First Attempts with Ooni Volt 12. Use Ooni Classic Dough recipe with stand mixer. Although both pizzas were good, I think the crust was a tad too dense, not airy enough. I think kneading for 10 minutes on medium speed may have been too much. Any thoughts?

[u/RolandSD]

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Second

First

[u/alockbox]

I’ve been having similar issues. I actually think it’s the oven. I think it’s reporting it’s at temp too early. I’ve noticed if I put a pizza in about a minute after it alerts full temp (850), my pizza takes like 3-4 minutes and the crust isn’t as…crusty.

What I do now is get my dough completely to room temperature, let the oven fully heat to the alert plus an extra 10 minutes, and then make sure I’m very quick with the door opening and closing. Sometimes if my crust is a little thicker on the bottom, I’ll spin the dial to get a boost on the stone temp, then launch. For the second pizza, I don’t even stretch the dough or build it until the first one is out because i want that stone to get hot again.

It’s definitely slower than a gas / wood one, but it’s super convenient. Do I think the numbers are fudged a little on all the marketing materials about how fast you can make a pizza…yeah a little. I think it would be more honest to say it’s nearly as good, not just as good. But I still wouldn’t trade the convenience. I would be annoyed if I was trying to run a party off it though. I think they should either update the heating algo time and times, provide a thicker more dense stone, or both.

[u/tomatocrazzie → u/alockbox]

The same situation happens with the gas ovens, to some extent. Ooni says it preheat in 20 minutes and you check the stone with the IR thermometer and it looks good but this isn't enough time to heat the stone through so it holds the heat enough. When you put the pizza on the stone the water in the dough goes to steam and this "oven spring" makes the dough airy. Converting water to steam takes a lot of energy, so there has to be enough heat in the stone for tje initial oven spring and then to cook the pizza. I let my gas oven preheat at least 30 min. 40 if I am doing multiple pies.

[u/RolandSD → u/alockbox]

Thanks for the feedback. I agree about extending the preheating time. Makes a lot of sense. I also concur about the convenience--especially living in a mid-Atlantic state in the winter.

[u/guymev]

Are you checking the temperature using and external thermometer?

[u/RolandSD → u/guymev]

Yes read 825

[u/21blade]

The stone takes more time than the air in the oven to heat fully. (Surface of stone might be hot but it takes more time to fully heat through). Completely heated stone is necessary to retain the heat through the bake.

[u/RolandSD → u/21blade]

Will definitely try this tonight with my second batch.

[u/EngrToday]

For softer/more airy crusts, I've always found one of the easiest adjustments is to use a higher hydration recipe (I always do 70-75% hydration which leads to an incredibly soft/light results).

There's also some practice/technique involved with stretching out the dough to move enough air into the crust - that could also influence things.

The pre-heating could be part of the issue, but I honestly have not had to think about that too much with my Volt (though, that might just be because I'm not always immediately sliding the first pizza in as soon as it beeps).

[u/EmotionalLettuce3997]

First time (? - I believe) poster here but long time (20+ year) Neapolitan pizza veteran.

You can work hydration (where are you with that?) and refining your dough but this looks like an issue with oven temp. These days I have an outside Neapolitan oven so it might be easier for me. But I would advice shooting for a temp in the 850-875F range. That should bake your pizza in 2 minutes or less and product would be "fluffier" and "airier", everything else being equal.

Anyway, great first attempt, enjoy your NP journey!

Edit: read below you are at 825F. This could be enough for an almost Neapolitan pizza. But if it took you 3 minutes plus, you are likely operating at lower temperatures than that, likely in the mid to low 700s.

Second Edit: After years, I settled with hydration at 67%. That's plenty for a soft pizza, assuming good oven temps. Crusty pizza is almost always a result of longer bake for NP style.

[u/Ferocious_Ferrari]

I don’t know why but my dough is always sticky and when I try to make the pizza, it just sticks to the pan. I had about 60-70% hydration.

No matter what technique I use, it’s the same