More pizza talk.....

[Uncle Bob]

Many of you probably have some form of ceramic pizza stone to assist in baking a crispy crust (of course it works for bread too). There is a faction out there who are strong advocates for a steel "stone". One of the better known suppliers for the steel alternative is a company named Baking Steel, bakingsteel.com . If you're already familiar with them you know they sell a variety of shapes and sizes in 1/4" and 3/8" plate. If you have any interest in buying one and aren't on their mailing list they're having a sale this weekend, ending midnight Sunday (they didn't specify time zone). 15% off any product using code SteelisCool.

The proposed advantages are that the steel "absorbs" heat better than ceramic, thus offers better brownin/crisping to the crust. Supposedly it will also shorten the pre-heat time. The other is durability; steel won't crack or shatter from dropping or thermal shock. I find the argument/discussion intriguing and the experimenter in me wants to try it, but the tinkerer in me doesn't want to just buy a nicely prepared hunk of steel with some companies logo on it. I did a little searching and found a steel supplier in Houston who has a stock of 16" round, 3/8" thick steel plate they offer for sale. Ends up about half the list price of the similar offering from Baking Steel (if I'd had a local supplier could have avoided shipping cost that pretty much doubled the price, it's a 22 pound chunk). The kicker of course is I'll have to invest time/labor to make it a finished product for cooking purposes. I plan to polish, lightly, one side of the plate and then put it through the normal seasoning process as you would for a carbon steel or cast iron griddle. I chose the 16" round because that is a very good fit for my Kamado Joe as well as the Stampede or my kitchen oven. My typical pizza is 12" or so, leaving ample room on the "stone". Hoping that it becomes a useful tool in the food prep arsenal. The search for pizza perfection continues...…………….

 

[Buckeye smoker]

Have you ever made one on a cooking mat?... If so curious about the results.

 

[Uncle Bob]

I have not. In theory that would be the antithesis of the rationale behind a stone or steel plate as there would be no heat absorption. But if the heat source were more direct the lack of a barrier might be useful in achieving bottom cooking. Since the RT is somewhat a convection oven it likely doesn't have that direct heat effect, but experimentation exists for a reason. Give it a shot and let us know what happens...………...……..

 

[ifican]

I will not give a time frame as i dont get to use outside cooking gadgets as much as i like when wifes home. I do have a 16" cast iron grate i use on the kamado for searing, i will try making pizza on it and the stone. Once i get an idea how the cast iron works with serious high heat ill move to Bull and also give a test. Consider it on the todo list just have to work out the logistics but it should be fun regardless.

 

[dsandersus]

We have a stone but haven’t used it since getting the RT. But we do love a good pie and we use a Pizzeria Pronto PC6000 outdoor oven. It makes for some good eats as It can get upwards of 700+ deg. for a nice crispy crust and quick cook. The drawback is you’re limited on the size of pie you make to about a 12” round.

We would love to make a outdoor brick oven and fuel it with wood but it’s just not practical at this point, but maybe something in the future.

 

[tegreeb]

I'm a fan of cooking anything I can with cast iron,it just tastes better

We make homemade pizza all the time, the wife and kids prefer thinner crust which I use a Lodge cast iron pizza pan for. Preheat the Bull to 450 with the cast iron pan, then simply slide the pizza on to the pan after the Bull reaches temp.

I on the other hand prefer deep dish pizza. I use a couple 12" cast iron pans I found in my fathers garage while moving him closer to us. Never in my life had I seen my parents cook with cast iron but my dad said they were my Grandpa's(his dad). Took some work to get them in cooking shape again, definitely worth it.

But anyway, 16-20 minutes in the Bull I have delicious deep dish pizza to devour

 

[Dunerzr]

Would love to have a deep dish recipe if you would like to share..

 

[Uncle Bob]

Well, the hunk o' steel I bought to turn into a pizza "stone" finally got here yesterday afternoon. USPS is reverting to it's old tricks. Took three days to get from Houston to Austin, which if you drove it yourself would take about 1.5 hours or so. Then another two days from Austin to my little burg, though one of those days was Sunday.....by car only 1 hour. Oh well.

So three pics so far; first is the raw material right out of the box, second is the piece after I solvent washed it a couple times and then proceeded to polish it a might with 80 paper and a red scotch brite disc. Came out pretty clean and smooth. Then into the Stampede at 450 to do a 1 hour burn in to remove/nuke any further contaminants left, then a light schmere of flax seed oil to season at 450 for another hour. I turned off the RT just over an hour ago and still felt heat coming off the steel. Got the IR gun out, it registers 197 still. Tomorrow morning will be another layer of seasoning and then we should be set for the first cook.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Two coats of seasoning, it's a thing of beauty......…...

 

[NU2SMOKE]

I cant wait to hear how well it performs on a pizza. Would it be possible for you to share a link to where you got the steel from?

