New Egger- Pizza Question

SouthernEagle

I have enjoyed looking through the forum and it helped me out a lot with my first low and slow with a Boston Butt. Can't wait to smoke another one, just need to make sure we have leftovers next time!!

I received a pizza stone for an early birthday present and am hoping to try it out this weekend. I have the plate setter and stone, nothing to raise my grid level. Based off what I have read so far on the forum, I am thinking I will cook it with the legs up with the pizza stone on the grid around 600 degrees dome temp (I plan to have the stone in the egg while it heats up) for 8-10 minutes. I am hoping to buy dough from a local pizza place with their sauce to use. 

Any advice or guidance will be greatly appreciated for my first pizza cook. I would not have had successful (edible) cooks starting out with the egg like I have without this forum!

I have a LBGE if that information helps any.

dsrguns

I'm not sure about cooking without the stone being raised higher into the dome. Aside from that I typically let my stone in for 45-60 minutes or until it reaches about 500*. I would think some more experienced members will chime  in with some advice.

BulletGrillHouse

Set your temperature based on a recommendation of where you buy the dough 

Woodchunk

Hi, new also. We have done a few pizzas on our medium and we have the plate setter legs up, grill, then the pizza stone. We put the stone in to preheat and we cook about 500. We like a thick crust so don't cook at a higher temp. Lately the wife has been using 00 flour

victor1

You don't have to raise the grid, just the stone.  I have a BGE raised grid that somehow sets on the regular grid and then I place the stone on top of it.  Your can do the same with three or four spacers between the grid and the stone.  I don't think it is real critical. Dsrgus above is correct about letting the stone heat up.  My understanding that the preheated stone is what will make your pizza great.   I've done several as mentioned above at temps about 700 or just a little more.  Bake time is around 7 minutes.  Bottom of crust is browned, not burned.  Top is perfect.  I will admit, I still have a problem transferring the pizza from the peal to the stone.  I usually use parchment paper and pull it out after about 3 minutes.  I've also lightly brushed the crust with olive oil (before adding toppings) and sprinkled on some seasoned parmesan cheese.   Other members probably have their special way of doing things too.  Check them all out.  Nothing beats egg fired pizza.

jeponline

Legs up, grid then stone is perfectly fine. I usually let my stone preheat for about an hour so that the stone is about the same temp as the dome. 

Definitely choose your temp based on what's recommended by where you buy your dough from, or make your own and experiment with what works best. 

jtcBoynton

It is important to get the stone close enough to the dome to get the right amount of radiant heat coming off the dome. If the stone is too far from the dome, the toppings will not be done by the time the dough is cooked. If the stone is too close to the dome, the toppings will burn by the time the dough is cooked. The proper height will depend on the dough recipe, cooking temp, dough thickness, and amount of toppings. Many find the sweet spot to have the stone 2-3" above the felt line - but you will need to dial it in for yourself. We all make our pizzas a little different so take all the advice as a starting point and make adjustments for your personal style.

Yo_EGGcellency

SouthernEagle, when you're just starting out creating your own pizzas, it's very tempting to overload the ingredients on top of your rolled dough. My only suggestion to you, is to do the opposite - meaning, less is more. Preheating your BGE to 500° should be more than hot enough to bake/brown the crust and ingredients. Personally, I cook my thin pizzas at 500° for 7 minutes each - perfect every time. Just be receptive to changing your process if you make the same error twice - you'll do just fine.

victor1, regarding problem transferring your pizza from the peel to the stone - sprinkle cornmeal over your peel BEFORE putting your rolled dough on it. Then, after you add your ingredients on top of the dough, slide your pizza onto the heated pizza stone. The cornmeal essentially acts as a dry lubricant, and the uncooked pizza should easily slide off the peel.

RRP

BulletGrillHouse said:

Set your temperature based on a recommendation of where you buy the dough 

This recommendation is SO correct! Whether you buy a dough or make your own just find out how long and at what temperatue! It just baffles me when people post how their pizza crust was undercooked or burnt and then can not answer the simple question of what was the recipe's suggested temperature! BTW ...no, Virginia all doughs are NOT created equal!

jeponline

jtcBoynton said:

It is important to get the stone close enough to the dome to get the right amount of radiant heat coming off the dome. If the stone is too far from the dome, the toppings will not be done by the time the dough is cooked. If the stone is too close to the dome, the toppings will burn by the time the dough is cooked. The proper height will depend on the dough recipe, cooking temp, dough thickness, and amount of toppings. Many find the sweet spot to have the stone 2-3" above the felt line - but you will need to dial it in for yourself. We all make our pizzas a little different so take all the advice as a starting point and make adjustments for your personal style.

I've had my topping cook just fine without raising the stone at all. It's all about experimenting and finding what works best for you. The biggest advantage for me raising the stone is that it's easier to get a cooked pizza out of the egg. 

EggNorth

What works for me as far as cooking the toppings is to start it on a pizza pan, when I get the toppings to where I want them I move the pie to the stone.  This works for me because everyone one here seems to add about 1/2 inch toppings.

Carolina Q

It doesn't matter what you use to raise the stone. Platesetter (legs down), three 4" rocks then pizza stone will work fine. As long as the spacers are heat proof, you're  good. Or legs up, grate, rocks, pizza stone. Either way is fine.  

SouthernEagle

Thank you all for the feedback!! I will make sure to give the stone plenty of time to heat up as well, also checking for a recommended cook time/temp. Any suggestions for what to use or how to raise the stone level? I may be able to pick something up before Sunday, I have thought about some type of 2nd cooking level but would love to see/hear what others use!