PIZZA SET UP

[rriccardi]

HI EVERYBODY

I'VE TRIED PIZZA A COUPLE OF TIMES

AND I HAVING A LITTLE TROUBLE GETTING

THE THE CRUST TO GET CRISPY AND BROWN.

I,VE TRIED THE PIZZA STONE ON BOTH

THE UPPER AND MAIN GRILL, TEMP OVER

500 DEGREES THE STONE IS IN THE STAINLESS

HOLDER. LET STONE HEAT FOR ABOUT 25

MINUTES. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

THANKS RICK R

[Sanny]

My opinion - stone isn't pre-heated long enough.

Granted, an oven is not as hot as a KK, but usually "they" say preheat for an hour before using pizza stone in oven.

But what do I know?

[johnnyboy]

I cook thin crust between 600-700 F.

Here's a good link from our Whiz. http://www.nakedwhiz.com/pizza.htm

[Sanny]

Oh my. Our Whizzy has instructions for EVERYTHING!

Nuther set up that someone on here suggested to me, and it has worked well, is a heat deflector from the mfg of your cooker, and then four little piles of washers, then a pizza stone. That keeps the pizza stone from being the deflector from the fire, and allows some air circulation around the pie.

I've used the pizza stone up on the upper grill, in the dome. Seems to let the toppings get finished nicely.

[primeats]

I've never use the heat deflector stone for a pizza, used an actual pizza stone , had it on the upper sear grill, closed the lid and in 3 or 4 min perfect. Temps were around 600/700 and the vents and top were wide open.

[Fetzervalve]

#1) I have never used the stock stone as a pizza stone, only as a heat deflector.

I used a cheapo stone we owned the first time and it worked, but was in multiple pieces the next day when I opened the grill. I ordered a Fibrament and it has been perfect for over a year. It gets used in the indoor oven also.

I use the deflector on the lump basket and the pizza stone on the upper sitting on the main grill (as high in the dome as possible).

Preheat to 500+ for at least 1/2 hour or longer if possible. I usually see 450+ temps on the stone (IR thermometer)

Make sure your lump basket is sitting flat, if the heat deflector is not flat you will get a hot side on your pizza. Check and turn (if necessary) after 3-4 mins. Total time, from 5 to 10 mins depending on lots of factors.

Use parchment paper under your pizza to make foolproof transfers from your peel (or lip-less cookie sheet) to the stone, after 1 or 2 minutes, pull the parchment paper out.

If the stone is not hot enough the top will finish before the bottom.

[Firemonkey]

The big heavy thing with the stainless liner is actually a heat deflector. Sure, it will hold a pizza wonderfully, but it will take a long time for it to come up to any sort of baking temperature.

Your best bet is to do what others have suggested, and get yourself some sort of regular pizza stone. Most are 1/2 inch or so thick. I use the cheap $7 stones and they only break when I do something stupid with them. But for $7 its fine.

There is a learning curve to get your pizza the way you want. If your temp is too high and/or your stone too cold, you might get a done top, and raw crust (what you have now). If you let the pizza stone preheat too long for the type of pizza you are cooking, you get a charred bottom before the top is done.

I like my pizza with a traditional hand tossed crust. About the same thing you would get from Papa Johns. For that thickness of pie, I typically use about 500-525 degrees, with pizza stone on the top rack and a heat deflector below it. I like to use the setup Sanny described, with spacers between the heat deflector and the pizza stone, but I suspect you could put the heat deflector on the lower rack, or even on the basket handles.

[Sanny]

I like to use the setup Sanny described' date=' with spacers between the heat deflector and the pizza stone...[/quote']

Credit where due... I use the set up that FM described! lol. It's HIS set up, after all, shared with me.

[johnnyboy]

I also use heat deflector below and pizza stone on top rack.

A sprinkle of Corn meal on the stone also works well for keeping pizza from sticking.

[Zorro]

Hi,

Three things to try.

1) Cook the crust for a few minutes before putting any toppings on it. Be sure to use a fork to pierce the crust all over to let the moisture escape before you put it in the oven. Pop any large air bubbles that appear during this stage. Don't get the crust too done!

2) If you use pizza sauce, put some of the cheese on the crust before you put the sauce on it (ie--put the sauce on the cheese instead of the crust).

3) Go easy on the toppings--most people (including me) often put too much using the "more is better" theory. That usually makes the pizza soggy.

Good luck!

Zorro