Pizza

Unknown · May 2000

Made two pizza's yesterday...awesome! My question - my family likes thin crust. Found it almost impossible to slide the crust and toppings onto the stone. After reaching 500, we ended up quickly making the pizza with the dome open. Lost a lot of heat. Any suggestions to improve the process would be helpful. Thank you Doug

Gfw · May 2000

D Winter, I'm sure that Spin will be along to give you the finer points. Question: Did you use a plate sitter or firebricks to raise the pizza stone to the level of the opening? I makes it much easier to get the pizza on/off the BGE. I have reverted to a standard |__| firebrick setup for pizza. Have a great day!

[ul][li]Pizza[/ul]

Tim M · May 2000

D Winter,[p]Did you have cornmeal on the pizza peel & stone? Is the pizza stone raised up to the level the bottom seal? That makes it easy to slide on and off. We may need a tad bit more info from you. [p]I can't even imagine doing a pizza with the dome open, my toppings would never cook. Tell us more about your setup.[p]Tim

Unknown · May 2000

Tim,[p]Sorry for the lack of add'l info. I have the stone and plate sitter. I used a lot of corn meal, but I couldn't get the "thin" pizza off and onto the stone. I don't have a very good peel and that may be my problem. What we did was quickly make the pizza on the stone and then closed the dome and cooked. Thanks Doug[p]

Tim M · May 2000

D Winter,[p]I have two peels. One I made from a thin piece of masonite and the other I found from the site linked below - Katom Resturnant supply (like Cornfed said - www.katom.com). Everyone on this forum should go there, order the free catalog and use it to buy loads of stuff really cheap! I got my new pizza peel from them. Its got an 8" handle which is perfect for the Egg - most have a long 28" handle (or something close)-- I paid $9 for it!![p]I have not had much experience with thin crusts - mine always turn out with a nice avg crust - not what I would call thin. It sounds like you need to flour the peel good and make sure the pie slips well on the peel before you take it to the Egg. Have a little cornmeal on the stone, this will add a little hearth baked taste and a little grit to the bottom of the crust, but you have little choice it seems. Good luck with the next one.[p]Tim
[ul][li]Katom Resturnant supply[/ul]

djm5x9 · May 2000

D Winter:[p]Like Tim M. suggested, make sure to have corn meal on your peel. I find that a medium grind works better than a coarse grind. On those occasions when the dough and peel do stick, take a long sharp knife and run it under the pie in a manner that does not tear the dough. At the same time try to introduce more corn meal to allow the pizza to slide.[p]The trick is to build the pizza as quick as possible so the corn meal does not imbed in the dough preventing a good slip when you try to transfer to the pizza stone.

Unknown · May 2000

D Winter,[p]I have found that with pizza, you don't want to have it on the peel very long. I think the moisture from the dough and the flour and cornmeal make a nice paste which makes it difficult to get it to slide off. I use a cookie sheet and turn it upside down and place the dough on it and then top the pizza. When the egg is ready, slide it off the cookie sheet to your peel with a little cornmeal and then it will come off that baby like you wouldn't believe. I shot one over the back of my stone and had a real mess one time. It will come off real easy.[p]Old Dave

Anthony Up North · May 2000

Tim M,[p]Interesting looking pizza. Makes me want to make one right away. But what is that contraption you have the pizza on, the thing that looks like it has three legs. Explain please.[p]Thanks.[p]Anthony Up North

JimW · May 2000

D Winter,
I have had good luck using one of those 14" metal pizza pans like you see serving the pizza at a restaurant. Just use the standard setup of firebricks or place setter with a pizza stone on top. Build your pizza on the 14" pan and pop it onto the pizza stone without trying to slide it off. This way you don't have to worry about sliding it anywhere. It doesn't seem to affect the results in any way.
JimW

Tim M · May 2000

Anthony Up North,[p]You haven't searched my website enough. http://www.tm52.com/bge/[p]Look under the heading PIZZA That is a plate setter in the upright position. You can also use the firebricks in a |__| configuration to get the same results. Adding the extra ceramic "layer" keeps the stone from getting to hot too fast and burning the crust b4 the toppings are done.[p]Tim
[ul][li]<a href="http://www.tm52.com/bge/"> >> Tim's Place <<</a>[/ul]

Unknown · May 2000

D Winter, we like thin crust, too, and I've never mastered using a peel. So, I put the crusts on parchment paper and use the corner of the paper to pull the pizza onto the stone. After five minutes the crust is semi-firm and I open the BGE and pull the paper from under the pizza. I've found that 500* is too hot for thin crust and have backed down to 375-400, takes about 11-14 minutes. PS, if you like thin crust, you have to try King Arthur Flour's Italian-style flour and their recipe!!

