The Home Made Pizza Thread

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I'm sure everyone has their favorite pizza dough recipe but if you don't have one that you love, check out this recipe.

http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2016/12/03/baking-steel-pizza-dough/

For me, it makes the best pizza. I have my own pizza steel (recycled from an old plate steel wood stove) and I use it on my grill which works great. How to know the right temp? I use an infared thermometer since the thermometer on my grill stopped working. BTW, the infared thermometer has uses for homebrewing too and for less than $30, worth every penny!
 
What's everyone's favourite setup for baking pizzas in a home oven?

- Stone vs. steel vs. perforated pan, etc.
- Baking rack position?
- Temp - assuming everyone is going as hot as possible (~550 on mine)
- Convection vs. no-convection?

I've been baking mine on a stone set about 1/3 down from the top, 550 preheated for at least 30 mins at full temp with convection. Good crust browning but the bottom isn't getting as brown as I'd like.
 
trav77 said:
What's everyone's favourite setup for baking pizzas in a home oven?

- Stone vs. steel vs. perforated pan, etc.
- Baking rack position?
- Temp - assuming everyone is going as hot as possible (~550 on mine)
- Convection vs. no-convection?

I've been baking mine on a stone set about 1/3 down from the top, 550 preheated for at least 30 mins at full temp with convection. Good crust browning but the bottom isn't getting as brown as I'd like.
Click to expand...

I previously used a stone, but I was having issues with the crust sticking to it when it was hot (even with flour or corn meal). So I switched to my current setup which you can see above. The wire mesh works great. Allows for even cooking and easy to get the pizza on and off (and was only like 6 bucks on amazon). I cook it about 1/3 from the top on high heat, which is currently 500. I just purchased a new range that has convection and will hit 550 so Im gonna try that when I get it installed
 
curious about getting a steel to try out - anyone have suggestions for what to look for and what a decent one should cost?
 
trav77 said:
What's everyone's favourite setup for baking pizzas in a home oven?

- Stone vs. steel vs. perforated pan, etc.
- Baking rack position?
- Temp - assuming everyone is going as hot as possible (~550 on mine)
- Convection vs. no-convection?

I've been baking mine on a stone set about 1/3 down from the top, 550 preheated for at least 30 mins at full temp with convection. Good crust browning but the bottom isn't getting as brown as I'd like.
Click to expand...

Steel. Friend turned me on to it and after some research chose it over stone. 550 degrees convection and preheated seems to give best results. Curious about screen. Reason being is frozen pizzas end up really great on convection nothing underneath, surrounded by heat. But obviously cant throw a fresh pizza on racks so a screen peaks my interest. All this being said, if you look on this thread you will see really dark awesome crusts made with steel.
 
schematix said:
curious about getting a steel to try out - anyone have suggestions for what to look for and what a decent one should cost?
Click to expand...
I believe it should be 1/4" thick for good heat retention. I have one that thick cut (acetylene torch) from an old plate steel woodstove. I had checked out one selling at King Arthur flour but I didn't want to spend $140. My recycled piece works great, takes a good half hour to heat up on my grill, cooks a pizza evenly and with a good crisp crust in about 9 minutes. I never made great pizza before using the steel.
 
Is there going to be an appreciable difference between 1/4" thick and 3/8"? Obviously 3/8" is going to be 50% heavier, but is it needed? The price difference shipped is nearly 50% more too...
 
The main difference is heat energy stored. So you will really notice a difference when cooking multiple pies. The thicker steel will retain its heat better and cook the next pie more evenly. I think mine is 1/2". I have to cook my pies in progressively shorter times if my oven is cranked up. At 500 it remains stable. Your oven also will affect what you get. Electric vs gas, broiler location, convection or conventional, etc. These things are heavy, and mine owns the top shelf in my oven because I'm the only one who can move it, to my wife's dismay...
Bigger steel will require more preheat time as well.
 
I'd say the difference between the two is probably negligible but in an electric range you'll want all the help you can get.
 
My oven is gas.

I currently rock a large 15x20x3/4" Fibrament stone (>20lbs). It did a MUCH better job in my former electric oven. Part of that might have been that it was also trivial to override the temp sensor in that oven to get >600F, and this oven, not so much.

I was thinking if i got a steel i would put the stone near the top and the steel 4-8" below it.
 
schematix said:
I was thinking if i got a steel i would put the stone near the top and the steel 4-8" below it.
Click to expand...

I've had good results doing this with 2 stones... one above and one below, as close as possible to each other and still allowing room for pizza.

Still, not getting my stone as hot as I'd like. maybe I'll check out a steel as well.
 
schematix said:
My oven is gas.

