First time pizza - need guidance

joeybrown105

After ten successful years of egging, I'm trying a pizza for the first time tonight... I've heard several different opinions on how to best setup the grill to cook it (legs up vs legs down, etc...)

What's the best approach/setup to ensure it doesn't turn in to a late night call to Domino's?

tferk

I have done pizza a couple of times. Right now I have found plate setter in legs up. then grill then bricks then pizza stone on top of those. 500 degrees and corn meal on the stone. good luck and enjoy. just my opinion.

Stormbringer

My advice as this is your first ... platesetter legs up, grid, pizza stone (you'll need one) cook at 550F until ready. Then work your way from there. It's easy to cook and underdone pizza for a couple more minutes, impossible to fix an overdone, burnt one.

Also cooking temperature is dependant on dough thickness, toppings. Start easy and find out what works for you.

Use baking parchment to transfer pizza to the egg.

Carolina Q

Cornmeal doesn't belong on the stone, it goes on the peel to keep the pie from sticking when launching it. Pizza won't stick to a hot stone. Putting cornmeal on the stone just gives you burned cornmeal, especially if you are baking at higher temps. BTW, I like semolina better.

dgordon2nc

I found plate setter legs down then bricks then stone is best. Let it preheat for at least 30 minutes. I put the pizza on parchment paper with a little cornmeal in between. Then put that on a peel with a little cornmeal. I pull the paper after a few minutes when it pulls out easy. 

THEBuckeye

Plus 1 on legs up, grid, stone at 550. GIve it time for the peel to get to temp.

Unless you're a pro at dough, I'd go to a local pizza shop (no chain) and buy dough balls. Even sauce if you like. 

Once you get the hang, you can experiment with dough, sauces, etc. 

Keep it simple. 

Use a corn meal dust (it's ok) or parchment on the peel to help the transition from peel to stone. 

Most of the time, "if you're looking you're not cooking" but you'll want to check the pizza crust at 5-7 minute or so just as a sanity check. 

Cold beer

Another Cold Beer

Repeat

Hokiejacket

I agree with Carolina Q. No cornmeal on stone. We used flour on peel and it worked just fine. Legs up, grill, stone, 600. Two pies, one for me and the mrs.

tferk

dgordon2nc said:

I found plate setter legs down then bricks then stone is best. Let it preheat for at least 30 minutes. I put the pizza on parchment paper with a little cornmeal in between. Then put that on a peel with a little cornmeal. I pull the paper after a few minutes when it pulls out easy. 

the reason I like legs up is because it keeps the intense heat away from the gasket, I agree that corn meal on the peel rather than the stone is better. My bad. 

mrs_story

We've done pizza a few times.  I take some parchment, cut it just a little bigger than my stone, and build the pizza on that.  When it's time to cook, I just slide the parchment onto the hot stone.  We can either slide the parchment out after a couple minutes, or let it go the whole time (we usually slide it out).  I use the peel to remove the pizza once it's done. 

You didn't ask for recipes, but I'm sharing, in case you want to try homemade dough & sauce sometime . . .

I make this dough in my bread machine.  The beer gives it a nice flavor. 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/142972/bread-machine-pizza-dough/

I've found that I can just barely make a double batch in my machine -- it rises & touches the glass, but doesn't actually spill out of the pan (I have to remove it ASAP!).  From the double batch, I get three balls of dough, approximately 1 lb each. 

And the last time we had pizza I made this sauce, as instructed (tomatoes specified, plus the anchovies . . . you don't taste them). 

http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2012/02/pizza-sauce-lets-play-hide-little-fish.html

I had enough sauce for all three pizzas, plus just a little leftover.  We used that for dipping our crusts. 

Good luck with your first pizza!  Be sure to share pics.  I bet it'll turn out great! 

Grillmagic

Here is my set up!

jtcBoynton

@joeybrown105
You want an indirect setup with the pizza separated from the platesetter. 

The key is to get the stone close enough to the dome to get the right amount of radiant heat coming off the dome. If the stone is too far from the dome, the toppings will not be done by the time the dough is cooked. If the stone is too close to the dome, the toppings will burn by the time the dough is cooked. The proper height will depend on the dough recipe, cooking temp, dough thickness, and amount of toppings. Many find the sweet spot to have the stone 2-3" above the felt line - but remember you will need to dial it in for yourself. We all make our pizzas a little different so take all the advice as a starting point and make adjustments for your personal style.

Make sure the ceramics have had a thorough warm up - I like an hour. Not having the ceramics at a steady state seems to be one of the big issues for beginning pizza cooks.

There are various styles of pizzas and different dough recipes. Some are best cooked in the 475-550º range. Some are better cooked at 600º and above. Most of the pizzas I see posted on this forum are medium thick crust with a heavy load of toppings. The 475-550º range is fine for this style. A lot of the dough recipes circulating are designed for this temperature range.  The key is to find the right combination of cooking time, temperature, dough recipe, and egg setup for the style you like.

Depending on your timing today, you may want to get some extra dough and toppings. Having extra you do not plan to use can be quite handy if your first attempt is not successful.  You may also consider making multiple smaller pizza instead of one larger one - just in case.

llrickman

I use my plate setter legs down and use the 3 "feet" that came with my egg on top of it then my pizza stone on top of the feet. 

Cook at 550 for 6-10 min depending on the crust

I will use parchment paper and slide it out after 4 or 5 min for me its just not as messy as using flour or corn meal


As for the dough i have made my own a few times but usually im pressed for time and i will buy a dough ball from a local pizza joint. that being said i do think homeade is better but both turn out well.

Biggest problem i have had is adding to much sauce on the pie and ending up with a little bit soggy pizza

mvnole

I set the BGE pizza stone directly on the cooking grid, raised.  Prepare the pizzas on a cheaper stone, with cornmeal and just slowed it off onto the preheated one. Usually an adventure.  I like the idea of the parchment paper.