I screwed up...what a mess

Unknown · July 2002

One week of cooking on the BGE and I just had to try a pizza. I wished I wouldn't have. To start things off the pizza was stuck to the peel. When I made the dough ball, I used a little too much water and I tried adding extra flour along the way, but the dough ball was still too sticky. I thought it would be OK by adding corn meal to the pizza peel to unstick it.[p]Uh-uh. By the time I got it onto the BGE pizza stone, it was a heaping mess. Oh well, I let it cook between 575-650 degrees for 12 minutes. Unfortunately, there was cheese and various toppings that fell off into the egg and on the felt. By the time I opened it up, the top and bottom felt were stuck together and both came off around half the egg from the lip that they were glued to. My wife and I ate what we could anyway. She said it would be a bonding moment in our lives that we would look back on in the future and laugh about. I'm not laughing now.[p]Can the felt be re-glued with a high temperature cement or should I re-do the whole felt process on uppper and lower lips? Anybody have any thoughts on the best felt to buy and where to buy it?[p]Thanks for any and all advice.

Spin · July 2002

Paul B.,[p]I believe your wife is right.[p]I cannot help much with your question of the BGE gasket replacement other than to say that my gasket was also gone during my experiments with pizza. This was late 1998 and I have yet to replace the gasket. I do have two replacements (BGE), but have yet to see the need to use them.[p]You have two choices. Either replace the entire gasket, or remove the remaining gasket and reseat the dome so the seal is as decent as possible. I did the latter and have yet to have a problem cooking any meal. Without the gasket, you do have to avoid banging the lid closed. It is hard to bang it closed.[p]Hopefully your pizza endeavors will improve.[p]Spin

Eggman · July 2002

Paul B.,[p]Go Here for Gasket help
http://www.dreamglass.org/gasket.htm

Shelby · July 2002

Paul B.,
How did the pizza you were able to eat taste?
My first pizza was somewhat of a disaster too. Dough was also sticky; stuff fell off but I guess I was lucky in that I didn't damage the gasket. Next pizza, I switched dough recipes, using the bread dough machine as someone here recommended, and results improved greatly. Now, it's one of my favorite cooks and since I'm thinking about it, will do one tomorrow night.

JodyMo · July 2002

Paul B.,
My first one was no good, too. Don't lose heart, though! I have learned *something* with every one I have made, and they are getting better every time. Did you use a little corn meal on the peel? It really helps.
There are a lot of good pizza sites out there. I put a link to one below that has some good advice on dough, etc. Check it out!
Also, I found that the first white pie I made was *way* better than any pizza I had tried yet. Give it a shot if you like it!
Good luck
-JodyMo
[ul][li]pizza therapy[/ul]

Unknown · July 2002

Paul B., at Home Depot (for about $3) you can buy (17 ft) enough 5/8 inch wide by 3/16 inch thick felt weatherstrip to do three gasket jobs. I just did it on my unit. Use a household or automotive silicone sealant to hold it down. It'll last a year or more under normal usage.[p]To make your pizza dough more manageable, pre-bake it in the oven for a minute or two prior to putting on the toppings. This will get rid of the stickiness and allow the pie to slide easiy off and on the peel.

Gloria · July 2002

Shelby,
Thanks to you, we have had pizza three times in the past two weeks and it has been delicious. I think that I was trying to make the crust with too much dough, resulting in a too thick crust. I now make 4 pizzas out of what I was trying to make two. I just bush the crust with olive oil and garlic, scatter some canned diced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and a bit of parmesan and put it on the Egg for about 7 minutes at 550. We now have a plate setter and it works great. BTW, when are you coming to Atlanta in August and where in Atlanta?

Gloria · July 2002

Paul B.,
Cornmeal is the answer to getting it to slide off easily onto your ceramic pizza stone from the peel. Are you using the plate setter and a pizza stone?

Unknown · July 2002

Gloria, I did use a plate setter and pizza stone from BGE. The dough was just too moist and it was stuck to the peel. I had no idea that the felt gaskets were so sensitive to the combination of high heat and food bits(in this case cheese) and that they would stick together and come off their ceramic edges. [p]I know a lot more now and it will be different next time.

