Ohh how long I have been flirting with an outdoor pizza oven, and now I finally have one! Namely the Ooni Koda 16* gas pizza oven! Ooni is, according to its own statement, “the world’s number 1 among the outdoor pizza ovens”.

What is the Ooni Koda 16 capable of? How much does the Ooni Koda 16 cost? And how do the pizzas come out? I would like to answer all these questions in this article!

Features, dimensions and weight

The Ooni Koda 16 comes with a baking stone, which you can also remove. The gas connection is also directly connected with it. In addition, a lighting aid is also included, which looks like a long metal rod with an eyelet at the end. This lighting aid is included in case lighting the oven with the gas burner doesn’t work out for some reason.

The Ooni Koda 16 makes a very robust impression. The surface of the Ooni Koda 16 is made of powder-coated carbon steel. The Ooni Koda 16 stands securely and firmly on its three legs (two in the front, one in the back). The legs can also be folded for transport, for example.

The baking space of the Ooni Koda 16 is 42 cm wide, 11.5 cm high and 42.5 cm deep. When the legs of the Ooni Koda 16 are folded out, it is 52 cm wide, 37 cm high and 63 cm deep. You can also see the details in the pictures below. Due to its sturdy construction and including the pizza stone, the Ooni Koda 16 weighs about 18 kilos. That’s not really light, but still not too heavy to transport with your hands.

Performance

The Ooni Koda 16 is gas-powered, so you need a propane gas cartridge to light the stove. Such a propane gas cartridge can be purchased e.g. in hardware stores and is usually available as a 5 kilo or 11 kilo variant. The Ooni Koda 16 can reach temperatures of up to 500 degrees to bake an authentic Neapolitan pizza. The preheating time for the Ooni Koda 16 to get to 500 degrees is about 30 minutes.

Compared to its “smaller brother”, the Ooni Koda 12, the Ooni Koda 16 not only has a flame source in the back, but also on the left side. This L-shaped gas burner means that, in theory, you only need to turn the pizza once instead of three times. I write theoretically because in reality I like to turn the pizza more than once to achieve even browning.

Unfortunately, the Ooni Koda 16 does not have a temperature display, which means that you have to find the right temperature of the oven for yourself with time and experience. But that works out relatively quickly in my experience!

Baking results

You’re probably wondering now: and how do the pizzas come out of the Ooni Koda 16? I have of course already tested it and I can tell you in advance: the pizzas come out really great and it’s really fun to bake pizza in the Ooni Koda 16!

I preheated the Ooni Koda 16 on the highest temperature for 30 minutes as per instructions. Since I prefer my pizzas a little crispier, I turned the control down again after the 30 minutes of preheating. Of course, the closer to the flame, the hotter it is. That’s why I recommend, at least in the beginning, to get to know the oven better, to place the pizza further away from the flame, i.e. at the front right, so that the edge of the pizza doesn’t burn too quickly and the pizza can bake more evenly.

About the dough: I used my recipe for Neapolitan pizza with 100% poolish. Total baking time was probably about 2 minutes, but I do not take it so exactly, because I prefer to go by eye.

These are the baking results:

Do you want to see the Ooni Koda 16 in action? In the following video you can see how easy it is to make a Neapolitan pizza in the Ooni Koda 16.

Price

The Ooni Koda 16 currently costs 599 euros (as of 05.02.2022). By the way, you can find more information about the Ooni products on the Ooni homepage.

Summary

The Ooni Koda 16 outdoor pizza oven has everything you need to bake a Neapolitan pizza! After connecting the Ooni Koda 16 to the gas cartridge, it manages to heat up to over 400 degrees within 30 minutes, which is the basic requirement for baking a Neapolitan pizza. It’s also incredibly fun to bake the pizzas with flames, turning them in the Ooni Koda 16 and watching the pizza gradually cook. In addition, the Ooni Koda 16 with its 18 kilos is easily transportable to fire it up at the next garden party.

Do you want to learn more? Follow this link for more information: Ooni Koda 16*.

Thanks for reading! I hope this Ooni Koda 16 review was valuable to you. If you have any unanswered questions, feel free to let me know in the comments. I’d appreciate it if you could share this article with your friends.

Julia