Pizza fail and a broken egg

GrillnTX

After 6 years of cooking just about everything there is to cook, I finally decided it was time to break out my pizza stone and make some pies. Everything was looking great and I opted to go with the parchment paper method based on a friend's advice. Grill was holding steady at around 550 (stone was on for about 15 mins at this temp) and I threw the first pie on. After about 3 mins I popped the lid and tried to slide the paper out. Fail! Paper stuck to the dough and half the pizza fell off onto the stone and it turned into a mangled mess. Pie #2 wasn't much better but when I lifted the lid this time the handle felt a little different. A few minutes later I went to check the paper again and this happened...

Any advice about how to avoid having a buy a new egg would be greatly appreciated. To say I'm heartbroken over this is an understatement. 

theyolksonyou

Sorry about the egg. 

That at looks like waxed paper, not parchment. 

jtcBoynton

15 minutes to warm up a pizza stone is not enough, your stone was still cold.  Are you sure you used parchment?  Looks like wax paper.

lousubcap

I would guess your first cook at that sustained high temp.  Thus the bands expanded and away the dome went.

You can go to a dealer and order a replacement dome and install.  May need new bands as well.  FWIW-

theyolksonyou

You may find a egg on Craigslist that’s cracked base and use the dome. 

Brisket_Fanatic

#devastated!!!! That sucks, you can just purchase a new dome from your dealer and check band tightness every so often. I have my band double nutted to try to elevate this from happening. As far as the pizza goes i'm guessing you just needed the pie to cook a little longer as at 550 it will take close to 15 minutes for it to cook fully so the paper would slide out maybe around the ten min mark. Also keep the stone in preheating for like an hour. Sorry for your loss!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

That sucks. Has happened to several people on here (including me but my dime didn’t break). Another reminder to all to tighten those bands! 

You don't need to buy to buy a new egg but you will need to buy a new dome. It will cost you a few hundred but you’ll be back in the game. 

GoooDawgs

Dang that's brutal....  I'm so sorry about the egg! 

1) To prevent parchment from sticking, make sure the stone is over 500 degrees because the dough needs to cook a little first.  I usually wait 2 minutes and it's fine.  
2) Make sure it's parchment and not wax paper - I can't tell from the pictures but it looks like you might have wax. 

With the dome falling off, make sure to tighten the bolt on the base in the back.  Especially with pizza cooks the bands will expand and loosen, so keep them tight.  I use an extra nut on the back as well to prevent any slippage. 

Might as well call BGE HQ and see what they can do.  Might be able to get a warranty replacement - I know folks that have in this scenario. 

Good luck!

GoooDawgs

Haha everyone responded at the same time!  Forum is on top of it today! 

GrillnTX

Thanks all. I thought it was parchment but I didn't know there was a difference so I'll double check (not that I'll be cooking pizza again anytime soon!). Whatever it was I'm pretty sure I ate a good amount of it because it fused/melted into the dough and I was too proud to chuck it.

Has anyone had BGE or a local dealer come out and install the new dome? If I'm spending a few hundred $ I'd feel more comfortable having it done by a professional. 

fishlessman

theres a clip added to the new bands that keeps the dome from falling

unoriginalusername

fishlessman said:

theres a clip added to the new bands that keeps the dome from falling

I think that helps with alignment but I don't think it helps with preventing bands that have come too lose to secure the Egg dome from falling?

fishlessman

unoriginalusername said:

fishlessman said:

theres a clip added to the new bands that keeps the dome from falling

I think that helps with alignment but I don't think it helps with preventing bands that have come too lose to secure the Egg dome from falling?

it was invented by a guy called charwoody back about 20 years ago for this very purpose. it only took bge 20 years to make the upgrade

1voyager

GrillnTX said:

Thanks all. I thought it was parchment but I didn't know there was a difference so I'll double check (not that I'll be cooking pizza again anytime soon!). Whatever it was I'm pretty sure I ate a good amount of it because it fused/melted into the dough and I was too proud to chuck it.

Has anyone had BGE or a local dealer come out and install the new dome? If I'm spending a few hundred $ I'd feel more comfortable having it done by a professional. 

No way, friend. Get back on that horse. I made my share of ho-hum pizzas  when I first tried them. Now I wouldn't think of going to a pizza joint.

So, let's talk about the setup.

Once the temperature raises to 250-300 degrees, I then insert the platesetter, spacers and pizza stone. My target temperature is 650 degrees. When the temperature reaches 650, I let it burn for another 30 minutes. Sometimes a bit longer if I'm trying to do several things at once. That means the total time to start the pie is a little more than an hour.

I also use parchment. There's no reason to try to remove it from under the pizza. The parchment directly under the pizza will remain moist but you'll have crispy crust. The exposed paper will burn, of course, so I trim it around the peel as close a possible. 4 minutes, spin 180 degrees and remove after another 4 minutes.

Good luck with finding a satisfactory solution for your dome replacement.

StillH2OEgger

Sorry about how this played out and good luck going forward. Those pizzas precook look tremendous.

Atl_Buckeye

Sorry about the egg. That wouldn't be a happy day!

Aside from the wax paper. I would also recommend that you build the pizza on the parchment just before putting it on the grill. Don't pre-build as I have found the dough wanting to really stick. You can also add a little corn meal or semolina between dough and parchment.

GrillnTX

Thanks all. Once I figure out how to get a new dome I'll give it another shot. I did use wax paper (oops!) so hopefully that was a big part of my problem. 

Canugghead

Sorry to see that. Assuming you're the original owner, and you don't get a goodwill free replacement dome since it's not BGE's fault, I'd suggest you try for a compassion warranty claim ... if approved, you get 50% discount. Good luck.

