Author Topic: Little Black Egg (Read 266912 times)

toddster63 · « **Reply #1520 on:** June 04, 2012, 10:42:40 AM »

Quote from: FVG on June 04, 2012, 06:11:49 AM

Dough is a 60/40 mix of Caputo 00 and King Arthur bread flour, 68% hydration, and a touch of Barley Malt.

With this mix, what is the texture like? Crunchy or softer...? With a two minute bake, I can see them being crunchy a bit on the exterior, but still have that Caputo softness on the interior...?

PizzaEater101 · « **Reply #1521 on:** June 04, 2012, 02:06:35 PM »

Anyone know if a round cordierite stone can be sanded down into a smaller size or will that sacrifice the integrity of the stone? I think a square one can be cut into the size one wants but what about a round one can it be sanded into a smaller size without risking weakening it? Thanks.

FVG · « **Reply #1522 on:** June 05, 2012, 05:21:53 AM »

Quote from: toddster63 on June 04, 2012, 10:42:40 AM

With this mix, what is the texture like? Crunchy or softer...? With a two minute bake, I can see them being crunchy a bit on the exterior, but still have that Caputo softness on the interior...?

The crust had just a slight crunch on the outside but not really crispy - the inside was somewhat moist and fairly soft. Overall a good combination and quite tasty.

These bakes were running about 75 degrees hotter than previous attempts and had to tame the coals a bit - I may change the ratio for the next bake to use a bit more Caputo.

PizzaEater101 · « **Reply #1523 on:** June 16, 2012, 07:18:11 PM »

I've read this 77 or so page discussion twice and have a question. Maybe I missed this but can someone tell me why some of you cut the front air vent out where the vent started at the bottom of the lid and some of you cut it so the very bottom of the lid is not cut but the bottom of the vent is a couple of inches from the bottom where it starts. I'm curious about this.

Thank You,

James

pizzaneer · « **Reply #1524 on:** June 16, 2012, 07:46:28 PM »

Quote from: PizzaEater101 on June 16, 2012, 07:18:11 PM

I've read this 77 or so page discussion twice and have a question. Maybe I missed this but can someone tell me why some of you cut the front air vent out where the vent started at the bottom of the lid and some of you cut it so the very bottom of the lid is not cut but the bottom of the vent is a couple of inches from the bottom where it starts. I'm curious about this.

Dimensional stability. Under high heat, the dome will change shape without the true circle going all the way around the rim. I learned this the hard way. It's not a killer issue for me, the LBE is usable, but I wish I had left the rim. It would make it much easier to drop the dome back onto the base.

toddster63 · « **Reply #1525 on:** June 16, 2012, 08:40:43 PM »

Quote from: pizzaneer on June 16, 2012, 07:46:28 PM

Dimensional stability. Under high heat, the dome will change shape without the true circle going all the way around the rim. I learned this the hard way. It's not a killer issue for me, the LBE is usable, but I wish I had left the rim. It would make it much easier to drop the dome back onto the base.

The KEY statement here is HIGH HEAT. I don't think newbies realize how very hot, hot, HOT these ovens get in the process of getting your stone even up to 650F, let alone even higher...! My LBE construction initially utilized high heat epoxy and high heat grill paint—and they have both vaporized to practically nothing in 6 months of use. On a plus note, the bare steel exposed with the cutting in the mods will not rust if you use your LBE regularly. It's just too much heat for the rust to stay around...!

PizzaEater101 · « **Reply #1526 on:** June 17, 2012, 01:28:40 AM »

Pizzaneer and toddster, thanks for the info. I think Villaroma said he got too close to the vent and it was so hot some hairs got burned off his leg. That was enough for me to decide to be very careful of that heat once I get mine together.

Pizzaneer I'll remember not to cut the bottom of the top vent as to keep the shape under high heat. Thanks for pointing that out.

What is the ideal size of a vent though? I see different LBEs and different size vents.

Thanks

pizzaneer · « **Reply #1527 on:** June 17, 2012, 07:06:24 AM »

Since I don't know your diameter, can't give you exact specs. I'll give you the overall idea, you take it from there.

Imagine a pizza, cut into eight pieces. Should be easy to picture, right? Now, in your mind, replace the pizza with your dome. Your vent should be at least 1 slice long, and about 1-2" high. It can be 2 slices long, and 4" high. Thats what mine is, and it works. So somewhere between those two options.

It depends on what you want to make in it. I made mine big enough to insert cast iron skillets right through the slot, because I make other food more than I make pizza. If you're only going to use it for pizza, go for the 1st option.

toddster63 · « **Reply #1528 on:** June 17, 2012, 12:36:32 PM »

Quote from: pizzaneer on June 17, 2012, 07:06:24 AM

Since I don't know your diameter, can't give you exact specs. I'll give you the overall idea, you take it from there.

