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Pizza Help

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rowmsu
rowmsu Posts: 58
in EggHead Forum
I made some pizza's this weekend. It took some trial and error but I was able to get 2 out of 4 pies to turn out perfect. The first two were edible but a little raw dough in the middle stopped them from being perfect. 

My question comes with getting the egg to temp. I had a cleaned and full fire box. I was only able to get the egg to 575 degrees. It only held that temp for the first pizza and then settled at 500 degrees. How do I get the egg to push the 650 - 700 degree mark? 

I adapted and lengthened the cooking time to about 16 minutes and they are delicious. 



Washington, DC  

1- LBGE
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  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
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    Did you remove the DFMT?  You need to in order to get enough airflow for high temps.  It is hard to see in the pictures, but there may be an airflow limitation caused by the placement of your indirect stone.

    I would also put in more charcoal just to make sure there is enough fuel to get through a high heat cook.

    Try moving the pizza stone higher up.  You need a good amount of radiant heat coming off the dome to get cooking of the top of the pizza in balance with the cooking of the crust.
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
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  • CarolinaCrazy
    CarolinaCrazy Posts: 585
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    + 1 to what @jtcBoynton said - stone looks to be limiting airflow.

    I had mine up at 650º last night for pizzas, could have gone higher.
     


    1 LBGE in Chapel Hill, NC
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  • rowmsu
    rowmsu Posts: 58
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    jtcBoynton said:
    Did you remove the DFMT?  You need to in order to get enough airflow for high temps.  It is hard to see in the pictures, but there may be an airflow limitation caused by the placement of your indirect stone.

    I would also put in more charcoal just to make sure there is enough fuel to get through a high heat cook.

    Try moving the pizza stone higher up.  You need a good amount of radiant heat coming off the dome to get cooking of the top of the pizza in balance with the cooking of the crust.
    Hello jtcBoynton,  Only been egging for about a month. Can you let me know what you are referring to with DFMT?
    Washington, DC  

    1- LBGE
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  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
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    Dual function metal top - the black metal top you use to control airflow.  Even when it is opened all the way, it restricts airflow. 
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
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  • JohnInCarolina
    JohnInCarolina Posts: 30,978
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    DFMT stands for “Dat Friggin Metal Thingy” -it’s the flow regulator on top of the Egg that you use to control the temp.  
    "I've made a note never to piss you two off." - Stike
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  • KiterTodd
    KiterTodd Posts: 2,466
    edited May 2018
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    I think your lower stone setup is restricting too much airflow.   I also use two stones ...I use the plate setter as my lower stone usually, grate on top of that, pizza stone on the grate. 

    For me, 550 has been my sweet spot, give or take.  My thin crust pizzas cook in about 5 minutes, I'll shuffle/rotate it around with a steel peel if needed.  I used to have some temp holding issues but I took advice here and now let the egg do a good long soak to get all stones and ceramic up to temperature. Now I don't have issues cooking multiple pizzas, although, sometimes the first pizza is still a sacrifice if the temp isn't dialed right.

    The DFMT is the top cast iron temp regulator cap.  Just keep it off for a pizza cook and regulate the temp, as needed, with the bottom vent. The bonus here is you can also peek in the top to see how your pizza is doing without opening the lid.

    You'll get a lot of varying advice to this question.  Don't panic. Everyone seems to have found a slightly different method that works for them.

    Those bottom two pizzas you linked look really nice.  :plus_one:
    LBGE/Maryland
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  • UncleBilly
    UncleBilly Posts: 225
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    You might want to get 3 or 4 firebricks (about $2 a piece at Tractor Supply Center) that you can set your pizza stone on to get it higher in the dome where the radiant heat off the dome can cook the top.  Also, it takes the pizza stone a good 45 minutes to an hour to come up to the temp of the Egg.  I use a laser thermometer (maybe $10 at Harbor Freight) to check the stone temp prior to putting the pizza on.  The idea is to use the heat from the stone to cook the bottom while the heat off the dome cooks the top.  As was said above,  keep at it and you’ll find a system that works for you.
    XL  Central Ohio
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