Stone, Pan, or Screen ?

[holdem]

What are you using for your cracker style pizza? My favorite pizza joint starts there's on a pan and finishes on the deck of there pizza oven.

[Chicago Bob]

+1
Parbaked crust.....-10 points 

[holdem]

Is that some kind of code word?

[Chicago Bob]

What are you using for your cracker style pizza? My favorite pizza joint starts there's on a pan and finishes on the deck of there pizza oven.

+1 agree,this is a great way to make a cracker.



Parbaking a crust -10 points, not only is it a hassle but I don't think the pizza turns out nearly as well. It is a "cheat" that is unnecessary if you can just figure out your oven setup.

[Mad_Ernie]

What are you using for your cracker style pizza? My favorite pizza joint starts there's on a pan and finishes on the deck of there pizza oven.

I typically use a pizza stone.  I have used a screen, and that seems to work fine.  I have not had good luck with pans of any kind. 

You could even try using a screen on top of a stone. 

-ME

[Chicago Bob]

I like to start with a pan because I want a lip on the pizza(ala PH thin crust)but I get it off of there asap.

[holdem]

Got it Bob. They don't parbake the pie. They start it in the pan fully topped. Then take it out of the pan and finish it right on the deck of the oven. And I agree about the parbaking. I've never seen it done in a pizza shop.

[DNA Dan]

And I agree about the parbaking. I've never seen it done in a pizza shop.

Parbaking is mostly done by members here to increase the liklihood of a crispy, bubbly crust. That's not to say that the root of the issue is a poor oven, dough formulation or something else.

I used to use a stone, but switched over to a conveyor. It's radiant heat with independent top and bottom controls. It's not an impingment type oven. If I dial it in just right, the results are pretty much the same with perhaps a little bit lighter crunch than you get from a stone. Uniformity of cooking is much better in the center of the pie as opposed to a stone in an oven.

[Chicago Bob]

Parbaking is mostly done by members here to increase the liklihood of a crispy, bubbly crust. That's not to say that the root of the issue is a poor oven, dough formulation or something else.

I used to use a stone, but switched over to a conveyor. It's radiant heat with independent top and bottom controls. It's not an impingment type oven. If I dial it in just right, the results are pretty much the same with perhaps a little bit lighter crunch than you get from a stone. Uniformity of cooking is much better in the center of the pie as opposed to a stone in an oven.

+1....it's definitely a challenge to figure out how to get your set up to produce this type of pie.
Even back in the day...one owners deck oven could nail it better than the next guys.....sigh....

[DNA Dan]

The ovens I see at the cracker places have a lot of circulating hot air. I don't know if those are impingement type ovens or hybrid deck ovens,   but it's this component that is difficult to replicate in the home oven unless there is a fan in the oven specifically for this purpose. I have found that this style benefits greatly from having top heat.