You've got the oven. Here's what's next.

The oven is half the story. The other half happens before it's even hot: weighing the dough, letting it rise, stretching it, then sliding the pizza onto the stone without it sticking. That's usually where things go right or wrong, and it's where the right tools make the difference.

We've laid this guide out step by step, in the order you'll actually use things. For each one: what you really need, what can wait, and the mistake we see most. Everything here ships from our warehouse in Quebec.

This guide picks up where our pizza oven buying guide leaves off. Don't have your oven yet? Start there, then come back to kit it out.

In short

The easiest way to start: a starter kit. The starter kit brings together the three essentials: a perforated launching peel, a turning peel and the Pro stone brush. The deluxe kit adds the infrared thermometer and two serving trays. Buy it with an oven and the kit is 20% off.

Making your own dough? Add a precise scale and a dough box. Those two change your pizza more than anything except the oven itself.

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1. Making the dough

Good dough comes down to precision and patience. The right tools take care of the precision. The patience is on you.

A scale, not cups

Dough is measured in grams. Salt and yeast even come down to a tenth of a gram: a few grams too much yeast and your dough rises far too fast. The Ooni dual platform scale has a large platform for flour and water, and a small precision one for salt and yeast. Our dough calculator tells you exactly what to weigh.

A dough box

Once your dough balls are shaped, they need to rise away from the air, or they dry out and form a skin that won't stretch. A closed box keeps them soft, in the fridge or on the counter, and stacks to save space.

Our small dough box, made in Quebec, does the job perfectly. The Gozney dough box is the other one we recommend.

Not sure whether to go same-day or 48 hours? Our article on long vs short fermentation will help you choose.

The mixer: optional, but what a difference

For a long time we kneaded by hand or with a stand mixer. With pizza dough, a stand mixer strains and warms the dough. A spiral mixer works like the ones in pizzerias, gentler and more even. The Ooni Halo Core suits most homes, the Halo Pro is for people who make big batches. We explain the difference in our Halo guide.

Flour, the ingredient that matters most

• Pizzeria Tipo 00: the best place to start for a Neapolitan in a pizza oven.
• Cuoco (Chef's): for long fermentations of 24 hours and more.
• Nuvola Super: for a very airy crust, once you've nailed the basics.
• Fioreglut: the gluten-free version.
• And to get it all rising: Caputo active dry yeast, in a 500 g bag.

The common mistake: using all-purpose flour from the grocery store and expecting a pizzeria crust. Flour is the quickest, cheapest upgrade there is.

No pizza oven? Everything in this chapter works for your kitchen oven too. In a conventional oven, pan pizza is the easiest to get right: our Deep Dish pan and our Sicilian pizza recipe are the place to start. And when you want a Neapolitan without going outside, the Ooni Volt 2 works indoors.

2. Shaping and topping

Small, inexpensive tools that make everything cleaner and faster.

• A dough scraper. To divide dough into even balls, and lift them out of the box without tearing.
• Semolina. On the counter and the peel, it stops sticking far better than flour, and it doesn't burn on the stone.
• A sauce ladle. The right amount every time, spread in a spiral in one move. Too much sauce is the number one cause of a soggy centre.
• A topping station. When the pizzas keep coming, everything is ready and within reach instead of in ten bowls across the counter.
• An oil can. A thin, controlled drizzle when the pizza comes out, not a puddle.

3. Launching and turning

This is the step that stresses people out at first. With the right peels, it becomes second nature.

Why you need two peels

The launching peel is wide and rectangular: it carries the raw pizza to the stone. The turning peel is small and round: it spins the pizza while it bakes, because the side near the flame cooks faster. One peel can't do both jobs well. Both are in our starter kits.

	To start	To go further
Launching peel	Thepizzashop perforated rectangular peel, in 12, 14 or 16 in	Gi.Metal perforated, the pizzeria peel, or the Gozney Pro Placement
Turning peel	Thepizzashop perforated turning peel	Gi.Metal perforated turning peel or the Gozney Balance

Perforated or solid? The holes let excess flour fall away before the pizza hits the stone. Less burnt flour, less bitterness under the crust. For a pizza oven, we almost always recommend perforated.

What size? Choose a launching peel the size of your oven, or a little smaller. A 14-inch peel won't fit through the mouth of a 12-inch oven.

The common mistake: topping the pizza on the counter, then trying to slide it onto the peel. Build it right on the peel, dusted with semolina, and give it a little shake before launching to check it moves.

4. Baking it right

• An infrared thermometer. The oven's built-in gauge reads the air, not the stone, and it's the stone that bakes the crust. At 350 °C, it stays soft. Around 450 °C, it puffs up and colours in 60 to 90 seconds. Aim at the centre of the stone before every pizza. It also tells you when the oven is ready in winter, when preheating takes about twice as long. Our Thepizzashop thermometer does the job perfectly, and it's the one that comes in the deluxe kit. Gozney's and Ooni's are there if you'd rather match your oven.
• A stone brush. After each session, once the stone has cooled, a quick brush clears the semolina and burnt cheese that would leave a bitter taste on your next pizza. It comes in both kits.
• A cover made for your model. It protects the oven from rain, snow and damp. Write to us with your oven's name and we'll tell you which one to get.

5. Serving

• A good wheel. The Gozney pizza wheel cuts clean without dragging the toppings.
• A Gozney serving tray. To bring the pizza to the table like a restaurant would.
• A serving spatula, rectangular or triangular. To move slices without everything sliding off.

Just for fun: new from Gozney

Not essential, but they're the little luxuries you notice every pizza night. Four new pieces that fix the small annoyances everyone knows.

• The prep board. Its textured surface spreads flour evenly, so dough sticks less and moves onto the peel without tearing. Raised edges keep the flour on the board, not the counter.
• The M.O.P. This one's our favourite: you use it on the stone while it's still hot, between pizzas. The steel blade lifts what's burnt on, the pad steam-cleans the rest. No bristles to come loose in the oven.
• The Fuel Gauge. No more running out of propane halfway through the night. It sits under the tank and weighs it, and works with any gas oven and tanks up to 30 lb.
• The gas bottle cover. The propane tank disappears, and a flap at the back gives you access to the regulator without taking the cover off.

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Buying an oven? Add a starter kit to your cart: the 20% discount applies at checkout.

Frequently asked questions

Which pizza oven accessories do I really need?

A launching peel, a turning peel and an infrared thermometer. Without them, the first night gets frustrating fast. A stone brush and a cover come close behind. Our starter kits bring the essentials together in one purchase.

Wood or metal peel?

Wood sticks less when you build the pizza on it, but it's thick and slides less easily under a baked pizza. Perforated metal is thin, lets excess flour fall away, and gets the pizza back out too. If you're only buying one, make it perforated metal.

Do I need a scale to make pizza dough?

Yes. A cup of flour never weighs the same twice, and yeast comes down to tenths of a gram. A scale is the simplest way to make the same dough every time.

Can I make pizza dough in a stand mixer?

Yes, but a well-hydrated pizza dough strains the motor and warms up as it kneads. A spiral mixer like the Halo is gentler. Already have a stand mixer? Keep the speed low and take breaks.

Will these accessories fit my oven?

Peels, thermometers, brushes and dough tools work with every oven. Only the cover and the size of your launching peel depend on your model. Write to us and we'll tell you.