Author Topic: Uuni wood fired pizza oven  (Read 102623 times)

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Offline muebe

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Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #-1 on: October 09, 2013, 11:57:03 PM »
So my new Uuni wood fired pizza oven arrived...



Opening the box reveals the manual and the well packaged oven...



Out of the box. Here is the included Pizza Peel...



Here are the parts that were packaged in the oven cavity...



Here is the oven...







The parts that were located in the oven compartment with the bubble wrap now removed...



Close-up of the battery powered inducer fan(runs on 8 AA batteries)...



Close-up of the pellet cradle...



Close-up of the battery pack and various parts...



Legs and handles...



Came with a bag of pellets. Look at the diameter of them!...



Close-up of the leg where the bolt threads in to attach the legs...





Rubber boot goes on the bottom of the legs...



Bottom of the oven...



Threaded hoe for the legs...



Leg installed. Pretty simple...



Three legs...



Handle installed on hopper cap with a screw...



Handle installed on oven door with a screw...



The fan tunnel attaches and removes pretty easily...



Now take the pellet cradle...



Install it in the fan tunnel. Make sure to leave a small gap toward the fan where the lip on the hopper will go in...



Close up of the lip on the hopper. That lip slips into the gap left on the pellet cradle...



Now load a small handful into the pellet tray through the pellet hopper hole. I decided to use Cookin' Pellets Perfect Mix...



And here is the air flow regulator. It is used to control the airflow to create lower temps and to reduce the flame when the oven door is open...



It installs in front of the fan and you simply slide it through two slot openings in the housing. Then move it in or out to reduce or increase air flow. I had to use a file on the slot openings in the housing to get it to slide properly...



The instructions state to use a lighting fuel to start the pellets. I opted to just use my MAPP gas torch...



After you get the pellets started you then install the hopper tube and wait a few minutes...



After a few minutes hook up the battery pack to the fan...



Then wait about 3 more minutes then add a small amount of pellets slowly so you do not put out the fire. Once the fire is well established load up the hopper halfway and put the hopper cap on...



Here's a look inside...



A few more minutes later...



Looking good...



So I let it warm up for about 20 minutes periodically checking the hopper and give the housing a light tap to make sure the pellets distribute evenly.

Time to make a pizza. I am new at making dough and pizza.... And it shows. So please don't laugh ;)

Ok rolling out the dough...



Started with some Sweet Baby Ray's...



Light layer of cheese and some pulled pork...



And a little more cheese...



So as you can see with the first pizza I had some real issues getting the pizza to slide off the peel :'(



Not any fault of the oven. Simply just my inexperience with making pizza dough and pizzas.

So I tried making a second one. This time smaller and more manageable...

Sauce, cheese, and pepperoni...



Again a difficult time getting off the peel...



The pizza had a great wood fired flavor. The problem I had was with my dough. It had risen quite a bit and it would not slide off the peel.

This oven got really hot inside and the second one cooked in 4 1/2 minutes. I had trouble sliding the pizzas very far in because they were stuck to the peel. I think if I got them further in they would have finished faster and had a bit more char to them.

I think if I can get the proper dough down and figure out how to get the dough to slide off the peel with ease I will be in business 8)

So my impressions so far with the oven are very good although there are some minor problems...

The bottom right corner was bent out a little bit. Probably happened during shipping. I used a small hammer to lightly tap the metal corner back into place and problem solved.

The second issue was the air flow regulator not sliding freely. I had to use a file to open up the slots on the fan tunnel so it would slide easier.

The total amount of pellets used for 30 minutes was a few cups. Not bad for 800F+. That included the warm-up time.

The initial assembly was extremely easy.

The size of the unit is great. It will be easy to take it somewhere else. Very lightweight and portable ;)

The manual covered assembly, firing up, and even had some recipes for dough and pizza. Easy to read and good pictures.

After my initial use I really think I made a great choice. To have wood fired pizzas ready to make in less than 20 minutes on a portable unit like this is outstanding!
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Offline TentHunteR

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« on: October 10, 2013, 12:17:33 AM »
Nice review Mike!

What's the largest pizza you can fit in it?


Quote from: Muebe
The problem I had was with my dough. It had risen quite a bit and it would not slide off the peel...  I think if I can get the proper dough down and figure out how to get the dough to slide off the peel with ease I will be in business

I actually like the way your crust looks and that you got a decent rise with it. I'm not a huge fan of thin crust. Try a little corn meal or Farina (cream of wheat) on the peel and see if it helps it slide off a little easier.
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Offline sparky

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #1 on: October 10, 2013, 12:35:23 AM »
I like it.  i think your pies are great.  more sauce on mine plz.  your turning into my hero.  1st the mad scientist thing and now your a pizza dude.  i think it is so cool your trying different stuff (and letting us try it thru you).  i would like a personal pizza w/ tomato sauce, sausage, black olive and mushroom plz cooked a little extra (i like mine crunchy).  milk on the side.   8)
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Offline fishingbouchman

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #2 on: October 10, 2013, 12:45:41 AM »
They look great!  I will take a margarita please.   I am ok if it doesn't slide off the peal easy.  They taste better if they rant round anyway. 
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Offline pz

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #3 on: October 10, 2013, 01:18:59 AM »
Man, you sure know how to provide a detailed series of photos muebe!  Your first pies look really good, and I bet they tasted great!

