A fail proof dough for a pizza oven…please x

[Artyfarty555]

My hubby purchased an ooni pizza oven last year or probably the year before! But, although the toppings aren’t a problem getting a dough seems to be. They are can be too sticky or just not good at rolling out.
Does anyone have a really good dough recipe that they’ve used successfully in the ooni oven. He has trailed the one in the ooni cook book but doesn’t seem to have the knack of it! Might just be him!!
Think it just must be practice makes perfect but fed up of doughie Pizza base and burnt toppings.
Any advice great fully received.

I know you want to make your own but this is brilliant if you are working/ short of time

Northern Dough Co Original Pizza Dough Frozen 2 x 220g
£2.60 on Ocado

Don't have a pizza oven, but I do make pizzas every week that get shunted on to a pizza steel. I don't weigh and measure, but I use a cup full of water and I know that's 400ml. Probably about a tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of salt. Blob of fresh yeast and about 500g bread flour. I mix it and knead in mixer, adding water or flour to make a sticky dough. Leave to rise.

To make them, I prep everything tomato sauce (made in bulk and frozen in portions - a small mug full, I suppose), gated cheese and veg (onion, peppers and sweetcorn usually). Divide dough into four.

I shape and flatten the dough - I don't roll it. Once they're done, I leave on a flour dusted worktop to rise for a bit while the oven gets hot. If they are sticky, I dust worktop and top of pizza with a little rice flour. I use the rice flour on the wooden peel (not metal - dough sticks) and quickly assemble pizza and shunt into oven. Repeat.

So, ime, it's not the recipe that makes the difference for me - it's rice flour and a wooden peel.

Here are my tips

• Make sure dough isn't underproofed, it will be too sticky. I use Jamie Oliver recipe
• I make 3 pizzas from 500g flour
• Roll out thin but without holes, I use a rolling pin
• don't put pizzas onto pizza peel until last minute or they will stick
• put a sprinkling of flour/semolina mix on the peel under the pizza
• when cooking, turn pizza every 30-45 seconds
• don't use wet ingredients on top - use pizza block mozzarella for example
• get stone hot then turn it down so top cooks at same time as base
• practice!

I use the Jamie Oliver pizza dough recipe and use cornmeal (including for coating the base, so it slides in and out easily). That's always worked well. But you can't roll out a pizza base, it really should be stretched.

I don't have an Ooni personally, but these little pizza ovens do tend to cook in quite loopsided ways. Ours has the fire below, so the base cooks faster than the top. It sounds like he needs to adjust the temp (too hot on the top and not warmed up enough on the bottom). That's more user error than the dough you're using.

We’ve got an ooni (gas one), I use the app, you can set the proofing time/number of people/temperature and it gives you the quantities of flour/yeast/water.
I dust the peel with flour (not too much or it burns), lay out the (stretched, not rolled) dough, apply toppings thinly (the only ooni fail I have ever had was when my dad applied his own toppings and went a bit mad!) and put it straight in the oven. Turn every few seconds and it works for me.
What flour are you using? I know some people rave about pasta flour but I find strong bread flour easier to manage.

We buy our dough at an Italian supermarket that makes them fresh every day. Pizza shops will also sell you a few that you can freeze until you are ready to use them. It's not expensive and saves a lot of bother.

Don't have an Ooni but do homemade pizza regularly.
If we buy the dough, we get the Jus-Roll Sourdough Pizza Dough.
Make sure you use polenta underneath, it won't burn & helps the pizza to move smoothly from the peel/stone/tray.
Stretch the dough my hand, don't roll with a rolling pin.

I've found pretty much any recipe for dough is fine the key is to roll out your bases in advance and stack them dusted with flour on both sides between grease proof paper.

So for example one baking sheet dusted with flour place two dough rounds, dust with flour, cover with grease proof, more flour, next two doughs and repeat for a third layer.

I use two baking sheets for 12 bases approximately 6-8" round.

When at temperature dust paddle with flour or ideally cornmeal, place base, add toppings and slide off straight in to oven.

Always test the oven with the smallest basic pizza then go, go, go.

I never find pizza night relaxing as the cook.

Re rolling v stretching I think I do most of it by hand with a little initial help from a rolling pin.

We use this recipe for dough (we prove for one hour though) and divide into 3 or 4. We put the rolled out base in a very large frying pan on medium hob and put toppings on. The base has then gone slightly solid so it’s easier to then slide into the pizza oven on the pizza shovel thing. Twist the pizza once in the oven. Works a treat!

Pizza dough

We use this one for our pizza oven

uk.ooni.com/blogs/recipes/classic-pizza-dough

Mine's from Delia's learn to cook book.

12oz strong flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 sachet dried yeast
250ml of warm water

Mix together in mixer on slow speed (I use setting 3 out of 10 speeds) with dough hook until smooth (approx 4-5 mins)
Add extra flour if too sticky and extra water if dough is not forming a ball after a min. (You can usually press a finger to the surface if the dough without it sticking)

Place in an oiled bowl covered with cling and a tea towel.
Put somewhere warm for a least an hour - dough doubles in size.

Knead by hand and knock the air out.

Roll out on a floured work surface to your required thickness and top with whatever topping you like.

Makes approx 4 individual pizza's.