Pizza is awesome, we have never found anyone who does not like it. The Ooni Koda 12 gas fired pizza oven can fully bake a 12 inch pizza in 3 minutes, but we need to rotate it every 20-30 seconds to bake it evenly and avoid burning it on one side. The rotating pizza stone solves the problem and bakes the perfect pizza in 3 minutes.
Materials
- Dreyoo Rotisserie Grill Kit ( $44.99 at Amazon )
- Pizza Stone for Oven and Grill 12 inch ( $27.99 at Amazon )
- 2 each 4 mm or #6 stainless steel washers.
Tools
- 11 mm drill bit to drill into the stainless steel bottom of the oven.
- Hack saw to cut the stainless steel shaft.
- Sharp ceramic/tile drill bit to drill a dent into the center of the pizza stone to keep it in place on the top of the shaft.
- File to round the tip of the fork and smooth the edge of the cut shaft.
The construction
- With a 3 mm Allen key remove the match holder from the bottom of the Ooni Koda 12 pizza oven.
- Drill an 11 mm diameter hole into the center line of the oven, 15 mm from the center line of the match holder’s threaded holes.
- With a file, round the tips of the rotisserie forks to avoid any injuries during construction and usage.
- Flatten the fork to support the pizza stone.
- On a flat surface align the arms of the fork, so the shaft stands straight up.
- Using the stainless steel washers attach the middle slots of the motor bracket to the bottom of the oven using the holes and screws which held the match extender. The 11 mm hole at the bottom of the oven should align with the center of the notch on the bracket.
- With a sharp tile drill make a 3 mm deep, 5 mm diameter dent at the center of the round pizza stone. This will keep the pizza stone centered on the shaft.
- Insert the tip of the shaft into the dent in the center of the pizza stone, and mark the position of the hole in the center of the fork.
- Drill a few mm dent in the shaft with 4, 5, and 6 mm drill bits to guide the screw of the fork.
- Place the straightened fork in the oven, push the shaft through it from the bottom. Align the screw with the dent in the shaft and tighten it.
- Temporarily place the pizza stone on top of the shaft, to make sure the tip of the shaft can reach into the dent at the center of the pizza stone.
- Draw a line on the shaft at the bottom of the motor bracket.
- The final length of the shaft should be 22 mm longer to reach into the hole in the motor enclosure.
- Cut the shaft at the second mark with the hack saw, and smooth the edges with the file.
- Insert the shaft into the hole at the bottom of the oven, align the screw of the fork with the dent on the top of the shaft and tighten it.
- Lift the shaft, slide the motor into the bracket with the cable facing the rear, and insert the shaft into the motor enclosure.
- Place the pizza stone on top of the shaft. Insert the tip of the shaft into the dent at the bottom of the pizza stone.
Baking the perfect pizza
We have a few suggestions to make sure your pizza is as good as it can be.
Pre-heat the pizza stone
- Turn on the motor to heat the pizza stone evenly,
- Light the gas heater, set it to high and heat the center of the pizza stone to 425 °C (800 °F).
Prepare the pizza
- Put Semolina on your work surface when you put the toppings on the pizza. Semolina has higher combustion temperature, so it does not burn in the oven.
- Prepare the pizza on an Ooni or similar bamboo pizza peel. Put some Semolina on the pizza peel, stretch the dough, and put the toppings on it.
- Gently shake the pizza peel before you slide the dough into the oven, to make sure the dough does not stick to it..
Bake the pizza
- Set the gas heater to low,
- Temporarily stop the motor and place the pizza at the center of the pizza stone,
- Start the motor as soon as you can to avoid burning one side of the pizza,
- Remove the fully baked pizza with the aluminum pizza peel while the motor is on.
Before you bake the next pizza
During baking, the pizza stone will cool down to close to 260 °C (500 °F), so the bottom of the next pizza will not bake properly. Before you bake the next pizza
- Keep the motor on to heat the pizza stone evenly,
- Remove most of the Semolina flour from the pizza stone with a heat resistant tool, so it does not burn during stone re-heating,
- Set the gas heater to high and re-heat the center of the pizza stone to 425 °C (800 °F),
- Don’t forget to set the gas heater to low again before you place the next pizza into the oven!
