There's something so amazing about these videos from your home. Watching a professional chef work in a non professional kitchen is more enlightening than I think any cooking instruction I've ever seen. I am a reasonably competent cook at home and I still find myself learning...observing the way you move about around your workspace. Plus the always the well researched and scientific approach helps so much with the "why." The thing I think I'm learning more than anything is the way you flow, substituting and making mistakes and fixing, etc. These really are some of the best instructional videos out there for people who want to learn how to cook. I hope you keep doing them after this is all over. Keep em coming Kenji!
There's also a fair bit of kitchen management in the videos ... workspace arrangement, clean as you go, pantry storage ... I've been cooking for many, many years, and watching "tv chefs" since my mom put Julia Child on the set. Kenji's POV videos are the best cooking videos I've ever seen. Thank you!
I find it so much more useful than food bloggers who slowly built up the following and then set up commercial kitchens at home with industrial cookers, all kinds of devices, and then suggest I follow their recipe - even though it's no longer about the food itself, it becomes aspirational. Nothing particularly bad about that but I learned so much more from Kenji in a couple of weeks since I signed up.
@@yurymol Also so true. It's the difference between cooking shows as pure entertainment versus education (which can also be entertaining). Also, pots and pans that aren't perfectly shiny and spotless as if they've never been used! Like normal people.
@@nrsair I was kicking around the idea of building an oven too, then bought the smaller Ooni Koda. We threw a party with over 30 people last summer with no problem. I'll never build a brick oven.
@@618033988749 he posted a pizza video with the Ooni oven about a few weeks prior to this video and his pizza fell apart whilst cooking in the oven. hence the "redemption arc is fascinating". a "redemption arc" is roughly the up and down journey of a character so here, Kenji went from a shitty pizza to a very solid pizza so he redeemed him self aka redemption arc.
Saw your post on Twitter a few weeks ago, I didn't realize Ooni was making a larger version. Immediately went and preordered. Cooking pizza during the summer always heats up the house so having this as an option to cook outside will be wonderful. Thanks for the tip!
Kenji, Can you do a non-pizza, pizza oven video of some of the things you mentioned at the end like vegetables, steaks, chickens or game hens? Thank for the great content!
@@blzt3206 Roccbox Is $600 CAD with taxes and free shipping. It also includes a pizza peel worth $100 (CAD including taxes) making the Roccbox even cheaper. With taxes and the peel factored in, it’s the same price as the smaller Ooni Koda 13” in Canada.
The Ooni Koda reaches 932 degrees and can cook a pizza in 1 minute. I find that too slow. If they made one that reached 55,920 degrees, it could cook the pizza in 1 second.
Looks perfect Kenji! I own the Campchef one that does a pretty good job. We are thinking about building one, but with that comes permits and inspectors. The Ooni and Rocccbox both seem great.
Fantastic demonstration! You are tempting me to give one of these a try. Thanks so much for the details you include and for adding content every day. I really look forward to learning something new daily!
kenji you should do a 16 inch pizza. Theres not a lot of them in youtube, and for people like me (living in Argentina) its almost imposible to get a giant new york style pizza.
you've always been my favorite food youtuber for a very long time. i was bummed out that you stopped uploading as frequently but now with this barrage of new uploads a part of me cant help but feel glad about this quarantine lel
J. Kenji López-Alt you don’t worry about it outdoors? I know redwood is fairly weather resistant. Beautiful work. I do woodworking and love working with slabs like that.
My brother and I both loved making pizza growing up as kids, and we would have LOVED an oven like this, thanks for the videos, and for the pizza oven reviews too!
Hi, nice video I bought oonia koda 16, earlier for a year I used small Koda and I will tell you I'm disappointed with the temperature that koda 16 reaches. Ooni advertise it exactly the same as smaller versions but the small version after 20 minutes reaches 500 degrees Celsius in the middle/center of the stone while the large version only heats up to 341 degrees. After over an hour of heating it reaches 400-410 and this is max. I was warming it up for another hour but the temperature did not rise. After an hour and a half I found the hottest place on the stone. This is the left corner next to the heaters and even after such a long time, the stone did not reach 500 degrees Celsius In this area(I skip the fact that pizza is not baked here because it is not physically possible ). 489.7 degrees is the highest temperature I could measure In the corner spot... I also want to emphasize that I carry out tests at my film studio 2000 square meters with the necessary precautions. Thanks to this, the oven is not affected by external conditions such as wind or lower temperature. I don't even want to think about what happens when I do a similar test in the garden. what temperatures did you manage to reach in it? because the ones I measured are far from what they advertised.
SZ3SNASCI3 I think the Onni 16 can not bake more than one pizza, when you take one hour to rise the temperature to over 400 degrees, and u will lost all of energy after u baked one pizza, also the bottom stone is too thin, there are no place to restore heats .
