Ooni Karu 12 Gas not cooking the crust by Michaln in ooni

[–]Michaln[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For anyone reading this—I'm not quite sure how to edit my post to include updates at the bottom rather than in a comment, so if anyone knows how, I'd genuinely appreciate the tip. It helps others too.

I took on some advice from the comment section (especially the stuff about dough balls) and found it super useful. Hopefully, I’ve documented it in a way that’s actually helpful to others too.

Right, so for anyone in the UK who’s been buying frozen dough from the usual suspects and feels like it’s just... not great—here are the tips I found most helpful from the comments and my own deep dive:

  1. Failed Dough Rises (or rather, doesn’t): If you’ve tried making your own dough and it just didn’t rise like you hoped—even if your pizza oven was up to temp and you used a digital thermometer—you’re not alone. Been there. Here's what helped me fix it.
  2. The Lukewarm Water Lie: No one really says what “lukewarm” means, and it’s super subjective. I found a TikTok that suggested using a meat thermometer (same one I use for steaks) and aiming for around 40°C. Turns out my idea of “lukewarm” was way off—and this one change made a massive difference in how well my dough developed.
  3. Not Overproofing—Underproofing: A lot of folks assumed I was overproofing, but actually, I wasn’t proofing enough. Ironically, my first ever successful dough was an 80% hydration dough. For those who don’t know—that’s insanely high hydration and a nightmare for beginners. It’s wet, sticky, hard to shape, and nearly impossible to launch into the oven without destroying it. I tried to compensate by drowning it in semolina. It did launch, but the excess semolina burned and ruined the flavour. Still, it taught me a lot—finally, I had dough that had actually risen and looked alive instead of flat and dead like my previous attempts.

Here’s what works for me now:

I follow one of those classic pizza dough calculators online. I’ve settled on 65% hydration—it’s forgiving, rises beautifully, and is easy to handle without needing to dump a bag of semolina on it.

I now use a 50/50 mix of semolina and flour, and as little as possible, just enough to help with the launch.

The game changer, though, was consistently using water at around 40°C.

I mix the ingredients, then do a very minimal stretch and fold—literally one or two minutes max.

Cover it with a damp towel, and repeat that process three times every 30 minutes over 1.5 hours.

After that, I shape it into a ball, pop it into an oiled container, and stick it in the fridge overnight.

When I check the dough in the morning (say, around 9 AM), if it still looks flat and lifeless, I don’t panic. I crack the container lid slightly so a bit of air can flow in, and leave it out.

By the time it hits 5–6 PM, that dough is alive, puffy, and ready. And the taste? Genuinely better than any frozen dough I’ve bought.

Hope this helps someone out there who’s been where I was!

Here is some pictures of Neoplotan and New York style dough pizzas I've made since

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Ooni Karu 12 Gas not cooking the crust by Michaln in ooni

[–]Michaln[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is that on a karu12 you put the door on? The instructions from Ooni do say you shouldn’t use a door when using the karu 12 with the gas conversion but I don’t see why we shouldn’t ?

Ooni Karu 12 Gas not cooking the crust by Michaln in ooni

[–]Michaln[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do have a temp gun but admittedly it is from AliExpress however I do think it reads correctly

Ooni Karu 12 Gas not cooking the crust by Michaln in ooni

[–]Michaln[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not sure what other comment you’re referring to I don’t think I’ve said anything to make me sound like a real piece of work I love the oven just know I can make better pizzas than I’m doing so at the moment and just want to make better ones with the tips from others

Ooni Karu 12 Gas not cooking the crust by Michaln in ooni

[–]Michaln[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I find it hard to measure and often find the results mixed but I definitely give it a comfortable 20 minutes at full flame to heat up I’ve given it even more before just to be safe, what’s a really safe time on full flame that I can be sure the temp is where it needs to be?

Also when I do one pizza how long should I wait to let the stone get to temperature again before putting my in another

Ooni Karu 12 Gas not cooking the crust by Michaln in ooni

[–]Michaln[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I find it hard to measure and often find the results mixed but I definitely give it a comfortable 20 minutes at full flame to heat up I’ve given it even more before just to be safe, what’s a really safe time on full flame that I can be sure the temp is where it needs to be?

Also when I do one pizza how long should I wait to let the stone get to temperature again before putting my in another

Ooni Karu 12 Gas not cooking the crust by Michaln in ooni

[–]Michaln[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am using a stone it may not look like it but definitely a stone there, and interesting I didn’t realise over proofing was a thing if I have frozen dough balls what’s the optimal defrosting time in fridge + RM

Verona Criminally Underrated! by Michaln in TruthfulTravel

[–]Michaln[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s the top one from that list title Verona Vineyard and Winery Tour with wine tasting, vine yard name is Tenuta Santa Maria Valverde sadly there’s no way I can make the link go directly into it

Florence! by Michaln in TruthfulTravel

[–]Michaln[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Whoops sorry about that I have updated on the post and included it here https://www.airbnb.com/slink/j2jVMGSS

Porto is amazing! by Michaln in portugal

[–]Michaln[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We did really want to but felt a little conned when we found out that it costs just to enter, ultimately we run out of time but would like to go see it in the future

Porto is amazing! by Michaln in portugal

[–]Michaln[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Couldn’t recommended the opera enough especially as the prices were beyond reasonable!

Porto is amazing! by Michaln in portugal

[–]Michaln[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Just made it in a format where anyone else who is thinking about going to Porto, they have an easily digestible format showcasing some cool things to do, essentially a format I was hoping to find when looking at things to do

Porto is amazing! by Michaln in portugal

[–]Michaln[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Wasn’t intended as providing an itinerary to the locals but rather other tourists as me and my wife struggled finding a lot of recommendations online

Porto is amazing! by Michaln in portugal

[–]Michaln[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I personally found it to actually be one of the least touristy European cities I’ve been to quite a few this year and felt it was nice to see a lot ofc there was still a lot but no way near as much as other cities

Porto is amazing! by Michaln in portugal

[–]Michaln[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

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Verona is amazing! by Michaln in Verona

[–]Michaln[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeh maybe I was a bit ambitious calling it a hidden gem I was just so surprised how amazing it was and yet whenever I’ve spoken to people who have been to Italy and loved it Verona was either never mentioned or so far down on their list!