I currently rock a large 15x20x3/4" Fibrament stone (>20lbs). It did a MUCH better job in my former electric oven. Part of that might have been that it was also trivial to override the temp sensor in that oven to get >600F, and this oven, not so much.

I was thinking if i got a steel i would put the stone near the top and the steel 4-8" below it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, gas here too. Tray broiler... Truly blows. Get good pies but with finagling. If you plan on using steel and stone I think the quarter inch would be fine. The steel is a heat sink until it's hot, then it radiates pretty well, keep that in mind and playing with your set up is all fun. If you have a top broiler what you described sounds just about perfect.
 
I've never had a gas range or gas oven before. I got this one pretty cheap so i ditched the POS one that was here before. This will the last gas oven i ever have, but i'll never do an electric range again. Best of both worlds.
 
schematix said:
curious about getting a steel to try out - anyone have suggestions for what to look for and what a decent one should cost?
Click to expand...

I have a 3/8" thick steel made by Nerd Chef, they're sold on Amazon for $60-80 each. Enjoyed it for the past few months since getting it.

Great for pizza crusts and other things, like crispy roasted potatoes, due to the large amount of heat transfer. They do take some time to warm up in the oven, and they stay hot for a long time after. I usually slide my pizza in, and will switch to broil halfway through. I've made up to 5 pizzas back-to-back with consistent crusts on all.

I bought the 1/4" version for my mother, and it seems to work just as well as the thicker 3/8 version that I have. I haven't tried the other brands, some are cheaper or more expensive. Keep in mind that they're relatively heavy at ~16-20 lbs, so make sure your oven racks can support the weight at high temps.
 
kev211 said:
I previously used a stone, but I was having issues with the crust sticking to it when it was hot (even with flour or corn meal). So I switched to my current setup which you can see above. The wire mesh works great. Allows for even cooking and easy to get the pizza on and off (and was only like 6 bucks on amazon). I cook it about 1/3 from the top on high heat, which is currently 500. I just purchased a new range that has convection and will hit 550 so Im gonna try that when I get it installed
Click to expand...


Just have to report I bought a couple of these screens and made my first pizzas tonight with the no knead dough recipe. Worked fantastic. Awesome crust. I have a GE Profile oven that can hit 550F. Kids had a great time making their pizza. We did some basic pies tonight but I look forward to experimenting with some of the pies in this thread. Great stuff.
 
Why can't I just have my local fab shop cut me some 1/4 or 3/8 plate? It's not like these 'baking steels' are some special grade of steel, right?
 
NickTheGreat said:
Why can't I just have my local fab shop cut me some 1/4 or 3/8 plate? It's not like these 'baking steels' are some special grade of steel, right?
Click to expand...

If you have a local shop that can do it for you - go for it! I think you could come out way ahead of the name brand versions.

Make sure they deburr the edges and round the corners for you, and you'd be golden. Mild carbon steel would be better than a stainless from a heat transfer perspective, and make sure you've removed any machining oils before putting food on it. If you want to get fancy you could probably shot peen or grit blast the cooking surface.
 
IMG_20170109_163104233.jpg

I wanted a pizza with a thinner crust, cheese that browned a little more evenly, and I over-sauced it, but dang it sure was tasty!
 
GoHokiesGo said:
If you have a local shop that can do it for you - go for it! I think you could come out way ahead of the name brand versions.

Make sure they deburr the edges and round the corners for you, and you'd be golden. Mild carbon steel would be better than a stainless from a heat transfer perspective, and make sure you've removed any machining oils before putting food on it. If you want to get fancy you could probably shot peen or grit blast the cooking surface.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. I am an engineer and have access to a few shops. With a quick sketch (or dxf :D ) it shouldn't be hardly any labor.

But I'm not a materials engineer, so your words are helpful. Appreciate the advice :)
 
You'd probably want to season it as well. Rub some cooking oil into it and bake it low and slow. (Can probably find better directions than that online)
 
hotwatermusic said:
You'd probably want to season it as well. Rub some cooking oil into it and bake it low and slow. (Can probably find better directions than that online)
Click to expand...

Considering the extremely high temps typically used with these, look into high temperature seasoning. A standard oil seasoning would bake right off in 500°+ for an hour. Flaxseed oil would be my go to.
And do a dry run with some plain dough first. Would rather have that stick than a loaded pie.
 
GoHokiesGo said:
If you have a local shop that can do it for you - go for it! I think you could come out way ahead of the name brand versions.



Make sure they deburr the edges and round the corners for you, and you'd be golden. Mild carbon steel would be better than a stainless from a heat transfer perspective, and make sure you've removed any machining oils before putting food on it. If you want to get fancy you could probably shot peen or grit blast the cooking surface.
Click to expand...


