Pros
- Ample size to cook larger pizzas
- Can cook other things with proper accessories/cookware
- Easy to set up and use
- Reaches impressive max heats with even heat distribution
- High heat burns off residue for self-cleaning
Cons
- You need a sturdy stainless-steel surface for it
- Table, cover are expensive but needed add-ons
- Weather might make it challenging to get up to max heat
- App consistently disconnects
Summertime in Canada means outdoor cooking season. A “true” Canadian will, of course, barbecue all year ‘round, snow boots, parka, and all. But there’s no question that the summer and fall months are prime time for cooking up burgers, hot dogs, ribs, brisket, and more outside. There’s a growing trend towards homemade pizza as well, and it’s made best in a dedicated pizza oven. Why spend a fortune on delivery, after all, with exorbitant add-ons charges for extra toppings? Why settle for frozen pies? Ooni is one of the most popular brands for outdoor pizza ovens, and the company recently launched two new models, including the mammoth Ooni Koda 2 Pro – 2nd Generation. I was excited to take this outdoor appliance for a spin, as was my entire family.
About the Ooni Koda 2 Pro – 2nd Generation
The Ooni Koda 2 Pro is an 18-inch gas-powered outdoor pizza oven. Its patent-pending G2 Gas Technology includes a tapered flame gas burner system that can deliver improved heat distribution. This eliminates hot and cold spots and heats the stone faster. The temperature range is 320°F up to a blazing 950°F that can yield a fully cooked pizza in 90 seconds.
The stone is 21 inches in size at the front and 18 inches at the rear, so it can fit an extra-large homemade pizza. While it’s primarily designed for pizza, you can use the Ooni Koda 2 Pro to cook all types of dishes, from steak to chicken, bacon to veggies, and more. To do so, you’ll need a compatible cast iron or sheet pan (Ooni offers its own branded options). When cooking other items, use the real-time ambient temperature and food probe. Everything can be monitored from the companion app, including the Bluetooth-enabled Ooni Connect Digital Temperature Hub.
You can also monitor temperature from the front-mounted display, which shows real-time ambient temperature and food probe readings.
The unit uses pyrolytic cleaning so it’s simple to clean. In the box, you’ll get the unit itself, which is made from powder-coated carbon steel with an aluminum base, cardierite stone, and thermoplastic rubber feet. There are also two stones, a regulator and hose, and the Ooni Connect Digital Temperature Hub. It weighs 66 lbs. and measures 26.85 x 25.67 x 15.47 inches.
The Ooni Koda 2 Pro sells for $1,110 in Canada.
Ooni Koda 2 Pro Set Up and Necessary Accessories
Unboxing and set-up was simple, completed within about a half hour. One major thing you need to consider is where to place it. If you have composite or plastic outdoor furniture, it’s not safe to place this atop it. You need a sturdy stainless steel or hardwood surface to ensure safety. Remember, this unit gets really hot.
Ooni sells its own tables, which are perfectly fitted to the ovens, though they’re rather expensive. You can find replicas for less. If you go this route, make sure to pay attention to surface size to ensure it can accommodate the unit as well as the weight capacity and rigidity, and that it’s rated for use outdoor. Also be mindful of ratings and reviews when buying an off-brand table. I set mine up on the largest Ooni-branded table, which is perfectly sized for this oven with bottom racks for storing things like your propane tank and other outdoor cooking accessories. I’d also recommend buying the cover to protect the unit from rain, snow, and other elements. As a workaround for our first cooks, we placed it atop a fire table. This is a safe surface for it, but far too low for comfortable handling. I’d suggest finding something at eye level, especially if you plan to be making a lot of pies.
