It’s National Cheese Pizza Day. So make a cheese pizza. It’s not hard. But make sure to do it in style.
Ooni should be your go-to for making custom pizzas. If you don’t have one yet, put one on your Christmas list. These things are awesome.
For those lucky enough to have one, here is a great cheese pizza recipe you can use to celebrate.
Why Use the Ooni Karu 16?
The Ooni Karu 16 is built to make large pizzas outdoors using wood, charcoal or gas with the separately sold Karu 16 Gas Burner. It can reach 950°F in as little as 15 minutes and has enough room for pizzas up to 16 inches.
That high heat gives you a crisp bottom, melted cheese and a crust that cooks in about 60–90 seconds. Basically, it does everything your normal kitchen oven wishes it could do.
Ingredients
This recipe makes one 14- to 16-inch cheese pizza.
- 1 pound pizza dough, brought to room temperature
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- 8 ounces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, shredded
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- Flour or semolina for stretching and launching
- A small amount of olive oil, optional
Store-bought dough and sauce are completely fine. It is National Cheese Pizza Day, not a cooking competition.
How to Make It
1. Heat the Karu 16
Set up the oven outdoors on a stable, heat-resistant surface. Light your wood or charcoal, or connect the compatible gas burner according to Ooni’s instructions.
Allow the oven to heat for approximately 15–20 minutes. Use an infrared thermometer to check the middle of the stone. Aim for roughly 850–950°F before launching the pizza. The built-in thermometer measures the oven’s ambient temperature, while an infrared thermometer tells you how hot the stone actually is.
2. Stretch the Dough
Lightly dust your work surface with flour or semolina. Press the dough outward from the center, leaving a thicker edge for the crust.
Stretch it to approximately 14–16 inches and place it on a lightly dusted pizza peel. Do not worry if it is not a perfect circle. It will still taste like pizza.
3. Add the Sauce and Cheese
Spread the sauce across the dough while leaving about an inch around the edge. Add the mozzarella evenly, followed by the Parmesan.
Do not overload it. Too much sauce or cheese can make the center heavy, wet and difficult to launch.
4. Launch and Cook
Give the peel a quick shake to make sure the pizza slides freely. If it sticks now, it will definitely stick when you try launching it.
Slide the pizza onto the hot stone. Cook it for approximately 60–120 seconds, rotating it every 15–20 seconds so the crust cooks evenly. Ooni uses a similar high-temperature method for its classic Margherita pizza.
5. Slice and Celebrate
Remove the pizza when the cheese is bubbling and the crust has browned around the edges. Give it a minute or two to cool before slicing.
That is it. Dough, sauce, cheese and a pizza oven hot enough to finish the job before you can find something to watch on TV.
Happy National Cheese Pizza Day.
