Latest pizza disappointment

[Hitman]

This was my second attempt at pizza, got worse rather than better.

I used pre-made pizza dough from Trader Joe's, seemed pretty easy to work with. First one was garlic-herb, second was plain. Both of them rolled out fairly easy to a 12" circle.

I have a fairly large and thick pizza stone, put on the top rack, with heat deflector underneath, sitting on the charcoal basket.

First cook was at 550 degrees, preheated the KK for about 30 minutes. Took about 20 minutes to cook the pizza, but it still wasn't really crispy, and the pepperoni wasn't crisp either. Second cook was at 650 degrees, preheated the KK for almost an hour. After 16 minutes, the sauce was bubbling, the dough was just slightly scorched in a few places, pepperoni was browned and crisp. The crust was still crummy though, very hard but also curiously doughy under the sauce.

I'm thinking that the heat deflector is causing all the heat to focus at the top of the dome, so the Tru Tel reads high, but the actual temp at the pizza surface is much lower. My stone is too large to fit on the sear grill.

I'm at a loss......

[linuxwrangler]

I haven't tried fully home-made pizza, yet, but have made a number of yummy "cheater pizzas" which are Zachary's deep-dish half-baked finished with a 20-30-minute bake on the grill.

What has worked well for me is to put the stone on the lower grill more as a deflector and putting the pizza directly on the grill. It crisps the crust nicely and oak-charcoal finished chicken pizza is tasty.

There are so many variables like the deep-dish being cooked at lower temps and the thicker and partially-baked crust being more resistant to sagging between the grill rods that I have no idea if the heat-deflector/direct-on-grill technique would work for a baked-from-raw thin-crust pie but it might be worth an experiment.

[Syzygies]

I wouldn't use a heat deflector; flames aren't going to reach the upper deck, no pizza stone needs one.

I continue to be astonished how tight the KK is. I can easily hold 500 F for a day (24 hours) on a load of fuel. It seems easy enough to start earlier, so the stone has more time to warm up. E.g. the Fibrament people won't sell a thicker stone to home users, because no one gives the stone a long enough preheat, unlike a pizza shop where the oven simply stays on.

That said, our old routine (I haven't experimented enough with varying it to adapt to the KK) is to roll the dough onto parchment paper, then transfer it to a pizza screen after three minutes, all on top of the stone. The screen breathes better than the stone alone, and with no deflector and an ample preheat, my problem is instead to not burn the crust. This works.

[Fetzervalve]

I wouldn't use a heat deflector; flames aren't going to reach the upper deck' date=' no pizza stone needs one.[/quote']

I have always used the deflector, and have certainly had times when flames are high enough to reach the upper grill (on top of the main grill) not normally, but at times...

I think a longer heat soak would help a lot. I try to soak 20 -30 mins after it reaches temp (500 - 700) Keep at it, pizza alone is worth the KK price of admission! Anything around 400+ stone temp seems to work well for me.

[tcoliver]

I think the pizza stone itself acts as a good enough heat deflector, you want the stone to be at maximum temp. and if you use a heat deflector this will inhibit this from happening. I would definatly try without the heat deflector I think you will have better results.

[bryan]

Syzygies What KK temp are you cooking at?

[Syzygies]

Syzygies What KK temp are you cooking at?

I aim for around 550 F. True pizza ovens on Sicilian islands cook at higher temps, but we're using a different technology.

With my old Kamado, if I put the pizza in near 600 F with a fire that was beginning to die down, I'd see the dome temp drop nearly to 500 F while I cooked.

The KK is tighter and better insulated, so I see less of this effect. We were thrilled, nevertheless, with our first KK pizza, cooked as I describe.

Seasonally, we prefer thinnest crusts in hot weather, going thicker when we start to grow our winter coats.

[johnnyboy]

I also do not use a heat deflector.

I have however, stacked two stones. That was when the fire was too hot. Using one stone burned the crust underside (more than I like) before the top finished, so I added/stacked a second stone and eliminated the problem.

[Sanny]

I also do not use a heat deflector.

I have however, stacked two stones. That was when the fire was too hot. Using one stone burned the crust underside (more than I like) before the top finished, so I added/stacked a second stone and eliminated the problem.

Forgive my bad memory, but there was one person on these boards who used to use washers between the two stones, to allow heat to circulate. It kept the burning away, but still allowed the top stone to heat properly. I've done that - it works well.

That person no longer does it, as I recall. Used to do it in Another Manufacturer's Cooker.

[Firemonkey]

That was me. I don't do it anymore,because the kk stone is thick enough not to need it. But with the thin $10 stones from the store, you still need the spacers between the deflector and stone. Otherwise, the thin stone alone absorbs too much heat and scorches the bottom. Stacked directly they are too thick and the crust doesn't crisp.

I'm in a govt site right now, so I can't dig up a link but there are pictures on here somewhere of the process.

[TraderRick]

Hey Firemonkey, Do you use the SS stone liner. I have used the new baking stone once, placed it on the top rack with the linner. I preheated for an hour at 650 degrees and cooked four pizzas. The first one was good cooked in about 6 mins. but the top did overcook a bit. The last one the top was done way before the bottom and I had to leave it on the stone with the lid open to finish it. Next time I will try the stone without the liner. Also I make a medium thickness crust and I may be better off cooking at a lower temperature.

[Firemonkey]

Nope, no liner here. I removed both my pizza stone and heat deflector from their liners. I use the liners as drip pans instead Plus, with no liner I can just flip the HD over each time and let the old drippings burn off.

I dont know that the liner is making a difference in your temps up that high, with a long preheat, but maybe, since it is reflective? Your temp is higher than mine and is almost definitely contributing to the overcooked top. I run my pizzas around the 500 range, using a traditional hand tossed crust. The KK stone is on the upper/sear grill (on top of the main grill), directly above the fire with no deflector below. I let the stone "reload" for about 5 minutes between pies, while bring one in and take the next one out.

Try a lower temp, with no liner, and see if that helps.

[Syzygies]

I removed both my pizza stone and heat deflector from their liners.

Uh, heres' a dumb question. The state of my garage managed to mask the fact that I have both a KK pizza stone and a KK heat deflector, both in steel liners. I used the first one I could grab (not knowing I had two) for our pizza. Is there a difference? How do I tell which is which?

[bryan]

Is there a difference? How do I tell which is which?

Size matters.

[Hitman]

My pizza stone is quite thick. If it is not getting hot enough after a full hour of heat soaking, something is not right! Next time I will try without the heat deflector, see if I don't do better.

[Firemonkey]

I removed both my pizza stone and heat deflector from their liners.

Uh, heres' a dumb question. The state of my garage managed to mask the fact that I have both a KK pizza stone and a KK heat deflector, both in steel liners. I used the first one I could grab (not knowing I had two) for our pizza. Is there a difference? How do I tell which is which?

The pizza stone is about an inch or two larger diameter than the HD. The HD also has a white alumina coating which will come off on your food, while the pizza stone is very smooth, gray, uncoated refractory...almost shiny when new.