Using a pizza oven for the first time after winter

The weather's glorious, and that means those of you who hibernate from outdoor cooking during winter might finally be thinking about getting your pizza ovens out for the first time.

After leaving one of our Ooni ovens outside all winter and having to deal with the fallout (you can watch that video here) I thought it would be smart to film a similar video using my Gozney Dome for the first time after winter, which lives out all year but under its waterproof cover.

I have used the Dome over winter but not much, so I knew it would need a little extra attention to get it consistently running at that magic 420°C or more. But while this video covers what to do with your pizza oven the first time you want to use it after winter, it's more about the human side of pizza making - in particular, the skill fade we can suffer as a result of not doing something for a while.

So I chat about the good, the bad and the ugly of making pizzas for the first time in a while, and I make some mistakes along the way - here's hoping my mistakes can make your first pizza session that little bit easier.

There are some common issues the first time you light a wood fired oven in spring:

1. Firelighting; an easy one to let slip - remember the fire triangle and always ensure your fire is getting enough oxygen. You can watch a range of lighting & heating up tutorials here.
2. Start your fire slowly the first time you use your oven after a break, this protects the stone from thermal shock and helps avoid cracking.
3. Balancing stone temperature with air temperature; you need a nice even heat from the top and bottom of the pizza, to avoid either burning your pizza or ripping it because the base isn't sealed.
4. Dough stretching; you don't want to end up with doughy crusts, so remember to stretch your doughballs out fully so they bake throughout the crust.
5. Too many toppings; remember, less is more.
6. Launching; the flour or semolina bath is your key to an easy launch, make sure your doughball is completely covered before you start stretching. Launching should be a fast movement, position your peel where you want to place the pizza and pull your peel away, using momentum to leave the pizza behind - avoid launching the pizza forward.
7. Turning; make sure your base is sealed and you slide your peel under nice and gently for the first turn.
8. Eating; remember guys, pizza's super hot!