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Have you ever gotten your pizza to cook at 800 degrees?

800 degrees is the temperature at which authentic Neapolitan style pizza is supposed to cook. The cook time is not supposed to exceed 90 seconds.  I'm really trying to replicate this in my egg, but I'm having a lot of trouble reaching that temperature (let alone sustaining it).  I've got no problem getting the egg up to 800 or above if I only have the grid in, but when I throw in the plate setter and the pizza stone for a pizza cook, I find that the temperature rarely climbs above 650 or 700.  Only thing I can figure is I'm not loading enough charcoal in there.  Are you all able to get your egg up to 800 degrees with the pizza stone and plate setter in there?  Any tips on how to accomplish that?

By the way, if you're interested, here's a link with the guidelines for cooking authentic neapolitan style pizza...

Southern California

Comments

  • Letz4wheel
    Letz4wheel Posts: 236
    Make shure you have the screen open. According to BGE the screen blocks 40% of the air. More air equals higher temps.
    Southern Indiana
  • bicktrav
    bicktrav Posts: 640
    Make shure you have the screen open. According to BGE the screen blocks 40% of the air. More air equals higher temps.
    That's a really great suggestion.  I've always done it with the screen closed.  Will try it that way next time.  
    Southern California
  • I get to 800 all the time when cooking pizza. Opening your screen is probably going to get you there. The trick with cooking pizza at that temp is getting the top and the bottom done at the same time. On a wood fire oven, you will generally lift the pizza into the dome for a few seconds to finish it because the bottom is done faster than the top. Obviously, there is no way to do this in the egg. So your cooking surface needs to be cooler than your air temp. I use thick firebricks that heat up slowly rather than the thin pizza stone. I heat the egg up to 800* and then throw the pizza on once the bricks reach 700* or 750*. Obviously, the bricks will still continue to heat up, but the bricks let me get about 4 pizzas done before the bricks get too hot relative to the air temp.
  • JohnInCarolina
    JohnInCarolina Posts: 30,867
    Temp is all about airflow in the BGE. Given good airflow, you should be able to reach 800+ easily. Good luck with the pizza though. Getting the temp up in the Egg is the easy part, IMO.
    "I've made a note never to piss you two off." - Stike
  • I stick to 700 for my pizzas and have great results might try 800 just to see what happens

  • bcf06877
    bcf06877 Posts: 1
    I have not been able to get my large egg up to any higher than 450 for pizza. I'm able to get the temperature up to 700+ without the plate setter, but as soon as I put the plate setter, grid and pizza stone in the temperature drops and struggles to get above 450. I've tried everything, completely cleaning out the grill, leaving vents and screen wide open, using dry lump charcoal, etc. Nothing seems to work. One thought is the store bought pizza stone I'm using. It's 15" in diameter and not 14" like the BGE pizza stone. Could that extra 1" affect the airflow and be the cause?
  • Jaymet73
    Jaymet73 Posts: 24
    I've used a hair dryer which gets the temp up really fast. Just watch out for the flying ambers from the charcoal.

  • I had my Large with PS, Grid, 3 regular bricks and Pizza Stone up to 725˚ last night, with the screen closed and the bottom vent only about 1/2 - 2/3 open.  I actually dialed it back as it was going to 800 and I didn't want it there.

    Key I've found is plenty of charcoal for a big fire- all the way up to the top of the fire ring, then PS legs down so it's not right in the fire.  
    1 LBGE in Chapel Hill, NC
  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
    As mentioned earlier, you can't "dome" a pie in the BGE like you can in a WFO. I've toyed with 800* pizzas in the BGE and IMHO its too hot. Too hard to keep the bottom from getting too dark and yet get the cheese just right. And so, I'm not turning out 90 sec pies, rather around 3 min around 650*-700*.

    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
  • Miked125
    Miked125 Posts: 481
    I dont usually fire it up that hot, I am to go to 750F then bring the temp down to 650F then throw the pie on.
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    edited June 2014
    The egg is not a WFO. Never will be. I tried multiple times at 900° dome and got some decent results, but they never looked like WFO pies. 900° will not get you a 60-90 second pie in an egg either. It just won't. Three minutes is about the best I ever did and you have to be very careful not to  burn the bottom. I once took a cold 8" pizza stone and slid it under a partially cooked 900° pie so the bottom would stop cooking while the top finished. One of the best pies I ever cooked on the egg, but it was a pain, not to mention, scary as hell!! And it still wasn't "right".