Brisket_Fanatic

GrillnTX said:

Thanks all. Once I figure out how to get a new dome I'll give it another shot. I did use wax paper (oops!) so hopefully that was a big part of my problem. 

Wax paper was definitely the problem with the pizza as the wax will start to melt at those temps and fuse to the stone and crust. It's a learning curve but you'll get it figured out. 

GrateEggspectations

Canugghead said:

Sorry to see that. Assuming you're the original owner, and you don't get a goodwill free replacement dome since it's not BGE's fault, I'd suggest you try for a compassion warranty claim ... if approved, you get 50% discount. Good luck.

Not disagreeing that there is some user error at play here, but this may be evidence that the band design from BGE is fundamentally flawed - likely the reason the new bands now have the tabs to prevent this from happening. 

Cornholio

Welcome to the club!  I just ordered a new dome from a local dealer and replaced it myself when this happened to me.  If you call BGE headquarters and tell them your story they may just send you some new bolt hardware to install your new dome with (they graciously did so for me at least).

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1214737/psa-check-your-bge-bands#latest

GrillnTX

Cornholio said:

Welcome to the club!  I just ordered a new dome from a local dealer and replaced it myself when this happened to me.  If you call BGE headquarters and tell them your story they may just send you some new bolt hardware to install your new dome with (they graciously did so for me at least).

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1214737/psa-check-your-bge-bands#latest

How was replacing it yourself? Did you follow a youtube video or do they provide step by step instructions that you don't need to be an engineer to understand?

MrCookingNurse

Brisket_Fanatic said:

#devastated!!!! That sucks, you can just purchase a new dome from your dealer and check band tightness every so often. I have my band double nutted to try to elevate this from happening. As far as the pizza goes i'm guessing you just needed the pie to cook a little longer as at 550 it will take close to 15 minutes for it to cook fully so the paper would slide out maybe around the ten min mark. Also keep the stone in preheating for like an hour. Sorry for your loss!

Double nutted is the only way

Cornholio

GrillnTX said:

Cornholio said:

Welcome to the club!  I just ordered a new dome from a local dealer and replaced it myself when this happened to me.  If you call BGE headquarters and tell them your story they may just send you some new bolt hardware to install your new dome with (they graciously did so for me at least).

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1214737/psa-check-your-bge-bands#latest

How was replacing it yourself? Did you follow a youtube video or do they provide step by step instructions that you don't need to be an engineer to understand?

Fairly easy but I did have trouble getting good alignment on the reinstall and still have a little underbite (which has no impact on cooking performance).  I’m looking to get the newer band style soon anyways as mine is the older style and is about 8 years old with a few of those years being just a few hundred feet from the ocean.  

Cornholio

MrCookingNurse said:

Brisket_Fanatic said:

#devastated!!!! That sucks, you can just purchase a new dome from your dealer and check band tightness every so often. I have my band double nutted to try to elevate this from happening. As far as the pizza goes i'm guessing you just needed the pie to cook a little longer as at 550 it will take close to 15 minutes for it to cook fully so the paper would slide out maybe around the ten min mark. Also keep the stone in preheating for like an hour. Sorry for your loss!

Double nutted is the only way

That’s what she said...  I’ll go ahead and see myself out now.

JethroBodeen

This is a nightmare for you, im sure. I had a cracked base last year. With a lot of patience in dealing with the mothership, I got it replaced. Twice!

At the risk of sounding completely ignorant. What exactly is the point of the parchment paper under the pies? Is it just for handling? Is it to maybe slow the crust cook for a short period of time, if cooking low in the dome maybe?

I just have always used cornmeal and I dont recall throwing any pizza away...

brimee

GrateEggspectations said:

Canugghead said:

Sorry to see that. Assuming you're the original owner, and you don't get a goodwill free replacement dome since it's not BGE's fault, I'd suggest you try for a compassion warranty claim ... if approved, you get 50% discount. Good luck.

Not disagreeing that there is some user error at play here, but this may be evidence that the band design from BGE is fundamentally flawed - likely the reason the new bands now have the tabs to prevent this from happening. 

Also the lid does not open as high which I feel would almost eliminate this from happening when it loosens. I just recently replaced my 8 year old hinge and band when replacing my base. The hinge was acting strange even though it was tight and I have seen to many of these stories. It was fairly easy to do this.

StillH2OEgger

JethroBodeen said:

This is a nightmare for you, im sure. I had a cracked base last year. With a lot of patience in dealing with the mothership, I got it replaced. Twice!

At the risk of sounding completely ignorant. What exactly is the point of the parchment paper under the pies? Is it just for handling? Is it to maybe slow the crust cook for a short period of time, if cooking low in the dome maybe?

I just have always used cornmeal and I dont recall throwing any pizza away...

I use parchment paper and for me it was easier to slide pizza onto the stone. From what I can tell there is no difference in how the pizza cooks with the paper. Also, I don't care for the texture that corn meal can add.

dmourati

Paper is totally unnecessary. Get a pizza peel. Get some corn meal. Spread a small amount of corn meal on the peel before loading the crust and toppings. Shake with a back and forth motion to make sure it's not stuck. Launch the pizza. Sweep off an excess corn meal. Win.

JethroBodeen

dmourati said:

Paper is totally unnecessary. Get a pizza peel. Get some corn meal. Spread a small amount of corn meal on the peel before loading the crust and toppings. Shake with a back and forth motion to make sure it's not stuck. Launch the pizza. Sweep off an excess corn meal. Win.

Yeah, that's what I have always done. Just wanted to make sure I wasnt missing some benefit. Thanks guys!

caliking

The bolts are often not tight enough. You can use a torque wrench to get it right, or crank on the bolts until they bend. 

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1179274/psa-use-a-torque-wrench-to-tighten-the-bands-and-how-to-eliminate-under-overbite/p1