These are my Ooni Koda 12 Pizza Oven impressions after using it for 4 years!  Check the video out!

When the Koda 12 was launched 4 years ago, for me it was a game changer.  I bought it because it was an affordable pizza oven, it was lightweight and easy for me to carry around and also it was the first pizza oven I used that had a linear gas burner at the back.

The other pizza ovens I was using at the time were the Gozney Roccbox and the Original Ooni Gas Burner in the Ooni 3 and both of those had round burners and those ovens had been designed for other fuels to be used with them.

The Koda 12 was the first pizza oven I’d bought that was designed specifically for gas and that gave this oven, with its linear burner at the back, a design and performance advantage.  It was made for gas and it showed that in its performance over the years.  We’ve been using this lovely little oven for four years now, and it’s still going strong!

Let’s talk about the setup. I have found the Koda 12  to be very user-friendly. It’s designed for easy assembly with its foldable legs and can be ready to cook within minutes. 

It’s a gas-fired oven, which means it offers convenience and consistency with the delivery of temperature control inside the oven. The built-in gas ignition system ensures hassle-free lighting, and you can easily adjust the wispy flame to achieve your perfect cooking temperature.

What are the benefits that make the Koda 12 a great pizza oven to use? It can heat up a pizza oven easily and quickly  – and it heats up to a high heat of 932°F (500°C) in just 15 -20 minutes.

But over the years I haven’t just cooked pizza in this oven, as there’s the option to cook other dishes such as naan bread, garlic bread, steaks, roasted vegetables, and other cast iron dishes and of course a pan-cooked pizza! 

I’ve found that some of the portable pizza ovens over the years since this oven was launched, have become larger and heavier.  And some are becoming a bit too heavy for portability- I am struggling with some ovens I have already.  So what makes this oven so versatile is that it is compact and lightweight, making it easy to transport and set up wherever you fancy cooking.  The stone can be removed and that makes it even lighter.  This oven is lighter than my full gas bottle that fuels it!

The Koda 12 can cook a lovely authentic taste Neapolitan pizza because of the temperature the oven reaches both on the stone and inside the oven. The stone heat creates a crisp, fast-cooking pizza base, and the linear gas burner at the back delivers an easily controllable wispy flame, very similar to a wood-fired flame that cooks the crust and toppings fast without burning.  Check out my useful Koda 12 tips video in the link at the end of the article which provides more advice on stone and oven temperature cooking in this oven.