What is the best way to measure pizza oven temperature?

[beaunehead]

Hi,

I have a used, two deck, electric restaurant pizza oven in my garage. I've used 1/2" Fibrament stones in it for the last four years, but recently bought a "baking steel", which I've tried twice.

My ideal pizza (a place in NJ) bakes their pies at 550 degrees. I am always trying to emulate it, and set my oven to that temperature.

I recently bought an infrared thermometer and know I can measure the temps on the surface of the stone/steel. But, what is the best way/place to measure temperatures in such an oven...to see if I am really simulating a 550 restaurant oven. In other words, what should the deck temps be in a 550 degree oven? 550? or lower..or higher....? And, where in the oven should I be looking for 550 degrees?

If anywhere other than the deck itself..or the walls of the oven...I can't use the infrared thermometer....so....I'd like to know what to expect for deck temperatures in a 550 oven..if that's a valid measurement. I assume that the temperature above the deck would be higher....in any setting? so....what am I looking for...temperature wise, to simulate that NJ oven which produces my ideal pies?

Hope my question is clear....when I measured the decks at the 550 setting...I got from 565 (the steel) to 590 (the Fibrament stone) the other night...but I don't know that that answers any question I've raised.

[Bill/SFNM]

Hi, Stuart. Long time, no see! 

The best way is to take a measurement of the deck of your favorite place in NJ? Will they let you do that? Anything short of that is just a crap shoot.

Your measurements of your steel, stone, and oven thermostat correspond to similar ones in my own oven. Assumptions abound: how accurate is our oven thermostat? Is the IR emissivity of stone and steel close enough that we can have confidence in the accuracy of the IR gun in these conditions?

This will all be much simpler if you can establish the NJ deck temp.

Bill

[Chaze215]

I'm in NJ too. Just curious what your favorite pizza place is.

[beaunehead]

Hi, Bill....different place, same face....

Chaz...my ideal is Delorenzo's Tomato Pie, now in Robbinsville, formerly in Trenton. http://www.delorenzostomatopies.com/index2.html

and yours...??

I'm in PA, near Philadelphia, but...hail from Joisey where I developed my "taste".

Bill....is that where I want to measure the temp? on their deck....which I doubt they'd let me do....they've told me many times they cook at 550....but..measuring the deck temp...might creep them out....but good idea....i guess I could show up there some day with an IR thermometer and ask...but...