!

Black pudding and thin slices of apple are a favourite also.

Muahahaha

Peckham wrote: »

One thing I've struggled with is getting the base as thin as possible around the edges. The centre is pretty much translucent, but always end up with a doughy thick edge. Any suggestions?

I had the same problem of doughy thick edges when I first started, the crust would get so big and inflated in the oven that it would spread inwards to the centre of the pizza. It would rise up and knock ingredients back towards the centre of the pizza and youd end up with every slice being about 50% doughy crust and 50% thin pizza base.

The way I solved it was by getting the doughball and pushing all the air from the centre outwards with 8 fingers. Heres the important bit- dont just do this a tiny bit like the experts do in their videos, do it a lot until the disc is about 8 inches in size and you have a small and narrow crust all the way around. Keep stabbing it down and outwards a fair bit until it wont stretch out any further which is about 8 inches in size.

Then I lift up the disc and filter the crust for two full revolutions by passing the crust through my thumb and forefinger, this is the gravity stretch but it is also shaping the crust into a uniform narrow strip. At this point the disc is expanded to about 10 inches. Then its back onto the floured countertop for some final hand stretching with my palms to get it to 12 inches. At this point if I see any part of the crust that isnt uniform I fix it. Then onto the floured peel where the final stretch is just making a full circle of it, its not making it bigger, just making it fully circular.

The important thing Ive found is to make the crust narrower than you think you need because it is going to almost triple in size in the oven. The best way to do that is by filtering the crust through your thumb and forefinger on the gravity stretch.

Tree

If the crusts are coming out too bready, make garlic dip. (admittedly I prefer a poofy crust, so you get some of that fresh crusty bread vibe along with your pizza)

tangy

Springwell wrote: »

Love my spoodle (bought from Nisbets) - makes measuring and spreading the sauce easy.


Black pudding and thin slices of apple are a favourite also.

I hadn't heard of spoodles :eek: What size did you get?

Must try BP on pizza.

Springwell

tangy wrote: »

I hadn't heard of spoodles :eek: What size did you get?

Must try BP on pizza.

60ml for 12", 90ml for 16". Thought it was gimmick but Dad bought me one over to the house after watching the Domino's Snackmasters episode and it's actually fab!

dmc17

Has anyone tried any different varieties of wood pellets in their oven. Have been using beech pellets but was wondering if there would be any difference in heat/flames/flavour with a different variety of wood?

wandererz

The Pizzaiolo Smart Oven.

Reviews here and other sites are great.

I'm very conflicted right now.

https://www.sageappliances.com/uk/en/products/ovens/bpz820.html

Gloomtastic!

wandererz wrote: »

The Pizzaiolo Smart Oven.

Reviews here and other sites are great.

I'm very conflicted right now.

https://www.sageappliances.com/uk/en/products/ovens/bpz820.html

Twice the price of an Ooni. Use the change to buy the accessories. Lots of lovely things.

Tree

but you can use it in the rain! as long as you don't have a smoke detector...

The chan chan man

wandererz wrote: »

The Pizzaiolo Smart Oven.

Reviews here and other sites are great.

I'm very conflicted right now.

https://www.sageappliances.com/uk/en/products/ovens/bpz820.html

It’s missing the main thing i want in a pizza oven, flame. Temperature is one thing, but the flame really helps get the leopard spotting for me. Personally i wouldn’t be conflicted here at all. I would however be conflicted between my ooni pro and a gozney dome - maybe someday she’ll let me get that one!!

Pipmae

There is one coming into Aldi in May. I saw it on the website but it's disappeared now. It looks like a wood or pellet burner one. I'll attach the snapshot I took at the time but there are no details on it. I've checked the .co.uk site to see if I can see more on it and while there is a tab for outdoor kitchen items, the pizza oven isn't on it either.

Pipmae

Aldi special buy pizza oven

mloc123

Pipmae wrote: »

There is one coming into Aldi in May. I saw it on the website but it's disappeared now. It looks like a wood or pellet burner one. I'll attach the snapshot I took at the time but there are no details on it. I've checked the .co.uk site to see if I can see more on it and while there is a tab for outdoor kitchen items, the pizza oven isn't on it either.

