Browning the bottom

[Richms]

I am using a stone in a 500 degree oven.  The stone is on the bottom rack.  I cannot get the bottom browned.  I am looking for a crisp bottom and chewy top.  I am trying to re-create a New Haven CT stype pie.  Many of the top pizza places use here brick oven with coal.  Any tips to making a dough or a cooking method wcich can result in a darkened bottom.  Without burining the top, of course!!!

[Giovanni]

Try adding more sugar to your recipe and reduce the fermentation of the dough. Overrisen dough is likely to brown less in most cases. Also, you might try a combination of a stone and screen to increase browning.

[Steve]

I am using a stone in a 500 degree oven.  The stone is on the bottom rack.  I cannot get the bottom browned.  I am looking for a crisp bottom and chewy top.  I am trying to re-create a New Haven CT stype pie.  Many of the top pizza places use here brick oven with coal.  Any tips to making a dough or a cooking method wcich can result in a darkened bottom.  Without burining the top, of course!!!

Get your oven as hot as possible. 550 degrees F or higher. Preheat the oven for an hour. As the oven cycles on and off, the stone will heat and retain the direct heat from the heating element while the air temperature in the oven will generally fluxuate. So, after an hour, the stone will probably be closer to 600 degrees F. Put the stone on the bottom rack close to the heating element. Or, try adding sugar to the dough which cause the crust to brown.

[Pierre]

There are a lot of threads in the forum that handle the topic of "browning".

Here are a few of them, take a look at the following threads:


Help: Burned topping, pale crust.

http://forum.pizzamaking.com/index.php?board=5;action=display;threadid=705;start=msg6448#msg6448


Recipes & Techniques / Re:N.Y. Style Dough, Sauce, and Technique  

http://forum.pizzamaking.com/index.php?board=5;action=display;threadid=389;start=msg3506#msg3506


Recipes & Techniques / Re:Crust coloring?

http://forum.pizzamaking.com/index.php?board=5;action=display;threadid=383;start=msg3241#msg3241

another posibility is that you are using the wrong flour. A higher protein flour (gluten) will also promote browning (to some degree). The 00 Flour or all purpose flour have less protein and the crusts tend to be paler after baking. All a matter of what you want to achieve....



Pierre