Unknown · July 2002

Thanks George, I'll go buy some tomorrow. I think I was more saddened than anything about only having the BGE for one week and then ruining what I had just bought. Now I understand that the felt needs replacement far more often than I thought when I purchased it. No big deal. It's all part of the learning process, for me anyway.

Steve-O · July 2002

Paul B.,
You were more brave than I for your first pizza attempt. My fear of having a similar experience as yours is the reason I opted for a frozen pizza the first time around. The results were not great, but from what you have described, far better than yours. I think your wife has the right attitude - in time you will both look back and laugh at this. The felt can be fixed and your next pizza will be better, so take heart. You might want to try a frozen pizza next time just to get the process down a little. And be sure to put some corn meal on the pizza stone as well as the peal. Then go from there with your own pizza.

RRP · July 2002

EggMAN, Thanks for remembering the site! Paul B send me an email if you can't find a Rutland gasket kit.

Unknown · July 2002

Paul B.,[p]While I definately got more mileage out of my gasket than you did, I've needed to replace mine for quite a while. I finally gave in last weekend. [p]It was a breeze to do, and I believe the resultant seal and cushion is better than the original. Honestly, I should have done it sooner![p]I couldn't find that nifty kit that RRP has used, but I did find the Rutland high temp glue and gasket separately for about the same price.[p]I too only have the gasket on the bottom of the two pieces. At first I thought that perhaps leaving the bottom bare, and "gasket-ing" the top would be better as it would be far more difficult for me to spill sticky goopy stuff "up" on to the gasket, but then figured I'd like to have something protecting the bottom piece from firebricks, tools, and other things that may chip ceramic. It's working great, with a big ol' butt and some tasso heading its way later today.[p]As for the pizza, I've tried many things to avoid the sticking, and had finally settled on building the pie on an aluminum pizza dish and baking it, dish and all for about 3-5 minutes to set the crust. After that short pre-bake you can go back and slide the pie right off the pan and onto the stone for the remainder of the cook.[p]Ah, but that was *then*, now I'm hooked on this kind of hybrid deep-dish-thin-crust thing I've been doing. It's super simple, super tasty, and completely non stick![p]Basically the idea is to use a regular style crust, but apply it to a deep dish technique; lots of olive oil in a deep dish style pizza pan. Since the pie stays in the pan for the whole cook, there's no transfer, or sticking issues. The crust comes out slightly fried and VERY tasty on the bottom, but is not so thick as to overpower the toppings and sauce.[p]Don't give up! (I know you wont) It all gets easier, which in turn will cause you to try more difficult things, and before you know it you'll find some new and amazing things to try on the egg. Things that other cookers simply couldn't do even in a pinch.[p]Have fun!
bc[p]

Nature Boy · July 2002

Paul B.,
I have not replace my gasket on any of my eggs, and have been cooking on the large for over 3 years. You can't really tell it is felt by looking at it, but it still seals well.[p]I guess in some ways, it has become a "composite gasket". Made up with a "base" of felt, and 3 years of fat, dripping marinades and sauces, tiny pieces of crust and chicken skin, peanut oil, and a lotta love.[p]I like it better now than when I could see the felt.[p]An end-of-the-weekend HEEEEE! to you.
Chris

Unknown · July 2002

Hey Chris,[p]I bit off more than I could chew by trying to cook a pizza after only one week or so of ownership on the BGE. What brought about the demise of my felts were pizza toppings including cheese that stuck to the felt in my haste to get the stuck pizza off the wooden peel, what with 650 degree heat licking at my arms. That same heat glued the toppings to the felt and when I lifted the dome the felts came along for the ride.[p]Anyway, I replaced them yesterday and cooked a spatchcocked chicken and some wild(none of that farm raised stuff for me)Northwest King salmon with Tom Douglas's salmon rub(Tom owns a popular restaurant here in Seattle). It was sublime.

I screwed up...what a mess

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