If you’re looking for fast, easy pizza, then order pizza. But if you want an experience, something for the family to gather around on a Sunday, something to tinker with and hone your craft until you are a master pizzaiolo, then order the Uuni 3. My wife and I have used ours twice now and could not be happier. Pizza parties were a regular fixture of my childhood, centered around by dad’s hand-built stone pizza oven, and the Uuni 3 is allowing us to carry on this wonderful tradition.
I did read some reviews before ordering the Uuni 3, and based on what others have said I took the following proactive steps to improve my experience. I recommend you do the same.
1. The included pizza peel is pitiful. Order yourself two 12-inch wide peels with nice long handles, one wooden for putting pizzas in and one aluminum for taking them out.
2. Use a blow torch to light the pellets, not a fire starter. It works well and doesn’t leave an odor. Some have complained of the tiny hole through which you have to light the pellets. I have no idea what they’re talking about. According to the instructions you pull out the entire pellet tray to light the pellets, which works very well. Then put the tray back in its housing once lit.
3. Others have complained about the flame guard that sits inside the oven behind the cooking stone. It is not attached and can easily shift out of place if you hit it during cooking. After assembling the oven this design flaw was very obvious, and I didn’t even bother trying to use the oven like this. Instead I secured the flame guard to the base of the oven with two sheet metal screws. This took some careful measuring but was otherwise pretty easy. I definitely recommend this simple mod, I haven’t had a single problem with the flame guard as a result.
Based on my own experience I offer these additional tips:
4. Use semolina flour to keep your pizzas from sticking to the peels and the cooking stone. This makes a night and day difference over normal flour.
5. If it’s windy the direction of the wind makes a petty big difference in how well the oven burns. Make sure the back of the oven faces into the wind, this drives the flames forward into the cooking chamber.
It does take a little trial and error to get really adept at operating the Uuni 3, but that’s part of the fun. My very first pizza took close to 10 minutes to cook, but after just two pizza parties I have it down to 90 seconds. My IR thermometer reads up to 700 degrees Fahrenheit in the front of the oven, and 800-900 in the back. I generally turn the pizza just once halfway through baking.
And how are the pizzas, you ask? They are sublime. Crispy but not too crispy. A little char in just the right places. Suffused with a delicious woodsmoke flavor that tastes like summer and family. You will love it.
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This Item  Ooni 3 Outdoor Pizza Oven, Pizza Maker, Portable Oven, Outdoor Cooking, Award Winning Pizza Oven |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | -25% $149.99 List: $199.99 | $299.00 | $599.00 | $399.00 | $499.00 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 21 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 20 | Get it May 22 - 29 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 21 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 23 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Flavor | ||||||
| Easy to use | ||||||
| Easy to assemble | ||||||
| Portability | ||||||
| Sold By | — | Shinerich Group | Ooni USA | Ooni USA | Ooni USA | Gozney |
| size | — | 12 inch pizza oven | 12" | US - 28mBar | — | — |
| capacity | — | 5.3 pounds | 0 kilograms | 16 cubic inches | 12 cubic inches | 0 cubic centimeters |
| heating method | Conduction | Conduction | Wood Fired | Propane Gas | Propane Gas | Convection |
| fuel type | Wood, Natural Gas | Wood | Wood and Charcoal or Propane Gas | Propane Gas | Propane Gas | Liquefied Petroleum Gas |
| special feature | Portable | Mother's day Gift 12in Pizza oven | — | Automatic Shut-Off | Lightweight,Portable | Portable |
| installation | Countertop | Countertop | Countertop | Countertop | Countertop | Countertop |
Reviews with images
Great oven with lots to improve
