It’s a Saturday night. You’re making pizzas for a movie night with your family. Everything is going amazing and well, at least until you take the pizza out of the oven and it’s cooked unevenly. Half-baked crusts! Or burnt crusts! Sounds familiar? It happens to most of us, but not to worry. Pizza spinners exist to address this problem, and we are here to tell you how they work!
Photo by VadimVasenin / Depositphotos
Pizza spinners are kitchen tools that help evenly bake or cook a pizza by turning it in the oven. They are also known as pizza forks or pizza turners. These instruments ensure no part of the pizza dough is burnt or left uncooked. They come with a long handle and two or more teeth-like structures called tynes which help hook on to the pizza and help turn it.
- Why use a pizza spinner?
Baking a pizza can be a stress reliever. But getting to know the perfect mode-time combo to bake requires some practice and patience to perfect the art of baking your own pizzas.
An oven has multiple heat sources and may vary depending on the oven used. Sometimes, the heat is from above, below, or on sides, which means the heat will be distributed unevenly. Why does this matter to us? Well, if the heat gets distributed unevenly, it will not bake the pizza evenly. As a result, some parts of the dough might get over or undercooked. So, it is essential to turn the pizza around to evenly expose the dough to the heat.
A pizza spinner can also help to check for air bubbles and burst them, if any. The tynes of the tool does this by gently poking the crust.
And obviously, the oven and the dough will be hot. So, using our bare hands to turn the pizza can be dangerous. However, the pizza spinner is the best tool crafted to do the job.
So now, say goodbye to half crunchy and half mushy pizza bases, and welcome perfectly cooked homemade pizzas without burn mishaps.
- How do you use a pizza spinner?
A pizza spinner is clearly a useful tool. It seems a bit intimidating to use at first, but it is a breeze once you master the art of handling it.
Photo by Orlando.B / Depositphotos
A pizza spinner serves two primary purposes – to spin the pizza and to check if it is done. So, let’s take a look at how it’s done.
i) To turn the pizza – This is the primary function of a pizza spinner. To ensure the pizza is cooked evenly, we need to turn it.
To turn a pizza:
- Position the teeth of the pizza turner facing down above the pizza.
- Place it closer to the corner of the crust.
- Gently hook the tool to the pizza, turn it, and put it so that the uncooked part faces the heat.
It is as simple as that.
Keep in mind not to puncture the crust accidentally. You don’t need to penetrate the crust – just hold it softly. Punctures can also lead to uneven baking, which can ruin our efforts.
You do not have to turn the pizza once you put it into the oven. Instead, give it some time to cook, as turning it immediately will make holes in the soft dough. Rather, wait for it to turn cooked and crisp before turning around the pizza to the other side.
ii) To check if the pizza is done – This tool can check if the pizza crust is ready to be taken out. Bonus! – To check without taking it out of the oven!
To do this:
- Place the pizza fork with the teeth facing up, and gently tilt the sides of the crust upward.
- Check for crispness and goldenness of the crust.
- If it is ready on one side and uncooked on another, use the above method to turn it around. If it is fully baked, we can remove the crust from the oven.
iii) Removing the pizza from the oven – Use the pizza spinner to remove the pizza from the oven.
Photo by gbh007 / Depositphotos
Once the pizza is done, we need to take it out of the oven. To remove the crust from the oven, gently hook it like you would turn the pizza. Now pull it toward the oven door and slide it onto a plate or tray.
However, a pizza peel is the best fit for this job, as a pizza spinner may cause holes in the crust – but a pizza peel eliminates this possibility.
- What are the pros of using a pizza spinner?
Using a pizza spinner comes with its pros and cons. Here are the following reasons why using this tool is a good idea:
- Easy to maneuver – Using a pizza spinner is super easy and is no rocket science. Anyone can learn to use it in a jiffy. You just need to hold it and turn it as you want. It is definitely easier than using other tools like turning peels.
- Better pizzas – Isn’t that what we all wish for? Better homemade pizzas! Well, with pizza turners, it is easier to make them! Since they help bake the pizza evenly, our pizzas come out well cooked and tastier. You do not have to stress about half-baked doughs or burnt crusts anymore.
- Build of the tool – The pizza spinner is built in such a way that it helps you make the best pizzas. This tool comes with teeth called tynes to grip the pizza properly, so we can turn it in any direction we want. It has a long handle that helps turn the pizza from outside the oven. We do not need to worry about bringing it to the front or outside and can turn it easily from within the oven.
- Size – The pizza spinner is small and compact and can be stored anywhere easily. It is also easily portable because of its small size. Storage is effortless as it can be stored in any container or shelf, and its only requirement is that it must be kept dry.
