Introducing Mighty Pizza Oven

[Tscarborough]

Yeah, but I bet you could pick up another 100 degrees if it did, plus, from a manufacturing standpoint, the chimney is a significant cost of production, and I question if it is needed at all, a simple slot would serve the same purpose.

[Chicago Bob]

I think it  would be good if the grill lid closed, you could store MPO in there....no need to wait for cooldown to move etc.  People don't like to leave the grill lid open.....

[pizzaneer]

I think it  would be good if the grill lid closed, you could store MPO in there....no need to wait for cooldown to move etc.  People don't like to leave the grill lid open.....

That's what I meant, if it wasn't clear- the lid MUST SHUT!

[Chicago Bob]

CASE, I mean lid, CLOSED!!   

[MightyPizzaOven]

If the average grill is only $375 then you need to stay away from that $300 figure for your unit.

My best option at this stage is to target high end outdoor kitchen suppliers with grill units price over $2000. 

to come up with a cheaper MPO, I need to commit to huge number of units.

Yeah, but I bet you could pick up another 100 degrees if it did, plus, from a manufacturing standpoint, the chimney is a significant cost of production, and I question if it is needed at all, a simple slot would serve the same purpose.

Current MPO will not fit every grill. With high end grills, closing the lid may not be an issue. I will start visiting some the local high end grills suppliers and see how MPO fits in these units. These grills will have high BTU, you will reach higher temperature without the need to close.

MPO chimney is removable, you can operate with or without it.  I am looking for ways how to test the air flow and justify the need. It does add a significant cost to the unit. Another option is to offer the chimney as an accessory.

Th

the point Tom made was correct though  the depth of the MPO was about the same as Craig's grill so to pick up the MPO you had to scoot it away from the back of the grill to make room for the leaning back of the MPO.  then, to close the MPO, it had to be moved back in, which wasn't an easy one hand move.  We all thought that a hinge on the top of the back panel would make this easy.

I don't have a burner on the back of my grill, when I lift MPO with my left hand, MPO back comes in contact with the grill  back, and MPO slide forward as I lift. To place back MPO, I do have to slide it back. I place the bottom stone couple inches from the back to allow for MPO to move back and forth. Which also allow for more heat to flow over from the back, to heat top stone and bake pizza top faster. You have to rotate the pizza couple of time to for even backing all around.

I am still waiting on my prototype to allow turning the stone through the front window. To keep the cost down, I planning to offer it as an accessory.

MPO is intended for one person operation, if it require two persons to operate, it will not be successful.

I need to create short video on how to operate, and have different people try to use MPO and see if that would help. This is a major hurdle.

Thanks again for every one feedback and inputs. Looking forward for Craig inputs.







 

[Chicago Bob]

Bert,
I can tell you right now that if that oven has to slide forward on the hot grill grate while lifting the lid ...you are in for a BIG BIG problem. Faster than you can say Bob's your Uncle...you will get returns and reviews that say people are scared of it.
WE know it's no big deal, but I'm tell'in ya bruddah....
Can you angle down the back half and get rid of the boxiness that's hindering lid movement? This would pick you up some favorable air deflection too, no?

Bob

[Jet_deck]

One thing that needs to be mentioned to MPO is that "we" (Craig) left the MPO's bottom stone in the "carry" position above the top stone.  "We" used one of Craig's stones for the bottom stone for the MPO.  That made the MPO a bit heavier than it normally would be.  It cooked Peter's emergency NY dough perfectly in 4 minutes.  I don't know if the added mass in the roof had any positive effects on the 4 minute cook time.

I can say first hand that out of the box, the MPO cooked the pizza very nicely.  Much better than any hacks I had done personally on my gas bbq grill or my pellet grill.  I was adamant that the exhaust be in the off position and that the front door was left off.  The first pizza was a bit charred on the edge closest to the rear, because we didn't turn the pizza.  Bill did turn the second one at 2 minutes and it came out nicely.

Just my $.02

[Chicago Bob]

  I was adamant that the exhaust be in the off position and that the front door was left off. 

Good call...

[shuboyje]

Here is a list of Local 54 Sheetmetal contractors in the Houston area.  You will see many of them labeled as Air Balance.  They will be able to test your air flow and if they are like the contractors around here would probably do it at no charge if you come to them.

http://www.local54.org/contractors.asp

[MightyPizzaOven]

One thing that needs to be mentioned to MPO is that "we" (Craig) left the MPO's bottom stone in the "carry" position above the top stone.  "We" used one of Craig's stones for the bottom stone for the MPO.  That made the MPO a bit heavier than it normally would be.  It cooked Peter's emergency NY dough perfectly in 4 minutes.  I don't know if the added mass in the roof had any positive effects on the 4 minute cook time.

In my grill setup, I usually keep front opening closed and chimney fully open. I find my pies bake faster and get better browning all around. I do rotate my pies couple of time.

Heavier top stone mass will be needed for higher temperature... For 500 to 600 deg baking, thin stone has been sufficient.

Hopefully Peter can share his emergency NY dough recipe with me... It looked kind of complicated, if it require a calculator... My dough is one hour dough, the only thing I measure is flour and water using mesuring cup.

I can say first hand that out of the box, the MPO cooked the pizza very nicely.  Much better than any hacks I had done personally on my gas bbq grill or my pellet grill. 

Thanks.. I have gone though fire bricks, steel plate using indoor and my grill. Nothing made sense except my current prototype. I designed MPO to meet all my needs, and now trying to make it fit other people needs.

