How hot can the BGE run for pizza?

jdvoracek · February 2022

Wow, my last post was 2013, but I've been cooking away in the meantime having replaced a cracked firebox and thermal strip, rusted through a few cast iron grates, etc. I've not been a huge pizza maker, but I've done some, almost always store bought frozen meant for an oven cooked at 400-500℉.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/kp/jl05n0xojo3f.jpg

Recently I expanded my cooking to include a wood pellet grill, more for lower temperature smoking, but pizza oven attachments are available for those and seem to cook at 800-900℉. That got me wondering what the deal with pizza cooking temperature is, and I found this: https://www.crustkingdom.com/pizza-oven-vs-regular-oven/ and there a many more videos and articles discussing this.

So I got wondering, just how hot could I run the BGE for pizza? The BGE website pizza video cooks at 450, but the stock BGE thermometer goes to 700 (or wraps around even higher for those of us who occasionally forget to tend the fire). Amazon sells compatible thermometers that go to 900.

Has anyone tried using wood fired (800-900) temps to cook a BGE pizza like a "wood fired oven"? Thanks for any thoughts!

nolaegghead · February 2022

I have made pizzas with my large fully open. Pulled out the thermometer because it's not designed for that temp.

Works fine, but I don't do it anymore because:

1. You can burn through 20 bucks worth of lump in a couple hours

2. I'm in a wood table and it starts smoking.

3. When you open the lid, you get blasted with heat. Need long handled tools, good gloves to open the lid.

4. Extreme thermal cycling will exacerbate any flaws in the ceramic, more likely to see cracks.

5. You may only get 90 minutes or less of high heat before you need to refuel. If you are cooking for a large group and want to continuously turn out pies, your window is limited.

You actually get more smoke flavor cooking at lower temps, like 500-700F.

This is based on my experience, plenty of people do high temp pizzas, nothing wrong with it.

I have a Roccbox. Still, I cook most of my pies in the oven because I'm too busy most of the time and I want to do a quick meal.

JohnInCarolina · February 2022

I have and it's not advisable. Basically all you are doing is burning away a lot of lump, inefficiently. It's difficult to cook Neapolitan-style pizzas (e.g. at 900F) in the BGE and obtain a lot of consistency, just based on how it is designed.

Even the Pizza-Porta thing that lets you cook pies in the BGE without opening the dome is really designed to cook best around 700 or so. That is actually what one of the people who work at the company told me when I asked them about this at a demo they were doing at one of the Eggfests.

CPFC1905 · February 2022

Unless you've opened the lid past 500C you're not in the club!

That's the one arm no face club. Ahhh my eyes, the flames...

Please. Egg responsibly.

cookingdude555 · February 2022

I have over a hundred pizzas in my eggs. None of them have been as good as the ones made in my blackstone, ooni, roccbox, or gozney dome. The heat is coming from the bottom, so it is really imbalanced. The higher the heat, the more it is imbalanced.

nolaegghead · February 2022

cookingdude555 said:

I have over a hundred pizzas in my eggs. None of them have been as good as the ones made in my blackstone, ooni, roccbox, or gozney dome. The heat is coming from the bottom, so it is really imbalanced. The higher the heat, the more it is imbalanced.

Right, it is inherently hard to get the top and bottom of the pie cooking at the same rate, you end up moving the stone around or finding pizzas at the beginning or end of your cook come out better as the system is hard to equilibrate.

JMCXL · February 2022

I have great success cooking pizza in the egg. I use 2 stone with the upper one high in the dome and temp around 600. The top of the pizza cook perfectly with the dome reflecting heat to the pizza.

JohnInCarolina · February 2022

JMCXL said:

I have great success cooking pizza in the egg. I use 2 stone with the upper one high in the dome and temp around 600. The top of the pizza cook perfectly with the dome reflecting heat to the pizza.

This is a reasonable temp to cook pizza at in the Egg.

turdferguson · February 2022

cookingdude555 said:

I have over a hundred pizzas in my eggs. None of them have been as good as the ones made in my blackstone, ooni, roccbox, or gozney dome. The heat is coming from the bottom, so it is really imbalanced. The higher the heat, the more it is imbalanced.

I’ve always struggled with my blackstone. Toppings burn before the dough is done.

I get better results with my oven at 550 or BGE around 600 - 650 indirect with a pizza stone above the plate setter. BGE has better flavor.

caliking · February 2022

A variant/factor, that hasn't been mentioned yet, is the dough.

If you're running with dough which has oil/fat, and maybe sugar, in the mix, it would be ill-advised to chase high temp cooks.

