Ooni Black Friday sale: Why the Frya pizza oven is a worthy investment
As a pizza lover, I’ve spent years on a quest to make the best possible pizzas at home. I’ve perfected my dough recipe, I’ve mastered stretching the bases, I’ve sourced the best ingredients, experimented with toppings, but nothing ever comes close to the taste of a freshly cooked pizza fresh in a restaurant.
And it all comes down to the oven.
Even with a pizza stone (buy one now if you can’t get a pizza oven) and the oven turned up to the max, you just can’t achieve the smoky goodness of a wood-fired pizza. And, a wood-fired oven in the garden just isn’t achievable for most people unless you’re willing to drop some serious money or have acres of space.
But it all changed a couple of Christmases ago, when my wife bought me the Ooni Fyra Wood-Fired Outdoor Pizza Oven. The pizzas we have made are so good, we didn't even miss not being able to go to restaurants during lockdown. It’s so simple to use, we kicked ourselves for not investing in one sooner.
Now's a good time for to take the plunge, as Ooni's Black Friday sale currently boasts a rare 20% off a huge range of top-rated ovens, taking the popular Frya down to under £200.
Why we rate it
The Ooni Fyra comes ready to use out of the box and takes only the very minimum of setting up. Just fold down the legs, slide in the stone oven base, attach the chimney and fuel hopper and you’re ready to cook.
It’s also incredibly easy to use, compact, easy to transport, and easy to clean. Incredibly obvious but important safety notice we have to mention: this is for outdoor use only.
How it works
The Ooni Fyra uses 100% hardwood pellets for fuel. They sell a 3kg bag for £22, but you don’t need a lot for each pizza-cooking session, and one bag will last you a long time.
You simply fill the fuel loader at the back with pellets, pop on a firelighter (also sold separately), light it, and then load it back into the oven.
Once that has set fully alight, you fill up the hopper at the back with pellets, and then let the oven get up to temperature. It only takes 20-30 minutes to get to 400c, your desired cooking temperature. (You’ll want to invest in a digital thermometer too).
£199.20 £249 at Ooni £199.20 £249 at John Lewis £199.20 £249 at Lakeland
Gravity will keep the fire fuelled with pellets, and you may want to top it up occasionally depending on how many pizzas you want to make.
Then, just prepare a 12” pizza base, add your sauce and toppings, and sling it into the oven using a pizza peel (again, invest in a good one, Ooni has a range, but there are more affordable options out there too).
Your pizza will cook in 60 seconds, and you’ll want to turn it round halfway through to avoid burnt crusts, but when it comes out it’s ready to eat.
You can use the oven to cook all manner of things, and it comes with a small recipe book to get you started with bases, tomato sauces and toppings, but there are plenty of good cook books out there too for wood fired ovens.
Buy it: Ooni Fyra Wood-Fired Outdoor Pizza Oven | £199.20 (Was £249) from Ooni
We've even managed to find a Ooni deal, its Ooni Fyra 12 Essentials Bundle, which has every you'll need is currently discounted from £388 to £311.
