Cook it well: the perfect Neapolitan-style pizza

Ooni's Classic Dough and sauce

This whole job is Ooni's own method, from the Koda 12 Essentials Guide. It is a recipe, not a maintenance step.

• Ooni Classic Pizza Dough: 607 g "00" flour (or strong white), 364 g water, 18 g salt, and 20 g fresh yeast (or 9.2 g active dried, or 7 g instant).
• Knead for about 10 minutes until firm and stretchy, then cover and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours.
• Divide into 5 balls of 250 g, one for each 12 in pizza, and let them rise another 20 minutes, until doubled.
• Classic Pizza Sauce: 400 g canned plum tomatoes (Ooni likes San Marzano) crushed into garlic softened in olive oil, with salt, a teaspoon of sugar, pepper and basil, simmered for 20 minutes. It keeps a week in the fridge.
• Use it all at room temperature: cold dough springs back, and dough that is too warm tears.

Heat the stone, stretch and top

Ooni's method (Essentials Guide).

1. Light it and preheat on Max for about 20 minutes.
2. Check the middle of the stone reads at least 400 °C (750 °F).
3. Flour your hands and the worktop. Stretch a room-temperature ball to a thin 12 in base, leaving a rim about 1 cm wide. Keep the toppings light.
4. Dust the peel with flour, slide the base on, and shake the peel before and after topping: it must slide freely.

Launch, turn and finish

Ooni's method (Essentials Guide; Ooni's product page).

1. Slide the pizza off the peel into the centre of the stone.
2. Turn it every 20 to 30 seconds with a small turning peel, so each side spends about the same time facing the flame at the back.
3. If it is colouring too fast or burning, turn the flame down at the knob.
4. Take it out when the rim is puffed and browned. Ooni says a pizza takes about 60 seconds.
5. Let the oven recharge on Max before the next one: Ooni's product page gives 3 minutes 30 seconds.
6. Check the middle of the stone is back to at least 400 °C.