I’ve tested a lot of different pizza ovens and accessories over the years, but a rotating stone was a first for me. While there are rotating pizza ovens on the market, Ooni’s newly-launched Rotating Pizza Oven Stone is the first to feature hands-free control, allowing you to start and pause rotation with a simple wave of a hand or pizza peel. It fully eliminates the need for manual turning while ensuring even heat distribution for a perfect bake. Needless to say, I was keen to test it out for myself to see how it compared.
When you think of pizza ovens, Ooni is likely the first brand that comes to mind. Known for high-quality, design-led ovens, it launched the first-ever portable pizza oven in 2012, opening the door to a whole new era of outdoor entertaining. So I didn’t doubt that the rotating stone would be as premium and polished as its other designs. “We identified a market crowded with products that fall short on reliability and engineered a solution that is as elegant as it is durable,” explains Kristian Tapaninaho, founder of Ooni. “The Koda 2 Rotating Stone Range makes cooking simpler, more intuitive, and more enjoyable.”
Reported as the number one problem by Ooni pizza oven owners, the challenge of manually turning pizzas in the oven is solved by the rotating stone. But I was keen to see how it worked in practise and if it was worth the extra investment, so I put it to the test.
Ooni UK
Ooni Rotating Stone – 12″
Also available in a 16″ option, with the 20″ currently out of stock, Ooni’s Rotating Pizza Oven Stone is innovation at its best. If you don’t have a Koda 2 model, you can buy the Ooni Koda 2 Rotating Stone Bundle, which also happens to be on sale right now!
Debbie Black
Debbie Black is Livingetc‘s deputy editor (digital) and has worked in the publishing industry for almost 20 years. She has a passion for interiors and design and has worked for titles such as ELLE Decoration, World of Interiors, ELLE, Condé Nast Traveller, GQ, and Glamour, among others. She also has a passion for homemade pizzas, making them at home with her family on a weekly basis. Having owned an Ooni pizza oven for the past three years, she is well-versed in the trials and tribulations of homemade pizzas.
First Impressions
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As with all of Ooni’s products, the rotating stone came well-packaged, and the innovative design is as clever as it is easy to install. With a very clear instruction booklet, it took under 10 minutes to get the stone set up in the pizza oven.
After removing the original pizza stone, four screws attach the motor, which is powered by four AA batteries that are included. The only downside is that the batteries are not rechargeable — but you could buy your own set of 8xAA Rechargeable Batteries with a Charger on Amazon, to save you from buying new ones each time they run out, saving both your pocket and the planet.
The motor can run continuously for approximately seven hours on a set of AA batteries, though, so unless you’re having marathon pizza parties every night, it should last you quite a long time!
The rotating stone itself comprises five parts — four corners, with a central circle that rotates. You can control the rotating stone using either the function button, hands-free sensor, or Ooni Connect™ Digital Temperature Hub (included with Koda 2 Pro and Koda 2 Max models, and also compatible with the Koda 2, if you wish to buy it separately).
Testing the Rotating Stone
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It took about 20 minutes for the stone to reach temperature — which you need to check with an Infrared Digital Thermometer if you don’t have the Koda 2 Pro or Max which have a built-in thermometer — which is the same time it would take to heat up a standard pizza stone. I was ready to get testing.
So my first go was not perfect. I was testing garlic pizza bread initially (my youngest’s favorite) before doing some simple Margheritas and was too used to using a turning peel in the pizza-making process that I didn’t trust the stone was moving quickly enough, and tried moving it around myself too soon — alas, the base didn’t cook evenly.
I learned to trust the process, and after the third pizza, I was getting in my groove. I just needed to adjust the flame to be a little lower, roughly half on the dial, to ensure it cooked as evenly as possible. As with anything, it takes a bit of adjusting to get it right.
It took a little over 90 seconds to cook each pizza, possibly closer to 2 minutes, but this is the same again as cooking on the standard pizza stone. Though, I have to say, I personally enjoy turning the pizza in the oven when it’s cooking — it makes me feel like a proper pro! — but I can absolutely see that a rotating stone is ideal for outdoor hosting.
And the pizzas were just as delicious as those baked on the standard pizza stone. Plus, the rotating stone can also be used for rotisserie-style cooking — simply change the rotation from continuous to timed turning — so if you’re a serious host or cook, you’ve got added flexibility with the rotating stone, too.
Should You Buy Ooni’s Rotating Stone?
(Image credit: Ooni)
Firstly, the rotating stone is only compatible with Ooni’s Koda 2 range, so unless you already have one of the Koda 2 models or are planning on buying one, it will not work with any other pizza oven.
If you do have one, though, and are looking for a way to make pizza-making easier, particularly when hosting larger groups, then Ooni’s rotating stone will absolutely do just that. It allows you to enjoy all the benefits of homemade pizza when catering for family and friends on those glorious summer days and evenings, without spending the entire time with your head in the oven (not literally, of course!). You can sit back and let the stone do the hard work for you.
I wouldn’t, however, recommend the rotating stone to anyone who truly loves the physical pizza-making process from start to finish, as this removes one of the key elements of it. It’s also worth noting that the rotating stone is on the pricier side, costing more than half of the Koda 2 pizza oven itself, so you would need to be sure it was worth the investment.
If you regularly host, have the budget, and are looking for a way to make cooking pizzas outdoors in your Koda 2 easier and more efficient, then Ooni’s rotating stone may just be your new best friend.
Other Ooni Pizza Accessories
A sure-fire way to make your pizza-making experience easier at home is to have the right pizza oven accessories. These are my three top picks from Ooni’s range that deliver on style and practicality.
Ooni
Ooni Digital Infrared Thermometer
If you don’t have the Koda 2 Pro or Koda 2 Max which come with a built-in thermometer, then you need a digital infrared thermometer to ensure your pizza stone reaches the correct temperature for cooking your pizza properly and ensuring you always get the perfect pizza base.
Ooni UK
Ooni Signature Peel
Another vital accessory for homemade pizza making, the peel ensures you can launch and retrieve your pizzas from the oven with ease. I prefer peels with as many perforations as possible to ensure as much excess semolina (or flour, depending on what you use) is removed from the base before cooking.
Ooni
Ooni Dual Platform Digital Scales
A total game-changer for making dough, particularly in smaller batches. If you only want to make a couple of pizzas for the family, the amount of yeast you need will likely weigh less than what most standard scales will reliably measure (5g+). This set of scales allows you to measure as little as 0.1g on the small scale and 1g on the larger scale.
There’s no denying that Ooni’s rotating stone will make outdoor hosting with a Koda 2 pizza oven effortless this season, but whether the investment is worth it for you will come down to your lifestyle and your budget.
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