What went wrong?

Ryan

I made my first pizzas last night. I set up the grill according to Spin's directions. I put 3 fire bricks in a y shape on the grill, then the pizza stone on top of the bricks. I brought the temp up to 600 then stabilized at 550 for around 15 minutes. When I opened the lid to add my first pizza I realized the pizza stone had cracked in half. I don't know why it cracked? I have used it to indirectly cook a bunch of times with no problems. I got another pizza stone I had in the house and threw it on. I waited 10 minutes for it to come up to temp. I slid on the first pizza and closed the egg. After 8 minutes I checked it and the outer edge needed another minute or two. I pulled it off and realized the center 6" of the pizza bottom was burnt to a crisp and the outside 6" was just right? I let the stone come up to temp for 5 minutes and added my second pizza. I pulled it off after 7 minutes and the center of the bottom was burnt and the outside was a little undercooked.[p]Why is the center of the pizza burning? All of the pizza stones I have are 1/2" thick. Is this too thin? Should I order a thick one?[p]The part of the pizza that wasn't burnt was awesome! I'm looking forward to making it again...[p]Thanks,[p]Ryan[p]

Zip

Ryan,[p]It is the opinion of several around here that a double stone setup is one of the best. Place a few washers between the two stones so there is a buffer of air between the stones. This will alleviate the hot spots considerably if not entirely. Considering the pizza stone breakage, all stones are not created equally. You didn't state what brand of stone you were using, but the BGE brand is a good one as well as the plate setter. In my experience you can place a cheaper stone on top of the bge stone or plate setter with success, but not on the bottom for direct fire exposure. Many brands out there will break when place in direct exposure of the fire. A corderite (sp?) stone on top of the bge stone/platesetter is a great combo in my opinion for shattering crisp crust.[p]ashley [p]HTH, [p]Ashley

KennyG

Ryan,[p]I'm sorry that I didn't ask about your setup before offering advice last nite. Many of us who bake pizza on a regular basis have standardized on the "bulletproof" combination of the BGE plate setter and their pizza stone. Used in tandem, they provide the additional thermal mass to ensure that the toppings and crust finish at the same time.[p]Although the BGE stone might appear pricey at first, it has a ceramic "cone" rating of 10 which means it can withstand continuous temps in excess of 2000°. Most commercial pizza stones were not designed to handle the intense heat of glowing lump in a 500-600° environment. Many have reported cracks[p]My suggestion would be be to pick up a platesetter and set your stone on top for your next try. We typically pre-heat the pizza stone for 10 minutes.[p]K~G

Ryan

KennyG,[p]Thanks for the advice! Sounds like I need to order the plate setter... [p]Ryan

Ryan

Ashley,[p]Thanks! Where do I get a "corderite" stone?[p]Thanks,[p]Ryan

Tim M

<p />Ryan,[p]And get a pizza stone from them. Kenny G is 1000% correct. Their have been a few dozen people post here about thin pizza stones cracking, but i have never seen a post about the Bge stone cracking - ever. While you might be able to use this or that with this and that, the setter and pizza stone combo is bullet-proof and works perfectly almost every time. I had success with firebricks, but not in the manor you set them up. I use to use a |_| configuration with the stone on top, but the setter makes it so much easier and it's good for many other things as well.[p]Tim

Zip

Ryan,[p]The Cordierite stone I really like comes from FoodServiceDirect.Com. It is almost 15" round and is one inch thick. I have used this stone direct, but I wouldn't recommend it. This is the same material that many firebricks are made of. Don't get me wrong about the BGE stone, it is a great stone as far as not breaking from thermal shock. The cordierite stone is prefered by me because it's qualities are much like our old deck pizza oven we had before getting a conveyer type oven for the restaurant. I feel this stone is really key to making really good pocket/pita bread as well as very crisp pizza. [p]Keep in mind this is not the only source for these stones and actually some that are available at places like Target are of this material. The difference is they are not very thick and don't seem to have the ability to take the higher heat. [p]Ryan, myself along with others use a few small washers to separate the two stones or stone/setter. This can really be helpful for avoiding a burned crust on the bottom, by providing air between the stones. I want you to keep in min there are many other factors that can lead to a burned crust. Moisture content, sugar content, protein content, fat content, ect.... so let's begin with getting you started with a good stone setup first. A good stabilized temp for at least ten minutes or even more is also key. I prefer 25-30 minutes so the dome has loaded up with heat to brown the toppings.[p]
Ashley