I'm new to this and don't have a pizza oven. 65, just me, my wife, occasional guest. Roccbox looks perfect for us and I love the silicone, but the larger ooni looks like it will handle many more food items. Perhaps replace my outside gas grill? Bigger isn't always better but ... versatility counts too. Im in northern Florida and would like to leave it outside under a covered patio. Can't make up my mind. Won't be buying multiple ovens. Great video!!!
Fell asleep during the video, no offence or anything (I didn’t find it boring) it’s just i was having a “mini” anxiety/panic attack and this video was suggested to me by youtube, found it really relaxing. Earned yourself a sub kind sir.
Great comparison, your dough handling skills are next level. I've made more than a few accidental calzones in my Roccbox. I have the Koda 16 on order and impatiently awaiting its arrival!
I'm looking into getting either the Koda 16 or a Roccbox. I am curious since you have both if you have one that you prefer? Like if you were only able to own one which one would you choose?
Having worked on commercial stone ovens for years and recently using the Rockbox, I was seriously impressed. It’s about as close as you can get to the real deal without spending thousands on something that weighs a tonne and is big as a house. Whoever designed this thing is clearly of the understanding of what’s required in a proper pizza oven. I confess, I haven’t used the thing on the left, but it looks like a bit of an afterthought.
Here's my full pizza oven review from 2 years ago: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WDK762aVaMI.html The ovens are actually both $499. Roccbox: us.gozney.com/products/roccbox?gclid=Cj0KCQjw17n1BRDEARIsAFDHFewsuufQPswV-WWfJ9EZ1vSNl1qBudQHLRGcsHl4JQa-i_AmZPPxifMaAoekEALw_wcB Ooni: ooni.com/products/ooni-koda-16?gclid=Cj0KCQjw17n1BRDEARIsAFDHFexQ8yDdhSA14sp4s-xOn6b0AR_yCT8Gq2_ELnL3wlfjHNb6HatuR3saApvOEALw_wcB The dough recipe is this (bakers percentages in parentheses): Combine: 360g OO pizza flour 7g salt (2.5%) Mix to dissolve: 235ml tepid water (65%) 6g instant yeast (1.75%) Combine dry and wet in a food processor and process until it forms a ball, then continue to process for 30 seconds. Alternatively, combine in a stand mixer with a dough hook and mix on low until it forms a ball. Shut off mixer. Cover and rest for 10 minutes, then restart on low and mix for 10 minutes. Cover in a bowl and let rest for 5-8 hours. Divide in half and ball up. Cover and let rise for 1.5-3 hours (both rises at room temp). Stretch, top, and bake.
Hey Kenji! Thanks for the dough recipe. I was wondering though, why is the yeast percentage in other websites laughably low? I see sometimes they suggest 0.025%, which comes out to 0.15 grams of yeast for your recipe, assuming ~600g for total mass. Similarly, The PizzApp says to use 0.11 grams of yeast for your recipe at the same hydration/yeast/salt percentages for a leavening time of 8 hours at 80F. I know in the previous video you mentioned that yeast percentage doesn’t really matter, but the orders of magnitudes is pretty insane.
Fantastic timing. I'm right on the edge of ordering a Koda 16 so to wake up to this in my subscription feed was a treat. Both the Koda 16 and the Roccbox are $500 btw.
These companies need to start adding a battery operated turn table. So there is no need to constantly taking the pizza out to turn it. When they add that, I may buy one. Until then, I will love my Blackstone pizza grill to make awesome pizzas!
What temp did you set the ovens to and how long did you preheat them? I'm a roccbox owner in part from your review a couple years ago. Cheers, keep up the great content and stay safe!
Hi. With Neapolitan style pizza you want either oven as hot as possible. So crank it to full and let it go for 20-30 mins to heat up the stone. Then launch your pizza and turn every 30 secs
I love your recipes, I have your book and I'm a fan. I don't like the first person video thing though - it's really hard for me to watch it because of the rapid movement but I have to admit, I'm older and haven't played a bunch of first person shooters since the first generation Call of Duty so maybe its just too bad for me. No problem, but if you could consider just adding a static camera focused on the pizza oven as you have in this video for your regular kitchen-based videos as an alternative - that would be cool. Appreciate all you are doing - nothing wrong with eating well during a pandemic!
@@JKenjiLopezAlt just wondering, is this pre-recorded? because a birthday party in corona times isnt appropriate, if other people/family members are joining, right?
Do you find yourself cooking with wood for pizza and other foods worth while? Example meats and fish. Trying to decide whether Roccbox, koda, and the new Ooni Karu. Truly appreciate your thorough, concise, an real review.
Having a Neopolitan pizza dough recipe video from the Kenji Lopez-Alt himself would be extremely dope! I watch italian pizzaiolis and still get it wrong somehow. Cheers from Ballard.