You’ll also need a pizza peel (again, Ooni offers its own branded option, which I used). Other essential accessories for making pizza at home include a serving/cutting board and pizza cutter. If you want to make other dishes, consider a cast iron pan and sheet. Ooni offers a convenient cast iron pan with a removable handle, ideal when dealing with the extreme temperatures and open surface, especially considering that cast iron is heavy. (Note: for this review, I did not have additional accessories and stuck to making only pizzas in the oven. However, the oven should work just as well for cooking other dishes at lower temperatures as a standard indoor oven.)
Once you have the oven on an approved surface, use the hose to connect to a propane gas tank. Alternatively, you can connect the unit to an available gas line. Professional installation is recommended if you go that route. Turn it on and run the oven all the way up to the highest temperature. Let it sit for half an hour, then turn it off, cool, and wipe it down before cooking your first pizza. So, factor in this time if you’re hoping to get cooking right away.
After this stage, it’s ready to go! Turn the unit on the from the knob at the side and crank it to the desired temperature, then wait. You can connect the app and use it to keep on top of the temperature as it rises so you know when you can slide that first pie inside.
Ooni Koda 2 Pro Review
The first thing I noticed with the Ooni Koda 2 Pro pizza oven is that the temperature inside is impacted easily by weather outside. It was a warm and sunny yet breezy day the first evening we decided to try it out. This led to the temperature often rising then dropping by a few degrees, never actually reaching 950°F. In fact, most of the time, we cooked the pizza at anywhere from 750°F to 850°F because we got tired of waiting. With that said, the pizzas still cooked to perfection in under two minutes. Nonetheless, consider placement, keeping it sheltered from wind and factor in extra time for heating if you decide to use it on cooler days or nights, or when there’s a heavier breeze.
Making/Prepping the Pizzas
You can make your own dough or opt for store-bought. Ooni partnered with Libretto to make co-branded frozen pizza dough, and I used that versus making my own homemade dough. (For those in the Greater Toronto Area, you should be able to find it at Rabba Fine Foods locations). The crust was delicious, a great way to simplify the process when you don’t have time to make and proof your own dough. Take the balls out of the freezer at least six hours in advance of cooking. Cover them with a damp cloth and let them defrost at room temperature. Depending on the temperature in your home, they can defrost in half that time.
Roll the dough (do this by hand versus using a rolling pin, placing your knuckles underneath to continuously stretch it). Add a bit of flour to prevent sticking and a dusting of flour, semolina, or even cornmeal to the pizza peel, then place the stretched dough on top. Add your toppings, being mindful not to overload the pizza so it doesn’t come apart or isn’t difficult to slide into the oven. Remember, the oven is hot with a capital “H,” so you aren’t going to be able to stick your finger inside to move it around.
Cooking the Pizza
Slide the pizza off the peel (this is tougher to do than it looks so don’t get discouraged if it takes you some time to get the technique right) and turn it every 20 seconds or so as it cooks. You’ll see the crust browning and the cheese bubbling.
If you see those signature black char marks on the crust, you’re doing it right. This is how authentic pizza should look. Remove the pizza immediately once done (usually about 90 seconds), place it on a cutting board, slice, and serve.
I made tons of pizzas over the course of my review period with all types of toppings. (Recommendation: buy cut and char pepperoni slices, which curl up when cooked to give your pizza an authentic look). If you’re using bacon, only partially cook it prior to topping your pizza as it will cook quickly in the oven. For toppings like basil, add that at the end after the pizza is cooked. Add a bit of parmesan with the mozzarella and finish it off with a sprinkle of olive oil once it comes out of the oven.
Helpful Tips
I learned a few things throughout the process. First, it’s very easy to overcook your pizza, especially if you second-guess yourself and the time it will take to cook. If you have ever used a broil setting on the oven, you know that it takes mere seconds for cheese on garlic bread or lasagna to go from bubbling with delicious brown spots to black and burnt. If you turn the pizza slightly every 20 seconds, by the time you do a full revolution for 90 seconds, the pizza will be done.
