pizza stone help

Unknown · October 2004

Can somebody help me??? I have cooked fish and other things on my new Big Green egg and I love it! I cooked pizza last night and completely burned it on the bottom. What did I do wrong? Can somebody help me? Also,,how do you clean the pizza stone?

Mark Backer · October 2004

Amy,[p]If you put the pizza on a stone that was already egg-hot, that's why it burned. You have to put the pie and the stone both in cold. [p]As for cleaning the stone, I don't. My pampered chef one came with a plastic scraper thingy, and that's the only thing I will clean it with, other than an occasional wiping with a dry paper towel.

Pakak · October 2004

Amy,[p]1) "What did I do wrong?" Need more info - What temp did you cook at? Did you use a platesetter also? Any other pertinent info?[p]2) "Can somebody help me?" I dunno, but I'm tryiung. [p]3) "Also,,how do you clean the pizza stone?" You don't. Just put it in your egg and take up to a high heat for awhile, similar to a self-cleaning oven. DO NOT use soap on it.[p]My best advice without additional info is - use a pizza screen. You'll avoid buring the bottom of your pizza, in most cases.

Unknown · October 2004

Pakak,

egghead2004 · October 2004

Pakak,
OOPS!!! I did not know not to wash the stone with soap. I've cooked 10 or 12 pizzas so far I have not noticed anything. WHat affect does soap have on the stone?

Pakak · October 2004

egghead2004,[p]It's just what I've heard/read. Being very porous, the soap absorbs the soap deep into its' capillaries, I would assume. Once in there, you're not going to be very successful getting it out, I'd guess. But what the heck, if you cannot taste anything and you haven't died yet - I guess it really doesn't mattter! LOL

badbruce · October 2004

Amy,
When doing pizza I have learned the hard way not to walk away from the Egg. I check the bottom of the pizza every
60 seconds or so with a 12 inch wide spatula.
I have been thinking about a screen, might be the easier way to go.
bruce

Smokey · October 2004

badbruce,[p]Pizza screen works great. I use it for bread and pretzels too! Another thought, you might be corn meal![p]Smokey

badbruce · October 2004

Smokey,
A screen is on my buy list as I cook pizza once a week.
I didn't understand that last part about corn meal, could you please explain?
Thanks,
bruce

egghead2004 · October 2004

Pakak,
maybe that explains the frequent trips to the bathroom after I cook pizza

egghead2004 · October 2004

badbruce,
Corn meal is dusted on the peel before you place the dough on it. It helps the pizza slide right of the peel and onto the stone. I even add a little to the stone too. I found out last night, the type of dough you use makes a big difference. We started using the Pillsbury french bread dough, that dough stuck on the peel no matter what I tried. Then a supermarket had frozen pizza dough we tried that, it was better. However last night my wife made a dough from scratch, it slid right off the peel and almost slid off the stone too. the dough was cruchy though, we'll have to work on that.[p]

Smokey · October 2004

badbruce,[p]Corn meal helps on the pizza stone to help prevent sticking. It also adds a very tiny air layer between the pizza and stone. You can still burn the crust, but it helps prevent burning and sticking.

Steve-B · October 2004

Mark Backer,[p]I always preheat the platesetter and pizza stone with a dome temp of 500°. I will let the egg hold there for ~20-30 minutes before I add the first pizza. I then cook my pizza (same temp) for 8 minutes. If it isn't quite brown enough or the toppings all melted I will let it go 1-2 more minutes. During these extra minutes I stay close so it won't burn. The pizza screen is the way to go, IMHO. Oh yeah, one more thing, if I am doing multiple pizzas I will wipe the stone between each pizza with a damp rag. It helps to keep the 2nd, 3rd....8th pizza bottom from burning.[p]Steve-B

The Naked Whiz · October 2004

Amy,
Here is a link to my pizza hints and tips page. You shouldn't clean the pizza stone, by the way. Use a food scraper to scrape off any gunk that might have cooked on, but other than that, pizza stones are supposed to be stained with use.[p]TNW
[ul][li]The Naked Whiz's Pizza Hints and Tips[/ul]

badbruce · October 2004

badbruce,
I'll give it a try.
Thanks to both Smokey & egghead2004.[p]

BBQBluesStringer · October 2004

egghead2004,
That's probably the beer... ;-)

Julie R · October 2004

Amy,
Depending on the thickness of the crust,cooking times vary. A lot of people like the BGE hot (over 500 degrees) when cooking the pizza. I find if I have the BGE at about 350 degrees, a pizza put on a hot stone (along with some cornmeal on the stone to avoid sticking) for about 1/2 hour works great for me. When cooking a double crusted pizza, 45 minutes.
As far as cleaning a stone, some hot water and a plastic scraper to get off the remnants. Be careful using colored scrubber sponges, I have a blue tint on the edge of one of my stoneware pieces.
Julie

pizza stone help

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