Rough night

[HoosierKettle]

I set up the grill on a table so I wouldn't have to bend over. That worked great, but I broke the stone on the second pizza. Lost one off the back and cooked a couple inside. The inside pizza was superior in every way.





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[HoosierKettle]

I was humbled. Thought I was a pro heading into this one.


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[HoosierKettle]

This was walking up at eye level






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[Travis]

That's a good idea. Sorry to hear bout the stone though


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[WNC]

That sucks, experiences like this keep us humble though...
Pretty clever idea about raising up the grill


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[Dc_smoke309]

Bummer . At least all you have to replace is the stone , could be worse .


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[HoosierKettle]

That sucks, experiences like this keep us humble though...
Pretty clever idea about raising up the grill


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It sure does. Last couple times I've made pizza before this time, the dough cooperated great and was easy to form and all went well. This time seemed like everything fought me. I've got another stone so I wasn't worried about that as much as it interrupted my pizza making.

I will say that I did enjoy the grill at eye level. It was not windy at all last night. If it were, you would probably need a grill with an ash bucket when using the table method. I'm surprised I haven't seen more mods to raise the height of the grill when using a pizza accessory. Unfortunately, I sold both of my otg to friends so I really need another one. I guess the extreme difference in temperature cracked the stone. Probably won't risk using the pizzaque again until it's warmer.


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[MikeRocksTheRed]

Wow, what a bummer.  Hopefully you got all of your pizza screw ups out of your system for quite a while.  I plopped an uncooked pizza onto my kitchen floor my last cook.  I love the idea of raising the grill.   I usually end up squatting down in front of my grill for the entire cook which isn't very comfortable.  Dough is still the one thing that I am always a little nervous about.   I haven't had a bad batch in a while, but it is still the weak point for me.  I have found that I like to let the dough knead for a solid 10 minutes in the Kitchen Aid.  The longer it kneads, the better it stretches. 

[HoosierKettle]

Wow, what a bummer.  Hopefully you got all of your pizza screw ups out of your system for quite a while.  I plopped an uncooked pizza onto my kitchen floor my last cook.  I love the idea of raising the grill.   I usually end up squatting down in front of my grill for the entire cook which isn't very comfortable.  Dough is still the one thing that I am always a little nervous about.   I haven't had a bad batch in a while, but it is still the weak point for me.  I have found that I like to let the dough knead for a solid 10 minutes in the Kitchen Aid.  The longer it kneads, the better it stretches.

Thanks for the tip in the dough, I'll knead longer next time. What yeast do you use?  I get the fleischmans pizza yeast packets but have also used their other types. I'm never quite sure what would be the best. Also, I agree about the dough it's the most critical and hardest part to get good and consistent with. I thought I had it but it fought me this time.

Raising the grill is really nice. Like you said, You usually have to be actively squatting and cooking and looking at the pizzas during most of the cook so having it raised up is very nice.  I figured setting it on a table would be way to high but it wasn't.


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[MikeRocksTheRed]

Wow, what a bummer.  Hopefully you got all of your pizza screw ups out of your system for quite a while.  I plopped an uncooked pizza onto my kitchen floor my last cook.  I love the idea of raising the grill.   I usually end up squatting down in front of my grill for the entire cook which isn't very comfortable.  Dough is still the one thing that I am always a little nervous about.   I haven't had a bad batch in a while, but it is still the weak point for me.  I have found that I like to let the dough knead for a solid 10 minutes in the Kitchen Aid.  The longer it kneads, the better it stretches.

Thanks for the tip in the dough, I'll knead longer next time. What yeast do you use?  I get the fleischmans pizza yeast packets but have also used their other types. I'm never quite sure what would be the best. Also, I agree about the dough it's the most critical and hardest part to get good and consistent with. I thought I had it but it fought me this time.

Raising the grill is really nice. Like you said, You usually have to be actively squatting and cooking and looking at the pizzas during most of the cook so having it raised up is very nice.  I figured setting it on a table would be way to high but it wasn't.


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I usually use one of these.  Kind of cool I found a pic on google with both in one shot.  I do like to heat up my water to around 110, then add the yeast and give it a couple of minutes to start activating before I mix it with the salt, sugar, flour and oil.

[BertVentures]

I know the feeling, I am 6'4" and in my mid 50's, bending and squatting is getting tougher and tougher.

For the dough, try keeping the hydration level around 62-63%, it will be easier to handle. Here's a link to my online bakers percentage calculator, you may find it useful to create or adjust your dough recipe. http://www.mightypizzastone.com/2017/02/04/pizza-and-bread-dough-recipe-creator/

[HoosierKettle]

I know the feeling, I am 6'4" and in my mid 50's, bending and squatting is getting tougher and tougher.

For the dough, try keeping the hydration level around 62-63%, it will be easier to handle. Here's a link to my online bakers percentage calculator, you may find it useful to create or adjust your dough recipe. http://www.mightypizzastone.com/2017/02/04/pizza-and-bread-dough-recipe-creator/

Thanks Bert, that's really cool.  I'll refer back to this next time I make my dough.


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[jaynik]

I've had MANY nights that go like this making pizza.  My last cook, I couldn't get the fuel to really burn, so we had smoked pizzas.  Sounds awesome when I read it, but trust me.  It wasn't.  I lost many to the back of the grill, mostly before I got a wooden peel to use for loading the pies.  That was a game changer.  Oh, and using an obscene amount of corn meal.  I'm with you though.  I'll wait until it warms up to try to use my KP.

I can't endorse Ken Forkish's book enough for pizza dough.  It's only about $20.  The recipes are simple.  He teaches you about the importance of time and temperature as ingredients in dough.  Even the horrible pizzas I made last time, the dough was great.  I've made all the other recipes out there which are all good, but what I made with his recipe was exceptional.

[EricD]

@BertVentures , I want to thank you for posting the dough calculator above.   I used it last weekend.  What a WORLD of difference than the recipes I had been using.   The dough came out perfect!
But, the link to the actual calculator wasn't working and I ended up using this one: https://maybepizza.com/calc/  but the mighty pizza stone article was informative.
Anyone that makes their dough.....weigh your ingredients!
Hijack over.

[BertVentures]

@EricD I am glad my calculator has made a difference in your dough making. I checked the link it's working http://www.mightypizzastone.com/2017/02/04/pizza-and-bread-dough-recipe-creator/ it could be temporary sever glitch.

What differentiate my calculator from other bakers percentage calculators, is the ability to predict approximate amount of yeast needed based on your fermentation time temperature requirement.