The Neapolitan- style pies, which call for high temps, also call for dough made with tipo 00 flour (which likes the nuclear temps), sans sugar and fat.

So, one way to look at this, may be to figure out the dough, then figure out the cook temp?

danhoo · February 2022

nolaegghead said:

I have made pizzas with my large fully open. Pulled out the thermometer because it's not designed for that temp.

Works fine, but I don't do it anymore because:

1. You can burn through 20 bucks worth of lump in a couple hours
2. I'm in a wood table and it starts smoking.
3. When you open the lid, you get blasted with heat. Need long handled tools, good gloves to open the lid.
4. Extreme thermal cycling will exacerbate any flaws in the ceramic, more likely to see cracks.
5. You may only get 90 minutes or less of high heat before you need to refuel. If you are cooking for a large group and want to continuously turn out pies, your window is limited.

You actually get more smoke flavor cooking at lower temps, like 500-700F.

This is based on my experience, plenty of people do high temp pizzas, nothing wrong with it.

I have a Roccbox. Still, I cook most of my pies in the oven because I'm too busy most of the time and I want to do a quick meal.

1, 3 and 4 for me.

littlerascal56 · February 2022

Made a lot of pizza’s on my Large, and my XL. Elevated stones up in the dome, parchment paper, cornmeal,etc. Various dough variations and recipes, 425-600 deg, etc. Finally gave up and we cook our pizzas every Friday night in the oven at 425. They turn out perfect.

danhoo · February 2022

In late fall, Winter I use the electric hot box in the kitchen.

Summer I use the gasser.

Two stones, stacked using BGE feet for spacers.

I can get 700F or higher on the gasser. 48K BTU gets pretty hot.

Legume · February 2022

littlerascal56 said:

Made a lot of pizza’s on my Large, and my XL. Elevated stones up in the dome, parchment paper, cornmeal,etc. Various dough variations and recipes, 425-600 deg, etc. Finally gave up and we cook our pizzas every Friday night in the oven at 425. They turn out perfect.

You must get lots of compliments from your guests!!!

EggNorth · February 2022

For the dough combination I use here (I believe around 60% Flour, 40 Water, no sugar - or something like that) 500-550 is good, anything higher will burn the crust before the toppings (we like lots of toppings)

dstearn · February 2022

I cook my pizzas at 400-450 dome temp. That way the sausage can render and fully cook and the crust does not get burnt.

It takes around 15 minutes per pie but we are in no hurry.

I see you use the adj rig. I also use that but I place a stone below it as well.

CPARKTX2 · February 2022

I e run it at 900 but recommend against it…flashbacks are a real risk and it could damage the Egg. But I routinely cook pizzas at 750 - 800.

I find 700-750 ideal, but the real key is to really let the ceramic hit up to temp (like at least 90 min).

SonVolt · February 2022

Pizza is not an easy thing to master. Trying to cook it on the BGE just makes it even more cumbersome b/c the heat source just isn't working in your favor. A regular home oven, even if it maxes out at 500F, will give you much better results.

jdvoracek · February 2022

Thanks for all the comments! I will continue "oven" pizza in the BGE 400-500℉. I might acquire a pizza (oven) attachment for the pellet grill just because this is a hobby and part of the fun is trying new things, but most seem perfectly happy with "oven pizza" variations. I won't try to run the BGE at those high temperatures.

fishlessman · February 2022

have done a few upwards of 1200 dome, stone with my setup was probably closer to 900 but thats just a guess. a blue fireball would hover over the pie during the cook. the spring bands got so loose that the newer bands with clips probably would not work and opening a 1200 degree egg is not for the faint of heart. the cook was less than a minute and included the 180 degree rotation. not recommended

Foghorn · February 2022

Two things haven't been explicitly stated.

1) The perfect cooking temperature for your pizza is inversely proportion to the thickness of your pie. A Chicago deep dish cooks at 350 for 45 minutes. You only need to cook much above 500 if you are making a really thin pizza. I had dreams of doing that but haven't invested the time to make my own dough and I always put on too much topping - so 450-550 seems to be the sweet spot for my pies.

2) You can address the issue of "more heat from the bottom" when cooking in an egg by adding a layer of foil (with an air gap) on top of whatever heat blocker you use below your pizza stone. (Like a drip pan but pizzas don't drip).

nolaegghead · February 2022

Foghorn said:

Two things haven't been explicitly stated.

1) The perfect cooking temperature for your pizza is inversely proportion to the thickness of your pie. A Chicago deep dish cooks at 350 for 45 minutes. You only need to cook much above 500 if you are making a really thin pizza. I had dreams of doing that but haven't invested the time to make my own dough and I always put on too much topping - so 450-550 seems to be the sweet spot for my pies.

