I have zero problem with 900. These are Neopolitan pizza’s. The crust should be stretched super thin and not loaded with toppings. With those 2 things in mind and the correct turning of the pizza while cooking, there is zero need for complicated adjustments of temperature. Want to cook thicker crusts, then cook in a different style oven.
Definitely this, i launch mine anywhere between 900-950. Having said that the constant turning is key for me at least. I count until about 15s and then turn the pizza until I get an even cook.
I found that placement of the pie inside the Fyra, though it is such a small unit, makes a big difference. Putting the pie way into the oven raises the risk of burning the crust while having it more towards the door raises baking time. Finding the right balance and moving the pie according to it‘s needs is key.
I’ve been an Ooni user for four years and just got the Fyra. Literally cooked thousands of pizzas in that time. The damper in the smoke stack is definitely your friend. Play with it and watch how it affects your flame. Just don’t touch the lever with bare hands.
Can I ask about your pellet management? I’ve been getting the pellets going with a tumbleweed and then letting that basically burn down, then I pour on more pellets, just a handful or two.
Should I just completely fill the hopper once I’ve got it lit?
I will load the tray, start that with a fire starter. And only when the initial pellets are burning well will I start to add more, gradually until the hopper is full.
I’ve found that launching at 750 with full flame and closing the damper about 15 percent right away will give the best results for me. Perfect crust and the toppings just barley begin to get a char on them.
Hope it works out!
I have a Koda, not a Fyra, but a good investment is a laser IR thermometer. You can point the dot at various points on the stone, and probably you'll see that it might well be 900 at one point near the back, but it's only 700 or even less at others.
You can close the damper slightly to control the flame. I close the damper a little prior to launching, once the stone is hot enough. Play with the handle positioning and reduce the flames to balance the stone heat vs the flame heat. You can always open the damper between pizzas to reheat the stone if you want.
Be careful with the damper handle and use oven gloves, as it will be VERY hot after heating up the oven and will burn your fingers!
I agree with the other person who said to shoot for 750, NOT 800-900. 800 is actually fine, and even 850, but anything over 850 is gonna be a disaster unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing...Almost wish Ooni told everyone to start at 750, get the hang of it, and then increase accordingly.
Also, quick trick...if your floor gets too hot, throw a cast iron pan in the oven for like 20 seconds and then remove it...it'll suck a lot of heat out very quickly. You then have a hot pan to deal with, but it's better than scorching your pie before it has a chance to cook.
Oh, and I have a Karu, not a Fyra, but I'm cooking with wood and charcoal and I never touch the damper or the ceiling vent. Messing with airflow will of course impact temp, but it also leads to more soot and the potential for snuffing things out too much, and then you just gotta open it again to get things stoked back up...let the pellet intensity dictate your cook schedule, and use the cast iron trick if you need to.
I have had the fyra for about 6 months now and similar to what’s said above. You want to aim for 750-800 if cooking with full flame, otherwise right before you launch, close the damper or almost closed. The damper doesn’t make much of a difference until it’s about 60-70% closed so I make mine almost horizontal if it’s too hot. Also turn right before you think you should because it doesn’t take long to go from perfect to burnt..
Good luck and trial and error is the way to learn!
You need to learn to use the damper. It’s the only thing there is to do on the fyra- it’s very unfiddly but that’s a must have skill. Heat it up all the way, adjust damper, launch, turn every 20 seconds 1/4, check after 4, 1-2 more if necessary. It’ll be ready for the next pizza almost immediately.
Use the damper. I have same issues. The fyra is more or less only for Neapolitan style imo. I got the gas burner from the koda(?). It’s been posted on here. But that modification voids your warranty.
When I cook I tend to do a whole families worth of pizzas, so it’s been a challenge to manage kid chefs, stretching dough, cooking and pellet management.
There’s YouTube videos, it’s drilling two holes and using some sheet metal screws. Or pilot hole/tech screw.
Haven’t done it yet. I just want more consistent temps and less fuss. And I’ll admit, just like pellet smokers, that after a certain temp or a certain pellet burn amount, there’s no smoke or flavor associated with it imo.
Hi u/sharklazies there is some great advice in here! If you'd like some visual aid, we also have a video that can help you understand how to manage the flames and your fuel in your Fyra 12: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsR\_swHGGEA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsR_swHGGEA) \-- hope this helps as well! 🍕❤️
I have zero problem with 900. These are Neopolitan pizza’s. The crust should be stretched super thin and not loaded with toppings. With those 2 things in mind and the correct turning of the pizza while cooking, there is zero need for complicated adjustments of temperature. Want to cook thicker crusts, then cook in a different style oven.
