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[JConk007]

I would also try a on lower rack or if you dont have a rack buy 2 fire brick 2" thick and cut them in half. put a piece in all 4 corner being careful not to cover vents. Thats what I use on the grill to keep stone up off grate and to close to direct heat works great for grilled pizza. I use the grill to keep a few hot and crisp while I cook a few more in the WFO, then I can put out like 4 pies at once and theres not a madness or sense of urgency to grab a slice. I have seen the thermos at harbor freight for like $19.95 on sale.
John

[Gruffs]

Awesome! 

Thanks so much for the advice guys.  We went ahead and moved out stone off the vents and lowered the temp a bit on the over to around 400 degrees and that seemed to do it well, the bottom wasn't burnt and the pizza it's self was cooked through.  I'll check into getting one of those temp guns for the stone.  Been looking for a restaurant supply store in Austin but have yet to find one. 

Thanks again guys,

I'll be posting again soon some pics of the finished pizza - I think we almost have our NY pizzas down!!

Much appreciated,

-Gruff Brothers

[Chef_Boy-R-Dee]

I would say keep the heat as high as it will go. Play around with the stone location, and possibly putting the racks back in the oven and laying another stone on top, to cook the top more efficently. I think by lowering the temp down to 400, you are going to dry out your dough.

[petef]

Oven and Stone Pic

Thanks again, always appreciated!

-Gruff Brothers

Gruff,
You have the same style stove as me. The trick is to place 4 smaller tiles under
the pizza stone, then preheat oven to 425 deg F. Load pizza and then raise the
temp to 475 deg F and cook aboutr 10 minutes. You may need to experiment
with the 2 temperature extremes to suit your oven, but one thing for sure,
your stone is getting way too hot when you place it on the oven floor and
set the temp so high as 550 deg F.

Important: If using my technique above with multiple pizzas, make sure
you return the oven temp to 425 deg F for about 5 minutes between
baking pies, otherwise you will burn the bottom.

See my reply#2 in the thread below for a photo of my oven and
stone setup and more details on my technique.
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,5982.0.html

---pete---

[Gruffs]

Chef I'm with you, I've been fighting my brothers to keep the temp at max, but after Petef posted I'm looking for a way to save face. lol 

Petef thanks for checking this post out, I don't know how many pizzas you saved from the fire but it would have been quite a lot.  We just ordered a bunch of food for pizzas and when it gets here on Saturday we will fire it up and try your method out.  I'll post the results, which hopefully will be much better!

Thanks guys,

- Gruff Brothers

[Glutenboy]

If the bottom's burning before the top's done, start by raising the stone to the next rack level.  If I'm wrong, I'll eat my words on my next pie. 

[Gruffs]

So, my bros and I ordered a bunch of stuff from PenMac.

This is what we purchased.

1 Grande East Coast Blend 5lb             21.95
1 LETTO       (Pizzaletto)Cacciatore #10 can           5.50
1 16 inch pizza screen                     6.19
5  All Trump UNBLEACHED 5lb                19.75
1  Ezzo Pepperoni Stick                     6.49
1  6 in 1 Ground Tomatoes #10               5.39
1 loaf Grande Whole Milk Mozz 7#               28.95
1 Bag Grande Diced 50/50 (5 lb)               21.95
1 Saf-Instant Yeast 16 oz.                 2.99

We selected UPS Ground on Monday night, thinking if it left on Tuesdays it would get here Fri or Saturday.  Or so it suggested on PenMacs website.

However, it actually came FedEx.  Who don't deliver on Saturday, so according to my order tracking it arrived here in Round Rock (about 3 miles away from me) on Friday Night at 11pm and then sat in a truck as "Ready to be delivered" all Saturday and Sunday.

So the cheese I got which was diced and shredded was all one huge mass of melted and reconstituted %$#&.  Now I'm not an expert on cheese and I think I'm more pissed off because of the delivery service and the disappointment of my first Grande cheese taste can't be considered actual flavor, but I have posted a pic and would like to know if this is usable.  It left on the 13th by truck and arrived on the 18th. 

Can I still use this cheese? It's supposed to be shredded East Coast Blend.

[JConk007]

What a shame
I would not use it, but i could be fine?  They will probably take care of you Have you contacted Rose at Penn Mac about your experience? I allways had good luck with them? You ordered so great stuff. However cheese is allways tough. I also ordered the grande and it came through fine so I cannot comment. Just give em a call tell them your with us Pizza Making.com we give them a ton of referrals! I hope they make good for you guys
John

[PizzaHog]

AAAarrgghhh   !  
P'd off is an understatement!
Gruffs, please give PenMac a call, explain what happened and how you ordered as suggested, how you are a brand new but possible loyal future customer, be nice and hopefully they will help you out.  At least if they have any customer service sense at all.
Then research your extended area for pizza or restaurant or food service supply companies in the phone book or internet.  Many of these sell to the public and you may get lucky enough to find exactly what you are looking for.  If not, they usually have something similar that may work or work even better.  Even if you have to drive an hour once every few weeks or month, it is still better than going thru this.
The cheese?  Well, I have had similar disasters occur over the years and in some cases had no choice but to eat the mess.  I am no expert but would say that you are in no danger here (especially if you tasted it and have had no symptoms in 4 hours) but would expect some degradation in the quality and taste experience.  So if that is the case, cut up some of the blobs and try it on a pie.  If it sucks, chuck it.
Good luck bros,
Hog

[smarttowers]

Having dealt with plenty of customer service people over the years if they don't make good on their end of the deal make sure you stress that you ordered the product to be shipped UPS and they sent it FedEx. Now in my area this would be a disaster because UPS don't deliver on Saturdays this may be their logic behind sending it FedEx but the fact is they still did not ship the product as you requested. You might offer to pay for shipping it using one of their priority methods this time to ensure that a similar incident doesn't occurs. This may seem like money out of your pocket but its better to get the product again then eat the whole order. You may also leave hints that you are not sure about the quality of the whole order since it all sat for this time that yes the  blend was ruined visually but the other products may also be ruined but can't visually see it because of they're form. Obviously I'm talking about the perishable foods not the other products.

You may also ask them if there is a method for delayed shipping to allow you to order the product any day of the week but have it sent the next monday to ensure similar incidents don't happen. This will possibly give them reassurances that you still want to order from them but just want to have this terrible problem fixed.

And always don't give up at the first Customer Service Rep you talk to, if they can't help you ask to have your issue escalated ie. ask to speak with their supervisor.

[Gruffs]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the advice and the affirmation of frustration.  I didn't think I was overreacting, but it's nice to know!
We were going to call PenMac this afternoon, but when I woke up (I work nights) I had a message from the President of PenMac calling to resolve the issue with the cheese. 

To their eternal credit they understood the issue and explained that FedEx will deliver on Sat. but only to residents.  While it was sent to a residents and selected as a residents, we had our business name on it, so it wasn't delivered Saturday. 

They offered to send us out the order of East Coast and 50/50 blend at no cost to us.  We were all incredibly impressed with the quick resolution and will be sure to recommend and use PenMac in the future.  (Just leave any business names off the label! = D)

We will be sure to post our pies with the diced and shredded Grande cheese, in the near future!

Thanks again for the support and advice.

-Gruff Brothers

[JConk007]

Great News! Cudos to Penn Mac! Great company!!
John

[occifer19]

Oven and Stone Pic

Thanks again, always appreciated!

-Gruff Brothers

 GB'S........I just started to use a stone, just finished my 3rd batch yesterday, I bake at 520 Degs. Two racks up from the bottom. It browns nice and the top does too. Hope it works for ya......Mikey
It makes a nice crunch TOO