Screen later not earlier?

[NYnewbie]

My issue cooking in a coal/fire oven has been that the crust finishes well before the top finishes. Besides lower temps, one recommendation I got was to cook the bottom crust to near perfection then slide a screen underneath. When I came to this forum to find people doing this, I mostly find people trying (and struggling) to start off on the screen then remove it.

What are people's thoughts on using the screen to "pause" the bottom cooking once it's almost done and letting the rest catch up?

[Swinger-mike]

Thats exactly the way to go and is done that way in many places like Joes for example.

[jsaras]

Vito’s pizza in West Los Angeles does that, albeit with deck ovens

[hammettjr]

Definitely go for it. I agree it's not very common here at all, mainly because people don't have super hot baking surfaces. Probably the most common reason that people here use screens is to bake a pizza that's a bit larger than the stone.

[Jersey Pie Boy]

I do it in every Blackstone bake..after about 1:30 to 2 mins, screen in till end of bake. Then out with big cheap pliers.

[foreplease]

For 2 styles, I start the bake on a screen (on tile) and finish on tile. It helps me reach the size and shape I want as the screen tends to lightly grab and hold. It eliminates any flour or any other product on the peel, and I like the screen lightly stamped into the dough. I pull it after 5 min at 550 then go 4-5 more directly on the tile.


For commercial places I can understand why they would prefer screening at the end instead of the beginning of the bake.