Pizza cook time and temperature

jbsmith

When I bought my BGE a few weeks ago the salesman kept on about pizza and how quick they were to cook.  He told us that he cooked them at 550 for 6mins.  Well I'm talking between 15-20 mins for mine and just wanted s sanity check that this would be about right.  setup is plate setter legs down and BGE pizza stone on top.  Have tried putting spacers under stone but no real difference.
Am I happy with the pizza, yes but was hoping for better, it seems by the time the centre is cooked the edge is very crispy.

Have used shop bought dough and home made with the same result.

Any advice

jbsmith

opps I have used temps between 500-700

BGnogin

I have done pizza once, I am also a new egger.  I preheated the egg to 550* and kept it there for 40 minutes or so.  Pizza took about 10 minutes to cook.  Similar set up as you, legs down, 1 inch spacer, ceramic grill 16" stone.  

Could be that your stone was preheated enough which caused a center of the pizza to cook slower than the edge.

chadpsualum

I just made my first pizzas last week (http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1191521/pizza-i-dont-know-why-i-waited-so-long)

650F for 7min.  Perfect.

jtcBoynton

6 minutes at 550º is on the short side. 20 minutes at 550º is on the long side. Thickness of the dough makes a major difference in time needed to cook.  Are you sure your stone was completely saturated with heat before cooking? You did not indicate how long you let your stone heat up after reaching 550º.  Let it heat up for 45-60 minutes after the egg reaches temp.  The fact that you did not see any differences with spacers or not indicates that the stone was not completely heated.  Crispy edges with under cooked center also indicates a cold stone.

blasting

I find an IR thermometer to be invaluable when doing pies.  Thermoworks has a nice one on for half price right now, I think about $34 or so.

buzd504

About 12 minutes at 600 with the stone high in the dome and relatively thin crust and lots of toppings.

jbsmith

Ok thanks for the comments.


Because I have been struggling with pizza the setup was pre-heated for nearly an hour. I have used fire bricks with spacers to raise it up.  I,m beginning to think that the original comment from the salesman of 6mins is whats be causing my concern.

Just one other question, for thick pizza (deep pan) do you use a different dough or just make the dough thicker.?

jtcBoynton

Dough for deep dish is different from dough for NY or Neapolitan style pizza.  Cooking temps also are different.  Deep dish are cooked at lower temps for around 30 minutes.  Neapolitan at high temps for 90 seconds.  Lots of variations in between.

Good dough recipes will specify the recommended cooking temps.  

If you are cooking a typical American style pizza (moderate thick dough with lots of toppings) at around 550º+- you should expect a cook time of around 10-12 minutes (will vary depending on your exact setup, dough etc). 

jbsmith

thanks

RiverRatSkier

I have personally had as short as 3 minute cook time on pizzas.  Typically go for settings that give closer to 4-8 minute cook times, so the stated 6 minute time is reasonable. 

If you have fire bricks in along with plate setter and pizza, that is a lot of thermal mass to heat up, and could take upwards of 1 hour plus depending on the configuration and desired temp. 

Watch some you tube videos on hand tossed pizza crust.  The center portion is pretty thin, and you leave a thicker rim around the edge.  This helps with getting the center done around the same time as the outer edge. 

Also, if you are going for hot and fast, you need a thin layer of toppings to accomplish this.

Pizza making has so many variables that can have dramatic changes in the end result.

kwdickert

depends on thickness of dough in my opinion. I have done papa murphys very fast. other thicker pies took closer to 15

jbsmith

interesting information thank you.  A bit more internet research me thinks on doughs

jtcBoynton

There are many types of pizza and they have differing cooking needs. In general, I think of the differences in terms of "thin crust/high temp/short time/high hydration dough'" vs "thick crust/lower temp/longer time/lower hydration dough". 

I would recommend starting to try to make the style of pizza you like best.  Decide what you want to make and then look for a dough that is appropriate for that style and the setup to match.  If you just ask for advice on "pizza" you will get all sorts of advice that seems all over the map.  Different folk like different styles and there is a good bit of leeway in making any given style.

onedbguru

1) try to get the stone higher into the dome. 
2) pre-heat 45-60 minutes (After it reaches temp - do not be tempted to open the lid while it is preheating.

I have an XL, full firebox
PLSetter Legs up, grate, 3 white fire bricks, pizza stone.
Temp ~600-650, pre-heat typically 45-60 minutes.
Thin crust on 3-4 minutes sometimes less.  

