Pizza do's and dont's!!!

BTal

Good day all eggheads! New egghead here needing pizza dos and donts + any tips from the experienced members! Wanna blow the family away as i have already with ribs and brisket....thank you!!

Carolina Q

1. Make your own dough. I like Lahey's no knead recipe. Mix in the morning, ready 8 hours later. https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/03/jim-laheys-no-knead-pizza-dough-recipe.html

2. Round dough balls mean round pizza.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he-V1J86REA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjYqw1CLZsA

3. Dust semolina, corn meal or flour on peel (NOT stone) and build pie on that.

4. Less is more. Don't overload with anything, sauce or toppings. Work quickly so dough doesn't stick to peel. Shake from time to time to keep it from sticking.

5. Bake at 650° (for this dough recipe) raised as shown (pizza stone on top of any fireproof "thing" (about 3-5" above platesetter)...



Have fun!

EggNorth

Do heat up the Egg 1hr.  Do use parchment paper, life is too short to deal with sticky pizza.  Do leave dough come to room temperature before handling.  Don't forget pizza on the Egg and do yard work.    Do share.  

jtcBoynton

One key is to get the pizza 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.

There are many types of pizza and they have differing cooking needs. In general, I think of the differences in terms of "thin crust/high temp/short time/high hydration dough'" vs "thick crust/lower temp/longer time/lower hydration dough". Many people like what is often called American style pizza. This is medium to medium-thick crust cooked at moderate temps for longer times. 500°F +- works well for this. Most home ovens can do 500° or 550°F. BGE can do this as well. You can get good results using either. If you want a NY style or Neapolitan style pizza, you need temps higher than a home oven can produce. You can get good results for these styles with a BGE.

BTal

Thank you everyone!! 

wardo

I've kept it pretty simple so far on pizza and it's worked well.  I try to get to 450 to 500 indirect.  I usually throw the pizza stone in once I'm up to 300 and then stabilize around 470.  After the stone has preheated I throw the pie in there.  I use corn meal on my peel and stone and have never had a sticking issue.  Then usually give it about 10 to 15min depending on the toppings and pull it out.  Always turns out!

The mrs is hinting she wants a chicken bacon ranch pizza tonight!

Botch

Don't bang your loaded peel against the door frame as you head out to the Egg.  

Canugghead

If you use cornmeal and cook many pies, eventually the excess cornmeal will burn and stick to bottom of fresh pies... use a copper pipe to blow off the cornmeal.

@GrateEggspectations here's another hot air tip for ya my friend 
https://www.pizzapartyshop.com/en/accessories/how-to-clean-wood-fired-oven.html

alaskanassasin

3/8” piece of steel in the kitchen oven, pre heat to 550. Parchment. 

BeerMike

I don’t leave my cooking grid in my BGE while nuking pizzas.  It becomes too clean and then may start to rust.  

Mickey

i like parchment paper for the first 30/40 seconds

SonVolt

Just understand that making quality pizza comes with a steep learning curve. My general recommendation is to get comfortable making pizza/bread (etc) in your oven before you try and adapt to the grill/egg. 

BTal

SonVolt said:

Just understand that making quality pizza comes with a steep learning curve. My general recommendation is to get comfortable making pizza/bread (etc) in your oven before you try and adapt to the grill/egg. 

Interesting thought......thank you

KiterTodd

Also, buying a frozen pizza and cooking it in your egg doesn't count.  Many have tried to claim that here... 

I trust everyone who makes their own dough, but for me, I rarely have time for that as pizza is usually a last minute dinner idea.  I go to the food store and buy pre-made dough, or get it from a pizza parlour.  Harris Teeter usually carries a non-foodstore brand that has 00 flower.  Whatever I get then stays out on the counter while I pre-heat the egg (first) and then get all the other ingredients prepped.

Personally, I don't use parchment.  Your results may vary, for me it burned often and I was left peeling paper shreds off the pizza.  I've been pretty lucky just cooking it right on the stone and I like the results. Once in a while I get a sauce/cheese breakthrough and things stick, but it's rare and dough is cheap.  And actually...the mistakes still taste good.

Enjoy, have fun.  The tips here are great.  You can start by just keeping it simple. Pizza doesn't have to be a major effort, but if you want it to be, you have the tool for it if you have the time.

