Finally the Perfect Pizza

rowmsu

On my third attempt at the pizza making I finally got it right. I will say even bad pizza on the egg is still delicious.

I cheated with some whole foods dough. Egg at 650 degrees for 4 minutes. I did use parchment paper to assist in the transfer from peel to the stone. I removed the parchment after one minute.

Some things that changed in this cook. (Thank you to everyone posting as the information here helped

• 650 degrees vs. 500 degrees. bottom wide open and no daisy wheel
• I let the pizza stone heat up for almost an hour vs. letting it heat up for 10 - 15 minutes (allows time for another beverage or two)
• I used a dryer, thicker sauce. I believe I was using too wet of a sauce that would cause a puddle of moisture to form in the middle of the pizza. 

I do have one question though. At these temps how do you ensure the bottom does not burn before the top is cooked fully. 

TexasRebel

That's a pretty pizza!  Mine come out looking like Oklahoma in shape lol.

jtcBoynton

rowmsu said:
... 

I do have one question though. At these temps how do you ensure the bottom does not burn before the top is cooked fully. 

Change the height of the pizza stone.
 
Its all about getting the right balance of heat from below and from above.  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. 

rowmsu

jtcBoynton said:

rowmsu said:
... 

I do have one question though. At these temps how do you ensure the bottom does not burn before the top is cooked fully. 

Change the height of the pizza stone.
 
Its all about getting the right balance of heat from below and from above.  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. 

Yeah, this pizza came out right. I would guess i was 30 seconds from burning the bottom, so i thought I would ask. I will try raising above the felt line next time. 

Botch

In addition to what @jtcBoynton said, I can't quite tell if you have the platesetter below the stone or not.  A lot of us do that, so the pizza stone isn't getting blasted with radiant heat, but just the convection heat that the dome is also seeing.  
I've never varied my setup for different pizzas, only the temperature (425 for a Pappa Murphy's/heavy style, 600 for a NY-style, and 900 for a Margherita-style).  Some folks have trouble keeping multiple pies cooking the same, doing this, but I've never cooked more than 2 at a time so haven't had a problem.  

GrillSgt

I know nearly nothing about cooking pizza on the egg but from reading the pizza threads several people use two stones separated by spacers. 

Carolina Q

Nice looking pizza!

I used parchment a couple of times, but think the crust is better without it. I prefer a wooden peel dusted with flour to prevent sticking. Been using it for 20+ years. That's what pizzerias use after all.

I usually prefer 650-700°, but it depends on the dough I'm using. Some as low as 450°. Not sure how you got 650° with both vents wide open for an hour. That would give me 900° or more!

Hard to tell what hardware you used. I'm guessing, just a platesetter legs up and the grid? I would suggest raising the pizza stone higher in the dome where the top will cook faster and you're less likely to burn the bottom. Here's what I've been using (pizza stone on top). Couple of bricks instead of this small, (kinda tippy) CI grate would work too. 4-5" is about right.


I haven't used a "sauce" in quite some time. I take whole San Marzanos and run them through a food mill (quite runny). Lightly cover the dough with this, followed by a dusting of garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano and s&p. Very simple, quick (no cooking) and tasty. 

Good lookin' pie though!

rowmsu

Carolina Q said:

Nice looking pizza!

I usually prefer 650-700°, but it depends on the dough I'm using. Some as low as 450°. Not sure how you got 650° with both vents wide open for an hour. That would give me 900° or more!

I am using a large Woo From CGS. I put a 15 inch pizza stone on the lower and a grate and 16 inch half stones on the top. 

I have difficulty getting anywhere above 700 degrees with my setup. I think it is an airflow issue with the 15 inch stone being to close to the edge. 

Carolina Q

There's no reason to be above 700° (not that you shouldn't be able to). In any case, try raising the upper stone about 4-5".

whldch

Nice looking pizza. I too buy dough from Whole Foods most of the time. I started putting  3 firebricks on top of my platesetter then the stone on top. Definitely helps get top and bottom done at very close to the same time. I find temps at about 550-600 work best. We have not bought pizza in a restaurant in a year or two, they just don't compare.