How do I make better pizza with what I have?

[h_t]

thanks again for all the help.

I read in another thread pizza turning better on a tile or stone rather than on the steel plate..?

I will call around for the plate.
I read about ovens like mine going dead in the cleaning cycle.
Stupidly I never used mine and the warranty is up now.

I ordered IR gun today :-) I've been looking at them for a while...

BTW, my gas broiler stays on when the oven is at 500F. It doesn't cycle off.
So today my pizza was black on top and a bit under-cooked on the bottom.

[jeffereynelson]

thanks again for all the help.

I read in another thread pizza turning better on a tile or stone rather than on the steel plate..?

I will call around for the plate.
I read about ovens like mine going dead in the cleaning cycle.
Stupidly I never used mine and the warranty is up now.

I ordered IR gun today :-) I've been looking at them for a while...

BTW, my gas broiler stays on when the oven is at 500F. It doesn't cycle off.
So today my pizza was black on top and a bit under-cooked on the bottom.

I tried to get a plate where I live, and even in very small town I found multiple places to sell it. I contacted three different places and there were all within $5 of each other, the only problem is that they were $90. I have no idea where to get 1/2 thick for $40, and I've also looked a ton online (not including shipping).

As far as your broiler, that it stays on the whole time is really good. If you preheat your over for around 1.5 hours then let your broiler run for 20 minutes straight, I bet you can get your stone very hot. Possibly around 700F.

[h_t]

One place that I called quoted $38 plate 14"X14"

How's steel plate better than cast iron?

[jeffereynelson]

One place that I called quoted $38 plate 14"X14"

How's steel plate better than cast iron?

That's an awesome price. I was giving bigger sizes, but not that much bigger to make up for the price difference. It was 1/2 inch thick too? Not 1/4 or 3/16?

As far as the different metals and their results, I will pass on that one to another user.

[buceriasdon]

If you look at the thermal conductivity column you will see that cast iron has a slight edge over carbon steel but that is dependent on the casting process. Hot rolled A6 carbon steel is fine for this purpose. I do suggest you go bigger than 14"x4" as launching the pizza is easier if you have a larger target area.
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-metals-d_858.html
Notice also how much greater copper and silver's conductivity is.
Don

[h_t]

so should I expect to get similar results on a steel plate I got on a flipped over cast iron pan?

re size - my oven rack is only about 14" deep (to the lip), but it's about 20" wide.

[buceriasdon]

i would expect you will get better results because of the greater thickness. If you're not baking pies bigger than say 12" then a 14x14 is fine.
Don

[scott123]

H_t, 1/2" steel plate stores a lot more heat than 1/8" cast iron, so you get a faster/better bake, as Don pointed out.

While there's a lot of people that are happy with 12" pizzas, once you really start taking pizza seriously, 12" is kind of pitiful.  The lip on the shelf is like an inch, isn't it? If the lip does stick out that far, I might look into supporting the steel plate on steel bars instead, and extending the plate all the way to the back of the oven.

Btw, as long as the door closes, you'll be okay.  You want to be touching the lip and just about touching the door. If that dimension is 14.5", get a 14.5" square stone.  If it's 14.75", go with 14.75".  Every fraction of an inch helps.

[h_t]

ok ,thanks

[gfgman]

Hey.  Good luck with your pies.  I use a cheap rectangle stone, preheated in a 525 oven.  If it cracks, I keep using it until I decide it is too dirty or too many pieces.  I'm ver happy with how the pies turn out.  The reheat slices are good too.  I also use a bread machine to mix.  I dump everything in except for 1/2 cup of flour, mix for 3 minutes, rest for 20, add the remaining flour, and mix for 30 minutes.  As long as the flour amount is right, the dough comes out perfect for me every time.  I don't yet use a scale to weigh the ingredients, but I do use one to evenly divide the finished dough. 

[anton-luigi]

I dont know,  if it is a self cleaning oven,  which can reach what 900??  1000? degrees in the cleaning cycle,  why would you worry about it handling more than 550 degrees?