Pizza Stone Size Question

Bob V

I've fixed a lot of things on the Egg over the years, but had never done a pizza until last night. Came out great, but the size of the stone I have may be a problem.[p]I started the fire as usual, then filled the charcoal to the top of the firebox. Let the temp get to around 200 dome, then put in the inverted platesetter and the pizza stone on top. We had a 15" stone that (formerly) was used in the oven. When I put it in my medium Egg on the inverted platesetter, it left about 1" all the way around for air. [p]Left the bottom vent all the way open and the top completely off. Temp began to climb, but leveled off around 500 and wouldn't go higher. The pizza recipies I read on the forum mostly suggested cooking at 550 or so.[p]I checked the BGE site, and their pizza stones are 14" in diameter, which would give about 2" all around for air passage around the stone. Checking E-Bay for pizza stones, it seems that 15" or 12.5" are kind of standards in non-BGE use.[p]Anyone else have this problem? Am I back to the store for a smaller stone to be able to get higher temperatures?[p]Bob V[p]

The Naked Whiz

Bob V,
I have a large egg and I use a 16" stone. That probably leaves about 1.5 inches all around. I can easily get to 650 degrees with this set up. You may want to try the 14" stone, but you might also want to make sure that you had a fire capable of getting hot enough. Sometimes if your lump is in smaller pieces and not allowing enough air to pass through the burning charcoal, you can only get a fire so hot. I once used some charcoal with lots of small pieces and couldn't get the fire over 500 degrees with the bottom open, the top vent off and nothing in the cooker but a grid.[p]TNW

FatDog

<p />Bob V,
The suggestion that pizza be cooked at 550* is simply that - a suggestion. You may note that there is much discussion about getting evenly done toppings while not burning the crust. Because I bake quite a lot of bread on the egg, I have found that it works very well to bake pizza at 400 - 450 degrees on a 15" stone.[p]I typically put the stone on a raised grid (using fire bricks as spacers and thermal mass) when I start the fire. When the temp has gotten within about 50 degrees of my target baking range, I begin to control it with the lower vent and daisy wheel. I wipe the stone with a wet towel between pizzas to remove any burnt corn meal and to slightly cool the stone.[p]Just for G&G, I have included a link for my pizza dough ... quick and easy. Note: in the second addition of flour, you should add enough to make a moderately stiff dough - typically 1 - 2 cups. Just don't add too much flour.
[ul][li]Pizza Dough[/ul]

Chuck

<p />FatDog,[p]Thanks for your dough recipe. I tweeked it a little for my taste, a little less salt, a little more sugar, and a little olive oil. Now it seems like I'm making pizza at least once a week.[p]Thanks again.[p]Chuck

The Naked Whiz

Chuck,
Dang that looks good. What's on it?[p]TNW

Chuck

The Naked Whiz,[p]Thanks, it's my version of Bertucci's Chicken Margherita pizza. The sauce I use is Peppino's pizza sauce, it comes in a yellow can. I know canned is cheating a little but it is really good. On top of that is buffalo mozzarella, grilled chicken and fresh basil. I put the basil on near the end of the cook. [p]Chuck