Pizza Temp?

Kip

I've read various recommendations. What is the ideal temp for pizza?[p]500? 600?[p]Thanks in advance.[p]Kip

CR

Kip, the ideal is the temp that cooks the pizza the way you like it. But seriously, I have seen a lot of different postings on pizza technique and the temps vary a bit. I have only done a couple of pizzas and 550° worked for me after I had stabilizd and then pre-heated the baking stone for 10 minutes before putting on the pizza.[p]

The Naked Whiz

Kip,
It depends. My experience has been that frozen pizzas do best at 450, while the unbaked pizzas I get from my local pizza joint do best at 550. I think most people that make their own dough (like from Spin's recipe) use 650. You might like to try a middle temp like 550 and then adjust as you see fit on subsequent pizzas. Here is a link to my pizza info page:[p]TNW
[ul][li]The Naked Whiz's Pizza page[/ul]

Wise One

Kip, just to add a bit to the confusion, I do mine at 475 (450-500) for 15 minutes and have been real pleased. Thin crust, 12 inch pizza on a 12 inch pizza stone on top of a plate setter.

Shelby

Kip,
I usually do mine in the 550 range. Last night however, the temp crept up to 700 while heating the plate setter/pizza stone combo. I just shortened the length of time. Most excellent results and just had a little leftover for lunch that was as good or better than last nights!
Probably the most important thing is to preheat the plate setter/pizza stone for at least 10 minutes; I prefer 20. Then keep an eye on it. I look thru the top of the dome with a flashlight so I don't have to lift the dome.

CR

Shelby, do you get the Egg stabilized at the cooking temp and then add the plate setter/pizza stone for a warm-up period. Is there a chance that the plate setter and/or the baking stone will crack since they are cold and you are putting them into a very hot egg? I have heated the plate setter with the Egg and then added the stone for a warm-up but I worry about breaking the stone. Any experiences with this?[p]Thanks.

BBQBluesStringer

Kip, Commercial pizza baking ovens usually run at 600-700 F. When the demand is high and you have to spit out lots of pizzas, the bakers will sometimes run them up to 900F. The point is that pizza is very forgiving. If you cook at 550 (reasonable) it'll take a little longer than if you cook at 900, but the results will be satisfactory in either case. Absolutely essential (stomps 3 times so you pay attention) is having the stone at whatever temp you are cooking at. Let it heat up for 20 or 30 minutes. The stone bakes the crust, not the surrounding air.[p]BBS

Shelby

CR,
Once my coals are lit, I replace the grill and plate setter/pizza stone at the same time and let the egg come up to temp with everything in place.
One other thing, if you plan on doing a second pizza, you'll need to allow time for the stone to come back up to temp, otherwise the second pie will take longer to cook and the stone won't be hot enough to cook the dough quickly.