Are you struggling with the uneven baking of pizza in my
What Is a Pizza Spinner?
A pizza spinner, also called a pizza hook or turning fork, is a tool for turning pizza in a
Pizza spinners are usually sold in pairs since having two gives the user better control over the pizza.
Why a Pizza Spinner Is Useful
Pizza ovens tend to not bake pizza evenly, you have to turn the pizza to get an even bake. Whether it’s a traditional wood-fired Neapolitan
Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens
In a wood-fired oven, you have a burning fire that heats the oven. When the oven is heated, you start the fire in the middle to heat the floor of the oven. You then later move the fire to one of the sides, or the back of the oven. This is done to make heat up the floor of the oven before baking. When the fire is placed on the side, it creates heat that’s reflected from the dome-shaped ceiling of the oven. And this reflected heat bakes the top of the pizza.
Since the fire is a single heat source, the floor will cool, making it hotter closer to the fire, and cooler further away. You may also experience “hot spots” in the oven, spots that are hotter than the rest of the oven. If you place your pizza on one of these, it can easily burn. You therefore have to be aware of the temperatures in different parts of your
Since the floor closer to the fire is hotter, you need to turn the pizza during baking to make sure one side is not over or undercooked.
Commercial Electric Pizza Ovens
Most electric pizza ovens have a thick metal or stone surface that heats up fairly even. They also often have a broiler/grill element in the ceiling of the oven that bakes the top of the pizza. Even though they usually don’t have 100% even distribution of heat, there is less need for turning pizza into a commercial electric oven compared to a wood-fired brick oven.
Home Pizza Ovens
There are many types of (portable) home pizza ovens out there. Some are wood-fired, while others are gas-powered (like the Ooni Kada 16). Most of them are however small in size, which means less space for the pizza, making it impossible to not place it right next to the heat source. Because of the size, they are also not as well isolated as a brick oven. This means that they tend to have a more uneven heat distribution. You therefore rarely get an even cook in a small, home
Home Convection Ovens
Temperature differences tend to be less of an issue in a home convection oven. Heat distribution is often uneven, but with the low temperature, and long baking times, it’s less problematic.
If you’re using a thick pizza stone or
If you’re not using the broiler element to bake your pizza (I strongly recommend doing so, because it can get your oven a lot hotter, thus closer to a proper
Who Needs a Pizza Spinner?
A pizza spinner is most useful in pizza ovens with uneven pizza heat distribution. It’s therefore most useful if you’re baking pizza in a wood-fired
How to Use a Pizza Spinner
Pizza spinners are mainly used for two things: turning the pizza and checking if the bottom is done.
Turning The Pizza
The main function of a pizza hook is obviously to spin, or turn, the pizza.
You shouldn’t try to move or turn the pizza right after you place it in the oven. It’s better to wait until the pizza is starting to crisp, else you can easily make holes in the crust or even tear the whole pizza.
When you see that the pizza is starting to crisp up, and one side is more baked than the other, it’s time to turn the pizza. To do that, position the pizza spinner with the teeth facing down over your pizza the teeth right inside the edge (cornicione) of the pizza. Be careful not to puncture the crust, or to make holes. You don’t need to penetrate the pizza with your teeth. Simply place it on top, and turn the pizza, so the undercooked part is facing the heat.
Check for Doneness
The second thing you can use a pizza hook for is to check if the bottom of the pizza is done. All you need to do is place the teeth facing up, push them under the pizza crust, and tilt the edge gently. You should now see the bottom of the pizza. You could also use a
It’s also possible to use a pizza spinner to remove the pizza from the oven. You can do that by simply dragging the pizza out to either a serving plate or a cutting board for cutting the pizza. I do however recommend using a
Alternatives – Pizza Spinner vs Pizza Turning Peel
We can’t talk about pizza spinner forks without mentioning turning peels, that’s a common alternative for turning pizza.
A pizza turning peel is a round small peel, that’s used for the same as a pizza spinner: turning and checking for doneness.
No more burnt pizza with this sturdy, aluminum peel that gives you full control over the pizza baking. A great budget option for professional and home use. A must-have for serious pizza bakers!
With practice, a pizza-turning peel is useful in a large oven due to the long handle. But in a smaller home oven, a pizza spinner is a better alternative.
Benefits of Pizza Spinners
Pizza spinners have some benefits over pizza-turning peels:
Easier to Use
The main benefit of pizza spinners is that they are easier to use than a turning peel. If you haven’t tried a turning peel, it requires some practice to use it correctly for turning pizza.
When you use a turning peel, you want to move the pizza to the entrance of the oven and turn it there. Then move the pizza back to the same spot. You want to place the pizza in the exact same spot. The reason is that the spot has cooled down from the pizza. Placing it in a different spot will make it bake faster, and potentially burn. You can also place the pizza in a “hot spot” if you’re not careful. This will make it even more likely to burn.
With a pizza spinner, you don’t need to move the pizza to turn it, since it’s easier to maneuver the pizza. You can however do it, if you’re struggling to turn it inside the oven. Or if you need to take a closer look at the pizza. Drag grip the pizza in the same way as when you’re turning it, and drag the pizza carefully.
Smaller
Pizza spinners are smaller and more compact than pizza-turning peels. You rarely see turning peels with short handles. This makes it inconvenient to use in small, home pizza ovens.
Price
A pair of pizza spinners usually range from 10-30 dollars, making them cheaper than most turning peels.
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