Biscotto Pizza Stone for Ooni Koda 16 inch
- Thread starter The Knize
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- #22
Very clever, Counsel.
We failed to achieve lift off. When I am in Europe I find it hard to find the things I want to buy! I do not know if everything is out in the suburbs somewhere that I am not or what!
A shame. I could have checked another bag for free so I assume I could have gotten this thing over here for free and saved the $100 shipping fee altogether!
The stone that comes with the Ooni seems pretty good.
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- #23
I am pleased to report that there is a relatively new US-based, free shipping source of real biscotto stones, including ones cut for the 16 inch Ooni Koda model, for $149. Biscotto di Sorrento Biscotto Baking Stones For Ooni, Gozney, Alfa, And More. - https://biscottodisorrento.com/
I ordered one but it has not arrived to try yet. I will report back. I have not seen reviews on this company, but its website seems well-informed. $149 with free shipping seems like a good deal.
Since my above posts, I have put no small amount of time into learning to use the Ooni. I know I said I liked it above, but I was frustrated enough with it to go month without using it. At least I can get pizzas launched these days, although I use a lot of semolina flour under the pizzas on a wooden peel, and that semolina tends to catch fire in the oven. I have not been making my own dough but buying it at Trader Joe's and other places. I am still having trouble getting the pizza base stretched out. I find adding some King Arthur dough conditioner helps at bit. I am sure I will be able to study up on it and do better, including making my own dough. I am doing pretty well already though. It is a lot of fun. These things cook very fast and you have to stay on top of turning them frequently and making sure the edges so not burn up. I was finding it hard to get the dough fully cooked without burning parts of the edges, but I think I am getting the hand of it. The edges of the dough puff up nicely, which seems to be part of the idea!
I do not find myself using the Ooni to cook anything else like steak or scallops.
It is a nice cooking tool. I do not have anything else that will heat up to over 850 degrees F!
I ordered one but it has not arrived to try yet. I will report back. I have not seen reviews on this company, but its website seems well-informed. $149 with free shipping seems like a good deal.
Since my above posts, I have put no small amount of time into learning to use the Ooni. I know I said I liked it above, but I was frustrated enough with it to go month without using it. At least I can get pizzas launched these days, although I use a lot of semolina flour under the pizzas on a wooden peel, and that semolina tends to catch fire in the oven. I have not been making my own dough but buying it at Trader Joe's and other places. I am still having trouble getting the pizza base stretched out. I find adding some King Arthur dough conditioner helps at bit. I am sure I will be able to study up on it and do better, including making my own dough. I am doing pretty well already though. It is a lot of fun. These things cook very fast and you have to stay on top of turning them frequently and making sure the edges so not burn up. I was finding it hard to get the dough fully cooked without burning parts of the edges, but I think I am getting the hand of it. The edges of the dough puff up nicely, which seems to be part of the idea!
I do not find myself using the Ooni to cook anything else like steak or scallops.
It is a nice cooking tool. I do not have anything else that will heat up to over 850 degrees F!
Wow, very cool, I’m curious to see how it works for you. You’re invested in this pizza journey now, may as well take a shot at making your own dough using some Caputo Pizzeria, I bet you would be very happy with the results. Also, the PizzApp is a very useful tool for Neapolitan dough recipe’s, and it’s free. Here’s a recipe using Caputo pizzeria and SAF red label dry yeast. It’s really quite easy and I find it somewhat therapeutic making dough by hand, you don’t need a mixer.
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- #26
Nice photos and explanation. Nice looking pizza. I am invested in it now. I have a good KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook. And I have Italian 00 flour. Not the Caputo brand yeast you have in the photo, though, or the SAF red label dry yeast that you mentioned. That is impressive, as are the photos of the pizza. I also have a good wild yeast starter that has been going for years and has been carefully maintained. I have made my own pizza dough and it seems as good or better than store bought, as it should be. Making dough requires some planning ahead though, and that is not always me! And I figured, I would get the actual pizza cooking down first and then turn my attention more to making dough. Although somewhere in there I need to put some focus on getting the dough stretched out better than I have been doing. Making my own dough would allow me to see how this dough conditioner does better than I have been able to so far. Getting one's hands in dough does seem particularly therapeutic, I agree.
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- #27
Thanks for letting me know, Mishkaya. I am not all that happy to hear that delivery was slow, but I do not know why I would be in a hurry. Especially when the only alternative I know of is about twice the price after shipping and has to come from Italy by DHL! I do not know how they manage to do free shipping, but it makes sense to me that someone could bring biscotto over from Italy by the container full, cut it up over here, and sell a lot of product, given how many pizza ovens are being sold these days and the lack of competitors! I am guessing that I will be very happy. The stone the Ooni comes with seems thin for the purpose. If biscotto is what they use in Naples, I assume there is a reason for it!
