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First Pizza/Issues

Nardi513
Nardi513 Posts: 66
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Cooked up my first pizza on the egg:

IMG_3496.jpg

Used a frozen pizza dough, roasted garlic sauce, mozzarella cheese, sliced garlic, grilled chicken, artichoke hearts, sliced roma tomatoes, and sliced kalamata olives.

First issue was that when I tried to slide the pizza onto the egg, it was stuck. I did use corn meal on my pizza peel but I think the pizza sat too long on the peel and the moisture made it stick.

Put the plate setter and pizza stone on the egg and let them pre heat for about 45 minutes. Got the pizza on the stone after some help from the wife and her spatula, cooked for 20 minutes at 450:

IMG_3500.jpg

Pizza was outstanding, however, did have my second issue:

IMG_3505.jpg

First time using the pampered chef pizza stone, did pre heat it so I guess they are just not made for the egg. Going to have to get the BGE version since my wife is already coming up with more pizza recipes to try! My local pizza guy is crying since his services will no longer be needed.

Comments

  • Gunnar
    Gunnar Posts: 2,307
    Previous posts have warned the Pampered Chef stone will crack on the egg. I try to construct my pizza last minute prior to egging so they don't stay on the peel too long. Still a good looking pie you have there.
    LBGE      Katy (Houston) TX
  • Cpt'n Cook
    Cpt'n Cook Posts: 1,917
    I think you are correct about being on the peal too long. Also you just may have had too much stuff on the pie. We ran out of fresh mushrooms once and decided on using some canned ones (yuck), we should have dried them first what a mess and we had the same panic getting it off the peal and onto the stone. It looked a little worse than yours :laugh:. We did manage to eat the whole thing before anyone could get a look at it.
  • I preheat my egg with the dreaded pampered chef pizza stone (on its wire rack to separate from the pacesetter). Bring the stone to the kitchen when it is hot and place the raw crust on the stone with a little corn meal to prevent sticking. I build the pizza on the stone, place in 400 dome temp egg for 30 minutes.
  • I went through 3 of those thin pizza stones before breaking down and getting the BGE model,you really need the thickness.Parchment paper might help with the sticky problem,we use it all the time now.
    Jim
  • Boxerpapa
    Boxerpapa Posts: 989
    I use the three little green feet underneath the thin pizza stone and never had any problems...as of yet. I use it often too.
  • Zippylip
    Zippylip Posts: 4,768
    Regarding the sticking to the peal issue, I can see from the top picture you don't have enough cornmeal on there, you should basically coat the entire peal with a nice layer of it, it may seem like too much but most of it will fall away and/or remain on the peal after you shift the pie to the stone, then a lot will remain on the stone after the cook, so you won't have a problem w/too much on you pie bottom
    happy in the hut
    West Chester Pennsylvania
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    pampered chef stones always seem to be the ones breaking. ours went too. i think they have a warranty though.

    i now use a pizza pan, because i was getting some burning of the crust before toppingw were cooked enough.

    my set up is platesetter(legs up)/grid/pizza pan on the grid

    viz:
    clam.jpg

    crust.jpg
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • vidalia1
    vidalia1 Posts: 7,092
    If you like pizzas and who doesn't, you need two of these:

    http://www.target.com/AirBake-Pizza-Pan-15-75/dp/B000063SKU/sr=1-1/qid=1219158683/ref=sr_1_1/602-9521134-7972601?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k:pizza pan&page=1

    you will not need to use corn meal or parchment paper at all...they are 15 3/4inches so you get great sized pies and if you get two, while one pie is baking the other is being made..they have little air holes so you get a great crust...just put the platesetter in feet first, then your grid, then the BGE pizza stone, then the Air Bake pizza pan right on top...makes great crust and terrific pies...they are easy to clean....you will love them... :P
  • If you have a generous amount of flour on your countertop when you roll out the dough the bottom won't be wet and it won't stick to the peel if you use enough cornmeal.
  • AzScott
    AzScott Posts: 309
    One of the coolest things I've learned about on this forum is the Super Peel. No problems at all but if you buy one be sure you wash the canvas first as directed. I got a little too excited and used it and it was washed and dried when I wasn't around shrinking it.

    Check it out!

    http://www.superpeel.com/
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    Don’t bother with cornmeal. It burns, smells (when it burns), makes a mess and sticks to the bottom of the pie. Use parchment paper. I roll the dough using a floured counter, then put the pie on the parchment paper which is on the peel. I build the pie from there.

