Pizza Help

jdc3798 · March 2014

Going to be doing my first cook on Saturday and some friends want "wood fired pizza". I have a LBGE, with plate setter pizza stone and stock grate. Any tips would be greatly appreciated as my thought was just to put the stone on the grate with the plate setter in and cook around 600* for (not sure how long). Also, do you add any wood to the lump charcoal for flavor or just the charcoal? Hopefully I won't be so needy in the future, after I have had some time to learn a few things.

BckPorchGriln · March 2014

I would put the platesetter in feet down and put the stone directly onto the platesetter or put some nuts under the stone for spacers if youd like (I've not seen any difference). As far as temp goes, I would stay between 500-550 for the first cook and go about 12-15 mins untill the bottom gets nice and crunchy. Put a thin sprinkle of some cornmeal directly on the stone and you'll be good to go. If you want a nice fool proof dough for the first time out on pizza just go by Publix and pick up some of their pre made pizza dough. It really works great. Any other questions just shoot, I'm sure there are plenty of opinions floating around on here.

BuckeyeBob · March 2014

No worries about being needy. Only way to learn. I do platesetter feet down, then grate. I like to get the stone somewhat elevated above the grate. Sometimes I use the old ceramic feet that used to come with the Egg. I have also used empty soup cans under the stone to elevate. This helps to get the pizza farther up in the dome. That's not necessary however. I do get the heat in the 475-550 range and heat the stone for a while. Sometimes as long as 30 minutes. I don't use any wood when I do pizza. Also, if doing multiple pizzas, I will take a wet paper towel and give the stone a quick wipe to cool it a little. It gets pretty hot.

Good luck and make sure you take some pics.

Carolina Q · March 2014

Here's my usual setup. Use whatever spacers you have to raise the stone up in the dome. About 500°. I've never used the grid for a pie. I have also never added any wood, but I think some do.

Mike_the_BBQ_Fanatic · March 2014

+1 on raising and also on no grate...I use my ps legs up, but I have 4 brick pavers wraped in HDAF that I place on the PS,,,then the stone on the pavers...gets the stone a few inches above the felt line...

I thought I wanted a wood fired taste to mine too when I first started...so I put in a couple chunks...as with all breads, I found that a little goes a long way and the crust really absorbs the smoke...if you add some wood, I would suggest you start out small...

I also make my pies inside on parchment and move that right to the stone...after cooking a few minutes, I pull the parchment...its probably in my head, but for some reason I think it slows down the crust a little and lets the toppings and cheese get more brown before I burn the crust...sometimes I double the parchment on the second or third pizza if I am cooking more then one..which is almost every time we make em.

Good luck

BckPorchGriln · March 2014

@mike_the_BBQ_fanatic do you double and triple the parchment do to the stone getting hotter with consecutive cooks?

Mike_the_BBQ_Fanatic · March 2014

BckPorchGriln said:

@mike_the_BBQ_fanatic do you double and triple the parchment do to the stone getting hotter with consecutive cooks?

Yep...but I never thought of wiping down the stone with a damp rag like @buckeyeBob suggested...I will give that a shot next time

Usually when we do pizza, we cook 4...one for each in my household (we can never compromise on toppings)...so we have tons of leftovers...but they usually all get eaten the next day...I generally dont pull off new sheets of parchment, but once since I build them all on a sheet, by the time I get to the second or third pie I have a few extras laying around so I figure why not use them twice...

Focker · March 2014

The inverted platesetter with spacers and stone is a classic setup. With the platesetter getting blasted by the fire, you want an air gap inbetween that and your stone. A few copper tees from the local plumbing dept come in handy for different setups; raising drip pans, stones, DOs above the platesetter. Even foil balls come through in a pinch.

550-600 seems to be the sweet spot with this setup. Time will vary depending on dough, toppings, etc. 10-12 minutes was the average. Spin pie at about 4-5 minutes. Only open egg once during the cook, for the spin. You can peek through the dome hole to see how the toppings and crust are coming along throughout.

Focker · March 2014

Another important tip I forgot to mention, preheat your ceramic for an hour at desired temp. This will improve convection and give plenty of time for the lump to burn clear.

paqman · March 2014

You should follow the baking temperature guidelines for the dough recipe you are using. Higher temperatures are for dough made with italian OO flour and contain no sugar/oil. If you are purchasing pre-made dough from a grocery store, you should follow the instructions on the package.

Good luck and post pictures!