    Once I realized that it's not just the temp of the cooker, but the flame, the air flow, the temp differential (top/bottom), the proximity of the coals to the pie... and probably multiple other factors, I realized that the only way to get a WF pie is to buy a WFO. 
    Since that's not gonna happen, I just do 'em at 450-725° depending on the dough. And usually in my oven.

    Here's the pie with the 8" stone under it. lousy pics, great pizza!!
    imageimageimageimage

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364

    ^^^What he said^^^

    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    edited June 2014

    I haven't but this guy knows what he's doing.

    ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9MDDGjT8jQ )


    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • KenfromMI
    KenfromMI Posts: 742
    I have to  disagree with all that corn meal on the stone. Just more to burn in my opinion. One of the reasons for a pizza stone is to draw moisture out of the dough when it hit's the stone and I think the corn meal would keep that from happening. I also like space between the plate setter and stone. I keep mine legs up with the stone on the grate at the felt line. I'm no expert being new to the BGE but I've done 6 pizza cooks all multiple pizzas and have never had a failure yet. I however don't do them at 800 degrees though.
    Dearborn MI
  • mlamb01
    mlamb01 Posts: 210
    Cooking pizza on the egg is so confusing, because everyone seems to do it so differently.  I'm sorry, but the pizza in that video is terrible.  I love it when he lifted up the edge of the pizza to brag about the crust underneath, and all the toppings ran off down into the middle of the pie!

    I have only cooked a few pizzas in the egg, but I always do it with the plate setter legs up.  Was tempted to try it with legs down, but after this video, I am going to stick with legs up.  It may take a few minutes longer, but I don't burn the bottom of my pizzas.
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Ken, NO cornmeal goes on the stone. Other that what happens to fall off the peel as you launch the pie. And you don't need much on the peel either. I use semolina rather than cornmeal, and just a pinch of that. If you look closely, you can see it. Most of it says right there too. The last thing I want is a pie with a bunch of crunchy, burned cornmeal stuck to the bottom!

    Steve was being cute (I hope)! :) This guy did more things wrong than I thought possible with a single pizza.

    Semolina...
    image

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • KenfromMI
    KenfromMI Posts: 742
    Carolina I was commenting on the video Little Steven posted.
    Dearborn MI
  • KenfromMI
    KenfromMI Posts: 742
    Ok, LOL.......I didn't watch the full video when I saw him using a bag of corn meal on the stone I moved on.
    Dearborn MI
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Yes, I'm very sorry if anyone took that seriously!

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    If trying to bake at a high temp, put the 'setter and the stone in at the start. The mass of ceramics takes a lot of energy to heat up. Just putting in the 'setter adds 20 mins to preheating the temp to 250, by which time, its 650. The big problem w. making an true Neapolitan 'za on an Egg is that the floor of a wood fired oven is 900F, but the air temp is more like 1400F. Or so I was told by a fellow who makes really good pies. His stone, the oven floor, takes 2 weeks to preheat. I have to suppose there is not a moment of temperature drop when he slides a few pies in. And the dough is really wet, and hovers for a moment on its own steam. The problem most people have is that in the Egg, the crust chars too much before the toppings cook. The stone transfers a lot of heat faster than the air that cooks the toppings.. If fishlessman happens to read this, he might comment how he used a blower, and a bowl full of sand under the stone to get the air temp to 1100F. I tried using baking steels. There's promise w. them, but they transfer so much heat that the pie I tried slid off it on a cloud of its own steam. I think the Egg could do a New York style, but replicating a true Neapolitan would be a great accomplishment.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    edited June 2014
    ive done 1200 degrees for 53 seconds
    :D this is the only setup ive seen that gets the dome hotter than the stone and if i was as patient with all that goes into a pie like carolina q, i think they would be truly amazing. i would warn you though that this is a really scary method
    :))
    http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1150605/wok-sand/p1

    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    900° is quite scary enough, thank you.  :)

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • GeorgeS
    GeorgeS Posts: 955

    I haven't but this guy knows what he's doing.

    ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9MDDGjT8jQ )


    I saw what you were doing there! That was pretty funny!! Anyone been around here long enough to get over 200 post should have seen that coming from a mile away! Thanks for the laugh, been a **** day and that got me in a better mood!
    Bristow Virginia XL&Mini One of the best feelings in life is watching other people enjoy the food I cooked!