Review: Ooni Karu 12G Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven

From the first glance at the upright chimney, it’s clear that the Ooni Karu 12G is something special. Not only can it be heated with coal or gas, it is also designed for old-fashioned wood burning. Something that brings both the pizza flavour and the atmosphere to the top! In fact, the sound and smell of crackling wood is enough to make you want to fire it up all summer long.

But the Karu 12G isn’t just for pizza nerds or aesthetes. It’s incredibly easy to get the most out of, and using wood doesn’t have to be any more complicated than using electricity or gas.

Oozing quality

The Karu 12G will do it all. The gas adapter must be purchased separately, but then you also have an oven that takes all types of fuel in addition to electricity. And in a well-designed and space-optimised size. The build quality is top notch, which is to be expected from Ooni, which has more than 10 years of experience building pizza ovens. It was the same experience when we last tested an oven from the Scottish manufacturer.

The construction consists of a powder-coated steel shell with a glass door and folding feet at the bottom. Wood or coal is placed at the back of the elongated oven and can be accessed via a door at the top. There is no room for a large fire in the stove, so if you want a roaring fire and 500°C, you’ll have to make sure to refill the firewood often.

The oven has room for a 12’ pizza and is the little brother to the larger Karu 16, which has almost identical features. The oven has a built-in thermometer on the side, which can be used to keep an eye on the heating. However, it is still recommended to use an infrared thermometer to take the surface temperature of the stone itself.

Not intimidating to use

Cooking doesn’t get more analogue than in the Ooni Karu 12G. Light a fire in the dedicated metal basket at the back of the oven and wait for the fire to heat up the pizza stone. Done. You can adjust the chimney to let more or less air through, but otherwise the temperature depends on what wood you use, how much you use and how often you add new wood to the fire.

The stove accommodates small sticks of less than 15 cm, which means they burn out quickly, but also light up fast. In the test, it took about 27 minutes from ignition until the stove reached 430°C. There’s no need to worry about the fire going out. Even a few embers quickly ignite the small sticks, but if you want to reach 500°C, it takes more practice to build the most efficient fire.

The fear with a wood-burning stove is that the temperature will get out of control, so it’s very reassuring that it stabilises naturally at around 420-460°C if you feed the blazing fire continuously. So there’s no need to be afraid of the Ooni Karu 12G. It’s no more intimidating than other pizza ovens. If you use it often, the gas adapter is the way to faster heating and stability, but it is by no means a necessity.

Sublime pizza quality

At temperatures around 450°C, the pizza from the Ooni Karu 12G is unrivalled. The wood gives a mild smoky flavour to the dough and the fire at the back doesn’t burn the ingredients on top. The crust puffs up as it should and the pizzas achieve the perfect caramelised yet fresh taste that you know and love from good pizzerias.

You should always rotate the pizza a few times so that it bakes evenly on each side. This is also a good time to check its progress. After about 2-3 minutes, the pizza will be crispy and filled with those coveted black ‘leopard spots’ you like to see under the bottom. Of course, it’s harder to maintain a specific temperature with wood than with gas or electricity, but the Karu 12G is surprisingly stable around 420-450°C and the stone holds heat well. If you want to go higher, you have to fight a little harder for it.

Conclusion

Overall, the Ooni Karu 12G delivered the best pizza we experienced in the test. And the hassle was only marginally greater, and infinitely more charming, than any other pizza oven I’ve tested.

Getting the pizza in and out of the Karu 12G was easy. Whether this is due to the quality of the pizza stone or just luck with the dough can’t be said for sure.

The Karu 12G was tested at the same temperatures as the Chef Matteo, but delivered far more uniform bases and more compliant top heat that cooked the ingredients on top without burning them. The build quality also seems much higher.

If you’re making pizza outdoors for the fun of it, it’s hard to match the experience that the Ooni Karu 12G delivers. Cooking outside simply doesn’t get more charming than this.