Parchament or Not

[aiannar974]

Hello,

I have had trouble getting my pizza on the stone in one piece.  I see some people use parchment for pizza forming and Stone placement.  Does this work as well as not having it there?  What do you think the differences are?

Thank you,

Anthony

[sourdough girl]

Hi, Anthony... and welcome!

I have used parchment in the past, and, if my dough is really wet and I think there might be a problem, I still do.  I use it in my kitchen oven set at 550^o F and have never had a problem with it catching fire even though regular paper combusts at 451^o F.  What I usually do is cut off the big corners, slide the pizza with parchment onto the stone and wait a minute or two.  Then, when the crust has set a bit, I reach in with tongs or my fingers and jerk the parchment out from under the pizza so that it can cook directly on the stone for most of the baking time and crisp up properly.  This method works very well, at least for me.

I don't know your skill level with the peel and stone, but as you gain some more experience, it may get easier.  I have also found that rice flour works VERY well to "grease" the peel... moreso than regular flour, cornmeal or semolina and doesn't give any burned flavors to the bottom of the crust.  Bob's Red Mill sells rice flour... their products may even be in your grocery store, depending on where you live.

Hope that helps!

~sd

[Pete-zza]

Anthony,

You might find it helpful to take a look at this thread, and the links embedded therein: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,5308.msg45011.html#msg45011. One of the main advantage of using a release agent like semolina, cornmeal or rice flour, and others like it, is that they are all cheaper per pizza than parchment paper. However, some doughs are so wet that parchment paper is a good option, in some cases the only one. I have also used pizza screens for wet doughs. When doing so, I lightly spray the screen with a bit of oil spray (like Pam).

I have found rice flour in the Hispanic section of my local supermarket, sold under the Goya brand. I have also seen it at several Indian food stores.

Peter