Witt Etna Rotante Pizza Oven review

Making your personal pizza in a correct pizza oven may be both extremely satisfying or extremely irritating. When you get into these excessive temperatures, the possibilities improve of burning the perimeters or cooking one aspect nicely however the different not a lot.

Designed to supply completely cooked pizza each time, Witt’s Etna Rotante comes with its personal spin: a rotating pizza stone.

Coupled with a U-shaped burner wrapped round it, and a second burner beneath, it goals to nix burning and undercooked points, whereas producing fascinating leopard-spotted crispy crusts in beneath two minutes. A ultimate flourish is a family-sized cooking space that’s 40.5cm in diameter, that means that catering for a crowd is a cinch.

Design and construct

• Heavy at 26.8kg/ 59lbs
• Digital ignition
• Butane-fuelled

Witt’s Etna Rotante leaves first impression. Made largely from metal and galvanised iron, and out there in 4 painted colors, together with a beautiful matt orange, it feels well-built and strong.

Pizza ovens are naturally heavy issues, however this one is weightier than most at 26.8kg/ 59lbs. It’s additionally fairly cumbersome (H43.6 x W66.3 x D76.1cm/ 17 x 26.10 x 30in), that means it’s both a two-person carry or it’s greatest to choose a spot for it to dwell and go away it there.

Another excuse for that is that its 4, fold-out aluminium legs generally tend to break down in when it’s moved – having the ability to safe them in place can be a plus.

If you happen to’re elevating it up on a heatproof desk or comparable, it’ll have to be sturdy sufficient to take the burden. Plus, the hose connecting to the butane bottle isn’t that lengthy, so you’ll have to issue within the weight of that too.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Its controls and fuel connection sit low on the right-hand aspect. There are two dials to manage the principle U-shaped burner and burner under the pizza stone, plus a button to begin and cease the stone’s rotation.

The rotation is powered by both 4 x AA batteries or a plug-in adaptor inserted beneath – confusingly, the directions aren’t particular that you simply don’t want each.

Subsequent to that battery compartment is a second one for the digital ignition, which is powered by a single AA battery. It’s equipped with a fuel hose with a butane connector, that means that when you’ve got propane at hand as an alternative of butane (advisable since our bottle value £70), you’ll have to supply an alternate.

Inside is the place the magic occurs. Very similar to the turntable of a microwave, the pizza stone rotates at 2.5rpm to distribute the warmth evenly. In entrance of this can be a piece of static stone – preferrred for conserving small quantities of meals scorching or catching any particles. Each stones are detachable for cleansing – however the directions specify to solely use plain water, which we discovered ineffective towards burnt-on residue.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Efficiency and options

• 15 minute preheating time
• Pizza peel not included
• No temperature gauge

As soon as it’s related to the fuel bottle, it’s pretty simple to get began with the Etna Rotante. The digital ignition lit each burners rapidly, and we may spend its preheating time (about quarter-hour) topping our pizza bases, so there was no ready round – one thing we particularly appreciated.

Nonetheless, in contrast to ovens with a static floor inside, the success of cooking with the Etna Rotante comes from touchdown the pizza pretty centrally on its rotating stone. Even when the rotation is turned off, it was clear a pizza peel was required (the oven doesn’t include one). All our makes an attempt to get pizza out and in of the oven with no peel ended messily.

Alongside the identical strains, there’s not a lot steerage for attaining the perfect outcomes with the pizza oven past dough and tomato sauce recipes. Information of utilizing an outside oven appears to be assumed, indicating that this will not be the perfect product for these new to creating selfmade pizza at hotter temperatures than an indoor oven.

For instance, there’s no temperature gauge to point what warmth you may be cooking at (the oven goes as much as 500°C/ 932°F), and visibility contained in the oven is proscribed if it’s on the bottom.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

We cooked most of our pizza for 2 minutes – greater than the ‘lower than 90 seconds’ recommended time, which can have meant our oven didn’t all the time attain its most temperature. As you may’t see the burner beneath the stone with out wanting beneath by an inspection gap, it’s exhausting to know whether or not at instances the enhance flame was extinguished by a breeze.

In the long run, we discovered the perfect outcomes got here from a preheat on full energy then cooking with the U-shaped burner on a medium setting. This gave steadiness of management over the outcomes (because the dough can burn in a short time) with out compromising on pace an excessive amount of, and nonetheless produced the elusive leopard-spotted crusts.

Worth and availability

Within the UK, there are many shopping for choices for the Etna Rotante, together with Amazon, B&Q and Marks Electrical however on the time of writing, there’s no value benefit from shopping for from any retailer – in every case it’s being bought for on the £699 RRP – so it’s greatest to browse for the color you need.

Within the US, your greatest greatest is to purchase direct from Witt for $999.

However there are less expensive pizza ovens out there. We’ve examined and extremely price the wood-fired Ooni Fyra (£249/ $349) and the bigger, luxurious Ooni Karu (£699/ $799).

Verdict

Aimed extra on the pizza aficionado than the occasional out of doors prepare dinner, the Etna Rotante does a lot of issues nicely. These embody constant outcomes when you get the hold of issues, simple to make use of controls, and a quick heat-up.

And, whereas some pizza ovens are a bit boxy and conventional, we felt that it additionally scored extremely within the model stakes with its trendy form and vary of colors – certain to impress a crowd in addition to cater for one.

That stated, given its value level, you’d hope for higher directions and the flexibility to make use of propane, a much more accessible bottled fuel within the UK not less than, straight from the field.

Nonetheless, if glossy design, authentic-looking outcomes and a big capability are on the prime of your want checklist, the Etna Rotante is bound to show your head.