First pizza on BGE

[kds9547]

Thought I'd give it a try. Made the dough yesterday and put in the fridge. Kept it simple with some store bought sauce and italian sausage and pepperoni. I must admit getting the dough rolled out thin was a bit of a challenge for me. The first one I put on too soon (the stone was about 400*). It was good but the crust wasn't crispy on the bottom like I like. The second one I waited until the stone was 600* and it was really good (like I couldn't wait and burned the fark out of my mouth good!). Cooked about 7 minutes with the egg at 600*. Crispy crust all the way across and you could smell the smoke when you brought it up to take a bite. What a great tasting pizza. I can't believe I waited so long to try this. Thanks for looking.

[Budman1]

looks good!

[Bgcoop8784]

Now I want a BGE just for pizza. looks good

[buccaneer]

Nice one!

[DerHusker]

Bingo!

[CharredApron]

Cooked on the stone with Parchment Paper? Then what did you do with the metal pan? or are those 2 different pies? Nice lookin pies BTW

[kds9547]

Yes two different pies. Yes on the stone with the paper. I'm not so good with the peel and don't like corn meal on the bottom of my pizza. I just slid it off of the peel right onto the stone and the paper held up surprisingly well. I cooked both pizzas on the same piece of paper. When I took it off the egg I put it on that aluminum pan because of the holes in it - thought it may help keep it crispy on bottom.

I need to practice with the peel and have ordered a thin aluminum one to see if it will be any better. The one I have now is wood and it is about 1/2" thick. Any tips are appreciated.

[Zippylip]

Originally Posted by kds9547

Yes two different pies. Yes on the stone with the paper. I'm not so good with the peel and don't like corn meal on the bottom of my pizza. I just slid it off of the peel right onto the stone and the paper held up surprisingly well. I cooked both pizzas on the same piece of paper. When I took it off the egg I put it on that aluminum pan because of the holes in it - thought it may help keep it crispy on bottom.

I need to practice with the peel and have ordered a thin aluminum one to see if it will be any better. The one I have now is wood and it is about 1/2" thick. Any tips are appreciated.

kds, agreed on the corn meal, stopped using it some time ago as it's just not necessary. I'm curious though why you have the paper on the stone? Most that use paper use it as a substitute for cornmeal to get the pie off the peal, but since you've mastered that you can bake directly on the stone. If it's about removal, you can kill two birds with one stone with one of these grids; they're made to cook pies on usually in an oven, which is what I got them for, but now I just use them to remove pies from the egg & then as a cooling rack for the same reasons you cited:

[slow-smoker]

Nice

[charrederhead]

Now I want pizza for breakfast. Great looking pie!

[kds9547]

Thanks for the tip on the grid I will definitely try that. I wasn't clear on the peel part. I have definitely not mastered that. What I'm saying is I assembled the pizza on the paper and then put it on the peel. I then slid the paper off of the peel onto the stone. If you look at my stone and see the burned cheese you will see the result of the first time I tried to slide it off the peel. Not too good! I guess I just need to put a little more flour on the peel or slide the peel out quicker - kind of like pulling the old tablecloth trick? I will definitely be getting more practice though and will soon be able to do it w/out the paper.

[CharredApron]

Flour your peel well and then once your ready to load it into your egg, shake your peel much like a skillet when sauteing onions. Make sure that the pie is free on the peel and let her rip. I use a metal peel for tending the pies while they are cooking it is 8" round and I bought it here. http://www.gimetalusa.com/default.aspx?menuid=967

[Zippylip]

Originally Posted by kds9547

Thanks for the tip on the grid I will definitely try that. I wasn't clear on the peel part. I have definitely not mastered that. What I'm saying is I assembled the pizza on the paper and then put it on the peel. I then slid the paper off of the peel onto the stone. If you look at my stone and see the burned cheese you will see the result of the first time I tried to slide it off the peel. Not too good! I guess I just need to put a little more flour on the peel or slide the peel out quicker - kind of like pulling the old tablecloth trick? I will definitely be getting more practice though and will soon be able to do it w/out the paper.

Ok that makes more sense, I misunderstood. You can put your dough directly on the peel without paper or cornmeal, it's a little tricky at first to get it moving without it sticking but once you figure it out it's pretty easy. If you're working with really wet dough that will make it far more difficult. What I do is put a little flour on the working surface, toss on the dough, then finger flatten. The flour that's on the surface will adhere to the dough & after you're done stretching it it should be enough to keep the dough from sticking to the peel without adding any extra. Just be sure to give the peel a shake every couple minutes during the building process to be sure the pie isn't sticking somewhere, all you need is one little spot to stick & it can cause a whole lotta trouble

[Gnaws on Pigs]

Looks great! Nothing like kamado pizza!

[kds9547]

Thanks guys. I ordered a metal peel - should be here tomorrow. Yes Zippylip, you're right. One spot can cause a mess! That paper makes it so easy, but I do want to cook directly on the stone. Gonna make some more dough now and give it a try again tomorrow night.