Pizza headaches


 
Joe, I agree completely.

I received the PizzaQue kit and gave it a run for its $26 yesterday evening. With an outside temp of around 25F and using only a single chimney of lump and 3-4 small pieces of wood I had absolutely no trouble reaching over 700F in the kettle. We baked the pizzas for about 8 minutes, rotating it at half time, and while there are still several areas to improve, the results were already smelling and tasting fantastic with a wooden aroma and a crunchy base:









Next time I'd like to get my dough thinner, probably use less pizza sauce, likely use fewer toppings, etc, but the fact that I have no more troubles with reaching a sufficient heat is already relieving.
 
Kristof Jozsa said:
Next time I'd like to get my dough thinner, probably use less pizza sauce, likely use fewer toppings, etc, but the fact that I have no more troubles with reaching a sufficient heat is already relieving.
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Some good looking pizzas Kristof. You are getting good heat, but it looks to me you need to get some of that heat on top. A more shallow lid would probably help doing so
 
I don't really see an option to lower or replace the lid with the current setup (the rim of the PizzaQue fits the 22" lid edge precisely). I think a higher outside temp (like around 70F, not 25F like yesterday) would help with getting more heat from the top. Also, I can try moving lump a bit further to the back and to the sides.. will try next time!
 
Kristof Jozsa said:
I don't really see an option to lower or replace the lid with the current setup (the rim of the PizzaQue fits the 22" lid edge precisely)
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I would try running foil across the top (may take a sheet or two) and placing the lid on then. If you get too much heat on top, you could slice into the foil, to allow heat to escape
 
ChuckO said:
I would try running foil across the top (may take a sheet or two) and placing the lid on then. If you get too much heat on top, you could slice into the foil, to allow heat to escape
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^^ this is the way to go. If you are keen, you can get a large round ss serving plate to cover the top. Possibly you may not need the lid then...

Kristof, you're getting some nice temps in the PizzaCue. Surprised you had to bake the pizza for so long.

I'm trying the DIY route at the moment, but I'm not getting enough air flow and "snuffing" the lump... :(
 
Continuing my journey this evening.. My kettle with the PizzaQue kit got heated with a full chimney of lump, poured on top of about half a chimney of unlit lump, plus some pieces of hickory boosted the temp up to 800F:



so there goes the first pie in:



Oops, maybe 8 minutes (turning it at half time) was a bit too much at that heat:



I was both preparing pies and cooking them myself so there was some time between each run. Heat got back to manageable levels meanwhile (around 700F), so additional pizzas got ready in about 8-9 minutes:





What I made different this time was using instant yeast instead of fresh yeast with the 00 flour and it made a huge difference! I could work with the dough much easily and had absolute no trouble making the dough really really thin. I doubt I'd go back to using fresh yeast after tonight's experience.

At the end results were really good, but I think ideally I would *still* need more heat to the top.. Maybe a custom lower lid instead of the stock 22" lid? I wonder how I could get (or make) one..
 
A recent follow up, cooked in about 2*3.5 minutes. Cooking temp was around 700F as measured by the PizzaQue temperature meter (it measures temp where air exits the pizza hut though):



I seem to get the best results when I leave the parchment paper under the pie for the whole cooking, otherwise the bottom gets really blackened in that time - that may be a useful experience for others.
 
Thanks Kristof! I just "won" a couple of them on eBay! Learning from your experience will make my life a tad easier! I'm planning on sharing my good fortune with a couple of friends, I can't see myself using more than one at least not yet. Having two kettles, maybe after I figure out how it works I might change my mind. We shall see.
I'm not sure if I want to use it on the 18 or the 22....I did end up with 4 of them, maybe set one up for each size? Maybe a bit extravagant, I will wait until they get here to decide.
 
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Nice catch, Timothy, I hope you'll like this kit as well as I do! I also scored two items in a package on eBay, just gave the other to a friend, he is also using it regularly.

I'm unsure which of your kettles would work better - I suspect the 18"-er should have a more shallow top which could possibly help cooking the top better - on the other side people seem to believe that the 22" has better airflow.. I'm curious which one will work better for you and also look forward to seeing your pies!
 
I scored 4 for about 42 bucks all in! No peel but, I will suffer through. I'm thinking that the 18 might not hold enough coal for an extended evening without refueling too often. Don't know, I will test on both, maybe. I have several buddies with kettles so, my investment will not go to waste!
 
do you leave the top vent open when you use the pizzaque, or do you close it? seems like if you close it more heat would be directed toward the top of the pizza, but it might choke out the fire a bit
 
With the gaping maw which is the opening, I doubt you could snuff the fire. I have not fired mine yet but, I agree, closed vent should provide higher temp!
Oh, I was wrong, it DID include a peel with each one. So far I've opened two boxes and one stone broke in transit, seller is going to start a claim but, if the other three are OK I'm not going to worry about it.
Twenty minutes after writing the above...
Called Pizzaque,
"Why, we are so sorry to hear that you received broken stones! We will ship out replacements right away!"
No charge, no questions, no battle! Nice people! I'm really excited about it now!!!
 
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I always used the PizzaQue with the top vent fully closed. Saw no reason to leave it open with the huge opening at the front - it would also disturb the designed airflow I guess..
 
Kristof Jozsa said:
I always used the PizzaQue with the top vent fully closed. Saw no reason to leave it open with the huge opening at the front - it would also disturb the designed airflow I guess..
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That was the way I saw it, with the front open the way it is, it's going to suck air like crazy. Probably be next week before I fire the thing up. But, the customer service from them was top notch!
 
cooked 2 pies last night, still struggling to get enough heat in the top of the pie. the crust is cooking too fast, and the top cheese is melted, but we like it to be slightly burnt
 
Robert Dilbert said:
cooked 2 pies last night, still struggling to get enough heat in the top of the pie. the crust is cooking too fast, and the top cheese is melted, but we like it to be slightly burnt
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Exact reason I haven't pulled the trigger on one. I would have to take it inside to finish under the broiler.
 
James Bea said:
Exact reason I haven't pulled the trigger on one. I would have to take it inside to finish under the broiler.
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The Kettle Pizza kits address this. You can get a "baking steel", which is a custom cut stainless steel plate that sits, I don't know, 18 inches above the stone. Very effective heat ceiling. The steel provides awesome heat back down to the top of the pie (is that called radiant heat, or conductive heat??). I can get that slightly burnt top, along with a charred crust.

I grew up in New Haven, CT. we like our crust thin, smoky, and burnt. And we like the top to be greasy and soupy.
 
Jim Mathews said:
The Kettle Pizza kits address this. You can get a "baking steel", which is a custom cut stainless steel plate that sits, I don't know, 18 inches above the stone. Very effective heat ceiling. The steel provides awesome heat back down to the top of the pie (is that called radiant heat, or conductive heat??). I can get that slightly burnt top, along with a charred crust.

I grew up in New Haven, CT. we like our crust thin, smoky, and burnt. And we like the top to be greasy and soupy.
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dang, $100 though...
 
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