It might now make it to the shop... They have cancelled a bunch of offers recently on "government advice"

RonnieL

Pipmae wrote: »

Aldi special buy pizza oven

Looks promising in fairness - before opening the image I was sure I was going to have to launch into my annual rant about the awful "pizza ovens" they have been flogging the last few years. Whether they come in or not might depend on the opening of non-essential retail. I believe the special buys at the moment are limited to what's considered essential.

BaZmO*

Think I may have made a mess of my second attempt at the pizza dough. Last week I made the dough and let it prove for 2 hours and then put it in the fridge for 48hrs.

This time I wanted to do the 72hr prove, but the yeast doesn't seem to have taken hold.

The recipe on the app is not clear on when to put it in the fridge. Should it go in straight away? or should it be allowed to prove for a couple of hours first and then into the fridge?

I'll have to make more dough tonight to use tomorrow as the latest one is out of the fridge from last night and there's still no movement!

BaZmO*

RonnieL wrote: »

Looks promising in fairness - before opening the image I was sure I was going to have to launch into my annual rant about the awful "pizza ovens" they have been flogging the last few years. Whether they come in or not might depend on the opening of non-essential retail. I believe the special buys at the moment are limited to what's considered essential.

Is pizza not essential??

RonnieL

BaZmO* wrote: »

Think I may have made a mess of my second attempt at the pizza dough. Last week I made the dough and let it prove for 2 hours and then put it in the fridge for 48hrs.

This time I wanted to do the 72hr prove, but the yeast doesn't seem to have taken hold.

The recipe on the app is not clear on when to put it in the fridge. Should it go in straight away? or should it be allowed to prove for a couple of hours first and then into the fridge?

I'll have to make more dough tonight to use tomorrow as the latest one is out of the fridge from last night and there's still no movement!

Yes, I think people generally let it prove at room temperature for a while first. What app do you use? The Pizzapp is excellent, and allows you to enter duration of room temperature (RT) and fridge (CT - Controlled Temperature). Many I've seen with good results on one of the ooni facebook groups I follow do an overnight room temperature bulk prove, followed by 24/48/72 hours in the fridge, then ball it and leave at room temperature for a few hours before cooking. There's lots of variables though as I'm sure you know. The type of flour you use being an important one it seems, as some are more suited to longer CT proves than others. The type of yeast being another. And the temperature of the fridge. Apparently you don't really want it below 4 degrees.

I personally gave up on the cold proving, because I get decent results with a 24 hour room temperature prove (using caputo blue pizzeria flour).

Blizzard

BaZmO* wrote: »

Think I may have made a mess of my second attempt at the pizza dough. Last week I made the dough and let it prove for 2 hours and then put it in the fridge for 48hrs.

This time I wanted to do the 72hr prove, but the yeast doesn't seem to have taken hold.

The recipe on the app is not clear on when to put it in the fridge. Should it go in straight away? or should it be allowed to prove for a couple of hours first and then into the fridge?

I'll have to make more dough tonight to use tomorrow as the latest one is out of the fridge from last night and there's still no movement!

I've used the Ooni cold proof recipe which says: Just mix the ingredients together, then pop the pizza dough in the fridge and let the yeast work its magic!

I've made it this way a couple of times and it's turned out great; the only thing I do that isn't in the recipe is coat the bowl it's proofing lightly in, as well as the dough, in olive oil before I wrap the bowl in cling film. I actually made some yesterday and it's in the fridge proofing now and I'll use on Sunday. HTH

When you say it doesn't seem to have taken hold, what do you mean exactly?

BaZmO*

Blizzard wrote: »

I've used the Ooni cold proof recipe which says: Just mix the ingredients together, then pop the pizza dough in the fridge and let the yeast work its magic!

Yeah, it was the Ooni App. It doesn't mention letting the yeast prove first and then put it in the fridge. Last time I left it in a warm place for 2 hours (doubled in size) and then put it in the fridge. This time I let it sit for 1 hour and then into the fridge but nothing happened from a proving pov.

Blizzard wrote: »

When you say it doesn't seem to have taken hold, what do you mean exactly?

