Burnt Pizza

Bigdolan

Howdy,

I am a new egger, and I tried my first pizzas last night, what a disaster.

my setup:
large egg
4 bricks on top of grill
16" stone

i put 3 of the bricks on their sides in a triangle and one flat in the middle to try to disperse the heat.

the problems:

on the first run, i did not have enough charcoal and had to take down the whole setup at 425 degrees, thank god for silicone gloves.

The first pie was absolutely beautiful.
7 mins at 650, I was stoked, until i found a completely black underbelly..... inedible.

the second pie i cooked at 600, but at 2 minutes, the bottom was turning black again so i took it off and finished it in the oven.

today when i took the setup down, i noticed that i had little pink marks on my grill from where the bricks were on it, did i melt a brick?

my questions are these:
1. should I use more bricks to block the direct flame, ie is the stone just too hot

2. is a plate setter worth the money? it is like 70 bucks and 10 bricks is like 3

3. am i just trying to cook this at too high a temp?

4. I used a quick batter, 3 hour rest, tonight i am using alton browns, does that change things up alot?

I have had more fun cooking since I bought this goofy looking thing, I only wish I had bought it much sooner!

Ross in Ventura

I think your pizza stone is getting to hot, to much direct heat, I use a platesetter Egg feet then the pizza stone
http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=736795&catid=1

Ross

Cpt'n Cook

Fire bricks should be a good enough heat shield for pizza. Make sure you leave an air space between the firebricks and the pizza stone, the little green feet or copper plumbing connectors work well for that. I usually cook at 550-600 degrees. Get your set-up done as soon as you know that you are gong to get a good light and let everything warm up together. I peek down the open top with a flashlight to check doneness.

I also use Parchment paper for the first 5 mins and then slide it out.

My dough is rising right now for tonight's pie :woohoo:

Conundrum

I cook with a stone direcly on top of a plate setter at 500 - 550 dome. I always wipe the stone down with a wet rag immediatley before putting the pizza on. I try to keep wiping until the rag stops sizzling when it hits the stone. Put the pizza on - 8 minute wait and go to it. Be careful - that rag gets mighty hot.

fishlessman

you might be better with the full sized soft fire bricks, they can be cut with an old saw if you have a dull one around the house so you nan lay them out perfectly to the size of your pizza stone. im not a big fan of the bigger pizza stones, i have one and what it does is block enough flow to create a much hotter zone under the stone than the regular sized pizza stones. try lifting the stone off the bricks and the damp towel trick as suggested. my setup uses a deep pan full of sand under the stone

BobS

The bricks should be okay, but you need them set-up so that they are a continuous mass below the pizza stone.

I agree that using the feet between the bricks and the stone will help.

If you are going to cook over 500, you need to pay attention to your dough and be sure it is wet enough so that it will not burn before the toppings get done.

I cook at 600+ with the plate setter, feet down then add spacers that are about 1 1/2" long to push the stone up into the dome (the reflected heat from the dome seems to cook the top at a more even rate. I make a dough with 60% hydration (water weight = 60% of flour weight).

A scale is a good thing if you are going to get serious.

thebtls

Only success I have had is with a platsetter legs down to deflect the heat, pizza stone directiy on the platesetter, heated up before you add the pizza and never place pizza directly on the stone, put down a piece of parchment paper, 8 minutes or so and out. If you are using thin crust it is much harder to finish the toppings at those temperatures before torching the dough on the bottom. Also try something between 500 and 600 in the dome and no higher, just my two cents.

Grandpas Grub

 
If the top is cooked right and the bottom burned, you simply have too much heat from the lump.


There are a lot of different ways to get any cook done, this is what I do.

Lower the dome temperature and find the temperature that will enable a equal cook from both the dome and pizza stone.

Some will use the plate setter or 2 pizza stones but once you find your correct temperature your set up will work fine, there is no real need for two ceramic barriers.

Make some smaller pizzas (5 inch or so) and start with a dome of about 400° - 500°. It is easier to start cooler then take the egg up in heat rather than cooling down an egg. Make sure your egg is well stabilized doing a test with a dome that is not ready is a waste of time and food.

Look down the dome to see the top side cooking, when it looks good open the egg and check the bottom of the pizza. Make your changes as necessary.

I only use a thick pizza stone on top of a adjustable rig. Lump loaded to just above the air holes and lit well across the entire surface of the lump.

Dome 500° - 525° (celebrated dome thermometer) for 8 to 11 minutes. I usually put on a lot of sauce, a lot of cheese and heavy on the toppings. Heavy loaded pizza's take longer to cook. I also let the sausage and ground beef cook on the pie.

Pizza's come out great with a little char on the bottom, which I like.


GG

Cactus Doug

I have found when cooking pizza that thicker crust and more toppings = lower temp 550 or less. Thin crust with few toppings = 550 or more. My typical setup is platesetter legs down eggfeet then pizza stone. If you are using bricks as your indirect part, they should cover the underside of the stone. Good luck.

Emarf

that looks great GG

Bordello

Great looking pizza GG, if that doesn't inspire em nothing will. :laugh:

Have a great weekend,
Bordello

Grandpas Grub

 
Sausage, beef & 1/2 pinaple and 1/2 tomato, good stuff indeed.

Thanks, GG

Grandpas Grub

 
Love cooking pizza on the egg.

I am going to try some ready bake pizza's in the next little while. About a year ago I cooked pappa murphy's and they turned out really good. I want to try some of the cheap frozen store pizza's to see how they come out.

The best is build your own as you can choose the better cheeses and sauces as well as toppings.

You take care of those "barbell's" of yours.

Be well, Kent

Bigdolan

I decided to stop being a cheapskate, and I went ahead and got a plate setter.

hopefully that will help, and I will not make lava to cook with this time......

but I know I am not the only one who love to see how hot they can get that thing :evil:

Zyme

Oh my these all look good! I'm doing my first on Sunday--will set the stone on the egg-feet which will be on the platesetter.
Mmmmmm baby I can't wait!