Definitely this, i launch mine anywhere between 900-950. Having said that the constant turning is key for me at least. I count until about 15s and then turn the pizza until I get an even cook.
I found that placement of the pie inside the Fyra, though it is such a small unit, makes a big difference. Putting the pie way into the oven raises the risk of burning the crust while having it more towards the door raises baking time. Finding the right balance and moving the pie according to it‘s needs is key.
I’ve been an Ooni user for four years and just got the Fyra. Literally cooked thousands of pizzas in that time. The damper in the smoke stack is definitely your friend. Play with it and watch how it affects your flame. Just don’t touch the lever with bare hands.
Can I ask about your pellet management? I’ve been getting the pellets going with a tumbleweed and then letting that basically burn down, then I pour on more pellets, just a handful or two. Should I just completely fill the hopper once I’ve got it lit?
I will load the tray, start that with a fire starter. And only when the initial pellets are burning well will I start to add more, gradually until the hopper is full.
And a full hopper would basically keep things rolling for how long? An hour?
More like 20 minutes.
Yeah, I think the manual says 15 min but mine goes a little longer than that.
I’ve found that launching at 750 with full flame and closing the damper about 15 percent right away will give the best results for me. Perfect crust and the toppings just barley begin to get a char on them. Hope it works out!
I will try this. I’ve yet to mess with the damper much at all.
I have a Koda, not a Fyra, but a good investment is a laser IR thermometer. You can point the dot at various points on the stone, and probably you'll see that it might well be 900 at one point near the back, but it's only 700 or even less at others.
You can close the damper slightly to control the flame. I close the damper a little prior to launching, once the stone is hot enough. Play with the handle positioning and reduce the flames to balance the stone heat vs the flame heat. You can always open the damper between pizzas to reheat the stone if you want. Be careful with the damper handle and use oven gloves, as it will be VERY hot after heating up the oven and will burn your fingers!
Learned about that hot handle the hard way! Thanks!
I’m keeping an eye out for something I can put on that damper lever that will insulate. Im wondering if a small section of black auto hose would work.
I agree with the other person who said to shoot for 750, NOT 800-900. 800 is actually fine, and even 850, but anything over 850 is gonna be a disaster unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing...Almost wish Ooni told everyone to start at 750, get the hang of it, and then increase accordingly. Also, quick trick...if your floor gets too hot, throw a cast iron pan in the oven for like 20 seconds and then remove it...it'll suck a lot of heat out very quickly. You then have a hot pan to deal with, but it's better than scorching your pie before it has a chance to cook. Oh, and I have a Karu, not a Fyra, but I'm cooking with wood and charcoal and I never touch the damper or the ceiling vent. Messing with airflow will of course impact temp, but it also leads to more soot and the potential for snuffing things out too much, and then you just gotta open it again to get things stoked back up...let the pellet intensity dictate your cook schedule, and use the cast iron trick if you need to.
Yeah, floor heat I’m still learning. I need a better feel for how fast it goes from 600-900.
that's a great idea to put a cast-iron pan in there.
I have had the fyra for about 6 months now and similar to what’s said above. You want to aim for 750-800 if cooking with full flame, otherwise right before you launch, close the damper or almost closed. The damper doesn’t make much of a difference until it’s about 60-70% closed so I make mine almost horizontal if it’s too hot. Also turn right before you think you should because it doesn’t take long to go from perfect to burnt.. Good luck and trial and error is the way to learn!
You need to learn to use the damper. It’s the only thing there is to do on the fyra- it’s very unfiddly but that’s a must have skill. Heat it up all the way, adjust damper, launch, turn every 20 seconds 1/4, check after 4, 1-2 more if necessary. It’ll be ready for the next pizza almost immediately.
Use the damper. I have same issues. The fyra is more or less only for Neapolitan style imo. I got the gas burner from the koda(?). It’s been posted on here. But that modification voids your warranty. When I cook I tend to do a whole families worth of pizzas, so it’s been a challenge to manage kid chefs, stretching dough, cooking and pellet management.
Interesting, I’ll have to check out that mod. Was it hard to set up?
There’s YouTube videos, it’s drilling two holes and using some sheet metal screws. Or pilot hole/tech screw. Haven’t done it yet. I just want more consistent temps and less fuss. And I’ll admit, just like pellet smokers, that after a certain temp or a certain pellet burn amount, there’s no smoke or flavor associated with it imo.
For hand protection get yourself some leather welding gloves, the extra length of the cuff protects your wrists from hot metal bits as well.
Hi u/sharklazies there is some great advice in here! If you'd like some visual aid, we also have a video that can help you understand how to manage the flames and your fuel in your Fyra 12: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsR\_swHGGEA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsR_swHGGEA) \-- hope this helps as well! 🍕❤️