While you need to add enough flour to the peel to prevent sticking, make sure not to add too much. I made this mistake after we let one raw pizza sit on the peel too long (waiting for the oven to get to the desired temperature, which took longer than we thought) and it began to stick. Adding more flour prevented the issue, but this resulted in excess flour burning on the pizza stone, leaving black marks. This also resulted in the dough of the subsequent pizzas having a bitter aftertaste. Use enough flour to prevent sticking but don’t overdo it. And don’t prep your pizza too early before the oven has sufficiently heated.
What I also love, however, relating to this, is that the oven cleans itself through pyrolytic cleaning, i.e. high heat that burns off food residue and grease, then turns it into ash you can wipe off. So the burned flour I just mentioned? That was easily wiped away by the next cooking evening.
The Ooni App is an Afterthought, But Useful
It’s worth noting that while the app is a nice-to-have, it’s clearly an afterthought. You can’t control the temperature, only monitor it. But you can also see if the temperature is rising or dropping, food probe data (when connected), and set alerts for when it reaches a desired temperature. The oven uses Bluetooth, but the app constantly drops the connection if you go inside the house, for example (the range is not far at all). So, it defeats the purpose of using it in the first place. However, you can still relax on the outdoor furniture and keep an eye on the temperature without having to constantly get up to check.
The app does have some additional features I love, including a wide selection of recipe ideas for pizza, different styles of pizza dough, and more. In fact, we used one for S’mores pizza to create a simple and indulgent dessert.
The most useful recipes, however, are for other dishes you can make in the oven if you’re so inclined, like umami ribeye steaks with honey butter asparagus and zucchini fritters. Once you get familiar with the oven, you’ll be confident enough to get creative and enjoy this extra cooking surface for everything from mains to side dishes.
Should You Buy the Ooni Koda 2 Pro Pizza Oven?
The Ooni Koda 2 Pro is admittedly on the more expensive end of the pricing scale. But if you plan to make a lot of pizzas for a large family or entertaining, it’s worth it. It’s compact yet powerful, so it won’t take up too much space in the backyard. Just factor in the added cost (and space) for a stainless-steel table that’s large enough to serve as its home base. I’d recommend getting the Ooni-branded one, which has shelves for storing everything you need underneath, including the propane tank. Don’t forget the protective cover and pizza peel, too.
If you want a similar experience with something smaller, consider the Ooni Koda 2. It has a smaller 14-inch cooking area, which is 20% larger than the Ooni Koda 12, as well as a 50% thicker pizza stone compared to that model, better heat retention, and reduced reheat times between back-to-back cooks (if you’re making multiple personal pizzas for your kids and their friends, for example). It’s much cheaper at $649 and is perfect for making smaller-sized pizzas.
For pizza lovers, while the cost of this pizza oven might sound overwhelming, you can’t put a price on fresh ingredients and homemade. Consider how much you’d be saving on delivery (if you order in pizza every Friday night for about $20-$30, you’re already spending over $1,000 a year) and even pre-made frozen pies that might not have all the toppings everyone likes, nor the same fresh taste. Set aside a Sunday to cook dozens of pizzas, then wrap and place them in the freezer for reheating. Think mini pizzas for kids’ lunches or quick dinners when you’re rushing out to your kids’ hockey or baseball games shortly after school and have minimal time for dinner. Your kids will have the coolest pizza and sleepover parties, and you can add a unique twist to the neighbourhood or family barbecues by creating personal pizza making stations instead of the usual burgers, hot dogs, and condiments.
I’ll be getting more adventurous and trying cast iron dishes. But even if you never plan to use it for anything but pizza, you’ll be pleased with the results. Be prepared for trial and error. You might end up with some odd-shaped pizzas that didn’t quite slide in properly. Maybe you’ll run into ones with a crust that burnt to a char because you underestimated how quickly it can cook. But after a few tries, you’ll be a pizza-making pro.
Get the Ooni Koda 2 Pro for $1,100 in Canada.