Just my $.02

More than $.02, it is priceless, I do appreciate yours and every one input.  Till I started this thread, most MPO discussions has been between me, myself and I.... Lots of day dreaming... I thought how I want to operate it before I built it, may be that's why it has been very easy for me to operate MPO.

I can tell you right now that if that oven has to slide forward on the hot grill grate while lifting the lid ...you are in for a BIG BIG problem. Faster than you can say Bob's your Uncle...you will get returns and reviews that say people are scared of it.

It is a major concern for me, I always took it for granted... I need to evaluate it more, see if preparing customers to what to expect, will make any difference

Can you angle down the back half and get rid of the boxiness that's hindering lid movement? This would pick you up some favorable air deflection too, no?

I thought about doing that, but decided not to, I wanted to maximize direct heat to top stone.

[MightyPizzaOven]

http://www.local54.org/contractors.asp

Thanks,

[Pete-zza]

Hopefully Peter can share his emergency NY dough recipe with me... It looked kind of complicated, if it require a calculator... My dough is one hour dough, the only thing I measure is flour and water using measuring cup.

Bert,

The reason I needed the calculator is because I had to do all the calculations by hand the old fashioned way. I had my iPad with me but it does not have Flash functionality, which is needed to use the dough calculating tools.

I think I can reconstruct the emergency dough recipe by memory or at least something close to it. Using the expanded dough calculating tool at http://www.pizzamaking.com/expanded_calculator.html, I would say that the dough formulation I used, for the purpose of making two 13" pizzas, based on a thickness factor of 0.09, was something very close to this:

King Arthur Bread Flour (100%): Water (62%): ADY (1%): Salt (2%): Olive Oil (2%): Total (167%): Single Ball:

405.59 g  |  14.31 oz | 0.89 lbs 251.46 g  |  8.87 oz | 0.55 lbs 4.06 g | 0.14 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.07 tsp | 0.36 tbsp 8.11 g | 0.29 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.45 tsp | 0.48 tbsp 8.11 g | 0.29 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.8 tsp | 0.6 tbsp 677.33 g | 23.89 oz | 1.49 lbs | TF = 0.09 338.67 g | 11.95 oz | 0.75 lbs

In making the dough, I took a small part of the total formula water, at around 105 degrees F, and rehydrated the ADY in it for about 10 minutes. I then heated the remaining water to around 120 degrees F and dissolved the salt in it and added the oil. All of the liquids went into a bowl to which I gradually added the flour. I did all the mixing and kneading by hand. Once the dough was done, I divided it into two pieces of around 12 ounces each. To get the dough balls to rise fast, since Craig's home was air-conditioned and cool, I put the two dough balls (coated with oil and placed into separate lightly sealed containers) outside near the grill where it was quite warm. I put a couple of spaced-apart fennel seeds (1") on each dough ball (on the tops of the dough balls) in order to monitor the degree of rise. I didn't note the time that the dough balls spent outside but the spacing of the fennel seeds suggested that the dough balls had increased in size by about 275%. I was looking for something between a doubling and a tripling in volume.

If Craig kept my notes, perhaps to put in a scrapbook for posterity, I can refine the dough formulation if I missed something. For example, I do not think that I added any sugar to the dough, for fear that the high bake temperatures would cause the bottoms of the crusts to darken prematurely or even burn.

Peter

[Chicago Bob]

Why does the oven even need to be lifted? Can you not make the front door the complete width of the face of the oven?

[Jet_deck]

You gotta get the peel with the skin on it in there and place on the stone.

[Chicago Bob]

You gotta get the peel with the skin on it in there and place on the stone.

And notching out the aprox.1in. of material on each side of the door exposing the whole face of the insert, and then making a wider door...this won't work?

[pizzaneer]

I would think you need a certain amount of height to get the skin to slide off the peel - less chance of unplanned calzone.

[shuboyje]

I've long had the same question about LBE's.  Why not just make the front vent big enough to launch the pie? 

[Chicago Bob]

I would think you need a certain amount of height to get the skin to slide off the peel - less chance of unplanned calzone.

Well, I hear what you're saying....I was jus think'in that if Bert's gonna target the high-end grill owners he could maybe also sell those fancy peels (like Craig's)...don't those allow more control/maneuverability?

[Michael130207]

I put a couple of spaced-apart fennel seeds (1") on each dough ball (on the tops of the dough balls) in order to monitor the degree of rise. I didn't note the time that the dough balls spent outside but the spacing of the fennel seeds suggested that the dough balls had increased in size by about 275%. I was looking for something between a doubling and a tripling in volume.
Peter

Pete,

That is genius, I always feel I am not properly estimating how much my dough has increased in volume and this is such a simple elegant way to do it. Thank you! How much of an increase in distance between the seeds do you feel corresponds to a doubling? If the volume of a hemisphere is related to the cube of the radius then it seems a 25% increase in circumference corresponds to a doubling of volume. Is that what you use or is it different in practice?

[Pete-zza]

Pete,

That is genius, I always feel I am not properly estimating how much my dough has increased in volume and this is such a simple elegant way to do it. Thank you! How much of an increase in distance between the seeds do you feel corresponds to a doubling? If the volume of a hemisphere is related to the cube of the radius then it seems a 25% increase in circumference corresponds to a doubling of volume. Is that what you use or is it different in practice?

Michael,

It was member November who taught me that little trick, and I subsequently started a thread on the subject at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,6914.msg59335.html#msg59335. Once the 1" spacing becomes a bit more than 1.25", that represents a doubling (it is about 1.25 cubed).

The method doesn't work in all cases with all kinds of doughs and containers but for the purposes at Craig's place it was good enough.

Peter