Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First off, I have NEVER made a pizza oven pizza in my life. I am a very competent chef and grillmaster, but I had zero experience with one of these contraptions. I purchased this to do make your own pizzas for our Bengals tailgate and hopefully for fun family nights in the future. We followed the Ooni dough recipe (00 flour is NOT something sold at every grocery store) and it was fantastic. Of course I watched several videos before using the oven, which is advised, but this oven is very easy to use. Some basic knowledge gleaned from the Ooni website is enough to get you going. My tips for a perfect pizza are: Does not come with any gas or tank. I used a full 15lb gas grill propane tank. I assume you could use a smaller tank with the same full size fitting. Hose is long enough to reach the table and set the tank on the ground. No peel included. I purchased the aluminum one with a folding wood handle (Chef Pomodoro) and it was absolutely perfect for this oven in every single way. I did not buy or use a laser pointer thermometer but after seeing they are less than $20 I probably would have. I don't see it as necessary but it would have been nice to know how hot my stone was. The first time I tried to light the grill it was admittedly difficult. This is not an unusual problem for any gas grill regulator. I suggest you make sure the oven is off when you turn the propane tank on. Also, I wasn't getting good gas flow until I turned the regulator so the hose was vertical (hose sticking straight up or down). You may have to turn the regulator, turn off the gas at the tank, off at the oven, and repeat a few times to get good gas flow. No idea why (could be a cheap finicky regulator?), but once I got the gas flow going, I haven't had a problem since (three uses). Also, try turning the gas on for a few seconds, then to off, then hold the knob pushed in for a few seconds (at the off position) before turning it counter clockwise to the max position to trigger the ignitor, and continuing to hold it in. You should be looking through the little hole in the back of the oven where you can see if you have a good flame. This is the trickiest part of using the oven. Don't get frustrated. Preheat at max flame for 15-20 mins. There is no stop for max flame like there is for minimum flame, so the little indicator nub on the knob will be at 9-O'Clock. You should look into the mouth of the oven to confirm you have a good even flame rolling up to the top. Use a rolling pin to make flat even crust, it's not cheating is it? Makes for the best perfect crust. Less bubbles that will burn, flaky, crispy, superior to hand formed. Make it as thin as you think you can work with. (3/16"?) Don't make the edges thicker than the middle. Flatter the better. Preheat the oven on full blast for as long as possible. You CANNOT get it too hot. Don't try to make a pizza that is too big to fit in the oven. Isn't this just common sense? The smaller the pizza the easier it is to maneuver. After getting the oven as hot as possible (at least 15-20 minutes), turn the flame down as low as you can but still see a decent flame (not minimum flame) The dial isn't very linear, so you really just have to look in the opening and see the flame. It is admittedly difficult to adjust the flame and see the result at the same time (if not impossible). You will get a feel for the gas knob after a couple pizzas. If you keep the flame at max, or turn the dial down thinking you have decreased the flame without actually looking at the flame, you WILL burn your pizza, and fast. Keep the pizza as close to the front as possible. You want it as far from the back as you can get it. You will be turning the pizza, so don't worry about the front not cooking. Keep a close eye on the back of the pizza so as not to let it burn. Don't think you can simply time this and get a good result. You need to watch the pizza like a hawk. A few seconds can be the difference between perfect and charcoal. Expect you will have to turn it after about 90 seconds or so. Turning the pizza: YOU NEED TO TAKE THE PIZZA OUT OF THE OVEN TO TURN IT. So many complaints are about turning the pizza in the tiny little oven. Unless you have some magical pizza peel, I don't see any other way to do this. It is very simple, pull it all the way out, turn it by hand 180deg on your peel, put it back in. I suggest letting the pizza cook as long as possible before pulling it, make sure you peel is clean, dry, and floured. The bottom of your crust will be moist if you haven't let it set up long enough, or has too many wet toppings, or toppings have been on too long, etc. A wet crust stuck to your peel will make for a rough launch back into the oven (although surprisingly not impossible). Don't be afraid to leave the pizza in as long as you can, pulling and turning it several times. The whole process should really take you about three minutes or so, not 90 seconds. Keep in mind the closer to fully cooked your pizza is, the faster the back edge will burn. A raw crust just inserted in the oven can handle the heat a lot better than a nearly finished pizza. When its almost ready, you can go from underdone to on fire in a matter of 5 seconds on that back edge. For the best results, turn your fire back up to max after you pull your finished pizza and give your stone a few minutes to get back up to temp. This isn't absolutely crucial, but helpful. The flame should be at max when preparing your next pizza, turned back down when cooking it, and repeat. A proper session should be done with at least three people, like an assembly line, rolling, topping, and launching, so you don't get overwhelmed doing too much. If you are the oven master, that is all you will have time to do (maybe while drinking a beer). Also, I suggest having a chair in front of the oven so you can be at eye level comfortably, that way it is more comfortable to keep a close eye on the pizza. This may sound like a lot of work, and it is I suppose, but if you are having fun making the pizzas and everyone is freaking out over how cool your new gizmo is and delicious the pizzas are, isn't that what it's all about? I can tell you I had people from every other tailgate within 150' coming to check it out and take pictures. It was fun and delicious and the results were absolutely amazing. I'm sure the fun was part of it, but damn if it wasn't the best pizza I've ever had in my life. A little practice and maybe one or two trial pizzas and you will be an expert in no time! Also, I highly suggest the Ooni carry cover. It is very well designed to be able to carry the oven before it has fully cooled. Open on the bottom (where it stays hot) and allowing the legs to stay extended, so you don't melt whatever you set it on after you are done and don't have time to leave it unattended to fully cool. You can put it back in your car within 15 minutes. Have fun and hope this helps!