Ooni Karu 16 - Real time wood fired pizza cook

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Welcome to the first cook video of the ooni karu 16. My ooni karu was delivered this week, and I've been eager to get to grips with this oven. In this video we show you how to set up the ooni karu for use with wood, and create an amazing pizza cooked in real time.
I have used the Ooni Karu 12 for many months now and this is the big brother to that pizza oven... anyway enough about that, lets cook some pizzas!

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[edwardgrabczewski]

Great video! The Ooni Essentials Guide (p.45) recommends, when the oven is HOT, using a DRY paper towel to clean the soot off the glass (using cold water, the rapid cooling might crack the hot glass). When the oven is COOL you can use warm soapy water. Regarding the discrepancy between the AIR temperature measured by the in-built digital thermometer and the STONE temperature measured by the handheld IR thermometer: p.16 of the Essentials Guide says you need to balance both temperatures (i.e. they should be roughly equal) since the stone heats up more slowly than the surrouding air. This implies that the digital thermometer is not directly connected to the stone but measures the air around it. It's actually a very important TIP: you need to measure the temperature of the air AND the (middle of the) stone separately and wait until they are the same in order to cook the top and bottom of the pizza evenly. Not many people seem to know that on YouTube!

[mitchamus]

The fire will always be dirty as its starting, I would keep the door open until the fire is well established. As soon as you notice that the smoke from the fire has cleaned up - it should be ok to shut the door without it getting (too) dirty.

Incidentally, if you want to clean the glass - one of the best ways is with a piece of damp paper towel - and just dip in in the ash from your last fire and use it as a soft abrasive which works beautifully.

Thanks for the detailed informative video - great job

[Elkus]

Hi Tom, Thanks to your video I very recently purchased a Ooni Karu 16....I think your video presentations are nothing short of brilliant..Very educational and informative..Thanks..

[ll_spud]

Agree. You should try using lump wood charcoal next time as ur base for the heat. It produces more heat and less soot. And put some kiln dry wood pieces in the oven before u launch a pizza so u get some flame. Thats what I do in my pizza oven. I find it works better than wood only.

[devonsalome]

Just purchased mine, hopefully gets here before xmas!!

[jenniehille]

Fantastic Video Tom, I just bought a Karu 16, still hasn't arrived. I'm so excited to use it. Your videos are so very helpful. Please keep making them. I'm in Australia. Is quite difficult to get the correct wood here. I have actually purchased some from Amazon which is coming from the UK. Thank you!!!

[gkaruk]

Im thinking of getting one of these and the video really helps see it in real use. But.. now you had the oven 2 years whats your honest, 2 yr update mini review please ?

[truthseeker]

I assembled mine a few days ago and had the same soot problem on the glass. I gave it a wipe so I could observe the pizza. The pie was great. I cleaned the interior after it cooled. I think it’s normal. Like a bbq, the Kari 16 requires some cleaning after use. It’s well worth the trouble because the pie is so much better than from a 550F oven. Really like the oven.

[aruso]

Hello Tom! (Minute 3:47) have you ever try to extend the chimney tube? I’m having the same problem but not sure if will work fine extending it more than 1 meter (3ft) to cross the roof

[holysmoker]

The soot issue is caused by the oven not being hot enough. Definitely use larger chunks of wood.
Make sure you only use hard wood. Oak, pecan, hickory and fruit woods.
Never, Never use pine or evergreen wood. The sap will burn black and ruin your pizzas flavor.

Once the oven is up to temperature, the smoke will be burning clean. It will no longer be black (sooty) but white / clear.
Close the door and let the pizza stone get hot. 750 degrees is ok but over 800 degrees better. Check temperature on the pizza stone. This is what makes your pizza bottom crispy . A cold stone not up to temperature will yield a soggy under cook crust / bottom.

Slide in your pizza and watch it cook, you need to check pizza in. 45-60 seconds, if the edge closes to the fire is browning, turn pizza 1/4, to 1/3, turn. After another minute turn again.
Repeat as needed till pizza is hot and bubbly. Crust should be nicely browned and may have blackened edges.

Bottom of pizza should be brown also.

[fungihank]

Hi Tom. Watched some of your vids because I ordered this oven too.

Just a few questions.

1) how long does it take to get the oven at the right temperature?
2) how many kilo wood je need for a session? Like when you make 10 pizzas.
3) what’s better. A peel with or without holes (perforated) en what size? 12, 14, 16 inches.
4) your dough looks amazing. You have the recipe and the brand/kind of flower u used?

A tip: when you want to clean the glass: take paper towel. Make it wet. Dip it in ashes and polish the glass. Then also wet paper towel and take off the dirt.

Thank you and have a nice Sunday.

[briansung]

I never used a pizza oven but am willing to buy one next year after building my house for outdoors. From your experience seeing the comments here.. this definitely would be a help 😊 Thanks!

[paul_raftery]

Must have nailed your dough recipe it looks mighty fine. I use kiln dried logs too in mine once it is lit, for the reasons you say. Gives a consistent cook I found.

[michaeljemery]

None of the Karu reviews ever spend much time talking about the smoky flavour advantage of using a wood BBQ. Given how short a time the pizza spends in the oven, I am beginning to wonder if there really is much of a flavour difference using wood in the Karu 16. I would love to hear more about this.

[ShaneyBoyCooks]

Great video and a really nice oven. I think the soot could be down to much wood to early and maybe slightly damp wood or a combination of both? I'm no expert but just a thought. Regarding the temperature difference I think the built in probe measures the ambient temperature in the oven, hence the difference between that and the laser probe used on the stone.

[JYTheHungryRonin]

could i ask what brand and model did you use for your wireless microphone? I like how compact it is and it also has the wind breaker thing.

[Ashlar]

Tom, love your videos. Finally got a Karu 16 and love it, thanks to you. In this video, what is the stand you are using? I have the Ooni large table, but I also want something smaller. Thanks.

[sandroleandro]

Not sure if someone has said it, but the integrated thermometer DOES NOT read the stone temperature, and Ooni make that perfectly clear in the manual. They also recommend buying one of their laser thermometers, like the one you have.

The soot is probably because of the type of wood. You should try Ooni's own, probably and if it works, then source locally for something similar.

[THECOFFEEPOT]

I think the soot on the glass is probably down to poor airflow, a bit like in a wood burner, too much fuel can smother the fire and cause sooting as the temperature in the fire isn’t high enough if that makes sense, I wonder if starting off small with the fire and then build it up with more fuel as it gets really going just like a log burner.

[Lexusgx]

Tom which one has gas with l shape burner inside ? And can be used with wood.