Help getting pizza crust crispy

[Andy M.]

...does anyone know how else to transfer the pizza, without using a paddle?...

You could use a rimless cookie sheet or the bottom of a rimmed cookie sheet to deliver the pizza to the stone for cooking. When it's done, it's a lot easier to remove it. You can get under it with a couple of large spatulas to slide it onto a tray or even use tongs.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

My best pizzas come from the covered kettle barbecue and a cast iron frying pan. The coals are hot, about 600 degrees. The frying pan gets very hot, very quickly. I get a touch of smoke from the carcoal and mayby a touch of wood chips. The crust gets good hivht and is crispy on the bottom. I get a touch of the wood smoke flavor, but not too much. Of course, the grill is covered with all vents wide open. I don't need as much thermal mass as the cast iron is kept very hot by the intense fire underneath it. And it only takes about ten to fifteen minutes to cook.

But you need a very good heatproof mit to handle the hot pan. Just make sure to quickly remove the pizza from the pan when it's done, to prevent scorching the crust.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[jaspa]

i get my oven VERY hot i cant put it straight on to oven rack it would fall through so i must be doing somthing wrong thanx for all the help

 

[arlienb]

thanks for the advice, andy m!

 

[jaspa]

im going to get a stone cheers

 

[Gorgonzola]

I find that no matter how you cook your pizza the #1 problem stems from overloading the pizza. Use 1/3 the sauce that you might think you need and go light on the cheese. Just try that to prove to yourself that it makes a big difference. The next pizza's you can make a bit heavier now that we know the results. To get hardy topped pizzas crisp we need extreme high heat.. 550 to 800 degrees. That can even be achieved with a good gas grill and or the use of a HOT stone that will suck the moistier out of the crust on contact. DON'

T TRY THIS AT HOME! Some poeple even go to the extent to overide the self cleaning lock on electric ranges and enjoy 800 degree ovens... now were cookin!

 

[Toots]

This is a great thread. I have a pizza stone but I haven't used it in years because I have problems getting the dough to slide onto the stone without sticking or creating a gigantic mess. And the stone is piping hot so its hard to fool around with sliding your dough onto it.
I'm giong to have to dig it out and try it again!

 

[Bangbang]

This works. Cook the dough without the toppings for the first 10 minutes. Remove pizza and add the toppings. Make sure you dock the dough before placing in the oven or it will puff up like a big pita. If you don't have a docker. Use a fork.

 

[Andy M.]

This is a great thread. I have a pizza stone but I haven't used it in years because I have problems getting the dough to slide onto the stone without sticking or creating a gigantic mess. And the stone is piping hot so its hard to fool around with sliding your dough onto it.
I'm going to have to dig it out and try it again!

If you dust the pizza peel with some cornmeal, the pizza will slide onto the stone better. Build the pizza on the peel with the cornmeal and just before putting it onto the stone, shake the peel back and forth gently to ensure the pizza is not stuck to it.

 

[Corinne]

btw, this is a great thread, i'm learning a lot! thanks! i HAVE one of those pizza stones...unfortunately i've used it only once because i didn't get one of those needed paddles to transfer my prepared pizza to the preheated stone. does anyone know how else to transfer the pizza, without using a paddle?

Pampered Chef makes a product just for that purpose. It's called "Lift & Serve". It's a 2-pc thing that you slide under the pizza to transfer it. It costs $17.50.

No, I am not a Pampered Chef Consultant - just a satisfied customer.

 

[Michael in FtW]

i get my oven VERY hot i cant put it straight on to oven rack it would fall through so i must be doing somthing wrong thanx for all the help

Yep - if your pizza would fall through the oven racks ... you either have some strange oven racks ... or your're trying to make some mighty small pizzas, or you're doing something so wrong I can't imagine what it is.

Pizza dough can be soft and still work on an oven rack ... just as long as the diameter of the pizza exceeds the distance between the oven rack elements ... most are only 1/2 - 3/4 inch apart. Even a small 10-inch pizza would be more than adequately supported placed directly on the oven rack.

The only way that putting a pizza directly on the oven rack wouldn't work would be if you were trying to bake it "vertically" .... and that wouldn't work in any over ...

 

[Bangbang]

This is a Docker.

http://www.amazon.com/Pizza-Dough-Docker/dp/B000GIE5AM/sr=1-79/qid=1155745784/ref=sr_1_79/103-4478873-6876630?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen

 

[arlienb]

This is a Docker.

http://www.amazon.com/Pizza-Dough-Docker/dp/B000GIE5AM/sr=1-79/qid=1155745784/ref=sr_1_79/103-4478873-6876630?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen

oh, yes, i've seen one of those while waiting (impatiently) at a pizza takeaway for my pizza...i've always wondered what they were called...THANKS!

 

[Bangbang]

oh, yes, i've seen one of those while waiting (impatiently) at a pizza takeaway for my pizza...i've always wondered what they were called...THANKS!

You are welcome. Docking your dough is a MUST. You can also use a perforated pan instead of a pizza stone. I have several. One of them is made of a wire mesh that I place directly on the pizza stone. It works great. I shape my pizza then place it on the wire mesh "pan"....then on the stone. I bake it at 450 for 10 minutes then remove....place toppings on and bake antoher 10 minutes or till cheese is thorougly melted and crust is browned.

 

[Harborwitch]

I miss a lot of things that I had when living in the house - but the most missed item is http://www.hearthkitchen.com/. It made perfect pizza, awesome breads, and everything else. The trick with pizza is high heat - with the Hearthkit we'd heat the oven to 500 or 550 put the pizza in and drop the heat back to 425 or 450 depending on the toppings.

Yes, they are expensive but we thought it worth every penny. I did find my on Ebay for about 1/2 price. I think I'm going to measure my oven and see if they have one that will fit on the boat!

 

[silvercliff_46]

I use a perforated pan when I make my pizzas on my gas grill. In the house I use a "PIZZAZZ" pizza maker. I make mostly home made thick crust. It allows me to cook top, bottom or both with its multiple settings. The only problem is the sides of the crust don't brown. I finish that with my blow torch. Cost is around $50 bucks.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Gorgonzola brought up something that I had forgotten that my step-daughter told me (she owns a pizza franchise) - too much sauce makes the crust "mooshy".

 

[Gorgonzola]

Pizza is a passion here. I learned a bunch at pizzamaking.com