Pizza setup question with platesetter

steel_egg

i have a friend who is getting an egg this week and he’s got a ton of questions. He was considering the platesetter but I was leaning him to an AR but he’s not sure. He was asking about pizza setup. I use my AR and have a nice airgap. 
How do you folks do it that have the platesetter?  

TEXASBGE2018

Feet legs down, then the cooking grate. Then I use my CGS extended rack to get it high in the dome then pizza stone on the rack.

kingsmoke

You can use hex nuts , tin foil balls , cooking grate , etc to create gap between placesetter and pizza stone

UncleBilly

I go PS with legs down + Woo on the PS & pizza stone on top of the Woo.  Prior to getting the Woo I used 3 firebricks on top of the PS and then the pizza stone on top of the firebricks.

Focker

NY-ish style is legs down, copper Ts, CI griddle.
It's raised above the felt line a couple of inches, the sweet spot.  550 dome.

CI skillet pan pizza is legs up then grid, 500 dome.

ChrisgrillsSTLMO

Greetings-

I used to go with the platesetter legs down but I have now gone to 3 bricks on the edge of the firebox to get the grid up to the felt line, clay planter feet (you can get the at Lowes), then the BGE pizza stone. I only put the stone in to warm about 3 minutes before I put the pizza on so it doesn't burn the crust since it is right over the open flames. I try to lock in 570-600° dome temp before putting the stone in to heat.

Hope that helps,

jtcBoynton

Plate setter legs down.
cooking grid
fire bricks
pizza stone

marainwa

Plate setter legs down, grill elevator, pizza stone, pizza on top of that.

bradleya123

marainwa said:

Plate setter legs down, grill elevator, pizza stone, pizza on top of that.

Nice looking setup and an even better looking pie!!  BZ!!

BugFreak72

I use it legs down, then the grid, then the pizza stone. It puts the stone right at the felt line.

ChrisL

I have the same issue, the bottom of the pizza is cooked much faster than the top at felt level.  marainwa, any idea what the temperature of the pizza stone is when you cook your first pizza?  Seems like it would take forever to heat up with the plate setter in that orientation.

Thanks,
Chris

bgebrent

Welcome Chris.  Two key issues.  1) Don’t overload your toppings.  That’s an American adulteration.  2)  Raise your stone above the felt level into the dome.

GreenEggMachine

Yesterday did a pizza with the following configuration:  plate setter legs up, wire rack then Pampered Chef stone @ 350 for 15 mins then 400 for 5.  Was just cheese pizza and everyone loved it, but it was not cooked enough, just didn't want to burn it up.  This was pizza number #1 BTW..

What is the best configuration and temp?

steel_egg

Depends on the type of  dough and thickness. I typically cook mine around 500-550. Never have a burned crust. Just a little char which I like.

thanks to all who responded. I think my friend got the info the was looking for. 

jtcBoynton

ChrisL said:

I have the same issue, the bottom of the pizza is cooked much faster than the top at felt level.  marainwa, any idea what the temperature of the pizza stone is when you cook your first pizza?  Seems like it would take forever to heat up with the plate setter in that orientation.

Thanks,
Chris

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 any advice as a starting point and make adjustments for your personal style.

Yes it takes some time for all the ceramics to heat up. I normally allow one hour for warming up and getting stable conditions.  Some think 45 minutes is enough. Depends on thickness of the pizza stone and target temp.

GreenEggMachine

I am looking for a good pizza stone and peel and don't know which stone to get over another.  I was looking online and wan't sure which one most people with eggs usually go with (company and model).  I'm sure Green Egg has one, but I was gonna look for something more affordable.  I have the XL and was curious if the size matters for a better pizza.  Lastly, my neighbor said I can't use the Pampered Chef pizza stone in my egg.  

JustOneOfTheGuys

I like the pizza stones i purchased from the ceramic grill store for my BGE. They have many sizes to choose from and are always a helpful bunch when needed.  For my home oven, I purchased stones from California Pizza Stones and had good results so far, no chipping or cracking.. http://www.californiapizzastones.com/.  CPS also sell a few sizes of peels, both wooden and metal.  

If you lean towards making high hydration doughs, I recommend the Super Peel https://superpeel.com/. I originally got this to transfer very high hydration dough loaves for ciabatta bread but quickly started using it to pickup a completed PP off my prep surface and place it onto a hot stone without having to use additional flour or corn meal or parchment paper.

  Another great source for peels, pans, cutters, etc that is sometimes overlooked is your local resturant supply store.  Prices usually can’t be beat and you get a chance to see and hold the items before purchasing.

If you don’t have one of them near by, The WebstaurantStore is another great source of both Hardware as well as consumables like yeast and such - https://www.webstaurantstore.com

Enjoy and have fun!

pab

@GreenEggMachine the Pampered Chef Pizza stone has been known to explode if you use too high of a tempurature in the egg. YMMV

steel_egg

GreenEggMachine said:

I am looking for a good pizza stone and peel and don't know which stone to get over another.  I was looking online and wan't sure which one most people with eggs usually go with (company and model).  I'm sure Green Egg has one, but I was gonna look for something more affordable.  I have the XL and was curious if the size matters for a better pizza.  Lastly, my neighbor said I can't use the Pampered Chef pizza stone in my egg.  

Make sure it’s corderite (however it’s spelled). Regular ceramic ones can crack at higher temps. 
I got mine at sur la table. 

Focker

GreenEggMachine said:

I am looking for a good pizza stone and peel and don't know which stone to get over another.  I was looking online and wan't sure which one most people with eggs usually go with (company and model).  I'm sure Green Egg has one, but I was gonna look for something more affordable.  I have the XL and was curious if the size matters for a better pizza.  Lastly, my neighbor said I can't use the Pampered Chef pizza stone in my egg.  

The BGE stones I have are awesome, and worth every penny.  Buy the best, cry once.

Standard size is 14", but on an XL you can go bigger.  My Blackstone pizza oven and Baking Steel are around 16", which would be my max pizza size.

jtcBoynton

You want a stone that is at least 5/8" thick made of cordierite. Both the BGE and CGS stones meet this.  If you have a good pottery supply store near you, you can get a kiln shelf.  Pizza stones and kiln shelves are the same thing.  Kiln shelves sell for less than an equivalent pizza stone. While you are at the pottery supply store you could also get some kiln shelf posts to use as spacers in the egg.