Photo by steauarosie / Depositphotos
- What are the cons of using a pizza spinner?
Anything good has its negative sides as well. Being aware of these will help in reducing these problems from happening.
- Punctures in the pizza crust – The tynes of the pizza spinner are sharp to grip the pizza, but in the process, they might pierce the crust and leave holes. This, luckily, will not affect the taste of the pizza but could lead to uneven baking. To avoid this, hold the pizza with the spinner gently.
- Difficult to use in large ovens – Larger ovens have more space, and the pizza spinner may not be big enough to fully rotate it in the oven. This can result in burn injuries.
- What is a turning peel?
Unlike a pizza spinner, a pizza peel has a flat surface and a long handle. This helps transfer the pizza from the oven to the plate after it is cooked. It is also used to keep the pizza in the oven after it is assembled.
It is also called a pizza paddle. The flat carrying surface is known as the blade. The blade is where the pizza is placed and lifted. It is wide enough to balance the whole pizza. The handle of the pizza peel is long enough to provide a stable grip and to prevent burns from the oven’s high temperatures.
Pizza peels come in two types: Metal pizza peel and wooden pizza peel.
The wooden pizza peel is a traditional tool that has been around for centuries, especially in rural areas. It prevents sticking and is heat resistant. It is also cheap and easy to acquire. The downside of this, however, is that it can be thick and might be difficult to lift or turn the pizza.
Photo by Amaviael / Depositphotos
Metal pizza peel eliminates this difficulty. It is thin and sleek, making slipping it under the pizza base easier. It is available in stainless steel or aluminum. However, it may not be as heat resistant as wooden peels, and the dough may stick to the blade more often. One way to deal with this issue is by sprinkling some dry flour on its flat surface.
A pizza turning peel is a kind of pizza peel. It has a circular base and is used to turn and rotate the pizza.
- Why use a pizza turning peel?
While using microwave ovens, it is essential to have a tool around to take the pizza out or turn it. Using your hand might be risky, and other tools may not be as safe. That is why the pizza turning peel is the best option. The long, slim handle makes it easy to take it out while maintaining a safe distance from the oven’s scorching heat. The peel’s blade is also wide enough to take it out or turn it without the pizza falling from it. That is why a pizza turning peel is an excellent tool to invest in.
- How is a turning peel used?
The turning peel is used to take out the pizza or to check if the pizza is done.
To do this:
- Hold the pizza peel and slide it under the crust. The wide blade should help to lift the pizza crust.
- Lift it, and check if it is done. If not, put it back into the oven at a different angle if necessary.
- Rotate the uncooked parts toward the heat source.
The pizza peel is suitable for this, but it may be inefficient because you must take it out of the oven each time. The pizza spinner, however, accomplishes this within the oven.
- What is the difference between a pizza spinner and a turning peel?
Both pizza spinners and turning peels essentially serve the same purpose: to turn the pizza. So what’s the difference? And which one is better?
Photo by vadimphoto1@gmail.com / Depositphotos
The pizza spinner has a better grip on the pizza due to its teeth (tynes). It ensures the pizza is held firmly and rotates. However, the turning peel has a circular base with no teeth, so the grip may not be as good.
The turning peel has a longer handle, which helps avoid physical contact and is safer. Still, the turning peel is the only alternative to the pizza spinner. The spinner provides a better chance for a better pizza!
Pizza spinners are also less expensive than pizza turning peels, which makes them more economical.
- How to select the best pizza spinner?
We always want to buy the best of anything, but how do we decide which is the best pizza spinner? Well, we’ll help you with that. Here’s a checklist for the best pizza spinners:
- Durability – The material used to make the pizza spinner should withstand the oven’s high temperatures. The handling side of it should be a poor conductor of heat. The material should be high quality, durable, and very sturdy. Melting is inexcusable.
- Economical – Pizza spinners are generally not very expensive. Still, you should ensure you are not wasting money on the wrong product. It should be worth every penny you are spending on it, and it should be able to deliver the best results. Some of these pricey tools are made with high quality materials. However, sometimes they deliver similar results and do not make a difference. In such cases, it is better to buy the more economical one.
- Design – Long-lasting material and better price are all good, but if it is not designed well, it is a big no-no. The pizza spinner should be designed to effectively give the best results and not just look good. A good pizza spinner should have a handle with an excellent grip to help us turn the pizza properly. To up the design, it should come wrapped with an insulating material so that we do not suffer any burns from the oven’s heat.
The pizza spinner should also come with teeth or tynes to grip the pizza properly. It should be sharp enough to grip the pizza but not so sharp that it leaves punctures in its crust.