DMW · March 2014

Focker said:

The inverted platesetter with spacers and stone is a classic setup. With the platesetter getting blasted by the fire, you want an air gap inbetween that and your stone. A few copper tees from the local plumbing dept come in handy for different setups; raising drip pans, stones, DOs above the platesetter. Even foil balls come through in a pinch.
550-600 seems to be the sweet spot with this setup. Time will vary depending on dough, toppings, etc. 10-12 minutes was the average. Spin pie at about 4-5 minutes. Only open egg once during the cook, for the spin. You can peek through the dome hole to see how the toppings and crust are coming along throughout.

Be careful when peeking in the dome hole, last weekened a rush of hot air caught me off guard. My eyebrows and eyelashes were getting too long anyway...

calracefan · March 2014

If this is the eggs "first cook" , be ready to replace the gasket ! To help protect the gasket , put the platesetter in legs up , cooking grid , spacers (plumbing tees , optional) , then your pizza stone. I let everything heat up together to about 550, put pizza on parchment, after a couple of minutes remove the parchment, rotate pizza , total cook time about 8 minutes, Have fun and enjoy !!

BigGreenCraigdotcom · March 2014

Carolina Q said:

Here's my usual setup. Use whatever spacers you have to raise the stone up in the dome. About 500°. I've never used the grid for a pie. I have also never added any wood, but I think some do.

That looks amazing! What temp are you cooking? Are you sharing your dough recipe?

fence0407 · March 2014

No matter what setup you decide to use...make sure that you preheat the pizza stone. If I have time, I usually let it preheat for at least 30 min. Add a small amount of corn meal right before you throw it on. All of the advice given above is great. Keep it simple the first few times. I made a buffalo chicken pizza the other week that turned out great. Used a Publix dough ball because it was easier than making my own:

SmokinOutBack · March 2014

calracefan said:

If this is the eggs "first cook" , be ready to replace the gasket ! To help protect the gasket , put the platesetter in legs up , cooking grid , spacers (plumbing tees , optional) , then your pizza stone. I let everything heat up together to about 550, put pizza on parchment, after a couple of minutes remove the parchment, rotate pizza , total cook time about 8 minutes, Have fun and enjoy !!

Great advice, and don't ask me how I know. Trashed my gasket on my first pizza cook.

GeorgeS · March 2014

Everyone is giving you great advice, +1 on getting the stone to temp. I only had one bad batch of pizza and it was because the stone wasn't hot enough. The top of the pie was done but the crust had no crisp on the bottom. By the time she was crispy the top was over cooked.

SpartanPride · March 2014

Focker said:

The inverted platesetter with spacers and stone is a classic setup. With the platesetter getting blasted by the fire, you want an air gap inbetween that and your stone. A few copper tees from the local plumbing dept come in handy for different setups; raising drip pans, stones, DOs above the platesetter. Even foil balls come through in a pinch.
550-600 seems to be the sweet spot with this setup. Time will vary depending on dough, toppings, etc. 10-12 minutes was the average. Spin pie at about 4-5 minutes. Only open egg once during the cook, for the spin. You can peek through the dome hole to see how the toppings and crust are coming along throughout.

Why do an inverted stone and then use spacers? I'll put the stone in, legs up, with a grate and the stone on top of the grate at about 600 degrees. Only goes in about 8 minutes and it comes out great. Am I missing out on something by not inverting and using spacers? I'd think you get a similar result...the pie is about the same place in the dome and there is plenty of room between the stone and the platesetter. The only difference is that the platesetter is much closer to the heat...does that do something I'm missing?

jdc3798 · March 2014

Can anyone be more specific on what a safe "spacer" to use would be? Maybe something that is easily accessible say at a Home Depot or lowes? Thanks for all of the great advice. I anticipate the gasket issue but don't most people replace early on anyways?

Skiddymarker · March 2014

jdc3798 said:

Can anyone be more specific on what a safe "spacer" to use would be? Maybe something that is easily accessible say at a Home Depot or lowes? Thanks for all of the great advice. I anticipate the gasket issue but don't most people replace early on anyways?

Safe spacer is copper tee's, cheap, will last forever and provide a good air gap. (pipe works but it can roll around on you, tee's stay put). Some use terra cotta planter feet or fire bricks.

Pizza temp depends on the dough, 500-550º is fine for most home made dough, special 00 flour needs more heat, +600º to get the desired spring.

I used to use legs down, found gasket took too much direct flame, changed to legs up, no gasket issues. I use Canadian Silver Star flour, so temps always around 550º.

pretzelb · March 2014

For my first pizza I used a CI skillet. It worked out well. Only problem is we didn't use very good dough. My advice would be try and find some dough that has good reviews.

