First Pizza Try

Tak · June 2012

Hi everyone....well...made my first attempt at a pizza....the results were mixed....I will list what I did and I am hoping you guys might be able to give me some corrective help....here are the things I think I did ok.....make a solid dough....got the egg to stable 650 temp....good top of crust and cheese melt....here are the bad...thickness of crust...not even.....some thick spots some very thin spots.....bottom of the crust did not brown very well.....I think I didn't let the stone get hot enough.....so....any help would be great....I did burn my gasket but not really freaked by that....happy about getting steady temp.....not to happy about the bottom of the crust.....I put the plate setter legs up....the grate then the stone.....thanks guys for any suggestions....just one of many attempts to come....

KingRover · June 2012

How long was the Egg at 650 before you put the pizza on? I usually let the stone preheat for at least 45 minutes before putting on the pizza.

As for the thickness, thats just a matter of how you rolled the dough out. Did you do it by hand? Rolling pin?

Tak · June 2012

I only let the egg heat for about 20 mins.....and I tried to roll the dough by hand instead of pin....sounds like those two things played a part in my troubles.....can I ask how much dough weight wise is needed to do a 14" pie

Duganboy · June 2012

@Tak the crust problem with thick/thin will solve itself with experience. Starting with your dough in a nice round ball will help, then you can use your hands to push down and workiing out from the middle. Rolling it with a rolling pin is fine too, don't let the pizza snobs convince you differently.

The bottom of the crust probably just needed to cook longer and maybe preheat the stone a little more. Pizza, like brisket, just has a learning curve to it. You will get it, just keep making them.

MikeP624 · June 2012

I put the stone and plate setter in once the fire is at about 300. Then you get an initial temp drop due the cold plate and stone, and then let it rise to the desired timp (I do 550). Once it is at temp i hold it there for 15 minutes. Then the stone is plenty hot as it warmed up with the rest of the egg.

I personally never use a rolling pin for pizza crust.

Attached is a good link for NY style dough and sauce.

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/10/the-pizza-lab-how-to-make-great-new-york-style-pizza.html?ref=title

I have done this twice now and the dough and sauce are good.

Tak · June 2012

Thanks for the encouragement!!!....I'm sure you guys went through that phase where you want everything to be right and authentic the first time off the Egg.....I think I will use the pin until I get better by hand....

Tak · June 2012

OK....was so bothered that I messed up the first pizza that I had to re-do it....took the great advice I got here and got some great results.....thanks guys!

BankerJohn · June 2012

I agree with earlier posts of allowing the egg and plate setter & pizza stone come to temperature. You may want to consider using a pizza screen. This is a trick I learned and it does wonders to give better consistency in my dough crust, regardless of thickness.

I run my egg at 515 +/- for pizza and allow the egg to stabilize for 40 minutes to an hour with all ceramics in the grill before putting the first pie on. by stabilizing first, I have cooked 14 pizza's in a single cook in succession with no variation between crusts using the screen.

SoCal_Griller · June 2012

Hey TAK, good job on the second pizza. I did my third last night and it was the worst one so far. Same issues you had AND I did not have enough corn meal on the peel, so the pie would not slide onto the stone, I had to kind of push it :( needles to say that did not go well! I do have to say it was still tasty!

B&BKnox · June 2012

parchment paper is idiot proof you can leave on for the entire cook or pull after a few minutes, I cook pizza's in the 450 ish range. Let everything warm up 45 minutes minimum, 1 hour better. My wife made a 14" pattern on an old cereal box, puts the parchment paper on top and rolls dough to that size, fits our stone perfect. Depending on toppings my pizzas cook anywhere from 10-17 minutes crusts are always lightly browned and cheese is bubbly and browned in places. Fresh basil on a pie is to die for. Never tried until this year, but makes all the difference.

Tak · June 2012

Thanks!!!.....I took the good advice I got and made some changes...the biggest change I made was using a rolling pin to speed the dough....worked great!!.....keep the temp consistent ...the change was allowing the stone to heat up for a good 45 mins...made all the difference in the world....now looking to do some other toppings on the pizza...great learning experience today....biggest thing I learned was to take the time needed to do it right....

Skiddymarker · June 2012

Hey Tak - Nothing wrong with that pizza, looks homemade not factory cardboard. If I understand correctly what you said your set up was, I think I know what may be part of the issue. For pizza, it is hard to beat a plate setter with legs down. This gives you a surface level with the top edge of the base. (bottom half of the egg). Your stone (make sure it has clearance to allow air flow - I use a 13.5" in my medium egg) is placed directly on the plate setter, the grate is removed and given the day off. So the process is, load charcoal and light it. Place the plate setter and stone in before you close the dome. In other words the egg, the setter and the stone are all cold - let them heat up together, reduces chance of thermal shock and breakage. When it is hot, dust some corn meal on the stone, slide in your pie and let her cook. The added combination of the setter and stone provides a thermal mass that will cook your pie evenly to perfection. I use no more than 550 for pizza with as little as a 10 minute (after temp reached) warm-up, based on a number of tries with the same amount of toppings. I think too many of us try to cook too hot with too much on the pie. Good luck.

Tak · June 2012

Thanks Skiddymarker....will try the next pizza with those changes to the P/S.....appreciate all the great info I get from all the good folks here!!

First Pizza Try

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