Author Topic: Disappointing pies tonight (Read 6458 times)

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #60 on:** October 07, 2012, 10:01:34 PM »

Quote from: slybarman on October 07, 2012, 09:50:44 PM

Bob:

I don't have to wait. I use the Docs' computers when they aren't looking. Oops - time for meds, gotta run.

OK man...enjoy your stay!

Michael130207 · « **Reply #61 on:** October 07, 2012, 10:17:33 PM »

Steve,

I think your latest pie looked great! Don't let the grill frustrate you too much. You will get used to how it reacts once you settle on a setup for a while.

I have found that if I creep up on my bottom stone temp to 600F with the grill on med-lo, takes about 30-40 min, and then turn it to full blast after I launch the pie, and then turn it back down to med-lo after I take the pie out, I don't see-saw the temp back and forth too much.

I look forward to more pics,

Mike

scott123 · « **Reply #62 on:** October 07, 2012, 10:54:08 PM »

Steve, as others have mentioned, all things considering, you did really well.

In the future, if there's any chance of rain, I wouldn't use the grill for pizza. Water is the kiss of death for wood peels. Once they get wet, they start warping and won't perform as well. You could launch with metal, but that gets harder, especially with droplets of water on it.

I like the way you're bouncing IR from the IR burner down on the pizza using the shiny tray. You might even want to lift the tray a bit more at the rear and create an even sharper angle.

How big is your stone? Is there any chance that the pizzas are about the same size as the stone? If so, then that can make launching difficult. Even if your pizzas are smaller, I still think it's time to give yourself a little breathing space with a larger stone. A thicker stone should also go a long way in evening out the temps on later pizzas.

One thing that occurred to me recently is that it can be helpful to have a lip at the back of the stone to launch the pizza against. I do this with the wall of my oven, but you could probably created a similar lip using a 2" x 8" kiln post. A lip isn't essential, but, as you're mastering launching, it can be a nice training wheel.

slybarman · « **Reply #63 on:** October 08, 2012, 09:20:14 AM »

Michael:

Thanks for tips. I will have to give that approach a try. What I really need is a chance to mess with it for few pies sometime when I don't have pressure of the kids counting on the pizza for their Sunday pizza night. I am generating pretty significant top heat with this arrangement - see photo of the lightly burned cheese. I am thinking I may need to launch with the stone a bit hotter (maybe 625 or so) to balance the top/bottom and shorten the bake a bit. The IR burner doesn't have any meaningful adjustment to it, it is pretty much on or off. The baking sheet seems to do a pretty good job of trapping the heat - when I open the grill lid I don't lose all my top heat, so that seems worthwhile.

Scott:

I am launching 14" pies onto a 15" or 16" stone (I forget which). I can land the pie on there OK most of the time, but the rain was a definite wild card. I had been thinking of a thicker stone. I saw some that were 5/8". If that will give better temp stability, I may have to go for it.

I had been washing my wood peel after I used it. I did not realize I was not supposed to do that. I went and looked at it after reading your post and sure enough it is warped.

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #64 on:** October 08, 2012, 10:56:17 AM »

Steve,
Have you tried dusting your peel with semolina? I really like using that stuff...much better than flour. Throw a heavy practice dough on there an play around with launching it. A little trick I do just before launching is I always bump the peel straight against the backsplash(or wall) of the countertop...jus a 'lil bump to see the pizza slide forward. Good luck.

slybarman · « **Reply #65 on:** October 08, 2012, 11:00:16 AM »

Thanks Bob. I use 50/50 flour semolina blend. I do the shake and if necessary blow some air up under the pie. The problem was the front of the peel ahead of the pie took some raindrops so I was trying to slide the entire pie past a sticking point. The other issue was my pies sat on the peel longer than normal while I tried to wrestle with my new set-up to get the temp I thought I wanted.

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #66 on:** October 08, 2012, 11:06:24 AM »

Happens to us all...well, maybe not the cooking in the rain part.

I jus had one the other night that I had to turn into an "emergency" calzone.

One too many Icehouses caused someone to forget to dust my peel!

