Trouble with Stone (Granite)

[smrtgy123]

Hi everyone,
  This is my first post here.
I was making pizzas in my home oven with 3/4' granite for a few months now and it came out great. But kitchen was tied up to long and wife was not too happy.
So I built a pizza (contraption) oven and can get it up to 850 degrees Fahrenheit. My problem is I cant get the dough right now. It does not brown good at all. And the cheese gets burnt burnt. I tried refractory bricks and same thing but when i had the granite in my oven it was great.Would an actual baking stone working better? Also i am using High Gluten flour. Really appreciate any advice and thanks in advance

[Trogdor33]

You'll want to check out the neapolitan section to see what some of the other high temp oven people are using. Most people baking in high temp ovens use a very simple dough consisting of flour, water, salt and either commercial yeast or a natural preferment. A good starting point is Jeff Varasano's recipe: http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm

I suspect that you are using sugar in your dough and/or cooking it too long. At that high a temp, you shouldn't have to bake it more than two minutes.

BTW... since you're new here and don't know any better, new members are required to post pictures of any "pizza contraptions" they have built. 

[smrtgy123]

Thanks Trogdor33 for the quick reply and info.
 The dough I make is a simple dough and i use no sugar. I will check out the thread with the high heat ovens but I was wondering if the baking stones work better than the granite.
 I will take some pics of my contraption soon but no laughing! LOL

[Trogdor33]

Well, if you feel bad about your gadget, have a look at what I am using: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,9537.msg82633.html#msg82633

Who cares if it's a hack job, if it makes pizza then you have a winner.

As far as the granite, you will be hard pressed to find anything that works better than a real professional baking stone (like a fibrament) since they are made for baking. I would especially question you using it in a 850 deg oven. Refractory bricks (firebrick) is what most people use in a wood fired oven and would also be a good choice. If you are going to be exposing the material to a direct flame, don't use a real baking stone without some sort of metal between flame and stone. I'd have to see your gadget to be able to make any more specific recommendations, but at this point, I don't have any practical experience with anything other than a conventional oven. Everything else I have learned from research for the wood fired oven I am going to build in the spring.

[UnConundrum]

You need to describe your contraption to get better feedback.  Is the heat source in the bottom or top?  Does air flow around the stone?  Is there a cold air intake somewhere?  Does the heat collect at the top or is there some kind of vent?

Post some pictures.

[smrtgy123]

Thanks again guys
I promise I will post Pics
In my contraption (LOL) it is all steel about 4' long and 30" wide. It is arched and shaped like an upside down U.
The door opening is about 24". I had the heat source low to the floor and the cooking surface low also. Since my last post with poor results I have changed and let my cooking surface raise about 10" keeping the heat source low and it has made a BIG difference.
Also my chimney is about 6" from front and only 4" in diameter and 6" in height
I will be taking PICs s as soon as I finish posting this post.
Again thanks for all the info!

[Trogdor33]

Good deal, sounds interesting, I'll be waiting for pics.