Egglegal_Alien · March 2014

Welcome aboard JDC, here's my 2 cents:

If you want to avoid ruining the gasket, light your egg a day before you use it for pizza (tonight?) even if you're not cooking anything, open the draft door about 3/4" and use the metal top with the daisy wheel hinge closed but the holes unblocked.... this way you have a low-mid temp burn for a long time and give the gasket a chance to cure.

Setup: I regularly set the PS feet up > grate > pizza stone that way you need no spacer (but you don't have easy access if you need to add some charcoal/wood), you can go for any of the other setups mentioned and use anything that won’t burn or crack when heated as a spacer (hardware nuts, copper tees, chimney bricks) just one more thing: Make sure your pizza stone will be level with or higher than the edge of the Egg or you’ll have a hard time getting the peel under the pizza to take it off.

Temp: I do mine at 700+ but anything over 500/550 should be fine. At 700 I put the cheese on top of the toppings to avoid them getting dried up and charred.

Time depends on temp and dough, with 00 at 700+ they take about 7 minutes, at 550 they might take 12 and the crust will tend to rise a little more… I would advise against peeking through the top, you could damage your eyes not only eyebrows, try to keep the lid rises to the minimum but don’t sweat it if you need to take a peek while you gage the time needed for them to cook… I’d suggest waiting 4-5 minutes, turn, then at 7 min start checking the crust (just rise a side of the pie a little with a spatula or the peel) until you see it’s browning.

When making the pies put some cornmeal on the peel before transferring the dough on top of it so it will slide off easily onto the stone, then put the sauce and toppings with the dough already on the peel, try to do it fast because once you sauce the dough can get damp and mess the pie up.

Some cornmeal directly on the stone when you’re about to transfer the pie from the peel to it.

Be sure to check the bands on your egg the next day when it has cooled down and retighten if needed, high temps can loosen them specially the first few times.

PS. One more thing... search the forums / youtube / google for flashback info, they can be a serious hazzard at high temps.

TexanOfTheNorth · March 2014

jdc3798 said:

Can anyone be more specific on what a safe "spacer" to use would be? Maybe something that is easily accessible say at a Home Depot or lowes? Thanks for all of the great advice. I anticipate the gasket issue but don't most people replace early on anyways?

I use 3 small paver stones (left over from when we did our front walk) that are about 2.5-3" high. I'll put my plate setter in, legs up, a grid, the 3 paver stones and then another gird to put the baking stone on.

I like to have my pizza as high in the dome as possible.

Carolina Q · March 2014

Someone asked for a recipe above so I thought I'd throw a few out there. Here are some of my favorite pies. Egg setup as shown above, when I do them there. My preferred method is in the oven. Of the pies shown, all have been tried in the egg except the pan pizza. It would certainly be fine there, I just don't recall ever doing it.

Authentic Chicago deep dish

From bag of flour to table in two hours!!

AP flour, NO CORNMEAL

I use a 9" cake pan (recipe scales it for you (up to 14")

450°

General info, http://www.realdeepdish.com

Dough recipe, http://www.realdeepdish.com/RDDHolyGrail.pdf

Video - How to make the Chicago dough...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOhOVMfiqOM

Watch the vid - you will be amazed at how quick and easy it is!

New York style

Bread flour

500°

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/new-york-style-pizza.html

In that link are links to some great pizza sauce and the author's theory on using a food processor to make the dough. Both work!

Pan pizza

550°

10" cast iron

Bread flour

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2013/01/the-pizza-lab-the-worlds-easiest-pizza-no-knead-no-stretch-pan-pizza.html?ref=title

Napoletana style

725°

Caputo 00 Flour

http://www.fornobravo.com/PDF/Using-caputo-tipo00.pdf

My attempt at Pizzeria Bianco's "Rosa" pie with pistachios and red onion...

Four different styles, four completely different tastes and textures. Hope some of you give these a try!

GeorgeS · March 2014

jdc3798 said:
Can anyone be more specific on what a safe "spacer" to use would be? Maybe something that is easily accessible say at a Home Depot or lowes? Thanks for all of the great advice. I anticipate the gasket issue but don't most people replace early on anyways?

No need to go to the hardware store for copper tee's. Just take your aluminum foil out and tear off four 1 foot long pieces then ball them up. Place them under the stone and they will flatten themselves into a nice level spacer. Throw them in the drawer when your done and reuse next time.

jdc3798 · March 2014

Pizza turned out great. Dough was very thick, as we had no idea how much to use, but who doesn't like extra thick crust?

Made the girls get the dough ready, the men handled the fire!

Tonight.....Spatchcock Chicken

Focker · March 2014

Good team effort, nice lookin' pie @jdc3798

A heckuva alot better than my first one.

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