This is one of those reviews where I struggle to give anywhere from a two to four stars, but definitely neither one nor five. The Uuni 3 is a great pizza oven and it will provide you with delicious pizzas, but there is too many things to worry, add, tinker, or think about while you are obtaining your delicious pizzas. I have considered returning it, but finally decided to keep it because eventually you get used to using it and it does produce great pizzas. Best way might be a Pros and Cons list with some tips:TIPS:1. Get two 12 inch pizza peels, if you don't have them. Wooden for prepping and dropping your pizza in. Thin aluminum with handle for removing and rotating the pizza. I already had a wooden one, and ended getting this Aluminum one from Amazon: American Metalcraft 3512 Pizza Peels, 35" Length x 12" Width, Silver . The long handle gives it an extra security when the oven is hot.2. Unless you like 8 inch pizzas, don't follow the Uuni recommendations on dough amount. I use 250 grams for a 12 inch pizza, using the New York Times pizza dough recipe from Roberta's.3. Rotate every 20 seconds. RELIGIOUSLY.4. Keep that pellet feeder 3/4 full at all timesPROS:- Produces excellent crispy, yet soft dough with a great taste only imparted by wood fire- Pizzas come out FAST, so your pizza won't dehydrate like with many electrical ovens- Portable?- Kind of prettyCONS:- There is a very tricky learning curve to this oven. Unless you are a pizza and pizza oven connoisseur, you will have to learn how to use this.- Lighting the pellets is a different curve on itself. You wonder why they made just the one tiny hole where it is- The whole thing, even though easy to assemble, is just flaky. Most damning is the flame guard that goes behind the stone. You will be knocking it down when removing or rotating the pizza. Mark my words.- For an outdoor pizza oven, recommending to remove the stone after every use, it is very inconvenient. There will be soot on you, you will knock down (again) that damning flame guard which for some reason is not bolted to the floor oven- Cover bag sold through Uuni's website lacks proper dimensions. For you to cover it, you have to yet again disassemble part of it (remove the door, hopper lid and chimney lid)- The chimney lid, which doubles as a pellet scoop, is incredibly annoying for feeding pellets. You will be dropping a lot of pellets to the floor.- My door handle burnt on the first use. I contacted Uuni and they do have good customer service that sent me a replacement, but this shouldn't happen. If the oven was designed properly, there wouldn't be a tiny slit between the door handle and the inside of the oven, where the flames can get out and burn your handle because, and I quote the customer service rep: "your Uuni is running too hot"- The pizza peel that comes with the Uuni is just plain dangerous. Providing a thin metal sheet without any handles, to be inserting into a 900+°F oven is just reckless- I wouldn't recommend it for multiple pizza production. It requires someone constantly on pizza rotating duty and almost another one refilling the pellet feeder every 5 minutes or so.Overall, it is a good oven, but for the price, I feel there is just too many tricky things to consider. I am not returning it only because there aren't actually many options out there, but this is an oven in the making. When you purchase this, you are a Beta tester.If you are okay with everything I mentioned, then enjoy your delicious pizzas.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2018
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2020
I have been making pizzas in my range oven for a couple of years already, so I have had some experience in the pizza dough-making part, such as making my own sourdough starter, using the right flour (Antonio Caputo 00 red label), proof the dough for one hour, fold (mozzare = to fold and cut off) the dough into a tight ball with a strong skin, and let it rise for eight to ten hours. Then use the right tomatoes (San Marzano), and the best fresh mozzarella (buffalo).
Also, I read so many reviews from people who go to great lengths to prevent the pizza from sticking to the peel. The secret is to drop the dough into flour before shaping it. You'll be good to go, without having to add any flour to the peel. Just make sure not to let the tomato sauce sit for too long, or it will stick.
The Ooni 3 performed great at the first real test. Controlling the temperature certainly has a learning curve, and I expect to get better with time, but I was pleased with how easy and efficient this little oven is.
One tip that I've learned: a laser infrared thermometer is a must. Ten minutes is not enough to get to a steady-state 900+ Fahrenheit pizza stone temperature. In my case, I found 15 minutes to be ideal, and If you open the front door too often to check the temperature, you may upset the stone's ideal settings for pizza cooking. So, what you should do is to point your infrared thermometer to the second O letter in the front of the door, and when it reaches 300, it means that the stone is at least 3 times as hot, and you're good to go.
