Pizza Techniqes Needed

Charbon · November 2005

<p />Thanks to Forum suggestion I have been able to use parchment paper to get pizza intact onto stone unfortunately only to burn bottom. Had Egg stable at 500 degrees and checked at 20 minutes to remove paper. Wasn't done so put back for another 15 minutes. Do folks using parchment remove paper after pizza set? Is 500 too hot? It might be better to keep everything closed up and pull at set time? I honestly thought all I had to do was buy a stone and I'd be twirling pizza dough over my head and turning out professional results.

eggor · November 2005

Charbon,[p]I've found that if i put a pizza pan(upside down) on the stone i will have about a 1/4 inch air space between the stone and the crust. haven't burned a pizza since.[p]Scott

Dimple's Mom · November 2005

Charbon,[p]I would think parchment paper would help to prevent burning. It helps to prevent cookies from overbrowning. I use it all the time. Mainly cuz I'm lazy and don't want to wash the pan. Maybe cook the pizza at a slightly lower temp.[p]That pizza looks yummy. We love pizza, esp my 14yo. Pizza has been his favorite food for years. Below was his recent birthday. I got inspired on setting the table. <g>[p][p]Gwen

Daddy Pat · November 2005

Charbon,
I have not use the parchment paper procedure, but this is the procedure that I follow with success. I stablize the BGE at 575, so 500 should be ok. I began to check for doneness after 15-20 min. depending on the toppings. I preheat the pizza stone in the BGE while the temp is being stablized.. then remove the stone from the BGE. I then take a hand full of cornmeal and spread onto the pizza stone and place pizza with topping on the stone and back into the BGE and relax then remove then enjoy. I hope this helps and Happy Egging...Daddy Pat

fishlessman · November 2005

Charbon,
ive been making pan pizzas lately to avoid this problem, however the other day i read a post about raising the stone higher in the dome. if you were to do this, i believe the top of the pizza would cook faster so that the bottom would not have time to burn

Unknown · November 2005

Charbon,[p]500° on the dome thermometer doesn't mean 500° on the surface of the pizza stone! It may have been 700-800° because of being on top of the fire. [p]Use some kind of heat deflector (plate setter, bricks, whatever) then put your stone on that. I use a stone as a heat deflector, then I use a pizza screen as an insulator and another pizza stone on top. That gives me a double thickness of stone without them being in direct contact with each other (keeps down thermal transfer between stones). [p]

Smoked Signals · November 2005

Charbon,
I use the parchment paper all the time (I may have even mentioned it). I also use the back of a cookie sheet as a peel (I'm so cheap) I have never had the parchment catch fire. Just keep it roughly the size and shape of the pizza. It just gets really crunchy - like the crust. [p]I also like the corn meal on the bottom (when I'm doing my final roll out) to add more flavor.[p]Another flavor enhancer is goat cheese ... very good on pizza - especially with sausage.[p]One other thing the parchment lets you do is rotate your pizza ... just grab the corner of the paper and rotate. If you see a "side" of your pie getting crispy then just turn in really quick.[p]Finally ... don't open the lid ... take off the daisy wheel and peek in thru the top to look at your toppings. But watch your eye brows and long hair (I'm bald).[p]Hope that helps.
Doug[p]

Unknown · November 2005

Charbon,[p]A fellow should be able to do both great pan pizza as well as hearth stone pizza on the large Egg fairly easy with just a few tips. In my opinion, the perfect setup for hearth baking in the large is to use the plate setter with the legs down and the 14" BGE hearth stone on top. This setup just works great for any kind of hearth baking as you can take any recipe off the web or out of any book and bake it just like the recipe suggests and you should get a perfect loaf every time. [p]Pan baking should never be done on a stone in a ceramic cooker for best results. Use an indirect setup with a raised grid and your pans on top of just the grid. [p]Back to hearth baking. The use of parchment paper, pizza screens, and anything else that would go between the product and the hearth stone defeats the purpose of the stone. [p]Looking at your pizza, it is nice to see that you are using home made dough and that is a big plus for great pizza. If you are using the above hearth setup and are burning the crust before the top is done, your temp is probably too high. Try about 400-425 until you can get the top and bottom done about the same time. It also looks like you have a ton of stuff on top of the pizza and it is better to start out with way less toppings and work up from there especially if you like a thin and crispy crust on the bottom on the pizza. Just keep after it as I am sure you will get that great pizza that you want and when you do, it will be great. [p]Dave[p]

Unknown · November 2005

Old Dave,[p]Another suggestion is to partially cook the veggies and meat... Then it won't take as long...

rex clingan · November 2005

To simulate a brick oven, you need to preheat the stone to a lower temperature than you bake at. The oven floor has to be cooler than the air in the oven (heat only flows down a temperature gradient), and only the top side is exposed to radiant heat.[p]If you're after cooking multiple pies in succession, you need another method.

