PIZZA 2.0

[CharliefromLI]

I attempted my first pizza cook last week:
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/finally-did-pizza/msg175452/#msg175452

I applied what i learned and attempted my second cook last night. Since i am in New York, I am going for NY Style Pizza.

For this cook i pumped up the fuel bigtime.
I made a C shape around the back of the kettle using a lit chimney of Kingsford Blue. I dumped a half a chimney of Unlit on top of that.
A few hot coals were spread under the stone directly to get some direct heat as well. I preheated the stone in the kettle for 45 minutes while that first load of coals lit and heated.

I changed my method for elevating the stone this time too.
Last time i used the charcoal holder upside down but felt like the were blocking the heat from the stone a bit and i wanted more airflow and heat flow to the stone. I was cleaning the garage and found a charcoal basket i made for my SJ mini WSM. Its an SJ charcoal Grate with 4" Expanded metal walls. It is very similar to this:

The basket was placed upside down on the grate and the stone was placed on top of it. I allowed 45 minutes to preheat kettle and stone.

After 45 minutes i added another LIT chimney (total coal was now 2.5 chimneys). and my first pie went on.
Like last time i used parchment paper to prep the pie and transfer the pie from peel to the stone and avoid sticking.

I prepped dough using a rolling pin for this cook instead of just doing by hand as i did last time. that was a bit easier this time. I still did some by hand but the pin helped. It allowed me to get the dough thinner to promote even cooking.

My first pie went on the stone and cooked pretty well but the higher heat burned the parchment paper too much and turning the pie was difficult.

I decided to man up on the second pie and skipped the parchment paper and just used some flour on the peel to prevent sticking. Luckily it worked. I was able to get the pie off the peel and on the stone without too much trouble. This pie cooked more evenly and was easy to rotate half way:




The Results were good, a major improvement from my first cook. There are still a few improvements i want to make

I still think the stone could be a little bit hotter. Next time i will try a full hour preheat. I still need to get a IR therm to measure stone heat to see if i am in the right ballpark.

I used kingsford blue again because i have on hand but i still want to try using lump charcoal instead.

I liked preheating the stone in the kettle as there was less moving around hot equipment. reloading coals was still a little tricky using so much lit coal at once. I still think i will attempt to sacrifice an old grate and make the open back like this for easier refueling:

By using the inverted Charcoal basket i can cut back quite a bit of the grate to allow more room for refueling with lit coals to increase the heat. I may end up using wood and this will give enough room for some small logs or larger chunks

I am trying to be gentile with the direct heat as i've seen so many stories of stones cracking from thermal shock. Maybe i am being too cautious. With each cook i am getting a little more confident and the stone survived the first two cooks unscathed.

Still some room for improvement but another big step in the right direction.

[Grizz]

Fine looking pie!!

[austin87]

@CharliefromLI rather than spend more time preheating try some lump or I really like Kingsford Competition for high heat. With all of that KBB (2.5 chimneys!!!) I think you have probably maxed out the temp you can get with KBB. After 30-45 minutes the stone should be as hot as it will get.

I've had good success with 1/4-1/2 chimney of K Comp (unlit) spread on the bottom then dumping a full lit chimney on top of that. Starting with some unlit on the bottom extends the time for peak temps.

Also, parchment paper's limit is about 400 degrees. Flour seemed to work well for you, and I have found that a combo of flour and cornmeal works really well.

Great experimentation!

[CharliefromLI]

Thanks @austin87.

I am planning switching to lump and start using cornmeal but I did this cook on a whim and didn't have either on hand. I don't love KBB but I was given a ton of it too spring and I'm burning it off. I'm down to the last two bags so I will pick up on some lump and/or Stubbs.

I am also going to grab an IR Therm to start tracking stone heat and get a better sense of how hot it gets and how my preheating affects stone temp. I eBay to see if a 30-45-60 minute preheat makes a difference.

More fun experiments.

[Nate]

@CharliefromLI  Try semolina flour instead of the cornmeal. IMO, I believe it's better.

[CharliefromLI]

@CharliefromLI  Try semolina flour instead of the cornmeal. IMO, I believe it's better.

I will give it a shot. Thanks.

[Metal Mike]

I'd Cornmeal & spread coals around more, you're on the right track.

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[WNC]

You guys are making these pizzas look great!