Charring the Base

[Chicago Bob]

I'm not sure what you mean by "bypassing the stone."  I think you're referring to convection, and while most of the stone is out of the buoyant plume, the air space on the oven should have a more or less uniform temperature distribution when the flame is on - so the convective flux to the stone should be constant regardless of the position.  However, the closer to the flames the stone is, the more of the flame the stone will "see" - so that you'll get a greater radiative flux.   

I'm just trying to keep it simple for this guy. That anemic little flame/burner in the back is not powerful enough/placed strategically enough to load/saturate his stone enough to give it (the stone)proper conductive heat transfer to the bottom of his pizza. That's all.

Bob

[gnatto]

The first pizza is no better than any subsequent pizzas, so I'm not sure the first one is even getting much of a latent heat draw.

I can actually get a couple of inches of the stone directly over the flame but I had avoided doing it so far because then I thought it would cook unevenly.

Got a couple of things to try.
1. A portion of the stone directly over the flame with rotating the pizza.
2. Buy and try a pizza screen.
3. Try the stone at the top of the oven.

[Chicago Bob]

Get you some high temp epoxy and glue a metal deflector onto the floor right behind the burner. 


                  ----------------z
                                  iiii

[Peasant]

The first pizza is no better than any subsequent pizzas, so I'm not sure the first one is even getting much of a latent heat draw.

I can actually get a couple of inches of the stone directly over the flame but I had avoided doing it so far because then I thought it would cook unevenly.

Got a couple of things to try.
1. A portion of the stone directly over the flame with rotating the pizza.

Again, I'd go with 1.  Maybe make a smaller pie so you don't have an undercooked center. 

Good luck

[dylandylan]

Hey Gnatto

I'm an ex-Wellingtonian, now lurking down in Dunedin.    Your bakes are looking very similar to results I was getting in my home oven.  I tried a lot of things to get some charring on the underside, and nothing really made any difference until I bought a little counter-top oven second-hand on Trademe (one of these: http://www.productreview.com.au/p/breville-pizza-pronto.html).  The stone in the oven gets really hot, I've clocked it at over 900f but don't usually go that extreme. 

My process is to start the bake in the little oven, char the bottom a little after 60-90 seconds, and then transfer to the main oven which I leave on grill, to finish the top side of the pizza.    That might seem like a bit of messing around, but it's not at all hard to do and is actually quicker from start-to-finish because you don't have to worry so much about pre-heating the main oven, the grill does all the work, not the stone.

I've got a thread over here: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,20213.0.html, if you follow the photos you'll see a few pizzas that have very similar crust colour to what you're getting, and then the last pics (as at May 4 2013) are using the oven-swap approach.

[EDIT] - darn I've just read that you don't have a grill in your oven!!  Ok so maybe this technique doesn't apply

Dylan

[gnatto]

So... an update...

I pushed the stone all the way to the back of the oven so that a small portion of it was directly over the flame. I rotated the pizza three times during a 6 minute bake and..... Got charring! However, it was probably the worst tasting pizza i've made, very crackery. As you can see in photo #3, some of the charring was a bit uneven and perhaps that was part of the problem.

[CDNpielover]

"Charring" isn't necessary for a good pizza, and in fact I don't think I've ever turned out a pizza that was burned like that.  I'm not sure that I would want to!  I know that is sometimes seen with very high cooking temps and the styles particular to those temps, but I don't think it's anything to be desired in a home oven....  (or is it?)     I would avoid trying to burn your pizza in your home oven.

[gnatto]

Update 2.

So three days after my last attempt I tried another batch.
I pushed the stone all the way to the back again so that a portion was directly over the flame though this time the stone was in the middle of the oven rather than at the bottom.

I rotated the pizza every couple of minutes over a 6 minute bake and this time the charring was a bit less though there was still solid colour there. And most importantly it tasted absolutely delicious! Best one I've made by far.

By the time i cooked these the dough had been cold rising for 9 days which is the longest I've ever left it, but the flavour was phenomenal.

[gnatto]

"Charring" isn't necessary for a good pizza, and in fact I don't think I've ever turned out a pizza that was burned like that.  I'm not sure that I would want to!  I know that is sometimes seen with very high cooking temps and the styles particular to those temps, but I don't think it's anything to be desired in a home oven....  (or is it?)     I would avoid trying to burn your pizza in your home oven.

I daresay the kind of charring I got wasn't ideal but I was excited to finally get some colour on the base as all my previous attempts had been cooked but pale on the bottom.

[Chicago Bob]

That pizza right there is looking really good....and I mean real good. 

[dylandylan]

Hey Gnatto these are looking better and better.  Great to see experimentation and even the occasional misfire along the way.  I'm no seasoned pro, but I'm fairly sure the path to incredible pizza is a long road of experimentation, persistence and incremental improvements, with edible results along the way.

You're getting more char than I ever managed with a stone in my oven, I think I know how you feel to be happy with any kind of char instead of a pale underside!

[Peasant]

Looking good; taste the most important factor though!  Glad you're getting better results and sticking to pizza making.