One tip which helped me was to have a metal peel and a wooden peel. I use the wooden peel to prepare the pizza and place it on the stone.  I use the metal peel to re-position the pizza during cooking (spin it) and for removal.  It makes it a lot easier to get the pizza off.  And the pizza cooks quick!

SmokeyLopey

One more bit of info: You need less sauce on your pizza than you think! Most of all, enjoy! 

Cornholio

Check your hinge bolts before firing up the egg for a pizza cook (I know the newer bands have better safeguards for this but with an older band style I learned the hard way.)

Botch

KiterTodd said:

Personally, I don't use parchment.  Your results may vary, for me it burned often and I was left peeling paper shreds off the pizza.  I've been pretty lucky just cooking it right on the stone and I like the results. Once in a while I get a sauce/cheese breakthrough and things stick, but it's rare and dough is cheap.  And actually...the mistakes still taste good.  

Same here.  I've felt that parchment is like training wheels, okay at first but later.... (I know I'm in the minority here, but how many pro pizza shops have you seen that use parchment?   )
EDIT:  And, actually, pizzas don't stick to hot stones; they stick to the damn metal peel!  (see below)
 

One tip which helped me was to have a metal peel and a wooden peel. I use the wooden peel to prepare the pizza and place it on the stone.  I use the metal peel to re-position the pizza during cooking (spin it) and for removal.  It makes it a lot easier to get the pizza off.  And the pizza cooks quick!

Definitely!  The wood peel helps ween you from the parchment (I lightly dust the bottom of my dough with flour, then sprinkle a bit of cornstarch onto the wood peel using a salt shaker).  Having two peels also allows you to build the next one, while the previous one is cooking; great for cooking for a crowd).  

SmokeyPitt

Another option is pizza screens. You can build the pie on the screen and set it on the stone like parchment. After a couple of minutes you can slide the pizza right off on the stone if needed to get a better crust. They are cheap and can also be used as grill toppers. 

MO_Eggin

Three tips:

If using parchment, trim it to the size of the pie, leaving a small extension to help pull out the paper mid-cook.  This significantly eliminates the burnt pieces that can then float onto the pizza.

+1 on pizza screens, they can be used for other cooks as well (including veggies and smoking nuts).

Wax paper is not a substitute for parchment (oops).

GrateEggspectations

Straight from the source....



“Blend of three cheeses.” Will have to be sure to check out a recipe or even instructional video. 😉

JohnInCarolina

You’ve really got to be a weapons-grade moron if you’re buying your pizza cutter from BGE.  

GrateEggspectations

JohnInCarolina said:

You’ve really got to be a weapons-grade moron if you’re buying your pizza cutter from BGE.  

But it’s got the non-slip grip and integrated blade guard. NON-SLIP GRIP!!

YukonRon

Biggest tip ever:
Do not start a "Pizza Night" for the neighborhood. You will never get to eat, and you make your neighbors mad if you can't do it, for whatever reason.
Entitlements are a bítçh to take away.

nolaegghead

I love my Gozney peel that came with the Roccbox. 

Botch

GrateEggspectations said:

JohnInCarolina said:

You’ve really got to be a weapons-grade moron if you’re buying your pizza cutter from BGE.  

But it’s got the non-slip grip and integrated blade guard. NON-SLIP GRIP!!

I have that style of pizza cutter, although not BGE-branded.  
Last two years of college my roommate and I lived on $0.49 Totinos frozen pizzas and $2.99 12-packs of Old Milwaukee.  One night I was slicing our supper with a cheep Ecko pizza cutter and the rivet the sharp blade pivots on sheared off, and sliced that web of skin between my thumb and forefinger, took months for that to heal.  
That can't happen with the above style, and the blade is not that sharp (you actually crush the crust, rather than slice it) and so it works fantastic to slice homemade pasta on my countertops, too.  

BTal

Wanted to update all.....thank you for all of your thoughts!!! Made my first pizza (finnaly) tonight. Came out GREAT!!!! Started a prerolled dough from Publix on parchment paper, then moved it directly to the stone at the 8 min mark, cooked till 22 mins at 450° and it kept everything cooking the same. I have the deflector feet side down, grate on that and the. 3 foil balls ontop with the pizza stone on that. Wife...even my 4 yo loved this cheese pizza!!!(half pepperoni for adults)

Hub

No matter how many beers you have drank, DON'T forget to remove the parchment paper.  I promise you .. no .. I guarantee you, that you won't like the taste of parchment paper crust.  And it doesn't digest well.