It looks amazing but I think you should hydrate the dough a little bit more as this kind of pizza should be easily foldable and when you lifted it to show the bottom part, it looked like it is a bit too crunchy to really look like the neapolitan but anyway fantastic.. the colors look outstanding. You could also try the electric oven: effeuno p134h. But I would anyway like to enjoy some of your pizza
Great video Kenji! I would say the benefit of using a really dry wood is that the by product of methane combustion is water so you can get a less crispy base for this reason!
My work gave me an Ooni 3 pellet fed pizza oven as a Christmas gift. Best gift I've ever received but I suck super hard at using it. Still trying to get it right.
Sometimes it's what you want. It'll create a different, darker stock. A unbrowned chicken stock is lighter in color and in taste. Sometimes that's what you want. Most of the time I prefer stock from browned meats.
You never said why you like the Ooni better than the Roccbox? I think the Roccbox is better built & will last longer! Nevertheless both cook pizza & that’s the real goal
I see you also have the Kettle Pizza accessory for the Weber Kettle grill. I've seen you do grilled pizza on the Weber, but I'm not sure I've seen you use the Kettle Pizza before. I assume maybe with these two gas powered pizza ovens you have it's more convenient than setting up the Kettle Pizza?
This is perfect timing. I have been on both of their sites in the last 2 days looking for a pizza oven. I almost pulled the trigger on a roccbox after a few IPA's last night.
@@RobertRodriguez-ec5iw I ended up buying the Roccbox. It's pretty awesome even though you are limited to a 12" pizza. Takes about 30 minutes to get up to 900 degrees F, and pizzas cook in about 90 seconds. I might upgrade to their new Dome model next year.
I have both.. I now only use my Roccbox... I use the ooni only when we have a lot of dinner guests, and need both. I am buying the new Gozney "Dome" soon.
Beautiful stretch and nice patty. You even have dough trays, I thought I was the only one that had some in a home scenario. Lift that bad boy up and hold it over that flame and get that bottom char- yess. Not to shabby, Kenji. As always I’m left impressed. My friends and girlfriend are tired of me sharing your videos lol.
What I've found with my oven pizza stone: they take many pizzas in order to build a layer of pizza stuff burnt onto it permanently. After it gets "seasoned", your pizzas will come out beautifully coloured on the bottom. And, as always, every oven and every pizza oven is different and you have to learn that individual oven. For my oven which is sadly limited to 550° Fahrenheit, 9 minutes on the stone after an hour preheating followed by 1-2 minutes on broil makes the "perfect" oven pizza... Nothing is as truly perfect as the perfection of a true wood fired pizza oven though. But I can get close to halfway there (and I'm excellent at pizza). Btw: measure in grams, not volume for pizza dough. Also, cold ferment at least 24 hours in olive oil followed by a second ferment at room temperature after kneading the dough and reworking it with flour. You won't be disappointed.
Nice review. I'd love to see your unbiased review of the OONI Fyra that uses wood pellets. It seems like an ingenious system. Seems easy to light and maintain the fire, but I'm only speaking from what I've seen on the manufacturer videos.
hey, I have the OOni Fyra 16 that can do gas or wood. It's great, and the insulation is top notch, it has a digital thermometer and the chimney. I've gotten it to 950 * with wood. The thing is, if you are at that 900* + range, your pizza will cook in 60 seconds. If you go longer you will burn the crap out of it. Do NOT get distracted. I'd say Kenji was at 750-850 in this video when he cooked the two pies based on that cook time. of 2 minutes. The Fyra also has a door, which definitely keeps the temp up. You can also close the stack and increase the amount of smoke for a minute which can help add the smokiness to the pie. It was on 4 month back order, which was a bummer. One more thing is, temping the oven with wood goes through a fair bit of wood. The small chunks you use burn quickly. Also, you need to time the temp peak if you are cooking with wood as the temp can go up or down pretty quick at the peak temp range. It heats up real fast. I feel like the convenience of the gas is worth the extra cost of the gas adapter. IT's just easier to keep consistent.
Hey!! Love your videos. My bf and I watch them all the time... any way you can do a homemade pad thai? We've followed two separate recipes and still haven't gotten close.
Kenji, can you put out of a video talking about the stone temperature and the upper flame temperature? Logic would say that there is some perfect sweet spot of temperature differential. A lot of scientific variables that go into it and this is right up your sweet spot. Sort of a randomized controlled pizza study very similar to what you did with hard-boiled eggs.
Only if you don’t mind your bottom crust a little underdone. You can’t heat up a stone adequately in 15 minutes no matter what oven you have. Heat doesn’t travel through it fast enough.
Ka-ching! I've been thinking about buying a Koda and this sent me over the edge- I'm going there. (the embellishment of spinning the peel reminds me of marching band ... TRRP! ("To the right, right pinwheel!"))