If you wish to expertise the laid-back lifestyle Italians romantically name la dolce vita, you would fly to Naples, hire a centuries-old Mediterranean villa, and spend your days indulging in wood-fired pizzas ready within the very birthplace of the standard but iconic pizza pie.
Or you would simply snag an invitation to one among Katie Quinn’s weekly pizza events, held on the comfortable patio of her Brooklyn house.
Earlier than turning into Wirecutter’s viewers growth supervisor for social video, Katie lived in Puglia, Italy, whereas working as a meals and journey vlogger and podcaster. She additionally authored Cheese, Wine, and Bread: Discovering the Magic of Fermentation in England, Italy, and France, a cookbook-slash-memoir that features recipes and classes from her travels throughout Europe.
After returning stateside, maybe Katie’s hardest adjustment was dropping the impromptu social gatherings that grew to become a staple of her time in Italy, the place neighbors would fireplace up their brick ovens and effortlessly prove picture-perfect pies.
“Pizza was the final word excuse to assemble, and I missed the camaraderie, the sensation of inclusiveness and being carefree,” Katie not too long ago informed me.
Till, that’s, she found our top-pick pizza oven, the Ooni Koda 16 Fuel Powered Pizza Oven, in the summertime of 2023 and began internet hosting her personal weekly pizza events year-round together with her New York Metropolis mates and neighbors.
Our choose
This conveniently transportable outside pizza oven lights up with the flip of a dial, and it may bake a staggering quantity of pizza on one tank of fuel.
“What the Ooni affords is a constantly nice bake. It simply makes super-solid pizzas throughout—so significantly better than a traditional oven,” Katie mentioned.
She wrote in a love letter to her Ooni Koda, “I do miss the wood-fired brick ovens we utilized in Puglia for the smoky, earthy components imbued into the pizza, however what this Ooni oven lacks in rustic romance it makes up for with the benefit of use of the gas-powered characteristic—simply flip a nozzle.”
In fact, an awesome pizza oven is crucial for making scrumptious pizza, but it surely’s not the one factor you want if you wish to churn out sufficient beautiful pies to feed (and impress) a small crowd like Katie does.
“All of the equipment that we’ve bought over time actually add up, and there’s positively quantity of planning concerned: making the dough forward of time, having substances prepared and prepped,” Katie mentioned. “However each of these features really feel fully value it for the enjoyment and deliciousness we obtain from these pizza gatherings.”
Right here’s all the opposite gear Katie depends on when internet hosting her pizza events that streamline her cooking duties, assist keep a tidy mise en place, and produce essentially the most delectable pizza doable.
