Let the experimenting begin...

[Chaze215]

Chaz,
I pre pop cornicion bubbles and stand at the ready with a long poker during the bake if I have an aggresive ferment dough.
fwiw, been seeing a few really nice looking pies recently where folks used AT/AP and BF/AP....Hmmm...

I wish I could see you going to town on the bubbles with that poker What do pizza shops do? I have seen bubbles on their pies but usually not burned like mine...lol

[Chicago Bob]

I wish I could see you going to town on the bubbles with that poker What do pizza shops do? I have seen bubbles on their pies but usually not burned like mine...lol

They do jus what I said to do....if you see a pizzeria owner who's right arm is not devoid of hair like mine is then you need to run outta that shop!! Run son...run like hell...do not walk!!!  

[Chaze215]

Here she is....the 17 x 17 x .5 has arrived! I have it in the oven as i type this to get some IR temps. I have the oven set at 500. Is there a temp that Im ideally looking for?

[Chicago Bob]

Yes...very hot.  
Seriously, I would venture to say Scott would probably like to see somewhere in the 620-650 vicinity...maybe a 'lil more?
Crank her up Chaz! 

[Chaze215]

Im on it Bob  ;Dl I will have to wait til scott checks in. He certainly is the steel expert around here...no offense to anyone else. I like to learn from anyone willing to share their knowledge.

[Chaze215]

About 45 minutes at 550 (I bumped it up from 500 just out of curiosity). Not sure what to think right now since my stone was getting hotter than the steel in the same amount of time.

[Chicago Bob]

Patience grasshoppah....the mysteries of steel will be revealed.

[Chaze215]

I hope so Bob. After an hour at 550, it didn't get above 600.

[scott123]

That's a nice looking chunk of steel there, Chaz  

I can't tell from the shot in the oven, but did you take the mill scale (dark colored coating) off? It's not essential that you do, I'm just curious what your cleaning regime was.

The temperature you should be shooting for is whatever temp you need  

Seriously, though, there are a variety of factors involved, hydration of the dough, fermentation time, added sugar/residual sugar, oil, thickness factor, desired style- these all impact the temperature you'll need to bake the pizza at.

The good news is that 574 will give you any non Neapolitan bake time you could possibly want.  With 1/2" steel, 574 might even break the 2 minute Neapolitan barrier- on the undercrust, of course. The top would most likely require a stronger broiler than you currently have (it wouldn't hurt to check, though), making the Neapolitan undercrust capability moot.

Generally speaking, for NY style, you're going to want to be in the 500-525 realm. If you're going with the last formula you used:

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,22834.msg231958.html#msg231958

I would try 500 first, then 525.

[Chaze215]

Scott when I got the steel home last night, I just wiped it down with a sponge and some warm water. Seemed like most of the black stuff came off. Is there something else I should do with it?

I was able to get the steel to just under 600 (the same as my stone) after about an hour of it being in at 550. As far as a recipe goes, I think I will go with a combination of the AT and ConAgra BF (which has about as much protein as KAAP). So i think it will do something along the lines of your recipe. Do you think I should still go with the oven temp at 500? How about using the broiler?

Im gonna do the dough tonight with an expected bake on friday or saturday. I will post the specifics later.

Thanks for your assistance!

[Chaze215]

I think this is what I will be going with:

Flour (100%): Water (63.6%): ADY (.75%): Salt (1.75%): Oil (2%): Sugar (1%): Total (169.1%): Single Ball:

503.65 g  |  17.77 oz | 1.11 lbs 320.32 g  |  11.3 oz | 0.71 lbs 3.78 g | 0.13 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1 tsp | 0.33 tbsp 8.81 g | 0.31 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.58 tsp | 0.53 tbsp 10.07 g | 0.36 oz | 0.02 lbs | 2.24 tsp | 0.75 tbsp 5.04 g | 0.18 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.26 tsp | 0.42 tbsp 851.68 g | 30.04 oz | 1.88 lbs | TF = 0.085 425.84 g | 15.02 oz | 0.94 lbs

Im going to do 60% AT four (302g) and 40% ConAgra BF (201g). I also increased the TF a bit since I felt like I didnt get it right the last time around at .08.

[scott123]

Chaz, mill scale is just iron oxide- which is no different than the iron you might consume eating with cast iron cookware.  That being said, most people take it off.  The easiest way is an overnight soak in vinegar and then a good scouring.

If you don't take off the mill scale, I'd still definitely give it a good scrubbing with soap and water.  I've been pretty anti-seasoning in the past, because I haven't felt like it would be stable at pizza baking temps, but I'm seeing lower temp baking plates (such as Marc's aluminum) take on and maintain seasoning, so a very light layer of vegetable oil wouldn't hurt.

Is the Conagra flour bromated? If so, I don't see any reason for the AT whatsoever- other than using it up.

That formula looks good.

Definitely- go with a 500 pre-heat.  Position the plate on a shelf about 5-7 inches away from the broiler and turn on the broiler for part of the bake.  In my 4.5 to 5 minute bake, I turn on the broiler at the 1:30 point and leave it on until the end, unless I feel like the top is taking on too much color and I shut it off.  It takes some trial and error to get the broiling right.

[Chaze215]

Ok...I will scrub it a little better (after a vinegar bath) and then season it a bit.

The Conagra is not bromated, so I used a 60/40 mix. As I said in previous posts, I was just a little mad at how bubbly the crust got and the fact that those bubbles burned. Im hoping that the mix will cut down on that a bit. We will see.

I will go with a 500 preheat and then go from there. Ahhhhhhh....the thrill of the chase!!