The Video Guide

A guide to lighting your Ooni Karu 16 pizza oven using lumpwood charcoal and kiln dried wood, which is our preferred method - we typically reach Neapolitan pizza cooking temperatures of 400-450°C (750-850°F) in around 30 minutes.

The Step by Step

What you need

• Hardwood cut to size for Ooni Karu - find ours here
• Lumpwood charcoal - find ours here
• Natural Firelighters

1. Get your Karu 16 ready

Don't forget to take the chimney cap off, fully open your flue vent and close your door, and switch on your inbuilt digital thermometer to monitor the air temperature of the oven.

2. Load up with charcoal

In the fuel tray, layer lumpwood charcoal with several natural firelighters, making sure that you allow for good airflow with gaps between the fuel, but also ensure lots of contact between the firelighters and charcoal.

3. Get it lit

Light the natural firelighters, put the fuel cover back on, and leave the oven for at least 5 minutes.

4. Stoke up the charcoal base

Check on the fuel every 5 minutes from lighting to around 30 minutes in.

Add fuel when needed but don't overdo it - more charcoal doesn't always mean an increase in temperature, so be careful to maintain good airflow through the fuel tray. I find that I add more lumpwood at the 10 and 20 minute marks.

If the oven temperature is increasing by 1°C every 5 seconds, your fuel is burning well and no more lumpwood is needed.

5. Add wood

You're aiming to hit and maintain a consistent air temperature of 400-450°C or 750-850°F, I prefer to do this over 30 minutes than rush up to temperature which will ensure the stone is saturated and it loses less heat during each cook.

I find good lumpwood charcoal gets me to 350°C (640°F) in around 30 minutes depending on wind. In this video I added wood at 330°C because it was a mostly still but gusty day, and I felt the oven needed the kick given by a wood flame.

6. Check the stone temperature

Use your handheld digital thermometer to check the temperature of your stone. The ideal cooking temperature for Neapolitan pizza is 420-430°C but in reality, anything from 350°C to 500°C floor temperature will work. As you will see in this video, it is possible for the stone temperature to be higher than the air temperature.

7. Launch

Time to cook! Have fun, and if you need any help with the next stage, come back for our next video with the Karu 16 where I'll show you end to end pizza making & baking.

Make sure you share your pictures with us on Facebook and Instagram by tagging @planetfriendlyfirewood.