What Is a Pizza Spinner and How to Use It?

Baking pizza at home can be fun and stressful at the same time. However, when you have all the right tools, you won’t worry whether your pizza is unevenly baked or burnt on one side. Consider getting yourself a pizza spinner that will help you make the perfect pizza at home.

A pizza spinner or turning fork is a tool for turning pizza in the oven. These tools are very handy when you want to avoid burning your dough and hurting yourself from the oven heat while rotating a pizza. They come with a long handle and two or more tynes (teeth) that will hold and handle pizza better while still in the oven.

Three evenly baked pizzas

Learn more about this pizza tool and how to use it if you want to get the best out of your pizza. I’ve gathered some interesting information, so keep reading.

What Is a Pizza Spinner?

If your pizza-making skills are getting serious and you’ve already got the pizza oven, you surely have to think about having a pizza spinner. This tool will surely be necessary for your kitchen gear if you want to bring pizza making to the next level.

A turning fork helps you turn pizza much more easily, ensuring it’s cooked evenly from all sides. This tool is also designed to protect the cook from the oven heat, which can be extremely dangerous considering high oven temperatures. So, here are some of the top-notch pizza spinners on the market.

ProductPrice
Cuisinart CPS-022 Alfrescamore$17.42
KettlePizza spinners$24.95
Aluminum turning fork$17.89
SHINESTAR pizza paddle with fork$26.99

How to Choose a Pizza Spinner?

Pizza spinners usually come in pairs because that way, you’ll turn your pizza much easier. And the good news is that finding a good set shouldn’t be so difficult. However, knowing some facts before investing in them is always good because only then you’ll be sure the tools will last for many years. So, here are the factors you need to have in mind when buying a pizza spinner:

  • Design – the tool should have a good handle for the perfect grip and teeth that will move pizza hassle-free inside the oven.
  • Durability – only the best quality materials will ensure durability, which is extremely important since you’ll work with high oven temperatures.
  • Cost-Effectiveness – putting the money into the right product is essential, even though these tools aren’t the most expensive ones.

Why Should You Have a Pizza Spinner in Your Kitchen?

Baking pizza in an oven can be a pretty overwhelming job because pizza ovens tend to bake unevenly. And that’s when a pizza fork steps in – with this tool, you’ll overcome the most common problems of pizza ovens – inconsistent temperature and uneven heat distribution.

So, rotating pizza in the oven would be the most necessary step, but doing it with your bare hands isn’t the option. It can seriously harm your skin and burn your fingers. That’s why the spinner tool is the best one for this job. I highly recommend you explore which ovens and forks are the best combos:

  • Wood-fired pizza ovens and longer handle forks,
  • Home pizza ovens and standard pizza forks,
  • Commercial electric pizza ovens and longer handle forks,
  • Home convection ovens and standard pizza forks.

Explore All the Benefits of a Pizza Spinner

Knowing all the benefits this tool will bring you during the cooking of your preferred meal will surely help you decide whether it’s really needed or not. This is especially important when you just can’t decide which pizza spinner is better for you. To make things a bit easier, here are some of the benefits pizza forks will bring you:

  • Easy to use,
  • Small and compact,
  • The price is affordable.

Do You Need This Kitchen Tool – Know Some Pros and Cons

Thinking about boosting your kitchen gear any time soon? It’s usually not the easiest thing to do because you need to consider many factors that can impact your decision – from budget and free space in your kitchen to whether you really need that new tool.

Now that you know all the benefits of this product, you can start thinking about whether it’s the right tool for you or not. However, you still need to know some of the pros and cons of the pizza fork before making a decision.

ProsCons
Easy to store and handleNot suitable for larger ovens
Turn pizza around quicklyHave small handles
Handling pizza easierPizza crust may have punctures and holes
Teeth hold the pizza well

What Is the Best Way to Use Pizza Spinner?

Primarily, there are two main things that a pizza spinner should do – rotating pizza and checking the pizza bottom. In other words, it helps you know whether your pizza is cooked properly . And if you think more about it, you’ll realize it’s quite a handy tool that will assist you in making the perfect pizza at home. So, let’s check each one of the pizza spinner’s functions:

  • Turning – as the name suggests, the tool’s main function is to rotate and turn the pizza while in the oven. However, you surely shouldn’t try doing it right after the pizza is placed into the oven. It will only make the unwanted holes, and you won’t even move the dough. It’s better to wait until the pizza becomes crisp and more baked on one side. In fact, that’s the best time to turn your pizza. Just make sure you don’t puncture the crust, or even worse, tear and spoil it. 
  • Checking the crust and bottom – besides just rotating pizza, you can use the hook to check the pizza’s crust and whether it’s ready to come out of the oven. And to do that, you should place the teeth facing up in order to push them under the crust and tilt the edge gently. That way, you’ll be able to see the bottom of your pizza.
  • Removing pizza from the oven – another useful thing you get out of the pizza spinner is the possibility to use it for removing the pizza from the oven. It’s quite easy, actually – all you need to do is drag the pizza out and put it on a serving plate.

Check Some Pizza Spinner Alternatives

The common alternative for forks is turning peel. This small round peel has practically the same use as a pizza spinner – to check doneness and turn the pizza. However, many people find turning peels much more complicated to use for small home ovens. On the other hand, with the larger ovens, turning peels are a better choice since they have larger handles. Here are some of the best turning peels you can find on the market:

Pizza Spinner vs. Pizza Turning Peel

When people talk about pizza-making equipment and tools, they often mix the pizza spinners and turn peels. It’s surely because the turning peel is the prevalent alternative for the traditional turning pizza fork. However, there are some differences you need to know about if you’re planning to get a tool that will easily rotate pizza while in the oven.

Pizza spinnerPizza turning peel
UseYou don’t require practice, and it provides better control and hold over the pizzaYou could use some practice to use it correctly
SizeSmaller and compactLonger and larger handles
PriceMore affordableMore expensive

Have a Homemade Pizza With the Game-Changing Tool

Having all the tools that will make your home cooking a breeze is surely something you need to invest in. And especially when it comes to pizza enthusiasts that are tired of ordering this delicious meal online or going to the restaurants and paying enormous amounts of money. Instead, you can stay at home and experiment with numerous tasty recipes, but only if you have the right equipment.

I personally prefer the traditional pizza spinner and, to be more precise, the Cuisinart spinner. It does a great job of spinning the pizza in the oven, always helping me bake it evenly. The size is another reason why I prefer it over a turning peel – it can easily be stored in my small kitchen. So, if you’re still considering whether it’s a good investment, think no more. It will be the perfect helper to spin, check the crust underneath, and remove your pizza from the oven.