Deacon · May 2000

Tim M, Thanks for that good tip. As always you provide useful and good stuff, hope your Memorial Day is turning out great
Deacon USAF 65-69

Anthony Up North · May 2000

Tim M,[p]Sorry about that. We Newbies just don't know all of these wonderful sites. I checked yours out very briefly (pizza and ceramic plate setter setup). What a fantastic site for learning much about what you veterans are talking about. Will use your site often. [p]Thanks for your effort.[p]Anthony Up North.

Char-Woody · May 2000

Old Dave, I have had the "sticky" problem also..I bought some commercial wood block oil and I think I will saturate my peel with this for a trial.
I wonder if practicing with just corn meal on the peel and developing your "shake/jerk" so you make the meal move on the board without spilling it. :-) Once you learn the "shake/jerk" of the peel, it's much easier putting the pizza on the stone.
Hows the triple decker boston butt set up working for you. I lost that picture post of it down the line. You might do us all a favor and repost those!
:-)
I am working on a rib set up that you might be interested in.
Cheers..C~W[p][p]

Spin · May 2000

D Winter,[p]Kudos on the pies and my hat is off to you. Building a pie directly in the Egg truly shows your determination.[p]The pizza will not slide on the stone, it will stick like glue until the crust starts to develop (1-2 minutes). The pizza needs to be set on the stone. Give the peel a short jerk to set the far edge of the pie on and then remove the peel. The part stuck to the stone will allow this.[p]I use wooden (birch) peels. If the pizza is sticking to the peel I'd suggest giving it a good power sanding with a fine grade paper. The surface should be very smooth. Then give it a nice hand grinding-in of fine corn meal. You can practice the use of the peel on a cold Egg using a folded hand towel (no cornmeal). Practice insertion and removal (the pie toppings can be quite liquid when done). Wooden peels work better with use.[p]I would suggest that you limit the use of the cornmeal. When added on the stone, it only slowly burns, and setting the pizza on the stone eliminates the need. I start with a clean stone and wipe it clean prior to the next pie.[p]The dough will tend to stick to the peel. A light dusting of cornmeal is all that is needed to keep it from sticking. As you form the dough and then build your pie, occasionally give the peel a little shake to keep the pie free (and provide peace of mind). After the last shake (pie is built), wipe any excess cornmeal from the peel.[p]I am impressed with the responses you have received. It seems the forum is getting good at this .[p]Spin[p]

Tim M · May 2000

Anthony Up North,[p]Thanks - it started when Spin and Woody kept talking about firebricks. I bought some and took a pic of them and posted it. No one did much of that at that point and its grown from there. It easier to see what to do rather than reading about it in short snipets from the forum. The two mediums work well together to help everyone understand better the ways others do things. It shortens that nasty "learning curve". Happy to help. Now go cook something.[p]Tim M


bdavidson · May 2000

D Winter,
Just made pizzas last night. I think the trick is limiting the size of the pie. The larger the pie, the less likely it will slide onto the stone in its original, circular form (I prefer kidney-shaped pies anyway, as those at EggFest 2000 can attest). I make 12-14 inch diameter pies which slide onto the stone without any problems. As Spin says, a light dusting of corn meal will help, but don't overdo it. Also, It is helpful if your dough is not too sticky...add a bit of flour until it is of soft Play-Dough consistency; that way it won't stick to the peel.

Unknown · May 2000

Char-Woody, I make my peels out of hardwood plywood. They seem to work pretty well if I don't leave the pizza on them too long.[p]The triple decker contraption is working great. Last time out, I did two butts along with two brisket flats. I don't have enough room for four flats and even with three, I have to cut one in two pieces. I will post some pictures on my next big load as I will be doing 9 racks of loin backs in about a week. [p]What kind of rib set up are you working on? Please don't tell me that you are hanging them as that's something I think I might try. Don't think a fellow could do very many at one time. [p]Old Dave

Char-Woody · May 2000

Old Dave, check your e.mail!

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