It's Very Liberating...

[dazzo]

...Cutting into a kettle with a saw!

[dazzo]

Picked up an 18 from a guy that cleans up construction sites.

While he was out looking for the legs, I grabbed from the pile a new charcoal grate and twist on ash pan that will go on the redhead.

He came back with a very nice 22 triangle and legs.

Pretty good deal in all for 10 bucks.

But then I began to have buyer's remorse - what was I going to do with another kettle.

Then I saw some posts for a pizza dome.

hmmm...

Let the cutting begin...

[dazzo]

Yes, very liberating!

Used a Dremel cutting wheel to start, and used a jigsaw to do the cutting.  Actually went really smooth.

 

[dazzo]

"So, what does this have to do with pizza?" you ask.

I'm glad you asked...

Banking the fuel...



Nice flames from the oak...



Hope I didn't kill it...



It's on...









And some garlic pizza...

[dazzo]

I need to put a little fuel under the stone to get it hotter, but all in all, it was a success!

The 18 is the perfect size for me, and I'm happy with it.

Guess I don't need to win the KP now  [emoji3]

[varekai]

EXCELLENT job @dazzo !!!  Pies look good also!

[Idahawk]

[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]


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[Nate]

Nice! Have you thought about reinstalling the piece that was cut out as a hinged door to keep more heat in during the cook?

[dazzo]

Nice! Have you thought about reinstalling the piece that was cut out as a hinged door to keep more heat in during the cook?

Yeah, it's off to the side for now. I'll probably go with the magnet idea rather than hinges.

I'm also thinking about some baskets instead of the fire bricks. Speculating that I can get more heat to the stone that way. My main concern was to not get the stone too hot. The fire bricks worked out really well though.

And then I'm thinking taller legs.

And then I'm thinking...

[varekai]

Hey guys, when I did my lid the whole reason was so heat COULD escape. Convection! @dazzo , i usually start off with a couple handfuls of lit coals banked towards the back of my stone.. let those get the stone to temp, when my IR reads 325-350 i start tossing in small oak pieces to spike the heat and get a flame going... that rush of heat up the back of the lid, across the top of the pizza and out the front. What I read online was people were adding stuff to the inside of the kettle pizza to keep the heat "low", and then they (kettle pizza) started selling that steel piece to "radiate" ( i'm guessing), the heat back down to the pizza.. The stone is already to temp so the bottom is taken care of. hope that made sense..lol

[dazzo]

Yeah, makes sense.

I used a short chimney of KBB, lit until it stopped smoking.

Dumped behind the bricks. And then small chunks of oak for the flame.

I chose the 18 since the lid was lower already.

A door on the front would be good for baking, but the setup I used seemed good.

I'll just keep trying different dough recipes till I find one I like. 

[Nate]

@dazzo With the lower temps you're cooking at I'd suggest a hydration ratio of no more than 60%, use AP flour and use a basic New York dough recipe. The ingredients in a NY recipe are water, flour, salt, IDY, & oil and maybe a little sugar for the yeast. When you find a recepie, use the amount of flour they call out (weigh it on a scale), then calculate 60% of that weight and this will be the amount (weight) of water for the dough. New Yorks cook at lower temps. Don't use a Neapolitan recipe, they need much higher temps to get the correct neopolitian texture. I know this because this is the only type of dough I've been using lately and still can't get the correct texture. But they are still delicious.

[dazzo]

@nate thanks.

Yeah, I saw your weight recommendation in another thread.

Guess I'd better get a scale.

I definitely need a good recipe.

I like lots of toppings, but I believe the dough should be able to stand on it's own.

[swamprb]

@dazzo Nice work!!

Curious to hear about your decision cutting the opening on the vent side of the lid?  Pro/con?

I'm really happy with my chop-top, the double insulated lid holds the heat.



The door helps the pre-heating.







Cutting into a REDHEAD will be the liberating moment for me.

[varekai]

ROFL @swamprb , WOW, you really are trying to get me in trouble!!....lol