Imagine a pizza, cut into eight pieces. Should be easy to picture, right? Now, in your mind, replace the pizza with your dome. Your vent should be at least 1 slice long, and about 1-2" high. It can be 2 slices long, and 4" high. Thats what mine is, and it works. So somewhere between those two options.

It depends on what you want to make in it. I made mine big enough to insert cast iron skillets right through the slot, because I make other food more than I make pizza. If you're only going to use it for pizza, go for the 1st option.

I like Pizzaneer's advice. I used what seemed to the "standard" vent size for my 18.5" Weber, which was 1.5" high and 8" long. Has worked perfectly (I also bolted the top Weber made vent down closed, so as little air as possible can leave there—don't use this vent).

PizzaEater101 · « **Reply #1529 on:** June 17, 2012, 02:38:37 PM »

Thanks guys for the help.

I'm gonna make a 16 inch pizza in mine once I get this thing put together. So one slice is 8 inches long so I'll be doing like toddster, 8 inches long and 1.5 inch high. I don't think I can do 16 inches by 3 because mine is not that big. It's not a real Weber but some off brand charcoal grill. I think 1.5 x 8 would fit better on mine.

I'm going to only make pizza in mine also. Although like you pizzaneer, I think it would cool to make it a multi-tasker but for my purposes I think only make it a pizza oven.

Thank You

Villa Roma · « **Reply #1530 on:** June 17, 2012, 04:19:17 PM »

I've been out of the pizza bizz for a bit so I decided to shake things up a bit by modifying the opening on my LBE. My inspiration was the shaker hoods reminisant of the 70s Mopar muscle cars. I don't expect much difference in the way the LBE performs but this mod adds a high performance racy edge that chicks really dig.

Villa Roma

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #1531 on:** June 18, 2012, 04:45:47 PM »

Quote from: Villa Roma on June 17, 2012, 04:19:17 PM

this mod adds a high performance racy edge that chicks really dig.

Villa Roma

Yeah baby....you'll be fight'in 'em off with that mod! Glad you're back shak'in things up.....

Bob

simcha · « **Reply #1532 on:** June 21, 2012, 08:12:34 PM »

Egg has landed in pizza capital of America Brooklyn NY! So my wife and I are very excited about our new edition to our kitchen or backyard. Below are some photos, I placed the burner in the egg because I have small children who love to touch things so this made it nice and compact.

I wish I had some pies to show but as you can see from the photos all there is is black crumbs from the two that I burnt today

.

I think I went a little overboard because I was using Jeff's recipe for Neo pizza and I cranked my egg up to 800 degrees, well the tiles measured about 800. The bottom cooked super fast but the top didn't cook fully. I though my defector was too high, what do you experts think?

Any just need some help on getting these neo pies cooked to perfection!

toddster63 · « **Reply #1533 on:** June 21, 2012, 08:25:41 PM »

Quote from: simcha on June 21, 2012, 08:12:34 PM

Egg has landed in pizza capital of America Brooklyn NY! So my wife and I are very excited about our new edition to our kitchen or backyard. Below are some photos, I placed the burner in the egg because I have small children who love to touch things so this made it nice and compact.

I wish I had some pies to show but as you can see from the photos all there is is black crumbs from the two that I burnt today .

I think I went a little overboard because I was using Jeff's recipe for Neo pizza and I cranked my egg up to 800 degrees, well the tiles measured about 800. The bottom cooked super fast but the top didn't cook fully. I though my defector was too high, what do you experts think?

Any just need some help on getting these neo pies cooked to perfection!

Looks like a great rig! I recommend cooking at hearth temps more around 600F-650F. With higher hydrations (66%>) or for char lovers, you can go above 650F in LBE's, but I find they can burn, and FAST—in under 2 minutes for me. Your hearth stone compostion makes a slight difference, but not enough to take it up and over 700F in my experience (and not just with the LBE, but with other bottom heat sourced pizza cookers too). Using Caputo Blue/Pizzeria can help too, but I've had it scorch on the bottom too in my LBE at temps over 700F.

Lately I have found the best results with 64% KABF (or BFB, and Caputo Red as well) skins, and cooking at around 600F-625F stone hearth temp, but with the propane turned all the way up. Bakes are around 2 minutes. The bottoms are perfectly spotted with light char, tops are browned and often leopard spotted.

Indeed too, adjust your deflector lower if you're having top browning problems. It does look a tad high.