    I use a lot of sauce, a lot of cheese and for combination pizza’s I use a lot of toppings.

    It is pretty common to see cracked Pampered Chef stones. I have cracked my PC stone in the oven (pre-egg days).

    Sometimes the cracking can be avoided by putting something between the stone and setter to allow for airflow. I like the separation for cooking also, I get less burnt crust.

    You can get some JB Weld and repair the stone and it will be useable. After the repair I only use parchment paper when using the stone or if cooking something smaller than pizza I don't put the food over the repaired crack.

    GG
  • It's all about finding a combination of ingredients, preparation, temperature and technique that work for you. I cook thin crust pizzas, with just a moderate amount of topping, at 450º. The additional flour I use when I roll out the dough makes a dryer (before cooking) and crisper (after cooking) crust which we like. Some of the cornmeal I use on the peel sticks to the pizza and we like the taste it adds. At 450º the cornmeal doesn't burn, at least not for two or three pizzas.

    This approach might not work for thicker crusts. It might not work with a heavy topping. I know for a fact it doesn't work at higher temperatures. But it works for me.
  • Rascal
    Rascal Posts: 3,923
    Nice pizzas! Now my drool is running down instead of up! 8 - )~~~
    crust2.jpg
  • Cecil
    Cecil Posts: 771
    I have learned that parchment paper works better than cornmeal or kosher salt as far as loading/unloading pizzas. (at least for us)

    Walt
  • mkc
    mkc Posts: 544
    I also use either parchment or a neat silicone pizza mat I found

    http://kitchenemporium.com/cgi-bin/kitchen/prod/06sz2362.html

    It's the perfect size for the 14" LBGE stone and makes it easy to shape the dough to fit the stone. I use a cookie sheet as my peel and build the 'za on the mat on the cookie sheet. Then you just slide the mat onto the preheated stone.

    You have to remember not to cut the pizza while it's still on the mat (or you'll ruin the mat), which is a "don't care/non-issue" if you're using parchment.

    However I AM intrigued by Stike's method of indirect with a perforated pan set on the grid since I have 2 16" pizza screens languishing in the cabinet, and sometimes a 14" pizza just isn't enough...

    Michelle
    Egging in Crossville, TN
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    Hi Doug,

    For me the burnt cornmeal was back when all the very high temp pie cooking was going on. Much higher than you cook temp.

    I got worried after the pizza cook that the corn meal that fell into the lump would end up burning and giving an odd tast to the next cook.

    When I cook thicker toping pies I try to get the cooking surface up higher in the dome and I let the egg stabilize for a long time. I want the heat from the dome cooking the top of the pizza as much as the lump from below.

    Love that thin crust pizza too.

    Once I measured the stone temp when the dome was at 500° - the stone surface registered 650°. The stone was about 2" above gasket level.

    GG
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    Walt,

    I build the pie on a wooden peel. Unloading and loading works good if enough corn meal is used.

    But, I agree, parchment is easiest. I have never tried kosher salt.

    Kent
  • GG,

    That's a good point about getting the pizza up into the dome so the top cooks from the radiant heat.

    When it's just the two of us I usually cook two roughly 10" pizzas in the Small. (We both have to watch our calories and our carbs.) I have the 12" stone up on the tall GrateMate extenders. This is the setup I used to work out how to make pizzas the way we like them.

    When there are more than two for pizza I cook as many 12" pizzas as we need in the Large. The 14" stone is up in the dome on the Adjustable Rig. The dough recipe and thickness and the cook time and the temperature are the same as in the Small. The crusts come out good but the toppings don't have quite the same sear as when I cook in the Small.

    After reading your note, I suspect the greater distance from the toppings to the surface of the dome in the Large is making a difference. I'll figure out how to get the stone even higher in the dome and see if it helps.
  • Zippylip
    Zippylip Posts: 4,768
    JD, another suggestion is to be sure your toppings are room temp when you begin (I even sometimes warm the sauce). If you put cheese & other toppings right out of the refrigerator onto a presumably room temp dough, the first few minutes the pie is in the egg the toppings are going from 40 degrees up, so this will extend the time it takes to get the cooked level you are looking for, which may go beyond what the dough needs - I leave whatever toppings I am going to use out for a little while so they are all equal going into the egg or oven, works everytime
    happy in the hut
    West Chester Pennsylvania