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Burnt another pizza

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BobbysBitchenKitchen
BobbysBitchenKitchen Posts: 6
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
:angry: So, this time I heat the pizza stone on top of the platesetter to 650. I let it cool to 400. spread a little cornmeal on the stone. shove the pizza off the peel. All is good so far. By the time the top is finished it has burned the bottom about a 1/16 inch. Yep, blackened. Damn...and so close! Whadda I do wrong?
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  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
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    Do you have a space between the platesetter and the stone? I like to use an extra set of the little green feet. But many different things can be used.
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  • BobbysBitchenKitchen
    BobbysBitchenKitchen Posts: 6
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    Hey that's something I saw on here before. Yeah that's good thanks BBK
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  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
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    BBK...As Ripnem said, a space between the platesetter and pizza stone is always recommended. The green feet are perfect. Also, you really DON't have to go to 650*. Those stones were probably holding way too much heat. Try not to overshoot the temp....Get within 50* of target, then start decreasing air flow. We do pizzas at 525 dome and are not disappointed with the results.
    Don't worry...You'll get it!! :laugh: ;)
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  • Pepper Monkey BBQ
    Pepper Monkey BBQ Posts: 652
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    I concur ... I creep up on 550 ..... anything over 525 is great ... more than 550 and I slow it down ..... if I've gone over 550, I get the temp back to where I want it and wait at least ten minutes ...

    Joel
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  • Panhandle Smoker
    Panhandle Smoker Posts: 3,018
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    The set up I have been using is the platesetter legs up and then the grid and just set the pizza stone on the grid or a raised grid. It cooks uniform every time. :)
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  • hizzoner
    hizzoner Posts: 182
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    Maybe I'm crazy or just green or both, but I run the Egg up to 550, slide the pizza on for 15 minutes or so and am done with it. Comes out perfect.....easiest cook I've had of anything I have tried


    this with premade crust (store bought)
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,894
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    as others have already suggested there are many ways, but IMHO your run up to 650 was way too hot and not uniform. I personally prefer the plate setter legs down, no spacer and the pizza stone direct. Guess like anything else - it's what works fine for me and in all these years I still have never burnt a pizza!
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
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    I'm with you Pan, I go one step further and put the extended grid over the main then the stone. It gets the pie up into the sweet spot in the dome and gets the toppings well done when the crust is ready. -RP
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  • Hoss's BBQ
    Hoss's BBQ Posts: 435
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    Welcome!! I am a chef and have made pizzas in the oven at home since I was a boy using a pizza stone. My first post to this forum was something like Hello I am a professional chef and I just burnt my pizza to the stone. I was very ashamed of my training etc and then failing like I did. A few things I have found are this. Space in between the plate setter and stone is great. ( i do not do this). I like to take a damp old dish towel and run it over the stone right before I place the pizza on the stone. This helps cool the surface. (Many pizza places in new york have mops dedicated just for this purpose.) Also through out the cook of the pizza I spin my pies. This helps to ensure they are not sticking or staying in one place. Hope this helps. Hoss
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  • JB
    JB Posts: 510
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    I've done my last few at exactly 650 and a lot of restaurants cook much higher than that in wood-fired ovens. I don't think the temp is your problem. As someone suggested, try the air gap between setter and stone. What kind of dough are you using? Here's my last one at 650, crust was just how I like it and toppings were done, 6 mins total cook time.

    Pizzas10-25-09007.jpg
    Pizzas10-25-09008.jpg
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  • BobS
    BobS Posts: 2,485
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    I personally like the spacer. I am not sure if it is the space per se or the fact that the pizza stone is higher in the dome.

    The other thing that is important, IMHO, if you are cooking that hot, you need a dough that is 60-65% hydration.

    The extra moisture helps keep the crust from cooking too fast.

    11-05-09Pizza5.jpg
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0
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    Lotta good info here!

    IMHO- 650 was too hot for the thickness of pizza you used. I have found that 550 works good for the pizzas I make. Thinner pizzas with light toppings can cook hotter while thicker pizzas, especially those heavy on the toppings cook better closer to 400-450.

    IMG_1074.jpg
    This was pork, spinach, feta and I don't remember what else. Heavy topping cooked at 500 ish and it's a little darker than I like.

    IMG_1076.jpg
    This was Linguica and red pepper (half). Cooked in the same session and temp as the previous one but where the toppings aren't quite as heavy I thought this crust came out better.


    Some folks even start cooking the dough first before adding any topping, then take it out, load it up and return to finish.

    You are playing it safe if you have spacers between stone and platesetter. I use 3 smooth flat stones I picked up fom a river while on Vacation, others use BGE feet or 3/4" copper elbows.

    I used to use my stone on the grid but I think it tastes better without the grid.
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  • WWSis
    WWSis Posts: 1,448
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    I use my little green feet between the place-setter and stone and have not burnt a crust yet. Also, have never gotten temp up much over 450/475 - pizzas have always turned out great.
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  • 2cats
    2cats Posts: 34
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    I'm committed to high temperature pizza, for no particularly good reason. I've found that the plate setter legs up cuts down the temperature a little bit, and seems to create a cooler top relative to the bottom, so I do legs down. On top of that, I place the extended grill and the pizza stone. This gets you pretty close to the thermometer.

    In my quest for higher temperatures, I have loaded lump well above the top of the firebox - which I can do with the plate setter legs down. The result of this technique was no increase in the dome temperature - still struggling around 650 - but very bad bottom burning. If the egg is configured exactly the same, but with the lump level lower, up to but not above the top of the fire box, I get the same 650 and no burning of the bottom. So this tells me that the distance between the fire and the pizza stone is important.

    I find it odd that people will suggest that it is important to equilibrate the stone for very long times, up to an hour, and will also recommend that we cool it by wiping it down with a wet towel. If you put the pizza stone in when you close the dome, it's going to heat up along with the plate setter, and the egg, and anything else in there.
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