Is there an ultimate way to make a rotatable pizza stone?
So I've bought a gas-powered pizza oven reminiscent of the Ooni Koda 12. It gets the crust done alright, but as I expected earlier it is quite difficult to rotate the dough using a peel without ending up with some parts burned and without an overall unevenness of baking level.
I've looked anywhere but couldn't find enough information on how to construct a (non-motorized) rotation mechanism into a pizza stone which could healthily withstand temperatures of 500 Celsius and perhaps a bit more.
Possible issues I suspect: pizza stones are cordierite — I don't think it can hold screws; so you consider gluing — is there any chemical glue which doesn't release toxic fumes at such degrees? And then considering the types of bearings available — most don't mention it but aren't they likely oiled with stuff that, again, might prove unhealthy within a gas oven?
I suppose this question isn't exactly food related, but I haven't found a definite SE category for this.
Best Answer
Yes, I can recommend a method because I did this*. Per my blog post, the secret is to buy a round corderite stone of the correct size, glue that to a stainless steel turntable, and bolt that to a thin metal sheet. The steel turntable works because it's not sealed and there is no grease in it, so it won't boil off.
Since I published that blog post, I've learned that there are other high-temperature adhesives that might be better than the one I used, so you might try one of those.
As an alternative to an adhesive, you could get flat steel bars and screw them to the holes on the top of the turntable, and then bend the ends to firmly hold the round corderite stone. In my particular case, I didn't have enough clearance for those, hence the adhesive.
(*link to my own blog because it's the best source of information on this particular task)
Pictures about "Is there an ultimate way to make a rotatable pizza stone?"
Can you make your own pizza stone?
How do you make a pizza stone at home? Grab some unglazed quarry tiles from your local home improvement store - enough to put a pizza on. Wash them with warm water (no soap or detergent) and let them dry. Rub a little bit of olive oil on the tiles to fill the pores.What stone is best for a pizza stone?
Ceramic and clay pizza stones are among the most common materials used to make pizza stones \u2014 they're great for transferring heat and absorbing moisture from the pizza crust, but they can crack over time. Cordierite stone is similar to ceramic and clay, though it's more likely to last longer since it's more durable.What can I use to make a pizza stone?
Seasoning a pizza stoneNever season a Pizzacraft pizza stone. This is a mistake we see many people make! While other stones may need to be oiled or seasoned, this will ruin the Pizzacraft stones and cause them to smoke or have a bad odor. The Pizzacraft Pizza Stones come ready to cook with!Rotating Pizza Stone - OONI KARU
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Answer 2
I suggest something much simpler - make your pizza stone with feet including a large one in the centre and quite a lot around the rim. Then have a tool, probably looking a bit like an oversize carving fork so much narrower than a pizza peel, that goes underneath, engages the centre foot and one outer one, and allows you to turn the stone, taking a little weight if necessary.
If you used a steel instead of a stone, this could be fairly easily made: I'd use bolts but the feet could be welded or brazed on. If you're set on a stone, a steel or brass (bolted/welded) frame could hold it.
Fabricating from metal, you could also make a top turntable (either a pizza steel or a stand for a stone) with a central cylindrical boss on the underside, and a bottom plate that fits the floor of the oven, with a hole to match the boss on the upper plate. Then drill into the perimeter of the top plate every few degrees, so you can insert a bar and turn in like a windlass. This sort of plain bearing would be adequate for the loads and speeds involved, with a little clearance especially if you use two different metals. It could even be lubricated - put a little flour in there and the resulting carbonised dust will act as a lubricant. Actually this looks better in 3 parts, and doesn't need any fasteners.
Here's a sketch (note that I haven't included the holes needed to put a bar in to rotate it, and their spacing depends on the size of the oven opening)
A steel should have more thermal conductivity and require less rotation than a stone anyway.
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Images: Pixabay, Markus Spiske, Armin Rimoldi, Dziana Hasanbekava