P.S. I don't think I would EVER make pizza if I lived in Brooklyn. Here in California it's a necessity, but in Brooklyn! Haha...! The pizza bug bites us all, no matter where!

R2-Bayou · « **Reply #1534 on:** June 21, 2012, 08:28:33 PM »

simcha,

New LBE, awesome! Anyone who built an LBE will tell you they are all about trial and error, from the oven build to the dough recipes and cooking times.

I've had a similar experience as what toddster63 described, but here's my 2cents...

What kind of flour are you using and what hydration? I have found that Caputo 00 at 60% hydration works well on my LBE in the mid 600°F. But when I increase the hydration to 64%, I run the deck in the upper 700°F range and it is perfect. I will cook each pie a little over 2 minutes with 1 or 2 turns.

When I use AP flour in the LBE I have observed that pies cannot hold up to the higher temps and you need to keep the deck much lower than when using Caputo 00.

Also try using the absolute minimum amount of bench flour and peel flour as it will quickly burn and leave an acrid taste on the bottom of your pies...

Hope this helps!

toddster63 · « **Reply #1535 on:** June 21, 2012, 08:28:59 PM »

Quote from: Villa Roma on June 17, 2012, 04:19:17 PM

I've been out of the pizza bizz for a bit so I decided to shake things up a bit by modifying the opening on my LBE. My inspiration was the shaker hoods reminisant of the 70s Mopar muscle cars. I don't expect much difference in the way the LBE performs but this mod adds a high performance racy edge that chicks really dig.

Villa Roma

Once again you are stylin', 'Roma...!

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #1536 on:** June 21, 2012, 08:45:03 PM »

Quote from: simcha on June 21, 2012, 08:12:34 PM

Egg has landed in pizza capital of America Brooklyn NY! So my wife and I are very excited about our new edition to our kitchen or backyard. Below are some photos, I placed the burner in the egg because I have small children who love to touch things so this made it nice and compact.

I wish I had some pies to show but as you can see from the photos all there is is black crumbs from the two that I burnt today .

I think I went a little overboard because I was using Jeff's recipe for Neo pizza and I cranked my egg up to 800 degrees, well the tiles measured about 800. The bottom cooked super fast but the top didn't cook fully. I though my defector was too high, what do you experts think?

Any just need some help on getting these neo pies cooked to perfection!

simcha,

Welcome aboard....glad to see the egg has landed...safely!
As you are already seeing, you will get some good help here from some experienced egger's. How about opening that baby up an giving us a good peek? We sure like pics around here, especially of the pies, so please don't be shy. Sounds like you already have a good grasp of what you got go'in on there and we look forward to sharing in your fun. Thanks!

Bob

simcha · « **Reply #1537 on:** June 21, 2012, 09:29:57 PM »

Thanks for the feedback! Building a LBE was super fun and I enjoyed cutting up the grill. Ok so I need to bake a lower temps, most of the reading I've done is from Jeff Varasano's site and he said how he bakes a 750+. I followed his recipe so my hydration is about 60% and I used KABF. The dough smelled so nice coming out of the fridge only to be burnt to charcoal on the 800 degree quarry tiles.

One thing I noticed is that the Bayou burner is super powerful! It reached super high 1000+ temps with no problem.

Another problem I had and this one is probably an easy fix is my dough kept sticking to the pizza pan. I sprinkled the surface with flour beforehand but each time I stretched the dough it would stick. Any tips on this?

Lastly Toddster when you say turn the propane all the way up, that's on the burner, not the propane tank correct?

Thanks again for the help, I'm going to try again next week!

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #1538 on:** June 21, 2012, 10:34:52 PM »

ok then....don't forget da pics!

toddster63 · « **Reply #1539 on:** June 22, 2012, 12:27:49 AM »

Quote from: simcha on June 21, 2012, 09:29:57 PM

...Lastly Toadster when you say turn the propane all the way up, that's on the burner, not the propane tank correct?

Yeah. On my propane tank once it's on, it's on. You can't regulate it via the propane tank. But yes, I turn the burner regulator all the way up for my 2 minute and under Neapolitan bakes. Much lower for the 3-5 minute NY style or cracker styles. Fresh mozz takes the heat much better than the dryer aged mozz, which can really get browned in even 2 minutes.

Don't forget that Jeff V. was cooking in a oven on cleaning cycle—much more even all over heat than a bottom based heat source like our propane burners. Although even Jeff V. mentioned sticking a pan on top of his stone to aborb to much excess heat. You can also see a few pictures on his site of overly charred underskirts.

Keep playin' with your LBE. They take a little fiddling and tuning—maybe around 10 pies till you really get good at it...?