Latest results using new mods to Big Steel Keg

[Chicago Bob]

Yep, as Barry said,low moisture/part skim will brown a lot more.
Not sure how much sugar you've been using, brad, but I think you will see a big difference....how is the dough looking to you in the container...less/smaller aeration?

[bradtri]

My sugar before was 3.7%.

Definitely more aeration in the container.   But I think that might have more to do with the bulk ferment and also, I was a bit short for time this morning, so after taking the containers out of the fridge, I set them in a couple inches of warm water to jump start the process a bit before balling.

The balls were roughly twice as large as normal when it came time to make the pies.  They turned out real good although I didn't get any pics.   The cornicione was fairly consistent, and although there were still some larger bubbles, they didn't burn nearly as much this time.

The family verdict was that this was the best yet, so I think I'm headed in the right direction.  The was a definite improvement in the bottom crust being nicely crisp yet still being quite tender.

[bradtri]

For today, I got a little carried away with the charcoal and had temps north of 750 on the stone, so things were a little quicker than normal.  This was a 2:30 bake.  I think I'll return back to the 650 range as I prefer that over today's results.

[TXCraig1]

For today, I got a little carried away with the charcoal and had temps north of 750 on the stone, so things were a little quicker than normal.  This was a 2:30 bake.  I think I'll return back to the 650 range as I prefer that over today's results.

Assuming its not black on the bottom, it looks great to me.

CL

[bradtri]

There were a few areas on the bottom that were a bit over-charred.  My normal technique is to check the bottom at about 1 minute and throw a screen underneath for the rest of the cook.  But, I have been having a recurring problem where the outside perimeter of the bottom (directly under the cornicione) seems to char faster that the rest.  Is that typical for higher temp cooking?

[TXCraig1]

There were a few areas on the bottom that were a bit over-charred.  My normal technique is to check the bottom at about 1 minute and throw a screen underneath for the rest of the cook.  But, I have been having a recurring problem where the outside perimeter of the bottom (directly under the cornicione) seems to char faster that the rest.  Is that typical for higher temp cooking?

It's not uncommon.

[Chicago Bob]

Could also possibly be something with your keg brad. I looked back through this thread but didn't see any pics of what your setup is under the stone...you have a link to the build or something?
Bob

[scott123]

Bob's right. This is especially common in intense bottom heat scenarios where the deflection under the stone isn't dialed in correctly (or there is no deflection at all).

[bradtri]

Here's a pic of the whole configuration.  The diffuser is a Lodge cast iron pizza pan that is upside down and the stone is a 15"corderite.  I have to have the cast iron pan upside down as my stone won't quite fit inside the top of the pan.  So, that does leave a little bit of a gap between the cast iron and the corderite around the outside where the lip of the cast iron pan is curving down.  However, my pizza size/placement is usually inside of that border.

Next cook, I'll try to get some temp measurements to see if the extreme perimeter of the stone is significantly hotter.

You can see from the pic a darker circle that is my typical outside edge of my pies.  Toward the back, you can see a much darker mark which is likely from one of the burned edges.

One off the wall thought I had is I think a higher proportion of the burned bottoms are toward the back of the grill.  Two possibilities for that might be 1) the stone is hotter toward the back or 2) perhaps the front edge of the pizza as it comes off the peel is "wetter" since it doesn't get to slide over much of the floured peel.  Conversely, the back half of the pizza travels a much greater distance over the peel as it comes off.   Again, I'll need to do some more monitoring to see if there's a pattern to where the burns occur.  (I do know that one of my boys seems to get more than his share of the burns and because of our workflow, his half of the pizza always ends up to the back ...)

[scott123]

Bradtri, you're most likely going to find differing opinions on this, but I believe that the diffuser should be larger than the stone, and, if it isn't, there's a greater propensity for the edges of the stone to get quite a lot hotter than the center.

If there's not enough space to expand the diameter of the diffuser, you can also prevent hot edges by using a diffuser that runs up and above the stone. This is the principle under which commercial deck ovens work under. Think of the stone sitting in a pan, but not directly touching any part of the pan.

Another factor that can lead to burned rims is the manner in which the pizza is stretched. With a thick rim that goes to a thin undercrust with very little taper, the rim will puff up and lift the area around it off the stone.  This is one of the advantages of stretching out a thinner rim.

[bradtri]

Scott,
   Thanks for your input.  Hopefully, I'll uncover some good info next time I cook by checking the temp near the edge of the stone.  I'll have to think a little bit about possible diffuser modifications.  I'm a little limited at this point as I'm running out of horizontal room on my grill, but perhaps something vertical around the perimeter might be doable.

   My stretching technique has been resulting in a thinner rim these days, but I might intentionally go a little further with that to see what happens.

   The bottom line is that I'm really happy with how my pizzas are turning out these days and much of my learning has come from this forum, so thanks to all who provide valuable info here.  Of course, the "journey" to the perfect pizza never ceases and I can never resist tinkering with the process.

[scott123]

Bradtri, IR readings of the extremities of the stone should be quite illuminating on your next bake.

Vertical diffusion is definitely a solid option. You don't see it much in eggs on this forum, but, as I said, it's industry standard for gas deck pizza ovens. Just make sure you don't go high enough to cramp your launch.

[bradtri]

Finally got another bake in.  I do have some uneven stone temps, but not how I would have expected.  The back edge of the stone (next to the hinge of the lid) was about 40 degrees hotter than the rest of the stone.  So, about 5 minutes prior to cooking, I lifted up the grate and rotated the entire assembly 180 degrees.  No scorching issues this time, but I did have a bit cooler overall temp going.  In fact, my last pizza was a 4:30 bake and didn't require any screen at all below the pizza. 

Without sufficient top temps to achieve a 2-3 minute bake, maybe going with a slightly cooler stone temp (around 600) and a 4:30-5:00 bake might be my sweet spot.

btw, I discovered Sriracha sauce this last week and absolutely loved it on my pizza.