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First successful pizza

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Amlucy2
Amlucy2 Posts: 20
in EggHead Forum
I got my BGE last week, and have been grilling/smoking everything in sight. In the past 5 days I have made 5 pizzas. The first was burnt to a crisp,  the second almost the same. I made adjustments on the 3rd  and 4th but they were still was too charred on the bottom and the top not quite done.

The 5th was editable! I had the temp at about 500 (next time I'll go a bit higher). I put the dough on parchment paper, used the plate setter, grid, grill extender, then pizza stone. Using the grill extender to bring the stone up really made a difference, so I wanted to share.


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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
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    welcome brother.  id be all in.
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • Jstroke
    Jstroke Posts: 2,600
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    I would hit that. You might get a slice, if you were quick--real quick. 
    Columbus, Ohio--A Gasser filled with Matchlight and an Ugly Drum.
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  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
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    An IR thermometer will help you learn your egg. I find when making pizzas that the dome thermometer is just a general reference. What I mean is the dome thermometer may say 500 but the pizza stone could be VERY different. I have to run about an hour to 1 1/2 hours to stabilize temps for pizza - to saturate the egg and other ceramics at the desired temp. Great pizza and stick with it. You'll have things mastered soon. 
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
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  • Stormbringer
    Stormbringer Posts: 2,084
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    How was the grill extender? I had read reviews that it was quite flimsy, would be interested in what you think. At the moment I use two fire bricks to raise the pizza stone into the dome.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    | Cooking and blogging with a Large and Minimax in deepest, darkest England-shire
    | My food blog ... BGE and other stuff ... http://www.thecooksdigest.co.uk
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------


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  • JacksDad
    JacksDad Posts: 538
    edited July 2016
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    You may want the plate setter in there as well. Hard to tell from your picture if it's there or not.

     It will take a little longer for the pizza stone to get up to temp, but prevent it from becoming way too hot and burning the crust. 

    Edit: oh sorry your post says it's there. My first few pizza cooks,i was in such a rush I didn't let the temp stabilize with the pizza stone in place, and ended up with undercooked crust in the middle. 

    Large BGE -- New Jersey

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  • Gunnar
    Gunnar Posts: 2,307
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    One would think I tutored you into making non-round pies....

    @Stormbringer I had one for 8 years...yes, they're somewhat flimsy, but on the other hand they work....I wouldn't put a couple of butts on them but wings or two levels..

    LBGE      Katy (Houston) TX
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  • AD18
    AD18 Posts: 209
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    If you are using store bought dough check your packaging for suggested temp range.  If you are struggling with burnt crust it could be due to high sugar content of your dough.  Raising the temp will only make it worse unless you keep a very close eye on it.  Then you get into "if your lookin, you ain't cookin".  Agree with above posts to let you Egg stabilize at desired temp, especially for pizza stone.  I usually preheat mine at least 30 minutes with full setup before putting pizza in.  I run plate setter legs up, grate, pizza stone, and 400-450 degrees for approx. 20 minutes as per dough instructions.  Sometimes a little longer, sometimes a little less.  Best of luck on next one:)
    Large BGE, Weber 22.5 kettle, Weber Genesis
    Cobourg, Ontario
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  • mlamb01
    mlamb01 Posts: 210
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    Cooking pizza on the egg is all about balancing the temp of the stone, vs the air temp inside the dome.  Ideally, I think you want both to be about the same.  But the problem most new egg owners encounter is that the pizza stone gets too hot because it gets direct heat from the coals.  You need a heat shield between the coals and your pizza stone, with an insulator in between so heat from the heat shield is not transferred to the pizza stone.

    I do this by using two pizza stones that are the same size, and putting 3 3/4" copper elbows in between them on their side.  This lets the air in the dome heat the top stone that you cook on, not the coals below.  Leave the daisy wheel off and regulate temp via the lower vent.  If you are careful, you can lean over the dome opening and check your pizza without opening the dome.

    Its much easier to get consistent reproducible results cooking pizza in your home oven, especially when getting started with pizza making.
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