Almondo123

Made some lovely stuff crust pizzas last night temp was at 600 pre heated the stone  above the plate setter (feet up) and gridle then cooked for about 8 minutes, Delicious! Some polenta sprinkled on the stone right before cooking stops the pizza sticking.

jhl192

Lots of good comments already.  I can add that if you don't wait long enough to get the stone up to temp the first pie will take long and will decrease as you cook #2 and 3 and 4.   +1 on the infrared thermometer.    I did mine at 550 and it took 15 minutes but it was cold out!!  

Almondo123

Great looking pizza!

Grillnugget

Great looking pies @Almondo123 and @jhl192. I'm def. no pizza pro but I've made close to 20 so far with good results, but there's always room to improve. It takes me about the same time as @jbsmith mentioned and I'm not usually pressed for time so 20 min is no biggie. What I've come to realize is that I wasn't preheating the stone first,  but the crust and toppings were done at the same time. Last pie I decided to preheat the stone to egg temp and then add the pie. While it took less time to cook, my crust was almost burned by the time the toppings were ready. My wife's response was "don't mess with what you know". 

I think I've been overly generous with the sauce. This may have helped to some extent when I wasn't preheating the stone by allowing the toppings to cook slower. But definitely not the other way around. Can you pro's offer any advise to the over saucing theory. 

victor1

I'm not an expert, but have done several with great results.  I have them par baked from a local pizzarea for ease of handeling.  Legs up, grate,  BGE stone on top of grate. about 10 min at 600 plus.  Simple, fast and tastey.  Would probably take a couple of minutes longer if from scratch.

jbsmith

please explain the par baked as my wife said it might be worth doing this.  I said I don't think that would be right.  hope I don't have to eat my pizza uhh words

jbsmith

ps some great looking pizzas

bluebird66

Great looking pies!

jtcBoynton

@Grillnugget  Pizza dough is mostly water and flour.  Some people in the pursuit of the ultimate pizza get very particular about hydration levels in the dough.  Raw dough will adsorb moisture from the sauce.  Put enough on or leave it on too long before cooking and it will change the end result of the crust.  How much is too much? If it changes the crust in a way that you are not happy with, then it is too much.

onedbguru

jbsmith said:

please explain the par baked as my wife said it might be worth doing this.  I said I don't think that would be right.  hope I don't have to eat my pizza uhh words

I have par-baked mine with pretty good results.  Nothing really to explain.  roll/stretch out to size, throw on the egg for ~1 minute, flip over for ~1 minute (temp dependent ~650), pull, dress with toppings and throw it back on until the toppings are ready.  

smokeybreeze

To add to the advice above, keep your toppings to a reasonable amount (minimal).

I cook my pizzas indirect at 550 dome temp and I use a heavy cast iron round griddle heated 30-45 minutes as my cooking surface. 5 minutes or less is my norm for 14" pies. This is the griddle I use - even with the handles, it fits on my LBGE: http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pro-Logic-P14P3-Pizza-14-inch/dp/B0000E2V3X

Even better would be a 15" round 3/4" thick carbon steel plate.

JJ4473

We go indirect with legs up, put the pizza on the grate, not the stone.  450 for 12 mins on a "regular crust" pizza and its about as good as it gets.  

jbsmith

very interesting, after I spend all that money on a pizza stone !

tbru

I keep my heat between 500-600 degrees, keep the pizza stones above the placesetter, not directly on, use a napoli/neopolitan dough (like Punch Pizza) that you can make with Italian 00 flour or purchase from Whole Foods, pre-cook any meat or veggies, and our pizzas are beautifully done in about 3-5 minutes, depending on how much is loaded on for ingredients. These are the true thin crust, crispy on edges and chewy on the inside for the crust. So Good and easy!!

WVsmokin

I do 425 degrees plate setter legs down. I put the stone on the plate setter as the my BGE is heating up. A little dusting of corn meal on the stone then slide my pizza off the pizza peel onto the stone. about 12-15 minutes usually.

Begger

I'm between 12 to 15 minutes @ around 550' to 600' dome temp.

Legs DOWN on plate setter, grill on the setter's legs with an additional thing stone on top of the setter, spaced out with ceramic corner pieces from the home store.

Pizza stone DOES warm in use and cook times diminish as you go.