Ooni Koda 12 Review

The Ooni Koda 12 is the oven that sets the standard for modern, portable pizza ovens. The cold-rolled carbon steel frame provides ample insulation for quick cook times, yet at just over 20 pounds, it is lightweight enough to travel. A single 13,648 BTU burner located at the back of the oven directs flames directly up and over the 13" pizza stone to conveniently crank out Neapolitan-style pizzas within a matter of just a few minutes.

Performance Comparison

Cooking Performance

Within moments of igniting the gas-powered Koda, it is easy to understand why this oven is a fan favorite. Allowing for 15 minutes of preheat time brings the pizza stone up to an incredible 755°F — right on par with the manufacturer's recommended “optimal” temperature of 752°F (400°C.) At these kinds of temperatures, it is possible to pull out Neapolitan-style pizzas in as little as 90 seconds, producing a perfectly crisped crust that you can't wait to cut into.

However, our testing revealed that decreasing the output of the burners and thus increasing your bake times to around three minutes will consistently produce a better pizza, with much less of a chance of the pie transforming into an inedible charcoal brick.

When making rounds of pizzas in succession, average stone temperatures hover a bit lower, around 710°F. However, this is still hot enough to transform thinly rolled dough into beautifully browned, puffy crusts with impressive consistency.

The trick with the Koda is learning to work with the oven to hit that harmonious rhythm where the bottom of the crust cooks through at the exact moment the upper crust begins to develop a golden tinge. It may sound easy on paper, but this is precisely the skill that Pizzaiuolo spend years working to develop.

Output Power

We measured the average internal temperature of this oven at 778°F, but this only considers each of the four walls that make the oven chamber. The operating temperature of the Koda is likely higher than we were able to capture — our infrared thermometer tops out at 800°F. But whatever the exact internal temperature, you can be sure that it is hot. These extremely high temperatures earned the Koda higher score in this metric.

The efficiency and efficacy of this oven design come into focus when you realize that all the incredible heat is being generated by a single gas burner located at the back of the oven. And while other ovens tend to employ all three forms of heat transfer to cook a pizza evenly, the Koda seems to focus almost entirely on radiative heat transfer.

A highly reflective stainless-steel interior combined with a low-profile oven chamber helps cook a pizza from the top three sides evenly. This method is so effective that it is often necessary to turn down the heat to a medium setting to avoid over-charring the fresh toppings. A similar approach is used for cooking the crust base simultaneously.

The pizza stone is made from cordierite, a highly heat-resistant material that allows for all of the oven's heat to be transferred directly into cooking the crust. Considering internal oven and pizza stone temperatures alongside our anecdotal evidence from cooking, we can confidently confirm that the Koda is one of the most powerful pizza ovens on the market.

Control

When we first started, the sheer output power of the Koda made it challenging to cook well. But like any good chef, to produce a consistent quality product, one must be in tune with the tools at hand; certainly, this is true of a pizza oven.

It is essential to recognize that you will likely have to work through a steep learning curve while operating this particular oven before you can expect to churn out the brushed golden crusts of a perfect Neapolitan-style pizza. But to the benefit of this oven — and to the benefit of your confidence as a cook — the gas burner can easily be managed to either increase or decrease baking times, resulting in a more flexible timeline to turn your homemade dough into a delicious pie.

There is a significant difference between the lowest and highest output settings, which is easily adjusted by the turn of a dial. Unlike other highly-insulated ovens, based on the fact that the Koda cooks primarily with radiative heat, this also means that if you turn the burner down, the internal temperature will quickly follow suit.

Ease of Use

Despite a small time commitment to learn how to harmonize internal and pizza stone temperatures to achieve pizza perfection — an expected learning curve for practically all pizza ovens — the Koda is remarkably easy to use. Even when firing this oven up in the middle of winter, we still experienced the same performance and heat output when cooking outside in sub-freezing temperatures.

Although this is predominantly a pizza oven, its versatility arises from its ability to take the show on the road. Compared to other pizza ovens we tested, we would qualify the compact, 20-pound Ooni Koda as a portable pizza oven. Similar to a turtle returning to its shell, simply fold the legs inward and tuck the slender oven away when it comes time to pack up.

Setup could not be more effortless; you can begin making pizzas within minutes of pulling this oven out of the box. Cleanup is equally painless and simply uses the high-heat output of the oven to burn off any mess on the pizza stone.

Should You Buy the Ooni Koda 12?

It is not technically the first portable pizza oven to hit the market, but the Ooni Koda 12 advances that legacy. As a compact powerhouse capable of producing beautiful, Neapolitan-style pizzas in a matter of minutes, you can rest assured knowing that in this case, the original is still one of the best pizza ovens out there. We recommend it to anyone who wants to make top-notch fresh pizzas on the go, as long as you are not afraid to pay extra for the convenience and quality.

What Other Pizza Ovens Should You Consider?

Like all quality products, especially those that have somewhat of a flagship design, it is not surprising that the Ooni Koda carries a price tag worthy of its performance. If the high cost causes you to hesitate, the BakerStone Original may be a good alternative. Although this oven is not as portable as the Koda, it is a bit more affordable and scored slightly higher in our testing. If you'd prefer a multi-fuel option from Ooni, check out the Ooni Karu 12G.