Getting the Blackstone oven from Cabela's

[norma427]

My daughter took me to Cabela's to see if the BS I had put on hold was okay.  When we went upstairs to look at the camping gear we saw different grills lined up.  I was surprised to see how big the BS was when it is all assembled.  I then wondered why I didn't bring my van because I then thought I don't think the BS in a box, or out of the box, would fit into her car.  I looked over the BS and took a few photos so I could see how it was assembled.  I saw the BS on the display floor did have a cracked stone on the bottom.  I asked customer service before I purchased the BS if I could take things out of the box to see if anything was broken or damaged.  The employee at customer service said she would help me take out what I wanted to see.  I was also somewhat surprised that there was a very thick piece of Styrofoam between the two stones. I thought the stones would be in a separate box, but they were already installed in the oven.  It took awhile to get everything out and the main oven part of the BS is heavier than I thought it would be.  The two stones and everything else looked okay. 

I then had problems getting the taken apart components of the BS out of the box into my daughters car even with the help of 3 employees.  They said there was no way the main oven part would fit into my daughters car either in the backseat or trunk.  I went back inside Cabela's and was going to get my money refunded and then come back for it on Wednesday with my van.  Cabela's said they don't let any paid merchandise sit in their store, but they would refund my money and hold it for me until Wednesday.  I then went out to my daughters car again and put the front seat back all the way it could go and went inside and asked an employee if he thought the main oven part would fit in the front seat.  He said he thought it might.  The BS was a front seat passenger and I was crammed in the backseat. 

I did purchase a 2-year Service Plan on the BS and customer service said the 2-year Service Plan will cover any broken pizza stones, paint that rusts, or anything else that might go wrong with the BS.  The 2-year Service Plan was 59.99.

Luckily, when we got home my daughter and I could lift the main oven part of the BS out of her cars front seat and onto a bag wagon.  Right when the BS main oven part was in the shed, the one cotter key broke off of the one wheel of the bag wagon and the one wheel fell off.

I didn't want to clog-up the main Blackstone thread with this post, so that is why I am starting another thread.

Norma

[norma427]

I forgot to mention in my last post, but the part that holds the bottom stone on the display model did turn freely.

Norma

[Jackie Tran]

Congrats Norma.  I'm glad you got one with unbroken stones.  Now to fire it up!

[norma427]

Congrats Norma.  I'm glad you got one with unbroken stones.  Now to fire it up!

Thanks Chau!  I first have to get my one extra propane tank filled up and also find where the instruction sheets are.  We quickly put all the stuff in the shed because it looked like it might rain.  I also have to read though that long Blackstone thread to see what mods you did and also what other members did.  I think I will try it out without any mods the first time.  Wait, first see if I can get the BS put together right.    I probably won't try to make pizzas until this coming weekend.

Norma

[redox]

I'm looking forward to seeing what you will turn out using your BS oven, Norma. You will love using it!

[slybarman]

Yeah,  I would cook on it a couple times before changing anything.

[norma427]

I'm looking forward to seeing what you will turn out using your BS oven, Norma. You will love using it!

Thanks Jay!  I think I will try a sourdough Neapolitan first.  I know other members love the BS and am sure I will too once I get used to how to use it.

Norma

[norma427]

Yeah,  I would cook on it a couple times before changing anything.

Steve,

Thanks for the suggestion!

Norma

[JConk007]

Very Cool Norma and on sale  too !
So you and scott will have the Black stone cook off when ?? 
I allways have left over 2-10 doughballs from Parties -- Hmm?? got me thinkin now what  is it, 15Min heat up time  ??
John

[norma427]

Very Cool Norma and on sale  too !
So you and scott will have the Black stone cook off when ?? 
I allways have left over 2-10 doughballs from Parties -- Hmm?? got me thinkin now what  is it, 15Min heat up time  ??
John

Thanks John, and yes it was on sale.  Deb told me it was on sale on the Blackstone thread.  I had just looked at it the other week and thought it was a little too high in price at Cabela's, but when it went on sale something just made me want to purchase it.    

