I’m terrible at pizza!

Nathanogle51

I can cook a mean steak, awesome ribs, and all sorts of stuff. But boy, every time I’ve tried to make a pizza, I foul it up. After the 1st pizza, all the others end up burned on the bottom - I had to swallow my pride and put the last pizza in the oven 😔 Only cooks I have messed up in two years. Oh well, when I want pizza, guess I’ll order. 

AprèsSki

Are you using two stones? I burned a lot of pies when only using a single stone, the best setup for me is a stone on a Woo and then another up high in the dome. A platesetter and another stone would do the same.

Nathanogle51

AprèsSki said:

Are you using two stones? I burned a lot of pies when only using a single stone, the best setup for me is a stone on a Woo and then another up high in the dome. A platesetter and another stone would do the same.

Great idea! I use a single stone w/ a plate setter (feet) down with the grid in between... Just really disappointed, I went the extra mile on the dough and all of the ingredients, it honestly just doesn’t feel worth it anymore. 

DoubleEgger

If you’ll detail everything you’re doing, the fine folks on this forum will get you squared away. 

Nathanogle51

AprèsSki said:

Are you using two stones? I burned a lot of pies when only using a single stone, the best setup for me is a stone on a Woo and then another up high in the dome. A platesetter and another stone would do the same.

Btw, I love ripping the Wasatch, one of my favorite places on Earth!

Nathanogle51

DoubleEgger said:

If you’ll detail everything you’re doing, the fine folks on this forum will get you squared away. 

No doubt! Bought dough from the Publix bakery, fired up the egg and put the plate setter feet down, then the grate, then the stone. Was only able to the dome temp up around 500, which was probably misleading - bottom burned before the toppings and cheese were done. 

jdMyers

From experience your dough is too thick

GrateEggspectations

I know how you feel. I believe (perhaps mistakenly!) that I am a competent cook for the majority of the items I cook on the Egg. Not so with pizza. Like you, I tend to get a singed bottom before the top is done. I am infinitely jealous of a lot of the great pizza cooks I see on this forum. 

caliking

Do you build the pie on parchment? That might help with the burning issue. Also, getting the pie higher in the dome seems to help with the issue you have. 

Lastly, I'll bet that the dough you're buying has sugar in it, that tends to burn at high temps. 

Botch

Nathanogle51 said:

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AprèsSki said:

Are you using two stones? I burned a lot of pies when only using a single stone, the best setup for me is a stone on a Woo and then another up high in the dome. A platesetter and another stone would do the same.

Btw, I love ripping the Wasatch, one of my favorite places on Earth!

Were you out here skiing, recently?  

I've done so many pizzas on the Large I got burned out on them, have only had pizza, maybe twice in the last 6 or 7 years.  
Are you letting the Egg get fully heated before cooking?  That would explain the bottom burning, I'd usually let the Egg set at the desired temp for an hour before adding the pie.  Also, pizzas are like a chunk of meat; the thicker it is, the lower the temperature should be:
Chicago-style pizza (ie casserole): 350º
Papa Murphy's "Cowboy" style pizza, just like the ad sez: 425º
New York style:  700º
Margherita-style, with minimal toppings:  950º
 
Post a pic of your setup, and your usual pizza, I may be able to make a suggestion or two.  
 

unoriginalusername

I find what works for me is to get to about 800 then to use a wet rag to cool the stone. Then slide on your pie on parchment paper. Rotate every 90 seconds. Done in under 5

1voyager

Nathanogle51 said:

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DoubleEgger said:

If you’ll detail everything you’re doing, the fine folks on this forum will get you squared away. 

No doubt! Bought dough from the Publix bakery, fired up the egg and put the plate setter feet down, then the grate, then the stone. Was only able to the dome temp up around 500, which was probably misleading - bottom burned before the toppings and cheese were done. 

No need for the grate. Platesetter feet down, spacers (crumbled aluminum foil   or similar for about 1/2 inch space), then pizza stone.

From my experience, 500 degrees isn't hot enough. I wait until dome temp is 600-650 degrees and then let it ride for an hour. Yes, some folks may say that's too long, but I want that stone hot-hot-hot. ( If your Egg won't go above 500 degrees then either the gauge isn't calibrated or there are circulation issues that can be easily corrected.)

4 minutes, spin 180 degrees another 4 minutes then serve. Works great whether light on toppings or loaded.

Other thoughts...

I agree on @caliking comment that using parchment makes the process simpler and the store-bought dough may have too high of a sugar content. 

Consider making your own pizza dough. It's simple and takes very little time.

Don't give up on making great pizza on your Egg.

GrateEggspectations

Obviously, a lot of you have had great success. 

Anyone willing to post a full how-to?
@unoriginalusername: No pressure, but have you covered pizza in your videos and, if not, have you considered it?

Botch

Parchment under your pizza:
 

 

 

jtcBoynton

It’s key 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.

unoriginalusername

GrateEggspectations said:

Obviously, a lot of you have had great success. 