Ah yes, as you already know, time is your friend when it comes to dough making. I usually knead it till it starts to come together, cover and let it sit for 15 minutes, go at it again for about 10 minutes, and repeat. Once it's ready, I let it sit at room temp for 1 hour, then ball it up, and it's into the fridge for ~24 hours. Then I take it out of the fridge and let it sit at room temp for 4 hours before the pizza's start flying.
So I have to start the day before. It's work, but man, the finished product is worth it.
Really curious to see how the new stone works for you, I bet it will retain heat a lot better than the Ooni stone. So far it has worked out for me, as after I take the pizza out, I crank it back up to 11, make the next pizza, by the time it's ready to go into the oven it's back up to temp.
Man, all this talk about pizza is making me hungry, LOL.
So I have to start the day before. It's work, but man, the finished product is worth it.
Really curious to see how the new stone works for you, I bet it will retain heat a lot better than the Ooni stone. So far it has worked out for me, as after I take the pizza out, I crank it back up to 11, make the next pizza, by the time it's ready to go into the oven it's back up to temp.
Man, all this talk about pizza is making me hungry, LOL.
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- #29
Thanks for this write up, too, dsmoface! I appreciate the detailed instructions. Like so much cooking, I am sure not doing this to save money or do things quickly. It is more of a hobby. Something that gives satisfaction in the learning and execution. Something where hard work and study is rewarded with a better product, and the product here is especially good!
I do this this new biscotto stone will help. I would think in a $600 plus oven Ooni could go with at thicker cordierite stone, if they did not want to go with real biscotto. But who knows. Maybe there is something about cordierite that limits how thick you can make it or how thick it should be. It will be fun just making pizza on what they actually use in Naples.
BTW, Ooni customer service has a fantastically good reputation, and in my experience, it is well-deserved. Ooni deserves the success it has had, in my opinion.
So no doubt I will be focusing on dough-making at some point. I am liking what I see on You Tube about using a poolish! I am really just getting there on getting the pizza to launch readily and getting the crust to cook through without burning the edges too much, or the toppings at all. I am pleased to know that I can actually get there with this equipment. I was beginning to wonder there for a while. I am a pretty good cook for most things. I find this difficult and to have small margins for errors. But like lots of things practice and reading up on this and watching a lot of videos really helps. I do not see much written about this on-line, but I would not consider using this oven to its maximum potential to be a beginner cook activity! I wonder how many folks buy this $600 plus item plus the costs of the accessories only to give up on trying to use it, or to simply use it like a regular oven at lower temperatures.
It seems to me that there is no end to becoming a better and better and more knowledgeable pizzaiolo. Although top be properly deemed a pizzaiolo, it may be that one has to be considered a master at this stuff, so not much left to learn.
On that note, how do folks like the slotted aluminum pizza peels? Do they make launching easier? I have found that using a wooden pizza peel with lots of semolina pretty much does the trip. I have not gone back and tried to use a non-slotted aluminum pizza peel. At this point, I might be able to handle that. I think the idea of a slotted peel is it also has ridges that help the pizza slide off for launch, and the slots let excess semolina or corn meal fall through, which means less burning of those items in the oven. There is not doubt that I end up with a lot of semolina on fire in the oven! I just slotted peels are not all that expensive, but then you have to store them. In for a dime, in for hundreds of dollars!
Good thread!
I do this this new biscotto stone will help. I would think in a $600 plus oven Ooni could go with at thicker cordierite stone, if they did not want to go with real biscotto. But who knows. Maybe there is something about cordierite that limits how thick you can make it or how thick it should be. It will be fun just making pizza on what they actually use in Naples.
BTW, Ooni customer service has a fantastically good reputation, and in my experience, it is well-deserved. Ooni deserves the success it has had, in my opinion.
So no doubt I will be focusing on dough-making at some point. I am liking what I see on You Tube about using a poolish! I am really just getting there on getting the pizza to launch readily and getting the crust to cook through without burning the edges too much, or the toppings at all. I am pleased to know that I can actually get there with this equipment. I was beginning to wonder there for a while. I am a pretty good cook for most things. I find this difficult and to have small margins for errors. But like lots of things practice and reading up on this and watching a lot of videos really helps. I do not see much written about this on-line, but I would not consider using this oven to its maximum potential to be a beginner cook activity! I wonder how many folks buy this $600 plus item plus the costs of the accessories only to give up on trying to use it, or to simply use it like a regular oven at lower temperatures.
It seems to me that there is no end to becoming a better and better and more knowledgeable pizzaiolo. Although top be properly deemed a pizzaiolo, it may be that one has to be considered a master at this stuff, so not much left to learn.
