I scrounged some wood scraps to put over my plastic table for a heat shield. The bottom of this doesn't get overly hot, but the sides and top get screamin' hot:
Lit it up and allowed a 15 minute warm-up. The flames draft from the fire box in the back all the way to the stack - surface of the sun heat.
I used store bought dough for the first cook. I didn't want to introduce too many variables for the first cook. Two 1 pound dough balls made 4 pies. I kept the size small for the first cook, and wasn't too concerned about getting the pies perfectly round. Ooni provides a dough recipe meant for this cooker, and I plan to make my own dough in the future. First pie ready to go:
Just a little singe - 20 seconds, rotate, repeat every 20 seconds for a minute. This little beast cooks quickly:
The next pie is salami slices. I got distracted and lost count on time and scorched one side:
Next up is a Caprese pie for my wife - sauce, tomatoes, mozzarella slices and fresh basil once it's done:
The last pie was pepperoni and cappocollo. I nailed this one:
Group shot:
It was fun cooking and I'm impressed with how well this oven works. This isn't a cooker to stand around jawing and drinking beer. It's fast paced. It gets HOT. I can't wait to have my grand kids over for pizza night - they build 'em, I'll cook 'em. They'll have a ball.