Anyone willing to post a full how-to?
@unoriginalusername: No pressure, but have you covered pizza in your videos and, if not, have you considered it?

No I should do that. I love pizza on the egg / kj 

Nathanogle51

Botch said:

show previous quotes

Nathanogle51 said:

AprèsSki said:

Are you using two stones? I burned a lot of pies when only using a single stone, the best setup for me is a stone on a Woo and then another up high in the dome. A platesetter and another stone would do the same.

Btw, I love ripping the Wasatch, one of my favorite places on Earth!

Were you out here skiing, recently?  

I've done so many pizzas on the Large I got burned out on them, have only had pizza, maybe twice in the last 6 or 7 years.  
Are you letting the Egg get fully heated before cooking?  That would explain the bottom burning, I'd usually let the Egg set at the desired temp for an hour before adding the pie.  Also, pizzas are like a chunk of meat; the thicker it is, the lower the temperature should be:
Chicago-style pizza (ie casserole): 350º
Papa Murphy's "Cowboy" style pizza, just like the ad sez: 425º
New York style:  700º
Margherita-style, with minimal toppings:  950º
 
Post a pic of your setup, and your usual pizza, I may be able to make a suggestion or two.  
 

I make it out there every other year, went to Big Sky last week... Love the Little Cottonwood Canyon. 

Nathanogle51

Great advice all over the place, lots of things to consider! Anyway, for me, I’ve fouled it up too many times and would honesty rather just spend the money on a nice piece of protein or experiment with something new; you guys are great!

DoubleEgger

Nathanogle51 said:

Great advice all over the place, lots of things to consider! Anyway, for me, I’ve fouled it up too many times and would honesty rather just spend the money on a nice piece of protein or experiment with something new; you guys are great!

You can lead a horse to water....

No worries. I always talk about people learning their cooking style. If pizza isn’t your thing to cook, then don’t do it. I feel the same way about Mexican. Better to go to the restaurant. 

JohnInCarolina

If you’re buying dough from Publix, it very likely has sugar in it.  That style of dough is not designed to be cooked much over 500F.  

Fred19Flintstone

Wilma prefers thin crust.  Quite honestly she likes tortilla pizzas best.  Folks probably think it’s cheating, but for me less prep work is always welcome.  Another bonus is we can churn them out like crazy in no time!

Carolina Q

Do yourself a favor and try a Chicago Deep Dish. They take about a half hour to cook though, so maybe not so good for a party, but oh so good! Works well in egg or oven (probably even a toaster oven though I haven't tried that). Under 2 hours from a bag of flour to eating pizza. Dough is made in 4 minutes, rest for 1 hour... ready to use.

Here's my old thread on the subject...

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1167656/how-to-make-authentic-chicago-deep-dish-pizza-in-two-hours-or-less/p1

CigarCityEgger

I find plate setter legs down and raised higher in the dome with pizza stone gives me what I need. I also use a pizza peel with cornmeal to help slide off and on the stone helps. Keep working on it and you’ll get there! 

1voyager

Here are a couple of pictures of the setup for my large Egg. You can find the clay "feet" at a garden store, Home Depot, etc. They are designed to use with planters.

stv8r

pics or it didn't happen

tridogdude

Raise the stone up off the place setter with a four pieces of 1" copper pipe set on ends.

QDude

I have given up on doing pizza on my XL.  The temp gets out of control too easily when the dome is open.  I got a Blackstone pizza oven and that helped turn out a better pizza.  The egg is good at cooking lots of different foods but is not a great tool for doing pizza IMO.  Others may have great success with it but I am not one of them.

Griffin

Not familiar with Publix dough, but does it give a temperature and time to cook it at? Where did you come up with the 500 temp? I've used dough from Tom Thumb (aka Safeway/Randalls, etc) before with good results following their instructions and it was 425 for 15 minutes or so. 

mtasker

my pizza's are always too smokey.  

jtcBoynton

Griffin said:

Not familiar with Publix dough, but does it give a temperature and time to cook it at? Where did you come up with the 500 temp? I've used dough from Tom Thumb (aka Safeway/Randalls, etc) before with good results following their instructions and it was 425 for 15 minutes or so. 

Yes it does.  I haven't used it for a while but I recall it was a lower temp - 425° or 450°.

TTC

Nathanogle51 said:

show previous quotes

DoubleEgger said:

If you’ll detail everything you’re doing, the fine folks on this forum will get you squared away. 

No doubt! Bought dough from the Publix bakery, fired up the egg and put the plate setter feet down, then the grate, then the stone. Was only able to the dome temp up around 500, which was probably misleading - bottom burned before the toppings and cheese were done. 

Agreed with others that Publix dough is best in a 425 oven, I have tried many times and it just does not respond to the high heat environment of my egg pizza set up. To be completely honest its either oven or Roccbox for me -- the egg is a super cooking device but pizza is not its strong suit...