First pics, go easy

[dylandylan]

Thanks Bert

I'll give the multi-stone approach a go, I think I grasp the arrangement you're talking about.  I was thinking about trying to find a steel offcut as a second "stone", with luck I'll track one down before next weekend's fun.

[dylandylan]

Tonight's bake, just devoured.  #1 Thai, with coconut milk and lemongrass added to the tomato, topped with garlic and cilantro. #2 teriyaki/fungi, and #3 marg.   These were quite small pies, about 160g per ball.

[dylandylan]

And these are the first pies using my sourdough starter that I've finally revived in the new place.  The starter actually seems better than ever after having dried it, storing for a few months and rehydrating.   Pies are agli o olio, and caramelized onion with curried silver beet.

[Jet_deck]

I'd hit it.

[dylandylan]

A couple more from last night, the Zucchini in particular was a winner, will definitely be repeating that one.

[dylandylan]

Dragging my old post thread back from the dead.   Thought I'd post the current state of my bakes.   I'm still using the same (very) low temp home oven, but I'm now supplementing it with a small counter-top pizza oven.  The counter top oven does a good job of cooking the underside so I start the bake there for a minute or so until I see a bit of charring on the underside, and then transfer to the regular oven where I have the top element set to full, the stone on the top rack, and have figured out a few little tricks to get the element to come on when I need it.

The result is getting me a lot closer to what I'd like - although this particular pie had barely a touch of underside charring, usually I go for a little more.  The speed of the bakes has reduced a lot and the texture of the crust is worlds better than when I was just using the regular oven alone. 

[Chicago Bob]

Dragging my old post thread back from the dead.   Thought I'd post the current state of my bakes.   I'm still using the same (very) low temp home oven, but I'm now supplementing it with a small counter-top pizza oven.  The counter top oven does a good job of cooking the underside so I start the bake there for a minute or so until I see a bit of charring on the underside, and then transfer to the regular oven where I have the top element set to full, the stone on the top rack, and have figured out a few little tricks to get the element to come on when I need it.

The result is getting me a lot closer to what I'd like - although this particular pie had barely a touch of underside charring, usually I go for a little more.  The speed of the bakes has reduced a lot and the texture of the crust is worlds better than when I was just using the regular oven alone.

Wow...what a difference Dylan. How'd she taste?

[TXCraig1]

Nice pie my brother from down under. Love the undercarriage.

[dylandylan]

Thanks guys.  The flavor is definitely getting there.  My earlier crusts were comparatively crunchy and for the most part a bit bland.  The lastest pies aren't far off foldable and I'm not sure if it's because of a little charring or the quicker bake but yeah these latest pizzas went down a treat.

I'm a long way from getting the best out of the new setup, plenty of room for improvement with the higher temp double oven juggling act.

[derricktung]

Dylan,

Great job on the improvements since last year!  How's the bottom leoparding coming?

Another strategy is to let the dough cold ferment for a longer period of time giving the yeast more time to work.  That creates noticeably more charring on my home pies. 

Btw, I love the creative ideas of your pies as well!  I may be swiping a few to taste myself and bring to the masses here!

[corkd]

Very nice! Great evolution in your baking.....

[MightyPizzaOven]

very nice... How long is the bake in each oven?

[dylandylan]

The timing varies a lot at the moment, I haven't really got this new setup down to an art.  I think the pie I photographed was maybe 90 seconds in the small oven, and then about another 90 in the main oven.   But that's very much a guess.     I may be able to get a bit more temperature out of the little oven so I'll see in the next few bakes whether I can squeeze a shorter bake time out of the arrangement.

I'll work on the fermentation too - I'm admittedly pretty haphazard, and often fall back on a basic same-day procedure without giving it much thought.  I'll try some 24 hour cold ferments and see how that affects the charring.

[derricktung]

I'll work on the fermentation too - I'm admittedly pretty haphazard, and often fall back on a basic same-day procedure without giving it much thought.  I'll try some 24 hour cold ferments and see how that affects the charring.

I actually find that a three day to five day cold ferment, along with 2% sugar added to the dough tends to give me a respectable char in my oven at home. 

[MightyPizzaOven]

I prefer cold ferment too, I like the way it stretches and final crust is crispy and light.

[DenaliPete]

Great looking pies Dylan, I'd fly to NZ just for those.  The scenery would just be an added benefit.

[JD]

It looks like you have a good system going now, but if you're in the mood to experiment I would suggest to try using steel and only your regular oven. I purposely only use around 230c with a top broiler because it suits my style. If you are only doing 180 seconds total though, my style may not be what you're looking for. Using steel instead of a stone will give you some additional char, but definitely not within 180 seconds. I really like the look of your pizza.


http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,23608.msg239730.html#msg239730