First pizza

cmwr · Mar 23, 2014

I did my first pizza today on my UDS and have learned a few things. I have romanced the idea of using pure wood or 50% pure wood for my pies unlike regular smoked meats on a UDS which just have a few wood chunks added to the charcoal. Big mistake I think. The smoke flavor of this pizza is way too overpowering. I used half a bag of cherry chunks and half a basket of leftover KBB from my last smoke. I was able to hold temps around 575 degrees with both bung hole caps removed and all intakes wide open. First things first. I am learning mind you and trying all kinds of things of my own. Fwismoker, I know you told me you put your straight on the rack but the flames were raging underneath. Ebijack, I know you said you have a diffuser in your pizza drum. This oven has no diffuser and to shield the pie from the blazing inferno beneath it I wanted to put it on a pizza pan on a pizza stone. Well after about 5 minutes of preheating my pizza stone I heard a pop inside the UDS..............

Wow so off come the pieces and I threw a second pizza pan on the rack in it's place. Then I put the pie on it's own pizza pan on top of it. 8 minutes later.................

Looks spectacular! Tastes mediocre. :roll: I am not sure whether I like a smoky taste on pizza or if this is just too much. Has anyone ever made a pie on the UDs with just charcoal or lump and no wood chunks? My wife says she doesn't like the crust that well but she can't describe it to me so I don't know what she means. It was the cheap Jiffy crust in a box. We always used this in the past for oven pizzas. Maybe it's not the best bet for outdoor pizza?

c farmer · Mar 23, 2014

Dont use a cheap crust. We used cheap crust once and it had a off flavor. We either make our own of use Schawns crust.

I use only charcoal and no wood.

Put the pizza right on the grate.

cmwr · Mar 23, 2014

c farmer said:
Dont use a cheap crust. We used cheap crust once and it had a off flavor. We either make our own of use Schawns crust.

I use only charcoal and no wood.

Put the pizza right on the grate.

I don't have a large pizza spatula. Do you need to have one to remove a pizza from the grate? Thats one reason I used a pan so i could easily remove the pizza. How do you make your own crust? Wouldn't that be the same as a jiffy mix? You just add water.

c farmer · Mar 23, 2014

I just pick the grate up and slide it off on to a pizza stone.

The wife makes the crust. So I dont know.

cmwr · Mar 23, 2014

Gotcha thats good to know! So next time no wood chunks at all (for my taste) and straight on the rack and my wife who loves to cook already is thinking making a homemade crust. The main part for me was the smoky flavor. Mixed with the black stout beer I am drinking I bout had to visit the porcelain god! Just kidding but the 2 flavors together on my palette bout made me gag.

Fwismoker · Mar 23, 2014

No wood chunks at all... just lump. Pizzas need ZERO smoking wood.

Keep the diffuser in and go right on the grate.

I'm just going about 400 and the pizzas are done in 10 minutes...15 tops and perfect.

Just remember no need for the stone or the super high heat when the pizza is on the grate directly. You'll have better success the next go around. :-D

c farmer · Mar 23, 2014

Hears what my crust looks like.

BBQ chicken pizza with bacon.

nucornhusker · Mar 23, 2014

I agree, lump and no wood and you are in good shape. Your stone cracked because it was too thin. Pampered Chef (and the like) stones don't hold up well in direct high heat. Get a Kamado Joe stone or BGE stone, something designed for high direct heat.

Fwismoker · Mar 23, 2014

...and my last one

and the crust. I didn't use the diffuser on this one but i usually do.

Smokeat · Mar 23, 2014

cmwr, more crust info than you ever will want. First question will be, "What kind of pizza do you want to make?" More fanatical or obsessive than BBQ'ers, yeah right. Whole new can of worms. So if you are still interested.

Pizzamaking,com: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=316da062eea884c2281f7d7e1f45c08e;wwwRedirect

cmwr · Mar 23, 2014

So it is 4 30 pm and I just finished a diffuser. We live in a small town with a local grocer. Give me some ideas with the time I got till supper time that we can use for a good crust. My wife was all set to make homemade till she seen it takes 2 hours. How bout a boboli? I think they have those at our grocers.

Moose · Mar 23, 2014

cmwr said:
So it is 4 30 pm and I just finished a diffuser. We live in a small town with a local grocer. Give me some ideas with the time I got till supper time that we can use for a good crust. My wife was all set to make homemade till she seen it takes 2 hours. How bout a boboli? I think they have those at our grocers.

Boboli's are just ok, but if you have a pizza place that makes pies you really like, they will usually sell you their dough. That will yield much better results than a pre-made Boboli.