On that note, how do folks like the slotted aluminum pizza peels? Do they make launching easier? I have found that using a wooden pizza peel with lots of semolina pretty much does the trip. I have not gone back and tried to use a non-slotted aluminum pizza peel. At this point, I might be able to handle that. I think the idea of a slotted peel is it also has ridges that help the pizza slide off for launch, and the slots let excess semolina or corn meal fall through, which means less burning of those items in the oven. There is not doubt that I end up with a lot of semolina on fire in the oven! I just slotted peels are not all that expensive, but then you have to store them. In for a dime, in for hundreds of dollars!
Good thread!
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Good deal, you’ll get there. The Koda 16 is tough to master because most of the heat is concentrated in the rear left corner. What works for me is launching the pizza using a wooden peel, letting it rest for about 20 seconds or so, just long enough so that I can start turning it with a steel turning peel. Then you have to stay on top of it, turning it every 15 seconds or so. Here’s the turning peel I use, works good, lasts long time: GI Metal Azzurra 8" Stainless Steel Round Turning Perforated Pizza Peel with 30" Handle I-20F/75 - https://www.webstaurantstore.com/gi-metal-i-20f-75-azzurra-8-stainless-steel-small-round-perforated-pizza-peel-with-30-handle/212I20F75.html
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- #31
That is pretty much what I do. I agree re the heat being concentrated in that corner. I think I read that Ooni has something of a deluxe version now that has burners on both sides and across the back inside of the oven. I suppose that would help, although it is not like I am filling up the insider of a 16 inch Ooni with a pizza(s).
I have a turning peel with a shorter handle that I am sure I got from Amazon and I paid a lot less for. It seems to do the good. I would not want to do without a turning peel! I guess they are slotted for what that is worth!
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- #32
Biscotto stone arrived today. That is very fast shipping! Very well packed.
I am happy with what I see so far. Have not had a chance to try it out yet. Fits nicely in the Ooni 16 inch. Seems more porous than the original stone. Nicely thick. Somewhat dusty with read dust. The stone is quite red.
I am happy with what I see so far. Have not had a chance to try it out yet. Fits nicely in the Ooni 16 inch. Seems more porous than the original stone. Nicely thick. Somewhat dusty with read dust. The stone is quite red.
Cool, curious to see how it works out for you. I may give this recipe a go in the Ooni tomorrow this NY Style recipe .
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- #34
Good article. Lots of stuff on there other than the recipe. Gad, pizza making is infinitely complicated! I guess that is one reason why I was willing to purchase and "upgrade" a dedicated pizza oven. So much writing on pizza seems dedicated to ways to try to overcome temperature and other limitations on home ovens and other appliances to be used for pizza making. I had not heard of using an oven's self cleaning feature as a work around to obtain higher temperatures!
Yeah, the Ooni was a game changer for me, tried using my home oven with a steel but it just wasn't hot enough. I often thought a pizza steel in the ooni would work well. Anyhow, we have a fairly active pizza thread going over here in case your interested: Pizza! - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/pizza.635707/page-13#post-12622388
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- #36
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Interestingly to me, anyway, so far I do not seem to have any interest in making any type of pizza apart from Neapolitan or "Neo-Neapolitan." (Or should that be "Napoli pizza"?) I guess I like the idea of the super high temperature!
I am behind on my reading up and watching You Tube videos on making pizza. Right now I think I need to work on my dough stretching and poolish making and use.
Thanks for the link. That looks like a good thread. I will be reading and likely contributing there.
Interestingly to me, anyway, so far I do not seem to have any interest in making any type of pizza apart from Neapolitan or "Neo-Neapolitan." (Or should that be "Napoli pizza"?) I guess I like the idea of the super high temperature!
I am behind on my reading up and watching You Tube videos on making pizza. Right now I think I need to work on my dough stretching and poolish making and use.
I just made a batch of Caputo Pizzeria using the recipe I shared above for dinner tomorrow. I’ll share some pics of the final product.
WOOHOO!
I assemble and launch from a wooden peel, then switch to a non-slotted aluminum peel (American Metal Craft, USA) for turning and removal. I love my pizza tools! For me, a wooden peel doesn't stick as much and doesn't require as much semolina for a good launch. Too much semolina does catch fire at 800*!!
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- #40
I used the biscotto stone a couple of times over the long weekend and it performed well. Had to tell how much is the stone and how much in my skill level getting higher. The stone really seems to hold heat. I am happy with it. I also used a slotted aluminum peel to launch and it performed well. I made the pie on a silicon sheet and then pulled it on to the peel dusted with some semolina. Used way less semolina than I would usually use on wooden peel. Not all that easy to get the pie onto the peel. I used a smaller turning peel to turn. Really have to turn the pie soon after launch and frequently thereafter.
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