2) You can address the issue of "more heat from the bottom" when cooking in an egg by adding a layer of foil (with an air gap) on top of whatever heat blocker you use below your pizza stone. (Like a drip pan but pizzas don't drip).

Good point on #1. I do the same - overload them. My excuse is you end up eating less carbs.

fishlessman · February 2022

nolaegghead said:

Foghorn said:

Two things haven't been explicitly stated.

1) The perfect cooking temperature for your pizza is inversely proportion to the thickness of your pie. A Chicago deep dish cooks at 350 for 45 minutes. You only need to cook much above 500 if you are making a really thin pizza. I had dreams of doing that but haven't invested the time to make my own dough and I always put on too much topping - so 450-550 seems to be the sweet spot for my pies.

2) You can address the issue of "more heat from the bottom" when cooking in an egg by adding a layer of foil (with an air gap) on top of whatever heat blocker you use below your pizza stone. (Like a drip pan but pizzas don't drip).

Good point on #1. I do the same - overload them. My excuse is you end up eating less carbs.

but at 1200 dome you are looking at three 12 inch pies from a single store bought dough ball.

SonVolt · February 2022

jdvoracek said:

Thanks for all the comments! I will continue "oven" pizza in the BGE 400-500℉. I might acquire a pizza (oven) attachment for the pellet grill just because this is a hobby and part of the fun is trying new things, but most seem perfectly happy with "oven pizza" variations. I won't try to run the BGE at those high temperatures.

If it's a hobby, just get a dedicated pizza oven like a Roccbox or Ooni. You'll never achieve their results with attachments to a pellet grill or hacks to the egg.

JohnInCarolina · February 2022

fishlessman said:

nolaegghead said:

Foghorn said:

Two things haven't been explicitly stated.

1) The perfect cooking temperature for your pizza is inversely proportion to the thickness of your pie. A Chicago deep dish cooks at 350 for 45 minutes. You only need to cook much above 500 if you are making a really thin pizza. I had dreams of doing that but haven't invested the time to make my own dough and I always put on too much topping - so 450-550 seems to be the sweet spot for my pies.

2) You can address the issue of "more heat from the bottom" when cooking in an egg by adding a layer of foil (with an air gap) on top of whatever heat blocker you use below your pizza stone. (Like a drip pan but pizzas don't drip).

Good point on #1. I do the same - overload them. My excuse is you end up eating less carbs.

but at 1200 dome you are looking at three 12 inch pies from a single store bought dough ball.

Store bought dough almost always has sugar in it. Not a good idea to cook that anywhere close to 600 degrees, never mind twice that. Unless you like eating crust that is blacker than Darth Vader...

JohnInCarolina · February 2022

SonVolt said:

jdvoracek said:

Thanks for all the comments! I will continue "oven" pizza in the BGE 400-500℉. I might acquire a pizza (oven) attachment for the pellet grill just because this is a hobby and part of the fun is trying new things, but most seem perfectly happy with "oven pizza" variations. I won't try to run the BGE at those high temperatures.

If it's a hobby, just get a dedicated pizza oven like a Roccbox or Ooni. You'll never achieve their results with attachments to a pellet grill or hacks to the egg.

Agree with this. You can come reasonably close with that Pizza Porta thing, which ironically does not cost all that much less than an Ooni. Might as well buy the dedicated pizza oven and save the lump.

fishlessman · February 2022

JohnInCarolina said:

fishlessman said:

nolaegghead said:

Foghorn said:

Two things haven't been explicitly stated.

1) The perfect cooking temperature for your pizza is inversely proportion to the thickness of your pie. A Chicago deep dish cooks at 350 for 45 minutes. You only need to cook much above 500 if you are making a really thin pizza. I had dreams of doing that but haven't invested the time to make my own dough and I always put on too much topping - so 450-550 seems to be the sweet spot for my pies.

2) You can address the issue of "more heat from the bottom" when cooking in an egg by adding a layer of foil (with an air gap) on top of whatever heat blocker you use below your pizza stone. (Like a drip pan but pizzas don't drip).

Good point on #1. I do the same - overload them. My excuse is you end up eating less carbs.

but at 1200 dome you are looking at three 12 inch pies from a single store bought dough ball.

Store bought dough almost always has sugar in it. Not a good idea to cook that anywhere close to 600 degrees, never mind twice that. Unless you like eating crust that is blacker than Darth Vader...

the minga valley here is crawling with italians, must not be sugar because our stuff works high temp. lots of stone masons from the late 1800 hundreds to build the searles castles

Botch · February 2022

You made me do it.

How hot can the BGE run for pizza?

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