If you've never used wood to light your Ooni Karu 16 or Ooni Karu 2 Pro before, it can seem quite daunting.
However, lighting your Ooni Karu 16 or Ooni Karu 2 Pro using wood is actually really easy if you use good quality wood and follow my super simple process. Let me show you how!
What wood should I use in my Ooni Karu 16 or Ooni Karu 2 Pro?
You should use hardwood kindling to get your Ooni Karu 16/Ooni Karu 2 Pro up to temperature and then beech hardwood splits to maintain the temperature while you cook pizza.
You should only ever use hardwood to light any pizza oven, including the Ooni Karu 16 and Ooni Karu 2 Pro.
Why hardwood? You want to get the oven above 400°c to cook Neapolitan pizza so it's important to use hardwood kindling as softwood kindling won't burn as hot as hardwood, and will burn through more quickly, making it difficult to maintain a high temperature. Softwood is also much smokier and sootier than hardwood, which is not pleasant to cook with and can leave soot all over your pizza!
Our Ooni Karu 16 logs are 100% beech and cut to the perfect size for your Ooni Karu 16 or Ooni Karu 2 Pro, so they light easily, burn hot and leave a great bed of embers so you can focus on mastering perfect pizza.
Get both hardwood kindling and our Ooni Karu 16 beech logs, along with natural firelighters in our Ooni Karu 16 Fuel Kit.
How to light your Ooni Karu 16 or Ooni Karu 2 Pro using wood - the video guide
If you want to learn how to light your Ooni Karu 16 or Ooni Karu 2 Pro using wood, we recommend watching the whole video - it is only three and a half minutes long!
What you need to light your Ooni Karu 16 or Ooni Karu 2 Pro using wood
- Hardwood beech splits cut to size for Ooni Karu 16
- Hardwood kindling
- Natural firelighters
- Extra long matches
- Handheld digital thermometer
How to light your Ooni Karu 16 or Ooni Karu 2 Pro using wood - the step by step
Step 1
Oonis are designed around airflow, so first set up your Ooni Karu 16 or Ooni Karu 2 Pro to maximise the airflow going through the fuel tray, through the oven and out through the chimney.
Take the chimney cap off, close the door, open the chimney vent and top vent, and always keep the lid on the fuel tray (when not adding fuel, obviously).
Step 2
To start your fire, take the lid off the fuel tray and arrange 6 pieces of hardwood kindling in a log cabin like structure.
Drop two natural firelighters into the middle of the stack of kindling then get them lit using extra-long matches, and put the lid back on the fuel tray.
Step 3
Sit back for about 5 minutes. The hardwood kindling should light quickly and there should be some smoke coming from the chimney of your Ooni Karu 16 or Ooni Karu 2 Pro, but it shouldn't be uncomfortable to stand next to the oven.
Check on the fire after 5 minutes, and you should see the hardwood kindling burning beautifully. We don't want to overload the fuel tray (remember the point about the air flow!) so put the lid back on the fuel tray and sit back for another 5 - 10 minutes.
Step 4
Remove the lid from the fuel tray to check on the hardwood kindling again, and once you can see the fire dying down, but before the active flame has disappeared, add a few more sticks of hardwood kindling. Put the lid back on the fuel tray.
Step 5
Leave the fire to burn for another 5 - 10 minutes, then remove the lid from the fuel tray to check it and add more hardwood kindling if needed.
Step 6
Open the door of your Ooni Karu 16 or Ooni Karu 2 Pro and use a digital thermometer to check the stone temperature.
Whilst you can cook Neapolitan pizza as soon as the stone hits 400°c, we recommend keeping the fire burning for around 10 minutes after you hit that temperature, before cooking pizza to make sure the pizza oven is completely saturated with heat, especially if you're cooking a few pizzas.
Step 7
Keep checking the stone temperature until your stone has been at 400°c for around minutes
Step 8
Add an Ooni Karu 16 beech log to the fuel tray and let it burn for 8-10 minutes. At this stage, your stone should be 400 - 450°c all over - make sure to check that the front and the back of the stone are a similar temperature so that your pizza cooks evenly.
Step 9
If your Ooni Karu 16 stone isn't up to temperature yet, add another Ooni Karu 16 beech log and let it burn for another 8 - 10 minutes. Once it's 400 - 450°c all over, you're ready to cook pizza!
Depending on how many pizzas you're cooking, you will need to keep checking the stone temperature and topping up the fuel tray with wood as necessary.
Step 10
We love to see what you cook, so make sure you tag @planetfriendlyfirewood when you post your pizza pics!
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Related product
Ooni Karu 16 Fuel Kit
£99.95