 

[Uncle Bob]

I cant wait to hear how well it performs on a pizza. Would it be possible for you to share a link to where you got the steel from?

Easy, here

But, if you live in an area where there is/are steel fabrication business(s) it would be even more cost effective to not pay that shipping. In my case, any alternative would have cost me as much or more in fuel, not to mention time. All about the trade offs. At that I still came in at about half of what the comparable product (not needing the extra prep labor I did) that Baking Steel offers.

 

[ifican]

Anyone have an fav dough recipe? Open to anything, would prefer a fantastic quick one but if need to let sit overnight will do that as well. Going to make some no need bread tomorrow and see how that turns out. While pulling the yeast figured would have a go at some pizza as too.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Anyone have an fav dough recipe? Open to anything, would prefer a fantastic quick one but if need to let sit overnight will do that as well. Going to make some no need bread tomorrow and see how that turns out. While pulling the yeast figured would have a go at some pizza as too.

I tried this version a couple weeks ago, did the measurement all by weight, it made a very nice dough. Felt good to the hand after the second rest period, and it formed beautifully. Had good taste and texture. Easy to scale up for more crusts if one isn't enough.

 

[tegreeb]

Would love to have a deep dish recipe if you would like to share..

I have to make 5 pizza's on pizza night so this makes dough for 2, then cut in half for the last which is always mine lol

Preheat your favorite REC TEC cooking device to 450

3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups water @ 95 degrees F
1 TBSP fast rising yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup Olive oil

I use the wifes Kitchenaid mixer with dough hook

Add water,sugar and yeast until the yeast expands,usually just a couple of minutes

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix for 5 minutes

Put dough in preoiled bowl( I use Olive oil) rolling once to coat,cover and let rest for 60 minutes

For a thin crust pizza roll out to desired size

Deep dish I press out by hand until just larger than the top of the cast iron skillet

Pour about a 1/4-1/3 cup Olive oil in your cast iron pan, placing the dough on top of the oil

Add your favorite toppings,cook 16-20 minutes and enjoy!

 

[NU2SMOKE]

I have to make 5 pizza's on pizza night so this makes dough for 2, then cut in half for the last which is always mine lol

Preheat your favorite REC TEC cooking device to 450

3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups water @ 95 degrees F
1 TBSP fast rising yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup Olive oil

I use the wifes Kitchenaid mixer with dough hook

Add water,sugar and yeast until the yeast expands,usually just a couple of minutes

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix for 5 minutes

Put dough in preoiled bowl( I use Olive oil) rolling once to coat,cover and let rest for 60 minutes

For a thin crust pizza roll out to desired size

Deep dish I press out by hand until just larger than the top of the cast iron skillet

Pour about a 1/4-1/3 cup Olive oil in your cast iron pan, placing the dough on top of the oil

Add your favorite toppings,cook 16-20 minutes and enjoy!

That looks like a great pizza!! The recipie looks pretty straight forward.

The 1/4 to 1/3 oil in the bottom of the pan....that seems like alot may I ask the function of so much? It obviously works for you just trying to understand.

Again it looks incredible!

 

[Buckeye smoker]

Looks great, something I need to try...I won't show the wife the pineapple or I'll have to make it right now*...lol

 

[ifican]

The 1/4 to 1/3 oil in the bottom of the pan....that seems like alot may I ask the function of so much?

This one made me smile and after the last few days of work was needed. To keep a long story short you actually mix it into the dough. Depending on many factors it helps to keep the dough from drying out while cooking. Can also coat a small layer on top or botton to get the texture to change.

 

[dixonduke]

@Uncle Bob how is the steel plate performing for you?

my pizza stone arrived from Amazon looking forward to giving it a try tonight.

 

[Uncle Bob]

@Uncle Bob how is the steel plate performing for you?

my pizza stone arrived from Amazon looking forward to giving it a try tonight.

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Well, I've only used it once since the seasoning, and that was in my Kamado. Using my IR gun the temperature of the steel got to around 720 degrees. Turns out that is probably too hot as it put a very rapid char on the bottom of the dough without much of a bake to the top portion and toppings. I usually strive for a more even pace between the two areas accepting that the top will need to be briefly finished under a broiler to get the desired finish product (substitute for not having a close/hot dome which the RT can't do, and the kamado is too distant). I suspect that the steel will work better somewhere around 500 degrees which might prompt me to try the RT again (expecting to finish under the broiler as noted above) as 500 is easily attainable.

I've long used a stone like the one you've just bought, they work great. If you don't already plan on it I'd suggest a 1 hour heat soak at the highest temp you can achieve before loading the pizza for the stone to give max benefit.

 

[dixonduke]

Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't planned on an hour pre-heat but I will now. Its a little information overload out there on "the best way".

My orignal plan was to pre-heat to 425 let that hold for 20 min or so, then set in a Pappa Murphy's and start checking around 10 min after putting it in.