Citizen Q · November 2005

Charbon,
I use a 16" stone in my large Egg. Being 16" it is too wide to set on the main grid without stifling the airflow, and if I do get it hot enough at that level it burns the crust before the cheese even melts, so I set the stone on 3 firebricks laid on edge. This raises the stone to the height of the rim allowing for easy slide in/slide out access with a piza peel, allows free airflow to keep the temps up and even, and puts enough distance between the stone and the fire to keep the stone from overheating and burning the crust. I throw a small handful of cornmeal on the stone just before I slide the pie in, close the dome and at 550 degrees, I get a perfectly done 16" pizza in about 12 minutes.[p] If I load up extra toppings and think the toppings need a little more time, I throw the pie in the oven under the broiler for a couple of minutes to brown the top so the crust doesn't get overdone. I do not leave it on the Egg any longer than 14 minutes. In 12-14 minutes the crust is done, any longer and the crust is overdone or burnt. The crust is the most important part of the pizza, it's your foundation; if it's ruined, the whole pie is ruined.[p]If you want to be a purist, you could take the pie off the Egg at 12-14 minutes, place it on a cold stone and set it on top of the hot stone to allow the top to brown more, but I see no shame in finishing under the broiler if it needs to.[p]Cheers,
C~Q

QBabe · November 2005

Charbon,[p]Being too lazy to read all the responses, someone may have already suggested this. We don't use parchment paper, but instead use a pizza screen at about 550°. It does well protecting the bottom, until the very end, when we might slide it off the screen directly onto the stone for a few minutes to get a nice uniform browning on the bottom. [p]Tonia and Larry
:~)

Smokin' Todd · November 2005

Charbon,
parchment Paper....techniques to open bags of charcoal.....43 hr butts...
Im spinning here. I understand the points trying to be made, but usually the simplist procedures work.
I have made pizzas two sundays the past month, and never had a problem simply with....1)using corn meal to easily remove raw pie from board to peel to placing 2)on a pizza stone placed on a platesetter with Egg preheated at 500 for 20-30 minutes.
Im assuming you dont have access to cornmeal and a platesetter?
ST

KBuck · November 2005

It seems like the heat from the fire directly below a legs down platesetter is transferred directly to the stone on top. I liked the idea of pulling the stone for a bit allowing the temp to drop, but has anyone tried using the platesetter legs up with the stone resting on the 3 legs. This might give you the separation from the hot fire you need.

BigT · November 2005

QBabe,[p]I have been using a 12" screen on a platesetter legs down and the Lg BGE stone at 550 dome. Very happy with two AB - GE crusts and one Spin crust, about 10 minutes each on very lightly topped pizzas.[p]Will have to try finishing directly on the stone. Whe I reheated a few slices for lunch today, I tried miking the slices to melt the cheese, then crisped the crusts on an oven stone at 350.[p]Thanks for the idea...[p]Big T[p]

Charbon · November 2005

Charbon, Thanks for all the ideas. I can see where I erred. Too much stuff on top and Too long in egg. Also when opening up to take out paper I'm sure dome area cooled but stone still at 500. I would have broiled top under inside broiler but thought this was a sin for egg cooking.

FatLittleDog · November 2005

Charbon,[p]I haven't tried a pizza on the egg yet, but you have inspired me to do so tonight! But since I do make a lot of pizza at home I thought I'd share some of my general pizza tips with you and the group.[p]1. Use fresh dough - I buy mine at the grocery store because I am too lazy to make it anymore. Most grocery stores have this either fresh or frozen - hint: if they sell pizzas at a ready-made counter, they usually have some dough in the back they will sell you. Also, very important step - READ THE INGREDIENTS. Flour, Sugar, Water, Yeast, Salt. Anything you can't pronouce, forget it. And definitely stay away from the pre-baked crusts - Yuck! Bad texture and only mediocre flavor. [p]2. Rest the dough between kneading & shaping - If you've bought the frozen dough you'll need to thaw it out (fridge the night before / in a sealed ziploc under a faucet dripping lukewarm water / good ol' microwave). I usually knead it a few times on a lightly floured surface, then cut it into two equal pieces. This will make 2 12" pies. Roll them into balls, lightly flour the tops, and then LET THEM REST 10 to 15 minutes before trying to shape them. If you don't let them rest, they will fight you the whole way.[p]3. Roll the dough before tossing - Go ahead an roll your rested dough with a rolling pin / wood dowel / beer bottle / whatever into a roundish shape. This is my technique to get good thin-crust NY-style pizza. Let the rolled dough rest while you roll out the other piece.[p]4. Give it a toss! - We've all seen the classic throwing-the-dough-in-the-air pizza thing. Well, I'm telling you here and now: It works and it's not very hard. Key points:
* Keep your hands in fists. Fingers are no good here as they poke holes in the thin dough. And lightly flour them to prevent sticking.
* The basic motion is to have your fists together with the dough on top of them, and then move your fists apart, stretching the dough with your knuckles. Then rotate the dough about 45 degrees, and repeat.
* Start slowly, with small pulls. As the dough gets larger and thinner it will become easier to work. But take your time as you want the dough to stretch evenly.
* Finally, as the dough gets larger you will find the only way to rotate it is to - drumroll please - give it a toss. Don't go overboard, but little hops will help build your confidence (and a little hops won't hurt either).[p]5. Par-cook the toppings - Rule of thumb, if it couldn't be fully cooked and delicious after 5-7 min. in a 500+ degree oven, it's not going to work. So take those peppers and give 'em a quick sautee. Give the broccoli a quick steam. Bacon gets a quick trip to the microwave. Onions & mushrooms I would slice VERY thinly. And of course anything like chicken or sausage that might be unsafe if eaten undercooked should be fully cooked before being used as a topping. [p]And go easy on the toppings here. We're making a pizza, not an omlette. Just a little bit of topping will go a long way. I usually do a little cheese, then a little sauce (tomato or - dare I suggest - bbq?), then some toppings, a little more cheese, and a final drizzle of EVOO.[p]6. Don't forget the crust - That little edge around the pizza may need some help, so I usually brush on (or, more accurately, wipe on with my finger) some EVOO and then sprinkle with kosher salt.[p]7. Rotate once during the cooking - As the pizza cooks on the stone (oven at 500+ degrees, well pre-heated) make sure to rotate it once to ensure even cooking.[p]That's it. I've got to go now and find something to use for a pizza stone in my egg tonight!

Pizza Techniqes Needed

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