Cook authentic pizza at home
That level of authentic pizza-making may have felt out of reach recently. And yet, what if there was a way to recreate such culinary feats, all without leaving your garden? The good news is threefold: a) there is, b) it is neither prohibitively expensive nor just the preserve of the professional chef, and c) it’s a brilliant way to cook with kids outside in the sunshine or to bring some warmth on a cold winter’s day.
Ooni’s portable pellet pizza ovens exploded onto the scene in 2012, revolutionising the outdoor cooking landscape and creating a new category. In eight short years it has become the world’s number one pizza oven company, allowing you to cook those delicious authentic, flame-cooked pizzas fresh and from scratch in your own garden in just 60 seconds. How? It’s all about the heat.
If you have ever enthusiastically embarked on home-made pizza only to be disappointed by somewhat limp results after your efforts, rest assured that the weakness lies not in your culinary wizardry but in the limitations of your oven. Yes, really.
Neapolitan-style pizzas
And therein lies the Ooni difference: its ovens, made from high-grade materials, are designed and engineered to deliver super high temperatures of 500 degrees C (950 degrees F) – which is to say roughly double what you can achieve in standard home ovens – the intense heights you need to hit to replicate proper Neapolitan-style pizzas. All you will need, aside from your portable Ooni pizza oven, is flour, salt, water and yeast. And once the oven has heated up (allow approximately 20 minutes for this), your pizza will be ready pronto – in just 60 seconds to be exact. It really is that simple.
Until the arrival of Ooni, such crispy-on-the-outside, airy-on-the-inside gastronomic delights relied on wood-fired ovens and temperatures of 430C. Happily, however, the revolutionary results of cooking with Ooni are just the same; its Cordierite stone baking board is great for making pizza at home and, being fire- and stone-baked, you reliably get the requisite crisp bases.
And yet all this comes at a fraction of the cost of traditional wood-fired alternatives (prices of its ovens start at £249; and all ovens are under £500). Need any more incentive? As a member of 1% For The Planet, one per cent of every sale is donated to social and environmental charities.
For anyone with an aspiration to become an ultimate world-class pizza chef, Ooni delivers, every time. A long year-round of al fresco pizza-making with the whole family beckons…
A Taste of Things To Come
Want some ideas beyond the traditional Margherita? We’re not knocking it; simple is great too; but Ooni invites you to get experimental. Why not try out one of these stunningly good recipes?
Vegan Ricotta, Spinach & Caramelised Onion Pizza
When it comes to vegan pizzas, no one does them quite like Ooni ambassador Julian Guy of Pizza is Lovely! Julian’s spin on the classic combo of spinach and ricotta works wonders on this plant-based pizza, topped with homemade vegan ricotta, sautéed spinach, sweet caramelised onions and tangy sun-dried tomatoes.
Ingredients
Makes 1 x 12” pizza
For the caramelised onion
1 small onion, finely sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar
For the pizza
160g (5.6oz) Classic Pizza Dough ball (see note below)
3 tbsp Classic Pizza Sauce (see note below)
50g (1.7oz) vegan almond ricotta (see note below)
50g (1.7oz) baby spinach, chopped
3 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
Method
Follow the Vegan Almond Ricotta recipe to make a delicious, creamy and vegan alternative to traditional ricotta. Note that you’ll need to start preparing this at least two days in advance of when you’d like to use it on the pizza.
Prepare your pizza dough ahead of time. To make a 12" pizza, we recommend preparing pizza dough balls that are 160g (5.6oz) each – the guide to making the perfect Classic Pizza Dough covers everything you need to know.
For the sauce for this pizza, Ooni recommends making its easy Classic Pizza Sauce. With a hint of garlic, salt and basil, it's the ideal pizza sauce that will help to bring out the flavours in the other ingredients used here.
To caramelise the onion, heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a pan on a medium-low heat, add the onion and stir to coat in the oil. Season with salt to taste, cover, and cook gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid, add a punch of sugar and cook for another 15-20 minutes, or until the onion has become very soft and sweet. Set aside to cool. This amount of onion will be more than needed for one pizza – store in the fridge in an airtight container to keep them handy for other pizzas!
Heat the remaining olive oil in the pan on a medium-high heat. Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Remove from the heat and place in the spinach in colander to cool and drain off any excess moisture. Once cooled, press the spinach to get rid of any last moisture, and set aside.
