My first Pizza cook on my new BGE - Amazing

run53

It was so delicious! Perfect crust that was crispy on the bottom and light and airy on the inside. I'm so excited about my new toy!!!!!

Woodchunk

Looks great, 1 of many to come

Eggdicted_Dawgfan

Nice pie and welcome to the forum.

Hans61

Welcome. Pizza was actually one of the harder things for me to dial in. Yours looks great! 

Davie755

Pizza looks great! Definitely one of my favorite reasons to fire up the egg. 

JohnnyTarheel

100% goodness right there!

SciAggie

Nicely done. 

run53

Hans61........I have to admit that I've been making pizzas for 10 years or more so I have the art of pizza making dialed in. They just never came out this good in my kitchen oven. I was worried about the egg process being the first time But I stabilized the egg at about 550 for about 40 minutes then cooked the pie about 8 minutes. Perfection! 

I'll continue to experiment with higher temps and lower temps and different dough types. The dough I used for this one was the one in the BGE pizza book. A little higher hydration than I used when I made dough for my regular oven. 

I cant wait for my next batch. Now I need to figure out how to make 2 at a time because I usually have a large crowd on
pizza night. 

RockyTopDW

550* is the magic number for pizza.  It is for me, at least

bgebrent

Welcome aboard.

Canugghead

Welcome aboard and great job on the pizza! This may be your answer for making two pizza at a time, you probably need to switch top & bottom for even cooking though ... https://smokeware.com/products/roswell-double-pizza-rig

Botch

run53 said:

Now I need to figure out how to make 2 at a time because I usually have a large crowd on
pizza night. 

If you don't already have them, get one metal peel (for removing the cooked pies) and one wooden peel (to build the pies, and slide them off successfully without sticking).  
 
I've not tried cooking two at once; I usually make thinner pies that cook a lot quicker, and its all I can do to build the next one and have it ready to go on, as the previous one is cooked and ready to come off.  I've done, maybe five pies in a row that way (and that's one cook that I don't sit down with my guests until the end, but that's okay).  
 
Have fun, and Welcome!  

northGAcock

Very nice pie. I struggled for a while with the pizza....you have clearly come out swinging for the fence. Look forward to many more to come.

run53

Botch said:

I've not tried cooking two at once; I usually make thinner pies that cook a lot quicker, and its all I can do to build the next one and have it ready to go on, as the previous one is cooked and ready to come off.  I've done, maybe five pies in a row that way (and that's one cook that I don't sit down with my guests until the end, but that's okay).  
 
Have fun, and Welcome!  

Sounds like I may need to experiment with some thinner pies. How thin do you roll them out and what temp do you cook at? 

run53

Canugghead said:

Welcome aboard and great job on the pizza! This may be your answer for making two pizza at a time, you probably need to switch top & bottom for even cooking though ... https://smokeware.com/products/roswell-double-pizza-rig

That looks like it should work but it only supports 14" stones and I have 16" ones. I suppose I could get new stones to go with it. 

Stormbringer

Welcome aboard and great looking pizzas!

I've cooked pizzas for a party, but one after the other. I cook thin crust at 750F/400C (not recommend for your first few Egg cooks though), they take about 4 mins each. Maybe that's an option?

Lowcountrygamecock

Canugghead said:

Welcome aboard and great job on the pizza! This may be your answer for making two pizza at a time, you probably need to switch top & bottom for even cooking though ... https://smokeware.com/products/roswell-double-pizza-rig

Have you used one of these?  How do you swap the pizza's around without taking the whole thing off?  The problem with my setup is the legs of the upper rack are too narrow to slide the bottom pizza on and off so I have to take the top stone and rack off to get to the bottom pizza which is a pain. 

bluebird66

Beautiful pizza!

Photo Egg

Damn, my first pizza was not even close to being round. And it might have stuck to the peel and been flipped over to make a calzone...I have blocked that cook from my memory.
Nice first pie!

northGAcock

Photo Egg said:

Damn, my first pizza was not even close to being round. And it might have stuck to the peel and been flipped over to make a calzone...I have blocked that cook from my memory.
Nice first pie!

I had the same cook! Maybe more than once.

CPARKTX

Nice work!  Pizzas are one of my favorite cooks on the BGE. 

SSQUAL612

Welcome Aboard!!!  Nice looking pie. I have all the accessories for making pizza and it's the one thing I haven't tackled yet.   Still a little unsure of the dough making process and whether or not I should invest in a scale to make by weight or is measuring okay?   Already running low on space with all the gadgets I've purchased and SWMBO is about ready to kill me if another package shows up from Amazon, but maybe I can sneak one in with it being Christmas and all 

jeponline

SSQUAL612 said:

Welcome Aboard!!!  Nice looking pie. I have all the accessories for making pizza and it's the one thing I haven't tackled yet.   Still a little unsure of the dough making process and whether or not I should invest in a scale to make by weight or is measuring okay?   Already running low on space with all the gadgets I've purchased and SWMBO is about ready to kill me if another package shows up from Amazon, but maybe I can sneak one in with it being Christmas and all 

My scale cost $11 and I use it for everything I bake. Much more consistent results than measuring cups. Well worth it in my opinion. 