So, wait for the pellets to reach temperature, before you pour more down the hopper. Then, wait for a couple of minutes so that the flames die down from the top of the stone, or your pizza will get too sooty, and slide it in. Thirty seconds, then flips it 180 degrees.
Enjoy it!
Also, I read so many reviews from people who go to great lengths to prevent the pizza from sticking to the peel. The secret is to drop the dough into flour before shaping it. You'll be good to go, without having to add any flour to the peel. Just make sure not to let the tomato sauce sit for too long, or it will stick.
The Ooni 3 performed great at the first real test. Controlling the temperature certainly has a learning curve, and I expect to get better with time, but I was pleased with how easy and efficient this little oven is.
One tip that I've learned: a laser infrared thermometer is a must. Ten minutes is not enough to get to a steady-state 900+ Fahrenheit pizza stone temperature. In my case, I found 15 minutes to be ideal, and If you open the front door too often to check the temperature, you may upset the stone's ideal settings for pizza cooking. So, what you should do is to point your infrared thermometer to the second O letter in the front of the door, and when it reaches 300, it means that the stone is at least 3 times as hot, and you're good to go.
So, wait for the pellets to reach temperature, before you pour more down the hopper. Then, wait for a couple of minutes so that the flames die down from the top of the stone, or your pizza will get too sooty, and slide it in. Thirty seconds, then flips it 180 degrees.
Enjoy it!
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2018
Top reviews from other countries
DennisM.
Endlich lügt die Werbung mal nicht. Ooni is #1
Reviewed in Germany on February 7, 2020Linda Galli
Forno fenomenale!
Reviewed in Italy on May 3, 2019
Linda Galli
Reviewed in Italy on May 3, 2019
- utilizzare sempre un pellet alimentare per barbeque; nonostante il costo elevato se ne consuma una quantità veramente minima.
- comprare un termometro laser con cui misurare la temperatura della piastra di cottura. La pizza andrà cotta ad una temperatura tra i 430 e i 470°C. Ricordando di aprire il meno possibile il forno per rilevare la temperatura, il forno raggiunge valori intorno ai 500°C in 10 minuti. Considerando l'abbattimento della temperatura ogni volta che si apre il forno il mio consiglio è di partire con un valore tra i 470 e i 500 °C
- Vi invito a fare la pizza napoletana (col cornicione) per questo forno (e quindi di utilizzare le dosi acqua/farina/lievito/sale previste per questa pizza). Il problema è che viste le dimensioni della bocca del forno è facilissimo (esperienza personale) che il condimento scivoli sulla piastra bruciandosi quando s'infila la pizza in forno. Cosa che con il cornicione è più difficile che accada.
- Penultimo punto, ma fondamentale! La pizza cuoce in un minuto, ma non va assolutamente lasciata cuocere in modo continuativo altrimenti la parte più vicina al braciere si brucerà (letteralmente). Quindi infilate la pizza nel forno ed estraetela dopo 15 secondi, ruotatela di 90°C e infilatela di nuovo in forno e ripetete fino al giro e minuto completo. Vi consiglio anche di essere in due per ridurre al minimo i tempi di apertura del forno.
- Ultimo consiglio: è facile che la pizza si "bagni" a causa del condimento (pomodoro, mozzarella, etc.) rendendo difficile se non disastroso staccarla dalla pala per infilarla nel forno. Non serve neanche infarinare troppo la pala (oltremodo si brucerebbe la farina dando un retrogusto amaro). Io opero in questo modo: infilo la pizza semplice nel forno e la condisco quando la tiro fuori la prima volta, avendo cura di rinfarinare la pala perché anche se già parzialmente cotta, le zone di pasta più sottile potrebbero bagnarsi e lacerarsi rinfilando la pizza nel forno.
Ps. La temperatura del forno, una volta che non si alimenti più, scende rapidamente ma rimane a una temperatura superiore ai 200 gradi per un bel po' di tempo. L'ideale per riscaldare una pizza che eventualmente si sia raffreddata.
N.B. I piatti nella foto hanno un fiametro di 32 cm.
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