Firebrick for pizza


 
Bob Sample

Bob Sample

TVWBB Diamond Member
Has anyone ever done pizza on firebricks in a kettle. I don't have a pizza stone but I do have firebricks. I know Ralph Young did bread on his and it looked great. I'm thinking it would just take longer for them to get up to temperature.


And here's my stupid question for the day. Is parchment paper the same thing as waxed paper?
 
Parchment paper is very useful in oven (read 'smoker') environments.
It is not waxed, and can handle temps up to 400 or so.
I poke holes in a piece to use under meatloaves on the grill.
 
Bob - I use and recommend both. Firebricks raise the stone closer to the lid so that the top and bottom cook more evenly. Our stone is just my wife's old Wal-Mart $9 stone from her college apartment.
 
Bob Parchment paper and waxed paper are not the same. Parchment can with stand higher tempuratures in the oven without burning. Waxed paper will melt and/or burn in the higher temps of the oven. And I am with Jon here I would just splurge for a pizza stone. They aren't that expensive. Good Luck
 
Yes, you can cook pizza directly on the firebricks.
Since you brought up parchment paper you can assemble your pizza on parchment and use a peel to transfer the parchment with pizza directly onto the firebricks. After a couple of minutes yank the parchment out from underneath the pizza. By this time the bottom of the crust will be cooked half way and you'll be able to pull the parchment out without disturbing the pizza. If you wait too long the parchment will burn to a crisp.
 
Bill I was thinking of doing the pizza today and I have the fire bricks but other things came up so that idea went out the window anyways.

George that's exactly what I was going to use it for.
 
I would try using pizza screens if you want to cook right on the firebrick. I use screens all the time in my indoor oven at 500 degrees/higher right on the racks. I never use a stone and they come out perfect top/bottom every time.

No reason a screen won't work on the bricks IMHO. And they are cheap. You can find them online or at your local restaurant supply in various sizes.

Make sure the bricks have plenty of time to come up to temp just like you would with a stone though. You want top and bottom to get done at the same time basically. You move the pizza on and off the brick or rack while on the screen. Easy handling with peel.

I learned this "trick" awhile back from our on Bryan Stephens. Never went back or saw the need for a stone for a few years now.

PizzaTrial0125090013.jpg
 
seems like the trend is moving towards cooking pizzas on heavy steel plates. Metal transfers heat faster than ceramic. The technique is still being ironed out, but there's a bit of info out there now.
 
Interesting. Previous to going with a "naked screen" in the indoor oven I had also experimented with using round cast iron plates/griddles. Actually old Griswold #12 and #14 bailed griddles.

They worked as well as a stone if not better IMHO.

There have also been posters here as I recall that have used up ended cast iron skillets on the grill as a base/riser. Provided elevation as well as air pocket underneath. With good results.

BTW - one of the added benefits of the screen is the fact that after you are pretty much done stretching out the dough you can lay it on the screen and by pressing (lightly) it will grip and prevent the dough from pulling back as you dress the pie or help work to the final dimension.

Nice "feature". Just don't press so hard that you push the dough through the mesh.
 
Originally posted by Bob Sample:
Jon I'm thinking of doing it directly on the fire brick
Click to expand...

Bob,

I kind of missed that the first time. I believe that Don Cash's Cuban bread was done on firebricks last week. I can't see any reason why not, especially if you have parchment to put down. You must be making small pies, or your bricks must be a lot larger than mine.
 
Bob, like Ray I use the pizza screen. However I use unglazed quarry tile instead of fire brick. Lot less expensive. I spray the screen with pam ( or something like that) and place on preheated tiles. Does a great job. I have tiles for my grill and my stove . Saves me having to shuffle them around
 
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