SSQUAL612

run53 said:

Hans61........I have to admit that I've been making pizzas for 10 years or more so I have the art of pizza making dialed in. They just never came out this good in my kitchen oven. I was worried about the egg process being the first time But I stabilized the egg at about 550 for about 40 minutes then cooked the pie about 8 minutes. Perfection! 

I'll continue to experiment with higher temps and lower temps and different dough types. The dough I used for this one was the one in the BGE pizza book. A little higher hydration than I used when I made dough for my regular oven. 

I cant wait for my next batch. Now I need to figure out how to make 2 at a time because I usually have a large crowd on
pizza night. 

Can you share some details...did you use parchment paper?  Was stone raised in the dome?  Maybe some pics of your setup.  Thanks

run53

Stormbringer said:

Welcome aboard and great looking pizzas!

I've cooked pizzas for a party, but one after the other. I cook thin crust at 750F/400C (not recommend for your first few Egg cooks though), they take about 4 mins each. Maybe that's an option?

I think you are right.....I'll have to work up to thin crust at higher temps. Probably the best option the more I hear from folks here. Will require some practice for sure!

JohnnyTarheel

northGAcock said:

Photo Egg said:

Damn, my first pizza was not even close to being round. And it might have stuck to the peel and been flipped over to make a calzone...I have blocked that cook from my memory.
Nice first pie!

I had the same cook! Maybe more than once.

My first pie looked like a starfish....nowhere close to round

caliking

SSQUAL612 said:

Welcome Aboard!!!  Nice looking pie. I have all the accessories for making pizza and it's the one thing I haven't tackled yet.   Still a little unsure of the dough making process and whether or not I should invest in a scale to make by weight or is measuring okay?   Already running low on space with all the gadgets I've purchased and SWMBO is about ready to kill me if another package shows up from Amazon, but maybe I can sneak one in with it being Christmas and all 

You definitely should invest in a scale for anything involving flour and water. you will love yourself when you nail it consistently thereafter.

caliking

@run53 - fabulous first cook. That pie is lovely

run53

SSQUAL612 said:

   Still a little unsure of the dough making process and whether or not I should invest in a scale to make by weight or is measuring okay?   

Hmmmm....when I make my pizza dough I use rough measurements. I make it by feel. Some days I need a little more water and some days I need a little more flour. The weather can even impact the dough. I start out with  about 1 3/4 cups warm water and 1 package yeast to 4 cups flour. Then add a little EEVO (maybe a TBSP) and about a TBSP salt. Once it comes together in my kitchen-aide mixer (with the dough hook), I feel it for stickiness. If it really sticks to my fingers, I add flour 1 TBSP at a time until it "feels right". Usually only 1 or 2 TBSP at more. Should be soft and smooth but not sticking too much ( a little sticky is ok).  After mixing, I knead by hand a little and then cover it and let it rest for about an hour(it should double in size). Then I hand Knead it again and split into 2 balls and cover for the final rise of about 15-30 minutes. I guess after making pizza dough for 20 or so years, I can just tell by feeling it.  If I want to get really fancy and tasty dough, I do a starter and put it in the fridge overnight and use that the next day to make my dough. Very tasty that way as it seems to ferment more, but I don't always remember to make my starter the night before and to be honest, I'm the only one who usually notices the difference. Based on my experience with pizza dough.....you really can't mess it up too much if you stick with that basic recipe. Exact measurements are not critical in my opinion.

run53

SSQUAL612 said:

 

Can you share some details...did you use parchment paper?  Was stone raised in the dome?  Maybe some pics of your setup.  Thanks

No parchment paper. I form the dough into a circle on my well floured kitchen counter by hand (never had to use a roller). once I have the desired size (usually 14-15 inches) I spread corn meal on my wooden pizza peel and place the circle of dough on the peel. The I top it. If you use enough corn meal, it should slide right off the peel onto the stone in your egg. I've never had a failure doing it this way as I used to use the same stone in my kitchen oven. This was the first time I tried it on the egg and it works the same.

My Egg setup was the diverter (legs up), grate, then 16" stone on top of the grate. I let the setup heat up at 550-600 for about 30-40 minutes and cooked for about 8 minutes. 

I would like a little more char on the crust than what I got, so next time I may try thinner crust and higher temps but shorter cook time. I just didn't want to take that risk on my first egg pie. I will continue to experiment with the temps and crust thickness though.

SSQUAL612

Thank you for all the great info...it will come in handy when I try to tackle pizzas on the Egg.