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A little confused for pizza......

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webgeek
webgeek Posts: 2
in EggHead Forum
Hello all! I've been lurking around reading various posts and just got my LBGE on Sunday.

I'm a little confused on what to use for pizza on the BGE. I've read that Baking Steel > CI > Ceramic (correct me if I'm wrong).

In regards to CI, I'm looking on amazon and it states that the CI temps range from 350-400 but I've read to do pizzas on the BGE temps should be over 500+ degrees.

2 questions:
  1. Which should I use based on previous experiences for the best pizza outcome? Baking Steel, CI, or Ceramic?
  2. Based on your answer above, what temps should I be cooking the pizza(s)? 
Thanks!    
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  • bo_mull
    bo_mull Posts: 363
    edited October 2013
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    Welcome to the forum. I use the BGE pizza stone at 525 to 550 deg. I use the plate setter with legs up with the grid on top of it and the stone on the grid. I also use some spacers between the grid and the stone to move it higher in the dome. The only pizza i cook is Papa Murphys take and bake. This setup works great for me. YMMV 

    I also preheat the stone before I put the pizza on.  

    Cleveland, TN.

    LG BGE, PSWOO2, Stoker WIFI.

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  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
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    CI generally refers to cast iron.

    I think most people use either a baking stone or the baking steel. I use a baking stone (can't remember the brand off-hand). I'm sure that a lot use the BGE baking stone but the BGE products tend to be a little pricier than other options. 

    +1 on what @bo_mull said re: set up.

    Welcome to the lifestyle!
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
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  • Duckhook18
    Duckhook18 Posts: 42
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    I use same set up as Bo_mull minus the spacer. Thinking about getting an adjustable rig to get the pizza stone higher in the dome for the hotter temps. Here is a pic of the setup I used a few weeks ago.
    LBGE Knoxville, TN
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  • Bustersdad
    Bustersdad Posts: 311
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    I use a Baking Steel...do not have a Place Setter, use 6 fireplace bricks...2 flat and 4 on edge to set the Baking Steel on. 550 degrees works well...do pizza almost every week. I use the breadmaker to make my dough.
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  • Cookinbob
    Cookinbob Posts: 1,691
    edited October 2013
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    BGE pizza stone. Raised direct. 450-500 deg. Parchment paper. Works great for me.
    XLBGE, Small BGE, Homebrew and Guitars
    Rochester, NY
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  • SmokinTiger81
    SmokinTiger81 Posts: 746
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    I use adjustable rig and pizza stone up high.  I do a grilled thin crust first, with crust grilled straight on grill grate on top of AR.  Then, the grilled bottom becomes the top of pizza, and second part of cook is on pizza stone on top of AR, with spider and indirect shield down low in the egg for second part of cook.  Here is a link to my pizza cook with photos:

    http://www.greeneggers.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=1184253&catid=1#.

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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,961
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    egg temp is totally dependent on your dough recipe. Some are great at 700 degrees, some burn at 450. I did a party cook where everyone made their own pies. We had 3 different doughs.............disaster. Our dough was fine, as we cook with it all the time. One of the other doughs burned to a crisp and the other one was a soggy mess. all at the same temps. 

    don't be married to a temp. Do what works for your dough. Store bought dough should be cooked as per the instructions (most that I have used burns over 450).


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • Federalist226
    Federalist226 Posts: 82
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    I don't recommend steel or cast iron for the egg unless you are going to be cooking at low temps. Both of those surfaces get too hot relative to the dome temp, which results in burned crusts and an unfinished top. Baking steel was really designed for home ovens, which generally don't get a ceramic stone hot enough to cook the bottom of a pizza by the time the top is done. The egg has the opposite problem. Your best bet is just using a ceramic stone.
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,961
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    oh yeah- I cook indirect and use the BGE pizza stone on the adjustable rig extender up high in the dome

    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
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    The Cen-Tex Smoker said:
    egg temp is totally dependent on your dough recipe. Some are great at 700 degrees, some burn at 450. I did a party cook where everyone made their own pies. We had 3 different doughs.............disaster. Our dough was fine, as we cook with it all the time. One of the other doughs burned to a crisp and the other one was a soggy mess. all at the same temps. 

    don't be married to a temp. Do what works for your dough. Store bought dough should be cooked as per the instructions (most that I have used burns over 450).


    Sage advice. Make a pie and see how it comes out. If the crust works but the toppings seem underdone, try agin, with less topping. If the toppings are done and the crust is burned, change the crust moisture and maybe the dough mix. Idea is change only one thing at a time, otherwise you are "chasing a fart in a windstorm" as my Dad used to say. 
    I also think the temp range of 500-600º is a good place to start. Not too high to ruin a lower temp dough, yet high enough to cook a high temp dough. Good luck. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,471
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    The thickness/weight of your pie will be a large factor in determining the best temp.  A Papa Murphy's "Cowboy" is best cooked at 425, while I think their "DeLite" pies work much better at 550-600; I get my Egg up around 800 when I do a homemade Margherita-style, which are very thin/light toppings.
     
    Before I got my Egg and did pizzas in the oven, I felt that once I replaced my metal pizza pans with a stone, the bottom of the crust came out crispier/better, the idea being the porous stone absorbs moisture from the dough.  I've never done a side-by-side comparison, however, so I may have imagined it.  
    _____________

    Remember when teachers used to say 'You won't have a calculator everywhere you go'?  Well, we showed them.


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  • webgeek
    webgeek Posts: 2
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    Thanks everyone for the info! I got my dough from Publix and waiting on UPS to deliver my CI & pizza stone....going to experiment with both but I'll post pics of my progress
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