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #67 on:** October 08, 2012, 11:14:08 AM »

Kids, we better hurry...I think it's gonna rain!

slybarman · « **Reply #68 on:** October 08, 2012, 11:14:49 AM »

Quote from: Chicago Bob on October 08, 2012, 11:06:24 AM

Happens to us all...well, maybe not the cooking in the rain part.
I jus had one the other night that I had to turn into an "emergency" calzone.
One too many Icehouses caused someone to forget to dust my peel!

LOL - I got a good laugh out of that. I will have to remember that making an "emergency calzone" is an option. Now that you mention it, I did have several Guinness before baking the pies yesterday.

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #69 on:** October 08, 2012, 11:20:11 AM »

Yes, I often recommend to folks that it is better to have a cazone than a big 'ol mess in the oven.

slybarman · « **Reply #70 on:** October 14, 2012, 06:56:54 PM »

Sunday night - that means . . . PIZZA NIGHT.

I was cooking on the grill again. Same grill set-up. Dough was different in that I first balled the dough 8 hours before the bake, per Fazarri's thread. While I found this made the dough harder to stretch, I think the resulting dough had better spring and texture.

Results were a mixed bag. First pie was a FAIL. I tried to turn the pie too soon and tore the bottom of the pie on two places with the expected result of cheese oozing onto the stone and generally making a mess. It also resulted in the pie getting overdone both top and bottom. OK, chalk that one up to impatience. Next time, no turning until 3 minutes in.

Second pie however, I would say, is my best pie to date. It was 5 minutes exactly and I think I got the top and bottom pretty well balanced. Taste and texture were very good.

Still learning to manage temps on the grill. I did better top/bottom this time. The other issue is front-to-back. When I was shooting the stone with the IR thermometer, the front of the stone was at 578 and the back was at 625. My grill (like most I think) runs hotter in the back than the front. I am thinking this is where the thicker stone might help some. As long as I turn the pie during the bake, I guess it balances out anyway.

I am only posting pics of the good pie.

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #71 on:** October 14, 2012, 07:21:43 PM »

Steve,
Great looking pie there, I agree....best yet! Congratulations on getting the top an bottom heat dialed in...I know that has to be a good feeling. Now you can play...

Glad your cute 'lil taste tester approved once again. Something tells me he would like anything that dad made though.

slybarman · « **Reply #72 on:** October 14, 2012, 07:25:18 PM »

Thanks Bob.

The younger boy is going through a weird stage where he will only eat pizza if we take all the cheese off first. I call the resulting product - ketchup bread. Kids . . . whaddya gonna do?

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #73 on:** October 14, 2012, 07:37:33 PM »

Make him his own 'lil tomato pie dad...

MightyPizzaOven · « **Reply #74 on:** October 18, 2012, 05:39:10 PM »

Try cutting a whole in your pan for a vent (about 6x1" similar to where I have it on MPO) and make a door out of a heavy disposable aluminum pan to contain more heat and to force air out of the vent.

slybarman · « **Reply #75 on:** October 18, 2012, 06:30:54 PM »

I get the idea of convection generally, but won't I lose too much of the heat from the IR burner that I am trying to trap? The heat here is not coming just from the bottom, so if it goes right out the top, it won't have gone past the pizza.

MightyPizzaOven · « **Reply #76 on:** October 18, 2012, 09:23:39 PM »

With a limited area for the air to flow through, the air flowing over the pizza will be heated by your IR and it will be forced over your pizza.

slybarman · « **Reply #77 on:** October 21, 2012, 11:02:55 AM »

I am trying a roughly 60/40 bland of AT and KABF tonight. I did not have any AP on hand. I balled the dough about 8 hrs before bake time.

I am a little worries the dough will be dried out. Fermentation caused the lid to blow off the Tupperware and the dough developed a pretty good skin on it. I was too busy to check on them yesterday. When I balled it, the dried skin got turned inside the dough ball. I am not sure what effect that will have.

Steve

scott123 · « **Reply #78 on:** October 21, 2012, 11:09:46 AM »

Steve, as long as you give it plenty of time (more than 6 hours) in a sealed container, the moisture should redistribute and the dough should act like it never skinned over.

slybarman · « **Reply #79 on:** October 21, 2012, 11:11:20 AM »

Cool. Thanks Scott.