Totally agree!
 
NickTheGreat said:
Why can't I just have my local fab shop cut me some 1/4 or 3/8 plate? It's not like these 'baking steels' are some special grade of steel, right?
Click to expand...
Correct, nothing special. My pizza steel is cut from a plate steel woodstove, cut with an acetylene torch, I needed to file the cut edge. Then, since it was rusty from being outside, I brushed it with a wire brush, washed (scrubbed) with soap & water, let it dry, coated it with vegetable oil and baked it on my grill. Really it's just like seasoning a cast iron pan. I cook the pizza on my grill as well as I can get the temp up high enough. Works great - best pizza ever.
 
brewstergalVT said:
Correct, nothing special. My pizza steel is cut from a plate steel woodstove, cut with an acetylene torch, I needed to file the cut edge. Then, since it was rusty from being outside, I brushed it with a wire brush, washed (scrubbed) with soap & water, let it dry, coated it with vegetable oil and baked it on my grill. Really it's just like seasoning a cast iron pan. I cook the pizza on my grill as well as I can get the temp up high enough. Works great - best pizza ever.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I was worried about rust and figured I could use veggie oil. :)
 
Sweet! Pizza steel came today. 15x15x3/8".

Any tips for a first timer? Thinking of making a batch of scrap dough tonight to test with tomorrow before making a real pie.
 
schematix said:
Sweet! Pizza steel came today. 15x15x3/8".

Any tips for a first timer? Thinking of making a batch of scrap dough tonight to test with tomorrow before making a real pie.
Click to expand...

I posted this before but worth sharing again:
http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2016/12/03/baking-steel-pizza-dough/
Really great pizza dough. Mix it, let it sit covered 24hr, then refrigerate for pizza every night of the week. Best as they say 3-5 days after you first make it but it's fine before and after that..but you need to let it sit the 24hr at room temperature.

I have my pizza steel on the grill and since I coat the peel with semolina flour, I need to scrape the semolina off of the steel after each pizza. Otherwise it burns to carbon. I have a bench scraper to scrape (actually fling) the left over semolina off the steel. I don't have experience with oven pizza since the grill works so well.

If it's not seasoned, I would season your peel.

Have fun!!
 
^^ when I put my steel on the grill the bottom cooked to fast for the top, even burned. In fact it was burning so rapidly, that I concluded that that's why a brick oven works so well. It had the bottom heat a steel provided, but the top has the same heat to match. Any tips would be much appreciated for using steel on grill.
 
applescrap said:
^^ when I put my steel on the grill the bottom cooked to fast for the top, even burned. In fact it was burning so rapidly, that I concluded that that's why a brick oven works so well. It had the bottom heat a steel provided, but the top has the same heat to match. Any tips would be much appreciated for using steel on grill.
Click to expand...
It takes a bit of trial & error to find the right setting for your grill. A decent infared thermometer (I have an Etekcity 630, cost less than $25 and worth every penny) takes away the guesswork. It takes about a half hour for the grill to heat up evenly and for the entire grill to have an even temp so that your pizza top browns and doesn't just burn on the bottom.

Keep the grill covered at all times except to slide the pizza on and off. I cook pizzas when the steel is heated to 500-550F. They cook in about 9 minutes, less if I'm light on the toppings.

I hope that helps.
 
schematix said:
Curious why you'd cook on a grill at 500-550 when an oven can reach the same?
Click to expand...

I started using the steel in the summer and didn't want to heat up the house so it went on the grill. Then I found that leaving the semolina on the steel after removing a pizza caused some of it to fall off and burn. It also burned when left on the steel so I like to remove it after every pizza.

With it being on the grill I don't have the clean up issues that I would if it were in my oven. As I stated above, I just take a bench scraper and fling the remaining semolina off the grill and onto the grass (or snow). Squirrels come by and clean up the semolina. So for me it's just easier. I just leave the steel on the grill and take it off only when I'm grilling so storage isn't an issue.

But really, I like not having a mess in my oven so that's why I use my grill.
 
I wanted to get the steel hotter and also didnt want to heat the house in summer. I am guessing the way the bottom was burning in 2 minutes, when left on high for 30 or 40 minutes, my steel was close to 800 degrees. Grilling pizza on open flame makes nice pizza too. Throw it on the grill untopped, then flip the dough and top it and cook it to finish.
 
Do you find that there is a "too hot" temp for the steel? I imagine cooking at 800F without adequate heating from the top would turn the dough to solid black char in less than 120 seconds.

Do i need to make any adjustment in dough hydration going from stone to steel, or can i just repeat my usual recipe (about 68% hydration)?

How about sticking? This thing looks pre-seasoned. Is oiling after every use routine maintenance for these?
 

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