Attempting Pizza and need advice...

bigmikej

I have recently received everything I think I need to make Pizza on the egg. I have a food processor, a bread machine, a pizza stone, a plate setter, and a wooden pizza peel. Now all I need are some tips and recipes for dough, sauce, toppings, etc... I know that there are some accomplished pizza chefs out there. Please share your wisdom![p]Thanks in advance,[p]Mike

Shelby

bigmikej,
I use a standard dough recipe provided by the bread dough machine. I let the machine do everything; takes 90 minutes. When the timer goes off, the dough is ready to roll or hand toss to the desired thickness. I've not been successful with hand tossing, so I roll it out.
You'll want to put some corn meal on the wooden peel before putting the dough on the peel...acts like little ball bearings, letting you easily transfer the pizza to the stone. Add whatever toppings you like to the dough while it is on the peel.
I start prepping the Egg about half way thru the dough process. Start with sufficient lump; once the fire is started and you can close the dome, leave the grill in place(this burns off anything left from previous cooks), put the plate setter in with feet on the grill, stone on top the plate setter. You'll want the temp to stabilize at around 500* for 20 minutes. This will give the stone time to heat. Slide the pizza on the hot stone, close the lid and set a timer for 10 minutes!

The Naked Whiz

bigmikej,
Here is a link to my web page of tips on making pizza. I don't have any info on making the pie itself, but rather tips on cooking it. I wouldn't let a pie go 10 minutes without checking it until you know how your pies cook. The optimal time and temp differs based upon what kind of dough you are using, among other things. You'll probably need to experiment a little on the first couple of pies until you find the ideal time and temp. Good luck![p]TNW
[ul][li]The Naked Whiz's Pizza Tips page[/ul]

Wise One

bigmikej, I am a pizza newbie but have been having some success. Here is what I do. I make up my dough (bread machine one time, pizza mix the second) and roll it out. I then roll it up on the rolling pin (or you can just roll it on itself). I put a sheet of non-stick aluminum foil in a pizza pan and then unroll the crust onto the aluminum foil (it's ok if the foil does not completely cover the bottom of the crust). I then use the pizza pan to help spread the dough out and to make an edge. I then layer in my tomato sauce, cheese, toppings, more cheese, more toppings, until I think I have created the perfect pizza. I then carry it out to my BGE where I have had the plate setter and pizza stone getting up to 450-500 degrees and then by pulling the foil, transfer the pizza from the pan to the stone. I now have the plate setter, the stone, the foil and the pizza. I let it cook for about 15 minutes. You can peek (notice I included the 'k' for Gretl's sake) down the chimney with a flashlight to get a view of how things are going. I use a cookie sheet to scoop the pizza off the stone and redeposit onto the pizza pan for slicing and serving. This method has worked well for me and it is EASY. This pizza stuff is fun!!!

Unknown

My employer filters the site (because of the word "naked" I presume) but I'm positive it has a link to a cookbook compiled by Bill Wise. In that cookbook I'm fairly certain there is a recipe for sauce and dough, by Spin. If you watched the video that came with your BGE, you saw Spin making pizza.

The Naked Whiz

RG,
Oh dear! Yes, the recipe index page has a link to Bill Wise's cookbook down at the bottom.

Shelby

bigmikej,
I should've added as TNW pointed out, check it several times. I peer down thru the top so I don't open the dome.
Also, perfecting pizza takes many attempts which means you get to taste often.