Deslock · Mar 23, 2014

Moose said:
Boboli's are just ok, but if you have a pizza place that makes pies you really like, they will usually sell you their dough. That will yield much better results than a pre-made Boboli.

^ what he said. We have a small local place around the corner from my house & I usually get 1 large dough ball that will make 2 amazing pies. Just go in and ask them what they'd charge, usually it's a couple of bucks, they will ask why & you get to tell them, generally leads to some great conversation I've found.

sliding_billy · Mar 23, 2014

Good looking pie. Sorry the flavor wasn't there.

Bludawg · Mar 23, 2014

2 hrs is a drop in the bucket I ferment mine at least a week in the refrigerator. but not everybody can be me.

Pizza with Self-Rising Crust

For the Crust:

2-1/2 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry yeast
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons canola oil

First prepare the crust. In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and yeast. Stir it up to distribute the salt and yeast evenly. Add the water and oil. You may need a spoonful or two more of water if the day is dry. Mix the dough with a wooden spoon until it forms a big ball in the middle of the bowl. It will be a little stiffer than biscuit dough. Knead the dough about 10 or 12 times and then form it into a ball. Place the ball in the center of 16-inch pizza pan or a 9 by 13-inch rectangular pan. Use your hands and a rolling pin to press the dough into the pan. The dough will be a medium thickness.allow to rest for 10 min before baking

Bake the prepared pizza at 400° for about 15 to 20 minutes.

cmwr · Mar 23, 2014

Smokeat said:
cmwr, more crust info than you ever will want. First question will be, "What kind of pizza do you want to make?" More fanatical or obsessive than BBQ'ers, yeah right. Whole new can of worms. So if you are still interested.

Pizzamaking,com: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=316da062eea884c2281f7d7e1f45c08e;wwwRedirect

Thank you! My sons a pizza connisuer so I will get some use out of that site for sure!

Fwismoker said:
No wood chunks at all... just lump. Pizzas need ZERO smoking wood.

Keep the diffuser in and go right on the grate.

I'm just going about 400 and the pizzas are done in 10 minutes...15 tops and perfect.

Just remember no need for the stone or the super high heat when the pizza is on the grate directly. You'll have better success the next go around. :-D

I put a diffuser in and I took your advice and made another pie. I only had to shortcut one issue. I didn't have time for a good crust and all I could get at our local grocer was cheap box mix. So once again I used Jiffy crust mix. BUT I went to try your method and the pizza would not slide off my pan onto the grate. It was stuck. So I had no choice but to drop the whole pan on the grate. 100% lump and running about 475-485 degrees (that's as hot as she wanted to go), I went about 10 minutes then I was able to slide the pie off the pan onto the rack and finish for another 3-4 minutes. This pie was pretty dang good. Crust was to both our liking and no smoky flavor. It does seem that i got a hint of grill flavor but I wanted that otherwise just do it in the kitchen oven and save some money! In the future I want to try a good homemade pizza crust. Bludawg I may try your recipe. :thumb: Thanks for all the help guys!

c farmer · Mar 23, 2014

Glad your got a good pie this time.

cmwr · Mar 23, 2014

c farmer said:
Glad your got a good pie this time.

Let me ask...do people cook pies on the grill because they taste better or as an excuse to use their grills more? Trying to decide if there is any benefit to doing it or just a good way to blow a lot more money lol.

c farmer · Mar 23, 2014

I get a different flavor on the grill over the oven. Wife wont eat a oven pizza anymore. Lol

ebijack · Mar 24, 2014

For me there is no comparison. I don't go straight to the grate due to the bottom burns before the toppings get cooked the way I cook the pies. For me the toppings have to take on the cooked on a grill flavor also. So I use the aired pizza pan. I also cook at higher temps like my Acorn can get and other kamado's. Typical wood fired pizza ovens are in the 800+ deg range. I prefer using my UDS vs my Acorn. It is just another experiment that I'm playing with. I have cooked pies at lower temps and they came out good. I try the high temp stuff because I can. Each time I learn a bit more. I never stop experimenting. After all it is a hobby.
I don't about your area, but some of the best pizza places around me also sell there's uncooked besides the dough, which is a great way to compare the end results. When you don't have the time to make your own.

First pizza

is Blowin Smoke!

Babbling Farker

is Blowin Smoke!

Babbling Farker

is Blowin Smoke!

somebody shut me the fark up.

Babbling Farker

Babbling Farker

somebody shut me the fark up.

is one Smokin' Farker

is Blowin Smoke!

somebody shut me the fark up.

Knows what a fatty is.

somebody shut me the fark up.

somebody shut me the fark up.

is Blowin Smoke!

Babbling Farker

is Blowin Smoke!

Babbling Farker

Babbling Farker

Similar threads