Hello and has anybody tried the Americas Test Kitchen NY pizza?

[scott123]

Well I made the dough tonight and will see what happens this Thursday night.  I'm now tempted to try a piece of 1/2" steel.  One thing I don't want to do is change a recipe/technique if I don't need to, but I'm alway up for an improvement.  I might just have to go to the scrap yard to see about getting a piece of steel.  From what I read on the links above about steel is that I need to get rolled steel plate (not necessarily cast iron); is that the steel you are talking about?  Any particular alloys?  I cook almost exclusively with cast iron cookware and LOVE it, and I think it's reasonably to expect more of the same for cooking pizza on steel.  FWIW I have eaten at Lombardi's in NYC and I actually prefer the pizza's I made last time, although Lombardi's was still quite good.

SB, one thing to bear in mind- as much as steel is the ideal material, at this point in time, for shorter bakes, it is heavy.  It really doesn't work well for baking other things, and can be a big hassle to take in and out.  If you're still interested, a36 hot rolled steel is the steel to get.

Just to confirm, your oven has a broiler in the main compartment, correct?  As you decrease your bake time, you'll most likely need to use the broiler as it bakes.

[scott123]

Don, Ha!  Just measured my oven...24X18 ! 

Bob, are you trimming your stones for air flow on your LBE? If you trim them down to 18, they'll fit in your oven.

Having two stones should work pretty well in your main oven compartment, but, it would be ideal if the top stone were larger so that it collects the heat rising from below.  It would also help if your bottom stone were less conductive than your ceiling. If you can track them down, quarry tiles are good for this kind of oven setup.

[Chicago Bob]

Bob, are you trimming your stones for air flow on your LBE? If you trim them down to 18, they'll fit in your oven.

Having two stones should work pretty well in your main oven compartment, but, it would be ideal if the top stone were larger so that it collects the heat rising from below.  It would also help if your bottom stone were less conductive than your ceiling. If you can track them down, quarry tiles are good for this kind of oven setup.

I plan to do an insert. Wonder how a trimmed down bottom stone would work rather than just cutting a notch and using a director....?

[pizzaneer]

not enough airflow to play with.  you need some hot air velocity so that the director can whack it onto the pie center.

[scott123]

Bob, I'm probably being dense here, but could you expand on what you mean by an 'insert?'

[Chicago Bob]

Bob, I'm probably being dense here, but could you expand on what you mean by an 'insert?'

The "C" shaped thingy that you recommended I do not make into a full circle ( so it won't be too tall)....I guess all of it together (stones and C ) would make up a "insert", no?

[scott123]

Doh! The kettlepizza insert, I was being dense  

Bob, the critical aspect of the DIY insert is that the hearth has to be smaller than the ceiling so that the heat can rise up from below and warm the ceiling. If the two stones are the same size, the ceiling is blocked. That's the traditional KettlePizza insert with a charcoal grill perspective.

If you want to go more LBEish/propane burner-y, then you might be able to cut one stone in such a way that the air flows up the back and out the front hole in the 'C'.   You'd still need the border of the stone intact, though, for the flashing of the 'C' to sit on. Whatever heat that's coming up needs to a be a relatively airtight seal- with the heat only going out the C opening- not under the flashing.

I think it's easier, though, for both approaches to have a large ceiling stone and a smaller hearth.

[pizzaneer]

Not to be dense or argumentive   Scott, but why can't he put the uncut flashing piece in place, force it into shape until the bottom edge is resting on the cooking grill supports, mark it and then cut it?  I don't think the C shape is a good idea actually.  I think it should be one circle across the top of the tube, and a cutout below, much like the retail version.  Dimensional stability FTW.

Load / unload cutout should be on opposite side of the tube from the edge mating area. Slap another piece of steel on it and rivet, then weld it up.

hmm... think we're off topic now?  Maybe Bob should start a thread.

[scott123]

I'm not going to sigh   but the dimensional stability aspect is a dead horse. The 'C' Bob's talking about is actually a double or even a triple walled C.  You can fold over the flashing in such a way that the top stone is sitting on walls with 3 layers, with an insulating air pocket in the middle of those layers.

I guess Bob could cut the flashing so that it drops down where the hearth has been cut away, and contacts the grate.

[Chicago Bob]

I will start a thread or bring this back up on LBE thread. I appreciate having both of you interested in this and I really do want to proceed...I have all of the hardware now..so thanks guys, appreciate.

[siouxerbrewer]

FWIW I prefer the pizza I made tonight with the cast iron over the pizza stone.  The crust turned out very nice, with just the right amount of crisp/crunch to it.  The crust and toppings finished cooking at the same time (8 minutes) and it was really good.  I think for now I'm going to just go with the lodge cast iron pizza pan based on tonights results.  Thank you guys for all of your input and good luck with the LBE build.

[Chicago Bob]

thanks sb,
good to hear you are making something you enjoy....that's what it's about...

[kaineilsen]

Made the CI NY pizza dough via slice this evening on the maiden voyage of my MBE and I have to say it was extremely good.