Ooni Koda 12: A Gas-Powered Outdoor Pizza Oven Review

Front view of Ooni Koda 12

Side view of Ooni Koda 12

Rear view of Ooni Koda 12

Here’s OUR TAKE on Ooni Koda 12!

Here’s what I’ll be covering in this article:

Made up of carbon steel, this oven gives a modern and dashing look when brought into action. Ooni’s ovens never disappoint in  build quality and they did exactly here what was expected from them. Premium and classy carbon finishing with foldable legs. Let me introduce you to its various features one by one!

1.Cordierite stone baking board to retain maximum heat.

2. Insulated shell that ensures heat retention to the maximum capacity so you can enjoy your pizza in just 60 seconds.

3. Serial number of the product.

4. Foldable legs making it highly portable.

5. Gas control knob to adjust the intensity of flame.

6. Peep  hole to see the flame.

7. Gas terminal to attach gas source.

Portability and Durability

As an outdoor pizza oven, it is essential for the Ooni Koda 12 to be portable and quick to set up – and it is. It has three legs that can be folded to fit snugly inside your car or your truck.

Being 13 x 3.5 “ in dimensions, the oven gate can accommodate a 10-inch pan easily. The gate is wide enough to fit a 12 “ pizza without any problems. Any more than that, and you might start facing minor inconveniences.

If you’re planning to use this in a place where it rains or snows frequently, you’re going to need some sort of protection for it. Sure, you can get by with a few experiences, but if you’re going to use it in such places consistently, I would suggest you cover it somehow.

Ooni sells a cover separately. You can get it for $30 instead of the usual $39 if you buy it as a package. You can check the Ooni Koda 12 Carry Cover.

The Koda 12 Carry Cover is a must for anyone who owns this oven. This carry bag even makes it more easier to carry this oven, thus adding to its portability. It is specially designed for Ooni koda 12 taking into account the safety and protection of the product from every possible aspect. Double straps, cushioned carry handle, and aluminum buckles add to its premium looks. You can buy this from Ooni’s official site.

Dimensions of Ooni Koda 12

The Unboxed dimensions of Ooni koda 12 are: 24.4 x 15.5 x 11.7″ (62 x 39 x 29cm) The boxed dimensions of Ooni koda 12 are : 18.1 x 11.1 x 28.3″ (46 x 28 x 72cm)

Insulation

Because of the materials that it has been manufactured from, it’s comfortable to touch on the outside. Despite getting hot up to around 500 degrees Celsius, the heat doesn’t get to the outside.

In fact, it’s almost like it’s cold to the touch. The main reason for that it uses a carbon steel shell. This enables it to only keep the heat inside, but also to be lightweight and thin.

Gas as the Fuel

This is a gas-powered oven. It requires a connection with a gas pipeline to work. Since you’re going to be using it outside, the best option would be to use a cylinder.

Because of the fact that this is a gas-powered oven, you can also use it indoors. Unlike ovens that use wood fire, this oven can be used indoors. Eye irritation and a pungent smell, which are usually caused by wood fire, won’t be a problem with this.

However, you won’t get the same wood-cooked flavour with this. With gas, you’ll just get the normal taste – nothing phenomenal or unique.

There is a drawback, though. Unlike the Ooni Koda 16, you cannot use natural gas to cook pizzas. Only propane cylinders can be connected. That is something that Ooni should have added, but for some reason, they did not.

Temperatures and Efficiency

Since it’s a gas-powered oven, it doesn’t take long to heat up. Assuming that the gas pressure is decent (if connected directly via a gas pipeline), it takes around 15 minutes to pre-heat it to 400 degrees Celsius.

The outside temperature doesn’t influence the heating time significantly. In fact, the effect is so nominal that you won’t feel the difference unless you pick up an IR thermometer and start measuring the temperature.

At this temperature, you can cook a 12” pizza in under 60 seconds. That goes to show the efficiency of this oven.

However, I would not suggest you do so. You can easily control the temperature and, consequently, the cooking time with a simple knob that controls the amount of gas that passes through the pipe.

I would suggest you adjust the temperature so that your pizzas get cooked in around a minute and a half. This is my suggestion if you want a normal pizza. If you want to make the crust crispy or brown or anything else, you’re going to have to figure out the perfect time and temperature for yourself.

As a general rule of thumb, comparatively low temperatures are better for making “normal” pizzas. For making brown and crusty pizzas, go for high temperatures and lesser time.

