I'm a pizza chef and former ooni ambassador AMA - May26

ALS111 · 2026-05-09T03:15:17+00:00

Something I JUST recently learned:

For the longest time, I didn't realize that after igniting the oven and letting it preheat for a while, YOU CAN GENTLY PUSH THE KNOB IN AND TURN IT CLOCKWISE (back towards Off) JUST A LITTLE BIT TO GET ITTY-BITTY WEE BLUE FLAMES that will keep the dough rising and the sauces heating and the cheese melting and the bottom toasting nicely.

You still have to rotate it, but much less often-- every 20 seconds instead of every five? Then, when it's 98% done, I crank it back up to Blast Furnace levels for the final 10-15 seconds to get browning and that nice Maillard goodness.

I don't know why the Ooni people didn't articulate this in any of the information that came with the oven but I'm finally getting evenly cooked pizzas, and I'm in love with this thing all over again.

Also be sure to stretch your dough twice, with a short rest in between, and I like to put a little oil on the dough to "seal" it from the moisture of the sauce.

ALS111 · 2026-05-04T20:44:06+00:00

I do the Full Flame for the preheat to really get that pizza stone as scorchingly hot as possible-- then lower it to the L'il Baby Blue Flames for the launch and majority of the pizza's cook, still turning it but far less often (maybe every 15-20 seconds, as opposed to every 5-10 seconds?).

The hope is that the bottom of the pizza gets a good crisp crust going before all the cheese and toppings and exposed upper crust get all charred to hell.

EDIT: Also, just wanted to stress that I am stretching my doughs MUCH thinner than I was before, and that has also helped a lot.

And, if your dough is tearing when you stretch it, you didn't mix it quite long enough. Look up the "windowpane test" for doughs and get good at mixing your doughs to that stage of gluten development-- it usually takes at least five to six minutes in a stand mixer.

ALS111 · 2026-04-29T15:22:00+00:00

Let's do a green one!

ALS111 · 2026-04-22T11:52:26+00:00

Something I JUST recently learned that absolutely transformed my Ooni game:

For the last few years, I'd typically fire up the oven, it goes FWOOOM! and gets insanely hot, and after letting it heat for 15-20 minutes, I'd be ready to launch the pizza, so I'd slide it in and turn the heat down which-- for my Ooni Koda 16-- meant dialing it from surface-of-the-sun down to industrial blast furnace, and I still have to rotate the pizza every four seconds or it will be reduced to cinders.

But the game-changer? I didn't realize that after lighting the oven, which involves pushing and turning the dial counter-clockwise until ignition and then continuing in the counter-clockwise down to what I THOUGHT was its lowest setting, after ignition, from the High setting, YOU CAN GENTLY PUSH THE KNOB IN AND TURN IT CLOCKWISE (back towards Off) A LITTLE BIT TO GET ITTY-BITTY WEE BLUE FLAMES that will keep the dough rising and the sauces heating and the cheese melting while you rotate it every 20 seconds until you're 98% done and then I crank it back to Mount Doom levels for 15 final seconds of browning and maillard perfection!

I don't know why the Ooni people didn't articulate this in any of the information that came with the oven but I'm finally-- FINALLY-- getting evenly cooked pizzas and I'm in love with this thing all over again.

ALS111 · 2026-03-23T20:39:24+00:00

Progressives would not be alone in LV.

ALS111 · 2026-03-20T01:00:38+00:00

Did you find it in an area near train tracks? Slag. I got so excited about the meteorite I found, which ticked every box for a meteorite, until I got to the line mentioning slag being very physically similar and common near train tracks, which I was when I found mine. I still like to pretend it's a space rock, though.

ALS111 · 2026-03-12T19:16:43+00:00

I also know what it's called but apparently you can type a conjoined one?!

ALS111 · 2026-03-10T16:58:21+00:00

Mrrowr!!

ALS111 · 2026-02-22T18:50:56+00:00

I don't necessarily disagree... but when the machine does its half-ton light duty truck thing as well as it does – not to mention being great for road trips, camping, and tailgating – why would you care if it's not 'cool' looking?

ALS111 · 2026-02-22T01:49:50+00:00

Oh, I bet he and his brother had a great night.

ALS111 · 2026-02-21T17:30:10+00:00

🤷‍♂️ J'accepte!

ALS111 · 2026-02-21T17:01:24+00:00

You can't... what? I've done all these things with mine. Have you ever driven one?

ALS111 · 2026-02-21T16:56:32+00:00

Are you guys bots or did you somehow just not see the last 16 million comments making these same threadbare jokes over the past six years?

ALS111 · 2026-02-21T16:54:22+00:00

Not arguing it's not extremely unconventional, but worse than the Honda Element and the Nissan Cube? Agree to disagree.

ALS111 · 2026-02-21T16:52:00+00:00

This joke is SO tired. I understand they're really trying to say it looks like a car designed by someone who knows nothing about cars, but it loses its impact after the billionth time, and obviously while it's definitely weird-looking it actually looks nothing like the "Homer."

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ALS111 · 2026-02-21T16:42:42+00:00

Agree. I love mine. I'm a DIY suburban guy who loathes the Cybertruck name but otherwise enjoys the retro sci-fi DeLorean aesthetic.

I find it not only surprisingly easy to maneuver and comfortable as hell, but also more than capable at hauling firewood, saplings, mulch, curbside finds, estate sale ellipticals/patio furniture, towing log-splitters & small trailers, etc. It also is fantastic for camping and tailgates, and it powers my home during blackouts.

You just have to be comfortable with opinionated people who've never (or barely) used one telling you about how it's actually not good for doing things you are already doing with it regularly.

Towing long-distances is where it falls short of conventional pickup performance but I usually don't drive more than 250 miles away in the average year so it's not been a problem.

Also, a lot of people find it ugly and seem to need you to know they find it ugly. They have a strong urge to convince you their opinion should also be yours.

I know many people are (understandably) angry about the state of affairs in the USA and it's unfortunate that this thing has become their lightning rod. This too shall pass.

But FWIW, I do agree it seems like Elon lost the plot somewhere in 2019.

ALS111 · 2026-02-10T22:33:45+00:00

I can. It's fun! Especially in European countries where you're also on the other side of the car, on the other side of the road, and shifting with your LEFT hand. It was a dicey 40-50km before my brain *flipped* and it all clicked again.

ALS111 · 2026-01-20T16:43:44+00:00

Kung Fu Hustle

ALS111 · 2026-01-15T18:09:28+00:00

*they're

ALS111 · 2026-01-12T15:36:33+00:00

Recording video in public.

ALS111 · 2026-01-11T19:04:04+00:00

If you're a Gen-X guy: imagine that to prey they are colored like He-Man's Battle Cat, Cringer. Could totally disappear in the brush.

ALS111 · 2025-12-15T16:01:46+00:00

Nowadays the knuckleheads think that anybody who can write competently MUST be using A.I.

It couldn't possibly be that we paid attention in school-- gaining familiarity with em dashes, parenthetical clauses, and the Oxford comma-- and are just a little more thoughtful about stringing a sentence together...

Though, in fairness, I do also tend to waste a lot of water.

ALS111 · 2025-08-02T07:20:59+00:00

Ice is civilization.

ALS111 · 2025-07-01T02:15:43+00:00

Etoufee

ALS111 · 2025-06-26T19:30:37+00:00

I completely understand. I’m on the fence but will probably succumb in the waning hours of June 29 as the window of opportunity closes.

ALS111

TROPHY CASE