I don't know when Scott and I could have a cook off, but that would be neat.   

Yep, it is supposed to be a short heat-up time and no cut wood is involved.  I think you might be pushed over the edge soon too.   

Norma

[italdream]

My stupid question of the day: did they charge state taxes at checkout?

[norma427]

My stupid question of the day: did they charge state taxes at checkout?

ue' ue',

Nothing is a stupid question. Yes, they did charge sales tax at the checkout.  In Pa. it is 6% sales tax.

Norma

[italdream]

Thanks. That was fast. I need to remember to include the purchase on my next state tax return. 
I think griddle guru did not include taxes at checkout.
Congratulations on your purchase.

[norma427]

I think griddle guru did not include taxes at checkout.
Congratulations on your purchase.

ue' ue',

Sometimes when purchasing something from another state taxes aren't charged. 

Thanks for the congrats. 

Norma

[norma427]

I had planned to bulk ferment the GM flour Neapolitan dough for 24 hrs., but since I made a mistake in mixing the first batch last light I had to make another batch of dough.  The bulk ferment of the dough was less than 24 hrs.  This is what the dough looked like before it was balled.  The dough was keep at between 60-67 degrees while it was bulk fermenting in the Styrofoam container.  This is the formulation I used. I used the light gray Celtic Sea Salt as the salt in the dough. 

The bulk fermented dough felt soft and it was balled at 250 grams for each dough ball. 

Norma

[Jackie Tran]

Your dough looks good Norma.  Good luck with your first bake in the BS and with this new flour.

[norma427]

Your dough looks good Norma.  Good luck with your first bake in the BS and with this new flour.

Chau,

I did use about the same formulation I used at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,26311.0.html but the dough balls are just larger.  I also used the same salt in that thread.  I also Craig's mixing methods this time again as I saw Craig and Bill use that Friday night at the Pizza Summit at Craig's home.  I learned from watching Craig and Bill that night.  The only other thing I did differently this time was to use a little more of the Ischia starter than was posted in my formulation work sheet, because I had made the second batch of dough later.  My starter was highly active though and was ready to be used after about an 1 ˝ after feeding.  I had feed the starter about 3 times a day after taking it out of the fridge and it smelled nice.   I did use the GM flour on that other thread too.

Thanks for saying the dough looks nice, but if the pizzas turn out okay it was Craig's and Bill help that will make the pizzas okay.

In a couple of hours I am going to try to put my BS together.  I have one question to ask you.  That question is how hard is it to load a pizza on the rotating stone?  That has me a little worried if my BS goes together right.

Thanks for the good luck. 

Norma

[Jackie Tran]

It's not hard Norma.  After a few bakes, you won't even notice that the hearth is rotating.  It becomes 2nd nature pretty quick, especially if you are use to loading pizzas into a deck oven. 

And also the rotation is pretty slow, so it's almost like loading a pizza on a stationary hearth. 

Chau

[deb415611]

  That question is how hard is it to load a pizza on the rotating stone?  That has me a little worried if my BS goes together right.


Norma

Norma,

I'm not Chau but....

I was worried about that also but I did not have any trouble loading the pizza on the rotating stone so I'm sure you won't have any problem at all.    I have only been using the peel to load since January when I got my baking steel.   I always used parchment paper with my stone.

Deb

[norma427]

It's not hard Norma.  After a few bakes, you won't even notice that the hearth is rotating.  It becomes 2nd nature pretty quick, especially if you are use to loading pizzas into a deck oven. 

And also the rotation is pretty slow, so it's almost like loading a pizza on a stationary hearth. 

Chau

Norma,

I'm not Chau but....

I was worried about that also but I did not have any trouble loading the pizza on the rotating stone so I'm sure you won't have any problem at all.    I have only been using the peel to load since January when I got my baking steel.   I always used parchment paper with my stone.

Deb

Thank you Chau and Deb for telling me about your experiences in loading pizzas on the rotating stone.    I feel a little better now.

Norma