Procedure

Cooking stone-based pizzas isn’t difficult with ovens like this. Just pre-heat the oven, place the pizza on the deck inside it and wait for it to be done. Just take it out when it’s done, and boom.

When to take the pizza out is something that you’ll learn with the passage of time. That is the real expertise.

1. Pre-heat the oven
2. Place the stoned pizza inside the oven
3. Flip when necessary
4. Take it out

Easy to Use, Hard to Master

Yes, the Ooni Koda 16 is extremely easy to start and set up. However, cooking pizzas of your choice, to the degree of perfection you want, is going to be no easy feat.

If this is going to be your first time using an outdoor pizza, you might have a hard time cooking the perfect pizza that you want.

Assembly and Cooking

There is almost no assembly required with Ooni koda 12. Just unfold its legs and insert the baking board. The next step is attaching the gas source. Bingo! you are good to go.

Watch the video below to learn how to setup and light Ooni koda 12.

Essential Tools for Cooking

When cooking with Ooni Koda 12, you might also need some essential tools to help you cook delicious food. Not to forget, you can not only cook pizza with this oven but also fish and meat etc.

Peel

For flipping and taking out the pizza, you’re going to need a peel. You can’t do it with your hands. Even though the temperature on the outside is cool, it isn’t inside the oven.

You can get it from here for $39.99.

Infrared Thermometer

To get accurate readings of temperature inside the oven, this Ooni’s infrared thermometer does the job smartly. Just aim its laser at the middle of the baking board to get the reading. It helps to cook delicious pizzas by giving the exact temperature readings of oven.

You can get it by clicking here from Ooni’s official site at $39.99.

Cast Iron Sizzler Pan

The cast iron sizzler pan becomes very useful when cooking fish, meat and vegetables. High quality build material ensures that it withstands high temperatures inside the oven.

You can get it from Ooni’s official site at $34.99 by clicking here.

Pizza Sizes

The sizes of pizza that can be cooked inside the Ooni Koda 12 might be a dealbreaker for some people. The ideal pizza size to cook in this is 12 inches. Yes, that is where the number “12” in its name came from.

12” is the ideal size. You can definitely go lower, but you can only go around half an inch (or maybe an inch as well?) higher.

If you want to make large pizzas, you could split the pizza into four pieces and cook them separately. After all, it takes under 2 minutes to cook a 12” pizza. The smaller the pizza, the shorter it’ll take to cook it.

So, you can, theoretically speaking, cook even an 18” pizza with this baddie.

3 Years Guarantee

If you buy it from Ooni’s official site, you’ll get a three-year guarantee. So, if you ever face problems with this, you don’t have to worry about spending money and wasting your time to get it fixed.

The customer support at Ooni is just brilliant. Contact them if you’re having issues with your set. If they cannot get it resolved on the phone, you can claim your three-year warranty

Pricing and Interest-free Installments

The Ooni Koda 12 costs $399 at Ooni’s official site. You get a three-year guarantee if you buy from the official site.

The site also has an option for monthly installments. You can opt for paying in monthly installments over a period of four months at no interest.  You read the “no interest” part correctly.

Price to Performance Ratio

This is probably the most important factor that people consider when buying something. The Ooni Koda 12 starts at $399. You can buy an additional pizza peel for $30, and a cover for it (that, too, for $30).

Assuming you buy both of these accessories, this complete outdoor pizza oven set will cost you $459. If you compare it to its competitors, you will find its price to be slightly more than those of its competitors.

However, take into account the efficiency and the lifespan, and the game changes. Unlike other outdoor pizza ovens, the Ooni Koda 12 is built to last; you can squeeze a lot of time from this.

Since it’s quite effective and lasts a long time, I would give it a 9.5/10 on the price to performance ratio.

Worth It?

I would say that this is definitely worth the money. Considering the portability and the value that it brings, this is something you should definitely buy. Coming at 9.25 kg, this is not that hard to carry.

The effectiveness, ease-of-use, durability and functionality make it worth the money. Since it uses gas to cook the pizzas, you can use it indoors without having to worry about the smoke and other things.

Other than using it as an outdoor pizza oven, you can also use it inside your house.

Customer support is also responsive and effective at solving problems. So, whenever you face problems, just contact them, and you’ll be good to go.

Do you have an Ooni Koda 12? Let me know the things that you love (and hate) about it.

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