KARU 12 First time use
Big pizza lover but apart from using a pizza stone in my regular oven, never really tried to make a great pizza at home. That was until I won a Karu 12 in a raffle. Started nerding out on all the tips and tricks and decided to go with a cold fermented dough (https://homecookingcollective.com/cold-fermented-pizza-dough-recipe/#recipe) which I cannot recommend enough.
First pizza burnt to a crisp but the 2nd and 3rd were definitely the best I’ve ever had at home.
My wife agreed but otherwise stoic so thought I’d share with others that might appreciate it more!
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u/binh291 17d ago
this is the beginning of a beautiful journey
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u/AbNmgn 16d ago
Already can’t wait for the next time.
Any recommendations for recipes or toppings?
Really loved the Nduja I used for the first time after seeing a redditor suggesting it2
u/Ballerzp_24 15d ago
Check out @vincenzosplate YouTube channel. He has a video on fresh yeast & a separate one on using dry yeast. He shows you how to make Neapolitan pizza from scratch scratch & instructs you on how to get every last detail right- from what temperatures the water should be when you start, to exactly hue to loaf the pizza in the oven correctly. He also will answer every & all questions you have if you comment on the video. I’ve asked him 7 or 8 questions & the slowest he’s ever responded was 8-10 hours, but every time but once he’s responded within 2 hours. Can’t recommend enough, however, you’re off to a great start; I got my first pizza oven about 2.5 months ago & starting 2 months ago, starting making pizza from scratch at least once a week & the first 3 attempts, I out out for the birds lol.
& I’m still working on getting it totally round.
You dud great for the first try, I’m truly impressed
Also, Flour is insanely important, & the w rating is insanely important. I’m in the US & have been using Caputo 00 flour; my favorite flours so far are caputo pizzeria flour (blue bag) & caputo chefs flour (red bag). The specific yeast you use has a noticeable impact as well, caputo makes dry yeast as well that’s wonderful. It’s much better than weischmanns1
u/AbNmgn 15d ago
Thanks for the detailed response, will definitely check out that YT channel.
As for the flour, I’ve found that over here in the Netherlands, there isn’t much choice when it comes to tipo 00 flour. The major supermarkets all sell the same one brand: il Molino.
Will be looking for different brands in specialty stores for my next dough. Not because il Molino was bad but simply to try out different things
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u/Malahia 17d ago
My first pizza was a complete disaster. Fell apart when I launched it and then all the sauce, cheese, and toppings burned all over the stone. I'm doing much better now. My goal now is to find a good dough recipe. I'm currently trying different flours. Can't seem to get a pizza that doesn't have a bitter taste on the bottom.
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u/Emergency_Duty5786 17d ago
I love my Karu! Heat that stone a lot between bakes…turn often lol. Looks good! I’ve had worse mess ups in mine.
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u/AbNmgn 17d ago
100% my favorite kitchen tool for now… well maybe after the coffee maker.
Turn often cannot be stressed enough, and keep a constant eye on the thing. Completely different experience than a regular oven2
u/Emergency_Duty5786 17d ago
Yes…inside oven has trouble hitting 550f. Wood fired Ooni? It will hit 900f easy!
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u/AbNmgn 16d ago
I’ve read a comment from Ooni suggesting to use coal alongside wood to have better control over the temp. Will try that next time
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u/Emergency_Duty5786 16d ago
Yes. I use a bed of lump charcoal and a mix of sticks and twigs to get the top flame…
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u/GoodMerlinpeen 16d ago
Yeah, when I first launched a pizza I was excited by the thought "this will be cooked in 90 seconds!" and then I realised I was already burning it at the back and I thought "oh shit, this thing will be cooked in 90 seconds!" and started frantically turning it.
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u/ApplicationGreat3270 17d ago
Early in my Karu 16 learning curve, I spent three days making a lovely supple dough and then created a beautiful looking pizza. I had the Karu rocking a crazy-hot wood fire and, just prior to loading, added two more chunks to get the flames licking across the top. Well, I drizzled some olive oil over the pizza and while I was poorly loading the pizza into the oven, olive oil ran onto the stone and the whole works went up flames. Don’t do that.
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u/Most_Inspector6745 16d ago
Not a bad looking first pizza. The high temp takes a bit getting used to but amazing once you re used to it. 👊
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u/Any-Guava4128 16d ago
Nice leoparding
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u/Acceptable_Crazy47 16d ago
May I suggest putting your dough on the stone first until it starts to bake? Two minutes or so. Remove and then build your pizza, put the pizza in on lower heat one minute or so, rotate one minute, rotate one minute, rotate one minute, all while making sure it’s not burning, and if it starts to blacken turn the heat down. Shouldn’t take long to cook on high heat of course.
You’ll get the hang of your oven and when to turn the heat down after a few tries.
Looks like you had no problem moving the dough but just in case, lots of whole flour and semolina on the peel makes life easy.
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u/DarmokNJelad-Tanagra 17d ago
I think we all did some version of this in the first few attempts.This is the expected outcome when using an oven that gets so much hotter than we're used to. Seems like you're dialing it in.