The yeast hasn't "worked its magic!" The dough is the same as it was when it first went into the bowl.

The only thing I can think of was that maybe the water was a little warmer than it should've been, even though I did everything the exact same way as last time. Maybe I just killed the yeast.

The Nal

BaZmO* wrote: »

The yeast hasn't "worked its magic!" The dough is the same as it was when it first went into the bowl.

The only thing I can think of was that maybe the water was a little warmer than it should've been, even though I did everything the exact same way as last time. Maybe I just killed the yeast.

Yeah maybe the water was too warm or the yeast was dead.

Not familiar with the app (Don't get the need to be honest ) but did you stir the yeast in with water and (optional) sugar first? If it doesn't bubble the yeast is dead/has been killed.

The Mulk

BaZmO* wrote: »

Yeah, it was the Ooni App. It doesn't mention letting the yeast prove first and then put it in the fridge. Last time I left it in a warm place for 2 hours (doubled in size) and then put it in the fridge. This time I let it sit for 1 hour and then into the fridge but nothing happened from a proving pov.




The yeast hasn't "worked its magic!" The dough is the same as it was when it first went into the bowl.

The only thing I can think of was that maybe the water was a little warmer than it should've been, even though I did everything the exact same way as last time. Maybe I just killed the yeast.

Meet your brother here!
I've done exactly the same, I've been making pizza dough with no problems the last year.
Got the Ooni and had moderate success last week with an overnight prove.
Went for the 72 hour and it's as flat as anything. The bowl has come out of the fridge and is sitting in a sink of warm water, to see if the yeast will wake up!!
I reckon I killed the yeast too, as the water was warmer than usual.
Might have to make some flat breads!

I whipped up another one there using a 7hr prove on the app. I let the yeast sit in warm water with a small amount of sugar and it was starting to bubble when I added it.

I made homebrew beer for years and never killed the yeast!

Onwards and upwards.

tangy

This page on the UK site lists your oven, a stainless steel pizza oven and a kamado as coming soon.

splashthecash

I got the Ooni 12" as a 40th bday present - arrived last month and we have used it every week since - we will probably end up using it more once the nice weather starts coming around.

I made pizza dough myself before but never the correct way - i.e. using good flour, adding yeast, etc.

Haven't had any major issues so far - the balls come out well after proofing and the end result is always nicer than anything you would get from a typical oven.

I prob need to tinker a little bit re the dough to get it exactly the way I want (i.e. high rise on the crust) but its all part of the learning experience.

Would definitely recommend the Ooni to anyone who likes pizza....although you can use it for so much more such as steak, vegatables, etc. which I am still to try out

Muahahaha

wandererz wrote: »

The Pizzaiolo Smart Oven.

Reviews here and other sites are great.

I'm very conflicted right now.

https://www.sageappliances.com/uk/en/products/ovens/bpz820.html

800+ euro is some price for a pizza oven. Its a different beast from the Ooni as its electric and for using indoors whereas Ooni is outdoors only.

Also their claim

The Pizzaiolo is the first domestic benchtop oven to hit 400°C and cook an authentic wood fired style pizza in just 2 minutes

isnt quite true. The G3 Ferrari spoken about a lot at the start of this thread is a countertop pizza oven that gets up to 450 degrees celcius and you can get good results from it. Also a lot cheaper too if its an indoor one you want, the G3 is around £120 on ebay. Would still go with an outdoor Ooni over both of them though.

enda1

Muahahaha wrote: »

800+ euro is some price for a pizza oven. Its a different beast from the Ooni as its electric and for using indoors whereas Ooni is outdoors only.

Also their claim

isnt quite true. The G3 Ferrari spoken about a lot at the start of this thread is a countertop pizza oven that gets up to 450 degrees celcius and you can get good results from it. Also a lot cheaper too if its an indoor one you want, the G3 is around £120 on ebay. Would still go with an outdoor Ooni over both of them though.

I've one of these bad-boys that I use indoors for the moment until my proper bread oven is finished and it gives stunning results: https://www.effeuno.biz/en/20/commercial-electric-ovens-for-bakery-and-pizza/26/easy-pizza-line/261/one-pizza-oven