First Time Pizza Cook - Need Help... PICS

SmokinBandit

First time to try pizza and I have some questions.  I've learned many tips from the board about successful pies and have seen many great looking pics. However, my first effort was short of excellent. I used two different flavors of store bought dough from Tom Thumb.  One was white wheat and the other was garlic and herb.  BGE temp was 500 degrees, PS legs down, used a 3 inch stand to raise the level of the pie in the dome and cooked @ 20 minutes.  I cooked the white wheat on a William Sonoma skillet/waffle griddle just because it was convenient and I didn't have to transfer the pie from cookie sheet to pizza stone. The dough was not completely done in the middle.  I don't know if it was due to the waffle griddle, or maybe I didn't cook it long enough.  Pizza was ok.  I used a pizza stone for the garlic and herb pie. The garlic dough was overpowering (won't use again) and I let the pie sit out too long before transferring to the pizza stone.  Therefore, it stuck to the cutting board and as you can tell by the pics it looks like a two year old made it.  The thin part of the pie was decent, but the thick crust wasn't cooked all the way through.  I like the convenience of using a CI skillet, but wanted a more Neopolitan style pie.

What is the easiest method to transfer pie to hot pizza stone?  Also, how can you tell when the pie is done?

Any other tips or input is greatly appreciated.

Lit

Either parchment paper or I use a pizza mesh instead of peel. You need a pizza stone and you need to let it pre-heat for 30 minutes minimum. I cook at 550 but let the stone preheat and it takes like 12 minutes to cook a pizza.

70chevelle

Tough to know what's in store bought dough. It probably contains a good bit of sugar and oil that won't cook very well at higher temps. >450. I'd lower the temps with that dough and make sure you preheat well. Good luck. Agree with using parchment, takes a lot of variables out.

SmokinBandit

Thanks guys for the tip on using parchment paper.  I appreciate the feedback. 

Skiddymarker

Store dough is usually drier, IMHO. Drop the temp it cooks better. 

JayHawkEye

100% agree with using the parchment paper. Makes transferring the pizzas a breeze, and you can either leave it or pull it (the paper) after a few minutes on the stone. As far as crust, I've had my best results with crusts I buy from a local pizza shop. They're a thin-crust place, so it works out very well. I've also bought some crusts from Papa Murphy's. My family likes those just as well.