Once your pizza dough and the topping ingredients are ready, fire up your Ooni pizza oven. Aim for 500 degrees C (950 degrees F) on the stone baking board inside. You can check the temperature inside your oven quickly and easily using the Ooni Infrared Thermometer.
Using a small amount of flour, dust your Ooni pizza peel. Stretch the pizza dough ball out to to 12" and lay it out on your pizza peel. With a spoon, spread the pizza sauce evenly across the pizza. Add a few generous dollops of ricotta and spread around the caramelised onion, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes.
Slide the pizza off the peel and into your Ooni pizza oven, making sure to rotate the pizza regularly as they cook super-fast.
Once cooked, remove the pizza from the oven. Serve immediately!
Salami Goats Cheese & Hot Honey White Pizza
From the brains of Ooni’s own Head of Engineering and Technology, Mike Vaona, comes this white pizza mixing tangy goat’s cheese, garlic oil, salami and hot honey.
Ingredients
Makes 1 x 12" pizza
For the garlic olive oil:
340ml (12oz) olive oil
2 heads of garlic, halved
For the pizza:
165g (5.8oz) Classic Pizza Dough ball
35g (1.2oz) soft goat’s cheese
35g (1.2oz) shredded mozzarella
2 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
4 slices black pepper salami, torn into shreds
1 tsp hot honey
½ small green apple, thinly sliced
3 sage leaves
Method
Prepare your pizza dough ahead of time. To make a 12" pizza, we recommend preparing pizza dough balls that are 165g (5.8oz) each – the guide to making the perfect Classic Pizza Dough covers everything you need to know.
To make the garlic oil, place a saucepan over medium heat on your stovetop (hob). Add the olive oil and warm it up, then add the halved heads of garlic (there’s no need to pop out the cloves, as this will happen while cooking). Let the garlic simmer in the oil for at least 15 minutes, or until the garlic is golden. Remove the garlic cloves and set aside – you can keep them to use in other dishes - they’re delicious! Strain the oil into a glass jar to cool. Once cool, pop it in the fridge in an airtight container. You can keep this in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Fire up your Ooni pizza oven once your pizza dough and garlic olive oil are ready. Aim for 500 degrees C (950 degrees F) on the stone baking board inside. You can check the temperature inside your Ooni quickly and easily using the Ooni Infrared Thermometer.
Using a small amount of flour, dust your Ooni pizza peel. Stretch the pizza dough ball out to 12" and lay it out on your pizza peel. Drizzle the garlic oil over the pizza base and use your fingers to spread it out evenly. Top with the mozzarella, salami, and small spoonfuls of the goat’s cheese. Tear the sage leaves and sprinkle over the top.
Slide the pizza off the peel into your Ooni pizza oven, making sure to rotate the pizza regularly as it cooks. Once cooked, remove the pizza from the oven. Drizzle with the hot honey and add the apple for a crisp finish. Serve straight away for an explosion of flavour!
Porcini and Provolone Pizza
When one cheese isn’t enough, try 3! Provolone, mascarpone and pecorino cheese meet nutty porcini mushrooms in this creamy white pizza from Ooni ambassador Jukka Salminen (@slicemonger). Delicious topped with fresh chopped parsley and ground black pepper.
Ingredients
Makes 1x 12”/16” pizza
250/330g (8.8/11.6oz) classic pizza dough
1-2 large porcini mushrooms, finely sliced
80g (2.8oz) provolone cheese, finely sliced
Handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp olive oil
40g (1.4oz) mascarpone cheese
40g (1.4oz) pecorino or parmesan cheese
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Method
Prepare your pizza dough ahead of time. Ooni's guide to making the perfect Classic Pizza Dough covers everything you need to know.
Fire up your Ooni pizza oven. Aim for 500 degrees C (950 degrees F) on the stone baking board inside. You can check the temperature inside your Ooni quickly and easily using the Ooni Infrared Thermomete.
Using a small amount of flour, dust your Ooni pizza peel. Stretch the pizza dough ball out and lay it out on your pizza peel. With a metal spoon, spread an even layer of olive oil across the base of the pizza. Top with provolone slices and a couple dollops of mascarpone cheese. Next, add your porcini slices and fresh grated pecorino/parmesan cheese. Finally, sprinkle over the chopped parsley and season with fresh ground pepper and salt.
Slide the pizza off the peel and into the oven. Cook for 1-2 minutes, making sure to turn the pizza regularly to ensure an even cook.
Once cooked, remove and serve right away for ultimate gooey, cheesy, goodness.
Created in partnership with Ooni
