Primo XL and a pizza

I also wipe the stone with a damp cloth just before putting the pizza on it to cool it a little.

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Ron, so you do heat the stone up before cooking on it?

I put a cold pizza stone on a hot WSM and it cracked. A friend did the same thing in an oven with the same results

Never put a cold stone on a heated fire. Let it come to temp with the oven.

Jerry

Just like a pizza oven or a wood fired oven, you need a hot surface, so the stone needs to be in from the start. 525 is within an good range.. actually a bit low depending on the style and dough you are using.

Some other things you may not be thinking of

- What kind of flour are you using ("00", hi-gluten, bread etc") ? Different flours respond differently to varying temps.

- Is there sugar and/or oil in the dough ?

- Is your crust to topping ratio proportionate ? (A thinner crust loaded up with lots of cheese, sauce or other toppings will certainly cause the bottom to burn before it looks visibly done on the top surface).

Made many pizzas in our Primo XL. We put the pizza stone on top of the grate in the high position and let it heat up with the Primo. Usually we're shooting for around 600*. It doesn't take too long to cook a pizza. I think this was around 6-8 minutes and it was pretty much perfect. I made this about an hour after we had dinner and it disappeared fast.



Of course it is Nacho Pizza. :heh:

I too am guilty of burning pizza on my XL. The tips I've read (and tried) from the Primo forum say to raise the pizza stone off the grates to get it as far from the lump as possible. I've crumpled up foil into balls and put the stone on them to raise my stone. I also rested the stone on a beat up old casserole pan I turned upside down.
You gotta watch the pizza like a hawk at that high temp. The window is narrow from perfect to burnt. Don't give up!

Again, made many pizzas and never had a problem. Never burned one and never had one underdone. Just put the stone on top of the grate. I have the large black Primo stone, but I don't think that matters as it is about the same thickness as our oven pizza stone. I ALWAYS set a timer though whenever I play with fire. It is so easy to lose track of time. Usually, for pizza it is for about 6 minutes and I'll give it a check to see how it is doing. Sometimes it needs another minute or two.

I cook pizza on my XL at 475 for my dome temp. This would have my surface temp around 525 degrees. I then roll out my dough and place it on the stone without toppings for 45 secs to a min. This sets my crust so I get the underside the way I want. I then take it off and top. Then back on the stone for about 8 mins. I also rotate the pie a half a turn about 4 mins into cooking.

YOu didn't mention which stone you had. Not all stones are created equal. I use the BGE large stone directly on my Primo XL grill in high position.

The trick is to let her rip to high temperatures. Someone mentioned 600 deg. That's perfect. That's the secret to not burning the bottom. High temp cooks your outer quicker and the bottom is not on the stone as long, which stops it from burning - if that makes sense....

BTW - the Primo XL dome temp thermo's are not very accurate, so if it seems stuck at 500, it's probably a lot higher than that...

I have had my primo for 3 years or so and have cooked maybe 30-40 pies on it...it works ok, but there are several shortcomings cooking pies on it (I will likely get crucified for saying that, but it is what it is). After countless setup experiments, I found that if I used the D plates, and had the stone on the main grate feet down, or the upper racks with the main grate feet up, it took way, way too long to get up to temp and get heat soaked (but I was cooking neo/ny pies). As such, my bands stretched and I lost the lid once, and almost lost it several other times. The pies came out OK, but it was almost impossible to regulate the bottom to top heat ratio (ideally, you want it hotter in the dome then on the stone). Now, if you are cooking an american style pie (450-500 degrees) and are cooking it 7-10 minutes or so, then it works well. The primo stone is good (Fire brick is a much better hearth imo, but it takes too long to get heat soaked). How you make your dough (HR %, mixing technique, rise time, cold ferment, etc), will have just as much of an effect on your end result as the cooker. Good luck and watch those bands!

I use my round Primo for pizza and I do it a lot different than most-- I guess. I use a room temp primo stone with homemade crust. I cook at about 350 for probably 20-25 minutes. I have tried putting the stone on and getting it up to temp before the pizza is added and I think I definitely like the slower cook better.