Sunday Pizza


 
DanHoo said:
The grate and diffuser is the original that came with my E6.

The stone is a BGE brand 14 inch.

Firebricks are from lowes.
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what's your fire temp vs. dome temp vs stone cooking temp? curious how stone temps up inside the E6. and do you open the rapid vent when cooking or conly for pics as shown?

i ask because i have been working to modulate my temps down to the 550-600 degree range, specifically the steel, at 550 appears to be my sweet spot. above 600 and things move too quickly for my liking with not net improved results.
 
@Brett-EDH

I'm not sure how to measure fire temp. I used hot JD lump and without any white oak. I went for a more controlled fire than last time.

Bottom vent was open full once the pizzas were cooking. I kept the bottom vent partway closed during the stone preheat so temps would not run away.

After each pizza went on I opened the rapid vent for a minute or two until temp came back up over 600, then I closed it with the four vents open full to hold the temps under 650.

Stone temp for the first pizza was about 630 Second was about 620. Dome temps were 620 to 650.

I didn't measure the stone for the third or fourth pizza but it was cooler than the first two and I noticed the fire died down a little. I also noticed the recovery time after putting on pizza #4 was slow to get above 600.

I added more lump after the 4th and let the temps come up before cooking the 5th.

The 6th pizza was a little different. I made it thinner but went too heavy on sauce and cheese. It crisped up pretty well except for the center 2-3 inch diameter circle. I left the rapid vent open to get the dome temp up over 650 because I needed to cook the mushrooms. I should have pre-cooked the shrooms first.

I think there is room to improve the cooking setup. I think it can go a bit hotter since the stone is lower, and I might try the stone without the diffuser. I'm not sure if this will put too much heat on the stone and cause the crust to cook too fast but I want to try it and see.

And, my dough throwing skills are lacking.
 
DanHoo said:
@Brett-EDH

I'm not sure how to measure fire temp. I used hot JD lump and without any white oak. I went for a more controlled fire than last time.

Bottom vent was open full once the pizzas were cooking. I kept the bottom vent partway closed during the stone preheat so temps would not run away.

After each pizza went on I opened the rapid vent for a minute or two until temp came back up over 600, then I closed it with the four vents open full to hold the temps under 650.

Stone temp for the first pizza was about 630 Second was about 620. Dome temps were 620 to 650.

I didn't measure the stone for the third or fourth pizza but it was cooler than the first two and I noticed the fire died down a little. I also noticed the recovery time after putting on pizza #4 was slow to get above 600.

I added more lump after the 4th and let the temps come up before cooking the 5th.

The 6th pizza was a little different. I made it thinner but went too heavy on sauce and cheese. It crisped up pretty well except for the center 2-3 inch diameter circle. I left the rapid vent open to get the dome temp up over 650 because I needed to cook the mushrooms. I should have pre-cooked the shrooms first.

I think there is room to improve the cooking setup. I think it can go a bit hotter since the stone is lower, and I might try the stone without the diffuser. I'm not sure if this will put too much heat on the stone and cause the crust to cook too fast but I want to try it and see.

And, my dough throwing skills are lacking.
Click to expand...
Copy nd very much similar to what i am seeing and experiencing sans the steel being slightly hotter.

K or Kpro are enough heat on this cook from what i've experienced and less $$ the JD. since you're on the stone, your wide open bottom vent and near closed top vent make sense. and the stone rebound requires a little more heat between pies. removing the diffuser will get the stone hotter as the diffuser is acting like a heatsink and absorbing your wanted/needed heat. almost like you're overheating the E6 to make up for less heat on the stone (just my thoughts, no data to prove it).

cook time is 4-5 mins at these temps?

on shrooms, we use baby bellas. they seem to be more dry than white shrooms. and we don't precook the bellas and they've been fine.

looks like your cheese was shredded (mozz) which makes the cook time and temp faster and lower to get a good melt. my small mozz chunks were too solid thus drove a whiter cheese than tan/browned.

curious if you do switch to all Red 00. i'm guessing you're happy with 50/50 red and AP.

lots of good data building here. soon we should write the E6 Pizzaiola guide.
 
Brett-EDH said:
Copy nd very much similar to what i am seeing and experiencing sans the steel being slightly hotter.

K or Kpro are enough heat on this cook from what i've experienced and less $$ the JD. since you're on the stone, your wide open bottom vent and near closed top vent make sense. and the stone rebound requires a little more heat between pies. removing the diffuser will get the stone hotter as the diffuser is acting like a heatsink and absorbing your wanted/needed heat. almost like you're overheating the E6 to make up for less heat on the stone (just my thoughts, no data to prove it).

cook time is 4-5 mins at these temps?

on shrooms, we use baby bellas. they seem to be more dry than white shrooms. and we don't precook the bellas and they've been fine.

looks like your cheese was shredded (mozz) which makes the cook time and temp faster and lower to get a good melt. my small mozz chunks were too solid thus drove a whiter cheese than tan/browned.

curious if you do switch to all Red 00. i'm guessing you're happy with 50/50 red and AP.

lots of good data building here. soon we should write the E6 Pizzaiola guide.
Click to expand...

The deflector is working as I expect to tame the heat of the fire. When I've cooked with a single layer stone the crust burns before the toppings are done. The blast of heat is to get more of a broil type affect with the heat swirling above the stone. I think the difference was this time I didn't have enough fuel and the fire was less intense by the time I got to pie number 4.

the first pie was done in 4 mins. fourth one was 5+

Cheese was hand grated Galbani low moisture part skim mozz.

shrooms were Crimini. I ususally slice these a couple of hours ahead of time so they dry out a little, but I didn't get to them ahead of time.

And, to clarify, the other 50% of the flour was king Arthur unbleached bread flour at 12.7% protein.

I'll probably do another cook with the 50/50 while I experiment with stone placement and temp.

I want to try an all Red 00 with minimal additives but I'll need to plan ahead a few more days to give it time.

And, I need to get swimming to work off the carbs !
 
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