As to sticking of the dough to the peel - I prefer a wooden peel to place the pizza, and a metal peel to manipulate/remove it, although you can use the metal peel for everything.  Wood is sometimes easier because the texture of the wood in combination with corn meal or semolina help keep the dough from sticking - to keep it from sticking, shake a liberal amount of corn meal or semolina onto the peel before you place the stretched dough onto the peel.  As you build the pie, shake the peel once in a while to keep the dough broken free - this is especially important when you start building heavy pies.

Then when you are ready to place the pie in the oven, give it a last shake to make sure it is still broken free - by shake, I mean like trying to yank a tablecloth leaving the dishes in place - not as hard of course, but I think you get the meaning.  As you get ready to place the pie in the oven, after it is essentially free floating on the peel due to the ball bearing effect of the corn meal, stick it in a little further than you want (only an inch or two) and then yank the peel from beneath the pie quickly (just like the tablecloth) and the pie will be just where you want it.  Might take a little practice, but you'll get the hang it it in no time.

Then use the metal peel to manipulate the pie (rotation or closer/farther into the oven as you see the need.  That's the fun part for me - tending to the pie is kind of like tending to the fire in a grill, but greatly accelerated  ;D

Offline sliding_billy

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #4 on: October 10, 2013, 04:29:30 AM »
Looks good.  You need to write their product manual.  :D
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Offline RAD

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #5 on: October 10, 2013, 06:49:37 AM »
pz is spot on. When I first started making pies I had the same issue with it sticking, what a pain. Someone told me that corn meal is the ball bearing for making pies and it works great. Other than that your pies look great.
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Offline muebe

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #6 on: October 10, 2013, 07:25:40 AM »
Cliff the largest pizza you can fit in it is a 12 inch.

Thanks for all the nice comments. The pizzas were good just no where near a circle when done due to me having to push them off the peel. I used a little bit of oil on the peel but did not do the corn meal trick.

I also was trying to obtain a little bit of a thinner crust. It did not need to be like a cracker but I ended up with a thicker crust. Not sure if I need to cut back on the yeast for the next batch or if there is a different dough recipe to use entirely. The dough was also over 48 hours old so maybe that made it rise so much.

I did like the flavor of the dough however. There was a slight sweetness from the honey.

Well I am sure going to have fun practicing regardless ;)

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Offline squirtthecat

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #7 on: October 10, 2013, 07:44:20 AM »

Nice pies!

Offline CDN Smoker

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #8 on: October 10, 2013, 07:50:35 AM »
Your pies looked real good from here.

Again Thank You for an awesome review.
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Offline hikerman

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #9 on: October 10, 2013, 07:51:18 AM »
Real good review Mike. I really like reviews like yours from buyers rather than sellers, you see what is really going on. I like your new pizza oven. The others have given good advice, but one more thing to consider, for sticking issue, it is better to build your pizza on a wood peel using cornmeal underneath, then use the metal one to place in oven. If you have just the metal peel, try building pizza on a floured surface, if you have granite countertops great. This is how pizzarias do it, than slide cornmealed metal peel under pie and slide in like pz reccomended. One more thing, if dough is a bit wet, this will be the cause of sticking, a little flour goes a long way. Good luck my friend!  Your first two pies looked very good. Don't worry about roundness, home pizzas should look "imperfect".

Offline Pam Gould

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #10 on: October 10, 2013, 08:08:24 AM »
Sprinkle a lil flour and corn meal on your peel..Wood or metal is fine..I prefer metal. I roll  my pizza doughs sometimes for thinner, so do what ya gotta do. Just enjoy.  Pam  .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ
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Offline Keymaster

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #11 on: October 10, 2013, 08:14:32 AM »
Cool, Did it seem stable with just three legs? Pizza looks great!!

Offline Scallywag

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #12 on: October 10, 2013, 08:45:06 AM »
Great pies... awesome review. I use the cornmeal trick..works good.
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Offline TentHunteR

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Re: Uuni wood fired pizza oven
« Reply #13 on: October 10, 2013, 08:49:46 AM »
Quote from: muebe
The dough was also over 48 hours old so maybe that made it rise so much... I did like the flavor of the dough however. There was a slight sweetness from the honey.

The extra time with the honey could be what did it. Yeast loves to feed on sugar and there would've been plenty.  Again, I really like the thicker crust you got, so I wouldn't mind having that recipe, if you can post it.

I wonder how well a pizza pan would work in that little oven for a Chicago style.





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