Crispy pizza

Powak

Recently I picked up a pack of pizza screens. My usual method for pies on the egg is 475, PSWOO2 in with plate setter legs up, regular grate on top and a pizza stone on top of that. I make my pie on an airbake pizza pan, place it in the egg on the stone for about 8 minutes, slide the pie off the pan directly onto the stone and cook till finished. This usually yields a perfect, crispy bottom pie. 

With the screens I made my pie in the screen and placed on the stone till cooked. Got that cool diamond plate bottom on the dough. Didn’t get quite as crisp as the other method I had. Just wondering does the screen sitting on the stone create a bunch of moisture pockets? What about not using any pizza stone and just using the screen like one of those conveyor belt ovens? Anyone try that in the egg?

fishlessman

never used the screens but im thinking upping the temp may help

jtcBoynton

Think it has more to due with rate of heat transfer. When the pizza is in direct contact with the stone, heat is transferred by conduction. Putting it on a screen or airbase pan reduces the conductive transfer. You are changing heat transfer rates by your change to a screen. Result seems to be less crisp. You could adjust air temp or timing to compensate.  This will impact the cook on the toppings so further adjustments may be needed. 

Powak

Came out perfect tonight! Ran the egg about 475-550(climbed to about 600 when I stepped in for second). First 8 minutes on the screen, last 7-8 minutes on the stone. Crispy bottom, browned cheese. Rock n roll.

Thatgrimguy

Looking good!!

DonWW

Nice.  Sauce??

loco_engr

nice helmet cam pics & finished product!

Zippylip

Screens are great for baking pies in the oven if you have no stone in there, they’re also great to cool a pie you cooked on a stone.  But, they have no use inside the egg.  I’d lose the screens and the airbake thing, you’re going backwards with them in the egg.  The egg with a pie directly on the stone IS the final frontier for pizza making in that device, anything you add (screens, pans, paper…) does nothing but take away from the benefits you paid a sh!t ton of money for, and ‘convenience’ does not add to the quality of your final product.  Get a peel & learn how to use it, it’s easier, faster, less complicated & yields better results than all that other nonsense.

dstearn

I have never used a screen. I also have a woo on my XL,. After bringing the temp up to 425 I add the grate place the 17 inch stone since I no longer use the platesetter on top of the grate. Then I set up the adjustable rig and set the pizza stone on the top rack. I close the dome and let the stone preheat at 425 for an hour.
I use a pre rolled thin crust from my pizzeria and it takes about 14 minutes to cook. Crust is crispy but not burnt. I think the key is to pre heat the stone first.
Also use cornmeal on the wooden peel to prepare the pies so that they do not stick when launching or removing helps.

rekameohs

Powak said:

What about not using any pizza stone and just using the screen like one of those conveyor belt ovens? Anyone try that in the egg?

Do any commercial/pizza shops use screens to cook in their brick ovens?  I don't think I have ever seen them used there.

I have had better luck using parchment paper under the pizza vs using flour to keep it from sticking.

GlennM

I use parchment to launch mine in the blackstone pizza oven. I pull the parchment out after the dough is set ( about a minute or so )  I make a sourdough crust

RyanStl

Parchment paper changed my life. Like others, I have kids make their pizzas on the paper and after a couple minutes, pull the paper out. No more stuck doughs and I'm not a fan of the texture from corn meal.

poster

I used to use screens, until i did a bunch in a row. I figured i would make 3 or 4 pizzas all at once and have them ready to go as each pizza came off the egg. Well by the time i got to number 3 or 4 the dough had grabbed onto screen. I had basically cooked the screen into the dough. It wasn't even worth cleaning. I switched to parchment and never looked back

paqman

RyanStl said:

Parchment paper changed my life. Like others, I have kids make their pizzas on the paper and after a couple minutes, pull the paper out. No more stuck doughs and I'm not a fan of the texture from corn meal.

Parchment paper is a blessing and works well on the egg.  There are different types though and you have to use the right one because some of them will literally burn/fall appart within a minute at high temp.

I don’t bake pizza on the egg anymore.  I use a wooden pizza peel with rice flour or semola (has similar texture to cornmeal but a bit finer and better tolerance to heat)

Nice pies!

Grillmagic

Slide your pie off the screen directly on the stone once it firms up, typically half way through the cook.

buzd504

poster said:

I used to use screens, until i did a bunch in a row. I figured i would make 3 or 4 pizzas all at once and have them ready to go as each pizza came off the egg. Well by the time i got to number 3 or 4 the dough had grabbed onto screen. I had basically cooked the screen into the dough. It wasn't even worth cleaning. I switched to parchment and never looked back

We've been doing about 4 pizzas at a time, but after warming up and about the 3rd pizza at 600 or so, the egg seems to start running low on fuel and evening off and dropping temp.  Also, my wife tends to load up on sauce, which can make the dough soggy, so I've started par-cooking my sourdough crusts in the oven at 500 (I have a couple of extra stones). 

It might be cheating, but 3 minutes firms the crust just enough to hold the sauce, and the reduced cook time on the egg still gives a nicely charred crust and I don't run low on lump/temp.

poster

buzd504 said:

poster said:

I used to use screens, until i did a bunch in a row. I figured i would make 3 or 4 pizzas all at once and have them ready to go as each pizza came off the egg. Well by the time i got to number 3 or 4 the dough had grabbed onto screen. I had basically cooked the screen into the dough. It wasn't even worth cleaning. I switched to parchment and never looked back

We've been doing about 4 pizzas at a time, but after warming up and about the 3rd pizza at 600 or so, the egg seems to start running low on fuel and evening off and dropping temp.  Also, my wife tends to load up on sauce, which can make the dough soggy, so I've started par-cooking my sourdough crusts in the oven at 500 (I have a couple of extra stones). 

It might be cheating, but 3 minutes firms the crust just enough to hold the sauce, and the reduced cook time on the egg still gives a nicely charred crust and I don't run low on lump/temp.

Good idea, thanks i will give it a try if i ever do a huge run. I too tend to like a heavy amount of sauce that may have added to my screen problem

buzd504

poster said:

buzd504 said:

poster said:

I used to use screens, until i did a bunch in a row. I figured i would make 3 or 4 pizzas all at once and have them ready to go as each pizza came off the egg. Well by the time i got to number 3 or 4 the dough had grabbed onto screen. I had basically cooked the screen into the dough. It wasn't even worth cleaning. I switched to parchment and never looked back

We've been doing about 4 pizzas at a time, but after warming up and about the 3rd pizza at 600 or so, the egg seems to start running low on fuel and evening off and dropping temp.  Also, my wife tends to load up on sauce, which can make the dough soggy, so I've started par-cooking my sourdough crusts in the oven at 500 (I have a couple of extra stones). 

It might be cheating, but 3 minutes firms the crust just enough to hold the sauce, and the reduced cook time on the egg still gives a nicely charred crust and I don't run low on lump/temp.

Good idea, thanks i will give it a try if i ever do a huge run. I too tend to like a heavy amount of sauce that may have added to my screen problem

And, FWIW, I use parchment too when parcooking the dough, just because it makes launching the pies easier.  I remove it one they are on the egg, and the crust ends up very nice.

Powak

Grillmagic said:

Slide your pie off the screen directly on the stone once it firms up, typically half way through the cook.

This is what I do. Works good now. If I get a wooden peel I’d try the launching 

Hoster05

Pizza steel preheated for 45 min at 550 degrees.  Semolina flour on a wood peel,  cooked 3-4 min each.