Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Oven Evaluate, Examined by Meals & Wine

In our home, we divide our life within the suburbs into two phases: pre-pizza oven and post-pizza oven. After dwelling in New York Metropolis for over a decade, we had been hard-pressed to discover a slice that lived as much as our requirements as soon as transferring additional north. Our DoorDash historical past was a mashup of native pizza joints in a feeble effort to discover a pie that we favored sufficient to stay with, however nothing lived as much as the Neapolitan- and New York-style pizzas we beloved.

That’s till we bought an Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Oven. We’d been dancing round shopping for one for some time (it’s a large funding, in any case) however lastly purchased one after one too many rubbery, greasy deliveries that left us disillusioned and jonesing for the true deal. Even should you don’t take into account your self a very gifted at-home chef, Ooni makes cooking scrumptious pizza simple because of its modern form and user-friendly design. We even named it the finest out of doors pizza oven in our checks — and belief me once I let you know, that accolade is well-deserved. 

Within the yr since we introduced our Ooni house, our quest for scrumptious pizza has ended. As an alternative of ordering subpar takeout, we are able to fireplace up our Ooni Koda 16 and rating the right slice in 90 seconds.

How I Examined the Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Oven

The Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Oven has rapidly develop into a staple in our home on Pizza Friday. We will cook dinner every kind of Neapolitan-style pies, from a standard margarita to a meat-lovers model that my husband and son adore. Whereas the Ooni is marketed primarily towards pizza making, that’s not the one sort of cooking it will probably sort out. You may put together virtually something within the oven, from roasted greens and meat to gooey skillet cookies. 

Ooni’s Koda pizza oven is powered by pure gasoline or propane, which is sensible for our way of life, however there’s an alternate model (the Ooni Karu) that can be utilized with wooden or charcoal. I like to recommend going with the 16-inch design over the 12-inch, which can grant you extra flexibility for what you cook dinner and the way large of a pizza you can also make. We determined to go all-out with our Ooni buy and purchased the devoted stainless-steel stand, plus different pizza instruments (extra on that later). The stand is sturdy and brings the oven as much as peak so you’ll be able to simply monitor your pie whereas it cooks. The peak additionally creates leverage to maneuver the pizza peel and different instruments. It seems to be proper at house alongside our gasoline grill on our terrace, and up to now it has held up nice to the weather. 

What I Love Concerning the Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Oven

There’s not a lot I don’t love about my Ooni oven, however its user-friendly performance is on the high of my listing. It makes making a pro-worthy pie so seamless that I don’t even thoughts when my children request pizza evening twice per weekend. You hook the oven as much as a gas supply (we join ours to our grill’s propane tank, which is close by), flip the entrance knob to preheat the oven to your required temperature, and get to cooking. Plus, with inside temperatures that may attain 950°F, your pizza cooks quick (round 90 seconds), so making pies for a crowd is straightforward. We’ve hosted a number of pizza events, and friends are all the time impressed by the pizza’s style and cooking efficiency with an Ooni — it’s dinner and a present. 

Past that, I like how the Ooni Koda is delicate but efficient. If I had been to think about putting in a real wood-burning pizza oven in my house, I’d be numerous time, cash, and sq. footage, however Ooni makes it simple to attain the identical outcomes with a small footprint, even when utilizing gasoline. The hot button is within the base stone and distinctive L-shaped burner, which mix to crisp up my pizza rapidly and evenly, leaving me with a pillowy crust, a sturdy backside, and the telltale bubbles signature of an Italian-style pie. I can transfer the oven round simply or take it on a visit; we’ve taken ours down the Jersey Shore for a household trip as a result of it’s develop into that beloved. 

How It Compares

Once we lab-tested the most effective out of doors pizza ovens, the Ooni Koda rose to the highest of the pack, incomes the title of the most effective total pizza oven. We beloved how simple it’s to assemble out of the field (connect the legs, then hook as much as your propane supply) and located it user-friendly. The outcomes had been spectacular. Throughout testing, we cooked up pro-worthy pies in underneath two minutes, with management over how crispy they bought. Whereas we acknowledge there’s a studying curve with the Ooni, the outcomes are worthwhile. 

The Caveats

If you first deliver house your Ooni oven, anticipate to burn just a few pies. Despite the fact that it’s easy and user-friendly, it’s going to take time to good your pizza-making abilities and get used to how your oven distributes warmth (and, actually, simply how briskly it will probably cook dinner your dough). We went via our justifiable share of char-crusted pizzas till we nailed our cooking technique, however after getting it down pat, you’re good to go. One other issue to think about is propane utilization. You will want to preheat your oven for not less than 15-20 minutes earlier than cooking to make sure the bottom stone is scorching sufficient to cook dinner your pie; whereas that is on par with preheating a grill, it’s a good suggestion to remember the fact that you’ll undergo an honest quantity of propane.

All reward apart, there’s no denying that the Ooni Koda is an funding. Nonetheless, the model runs gross sales usually, particularly these pegged to buying holidays like Black Friday, Cyber Cash, or Labor Day. The oven additionally makes an incredible reward thought for house cooks, whether or not you’re trying to rejoice a milestone birthday, congratulate a buddy on a brand new home, or spoil a pair of newlyweds. Finally, our Ooni oven has held up extremely nicely through the years and has greater than paid for itself contemplating the amount of cash we spent on subpar takeout pizza.  

Suggestions and Methods

• Think about splurging on the equipment that Ooni suggests pairing along with your pizza oven. We have now bought their devoted stainless-steel storage tower, two various kinds of pizza peels, and the protecting cowl, all of which assist us use (and take care of) our oven higher. 
• An infrared thermometer is a necessary instrument to have available. Not solely will it make it easier to decide in case your pizza stone is scorching sufficient to start cooking your pie, but it surely’ll make sure you maintain tabs in your oven’s warmth so that you don’t find yourself with burnt spots or worse, a fried pie. 
• Thoughts the thickness of your dough. Too thick can result in an uneven cook dinner, uncooked pizza, or a pie that’s so heavy it turns into unattainable to show within the oven, inflicting a burned-on mess. 
• The less elements, the higher. Too many moist toppings (like a ton of sauce) can result in an uneven cook dinner or burned pizza. It’s finest to maintain your layers gentle and keep away from overdoing it on all that cheese. The identical goes for a way a lot flour you utilize — you need sufficient in order that your pizza doesn’t follow the peel, however an excessive amount of and also you’ll find yourself with a burnt taste. 
• The oven’s L-shaped burner is oriented on the again left nook of the gadget, so turning your pizza periodically is important for getting a fair cook dinner in your crust. 

The Verdict

Ooni’s Koda 16 Pizza Oven is a worthy splurge and one I’d advocate to anybody trying to improve their weekly pizza takeout to one thing do-it-yourself. It helps you obtain restaurant-level pizza at house, and it offers versatility in your routine by cooking hen wings, entire branzino, cornbread, or caramelized fruit. Setup is straightforward, the footprint is small, and the educational curve is transient — what extra may you need from an outside pizza oven?

Our Experience

Alyssa Longobucco is a contract author, editor, and stylist with a background in meals, inside, and way of life content material. She has over a decade of expertise within the digital and journal trade creating distinctive and modern content material for storied manufacturers equivalent to Meals and Wine, Home Lovely, HGTV, The Knot, Domino, House Remedy, Actual Easy, Food52, Good Housekeeping, and extra.