Witt ETNA Rotante pizza oven review

What were your first impressions of the Witt Rotante?

This pizza oven is large. While it’s not as large as the Gozney Dome, the Witt Rotante demands its own space in the garden.

It arrived in a large box, and everything was well packaged. The majority of the packaging was made of cardboard and plastic; there was also a small polystyrene wedged between the legs and body of the pizza oven.

This pizza oven looks and feels high quality. The build is sturdy and it has a modern, sleek appearance. It's also available in four colours: black, grey, off-white and orange.

How easy is the Witt Rotante to build?

There is very little assembly to this pizza oven. But, we’d advise setting it up with another person, as it can’t be attempted alone.

Once the Rotante is in place, you just need to insert the rotating pizza stone, as well as the additional stone that sits at the front of the oven.

If you have a mains plug outside, you’ll be able to use the plug attachment that’s included for the rotating element. But if not, it is powered by four AA batteries. You’ll also need another AA battery for the ignition button. Both battery compartments sit underneath the oven, near the flame dials.

Does it come with any additional tools?

No tools are included with the Witt Rotante, but a range of accessories are available to buy separately. A pizza peel is an essential tool you'll need to get started.

How easy is the Witt Rotante to light?

Once connected to the gas (butane), this pizza oven is easy to light. Simply follow the instructions in the manual to ignite. It works much like a gas hob in that both the flame dial and ignition button need to be pressed. A small hole near the dials allow you to see into the oven cavity to check that the oven has been lit, but you can also hear this.

One glaring omission on this pizza oven is the lack of temperature dial. Witt claim it takes up to 15 minutes to come to temperature – which it does – but a temperature dial would be useful, particularly when cooking lots of pizzas in succession.

How easy is it to cook a pizza in the Witt Rotante?

We’ve tested lots of pizza ovens and without doubt, the Witt Rotante is the easiest model in which to cook a pizza. It has a large opening to the oven cavity, a U-shaped flame that offers impressive heat coverage inside the oven, and, of course, the rotating stone. A booster burner can be found underneath the stone to keep it hot.

Launching the pizza is a breeze – there’s plenty of space both at the opening of the pizza oven and on the stone itself.

If you’re confident, the pizza can be launched while the pizza stone is rotating, but if not, the button can be found next to the flame dials, so only mere seconds need to pass between launching the pizza and turning the rotating element on.

The rotating element removes the need to turn the pizza manually. As a result, it produces a perfectly even bake.

How many pizzas does it fit?

One 16-inch pizza.

How hot does the outside get?

As expected, the pizza oven is noticeably warm around the outside. We used an infrared thermometer to take a temperature reading of the outside of the oven and it registered 70C, so be sure to not let anyone touch the outside of the oven and keep children and pets away.

How long does it take to make a pizza?

Witt claims a pizza can be made in 60 seconds. This pizza oven is indeed fast, but not that fast. Our pizza took just under 2 minutes to cook. We yielded the best results when we allowed the pizza oven to heat to around 500C, launched the pizza, then immediately turned the flames down to medium-low.

How was the finished pizza?

Once we’d perfected our cooking technique, the pizza was near perfect. It was entirely cooked through, with even leopard spotting around the beautifully risen crust. The toppings were fully cooked, with a touch of browning. We’d have liked to have seen a little more browning on the bottom, but the base was still crisp and well-cooked.

Can you cook anything other than pizza in this oven?

The oven cavity is spacious enough to be able to cook meat and veg, roast chicken or even bake bread. There is also a stone insert that sits at the front of the pizza oven, which is useful for keeping foods warm or melting ingredients.

How easy is the Witt Rotante to clean?

Cleaning this pizza oven is very easy to do. The stone inserts cover the majority of the oven cavity, so nothing really falls anywhere inaccessible. The stones can be easily removed once cool to be wiped clean.

Can you keep the Witt Rotante outside?

This pizza oven should be stored somewhere with cover (a shed for example) to keep it away from the elements. A cover can also be bought for this pizza oven. Bear in mind that you’ll need a lot of space to be able to store this oven.

Who would get the most use out of the Witt Rotante?

This oven is ideal for those looking for an upgrade on their existing pizza oven and people who are into innovation in appliances. If you’re new to pizza ovens and have the money to spend, this is also a great option as you really don’t need to be an expert to be able to use it. Plus, the rotating stone does away with the more nerve-wracking elements of pizza-making, such as turning the pizza while it’s cooking.

Do be aware that this model comes with a disappointingly short 12-month warranty.

Witt Rotante: the verdict

Despite being initially surprised by the size of the Witt Rotante, we quickly fell in love with it. It’s ultra-intuitive to use, has a large cavity that can cook myriad things and makes a fantastic pizza, too. The rotating element is a genius addition that takes the guesswork out of pizza-making, plus it’s pretty mesmerising to watch.

It’s not the easiest to store, but this isn’t a model designed to moved around; you won’t be taking it on your next camping trip, for example. But, for the right garden, this model makes the perfect addition.

The Witt Rotante is a costly upfront investment, but because of the rotating pizza stone and quality of pizza produced, we feel it's worth every penny.

Specifications

Dimensions (cm): ‎75 x 63 x 45cm
Weight: 37.5kg
Fuel: propane gas (21mm)
Accessories included: no

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