ISO Pizza Crust baking help

[Katie E]

Your flower pot saucer will be fine. I've been using the same thing for years with no problem. The only problem I have is when a friend is in my kitchen and thinks I'm nuts when I open my oven and there's a big clay saucer on the rack. Good thing they haven't seen my foil-wrapped bricks I use to press chicken and sandwiches.

[BlueCat]

Originally Posted by DramaQueen

I have 3 very good pizza recipe books including Wolfgang Puck's and they state the same thing my pizza stone booklet says, : The stone should be placed at the very lowest point in your oven and the pizza baked there too. When pizza is baked in a pizzaria it is also placed at the bottom of the oven. This keeps the crust from getting soggy and makes the crisp crust everyone seems to like.
As for getting the pizza stone from Pampered Chef, I bought mine at Target. It came with a pizza peel and wheel cutter for $19.95, far cheaper and with more equipment than P.C.

DQ, do you really put the stone on the floor of the oven, or do you put it on a rack at the lowest point that you can place the rack? I like a very crisp crust too.

BC

[DramaQueen]

Originally Posted by BlueCat

DQ, do you really put the stone on the floor of the oven, or do you put it on a rack at the lowest point that you can place the rack? I like a very crisp crust too.

BC

All of the books and articles I've read prefer to put the stone on the floor of a gas stove. But I have electric and the floor of my oven has elements running along the bottom so I put the rack at the very lowest point and the stone sits there. I preheat the oven and stone for about 20 minutes at 450. The top of the pizza cooks to perfection while the crust becomes a beautiful golden brown and somewhat crispy. I don't like soft pizza crust.

[justplainbill]

Originally Posted by DramaQueen

But I have electric and the floor of my oven has elements running along the bottom so I put the rack at the very lowest point and the stone sits there. I preheat the oven and stone for about 20 minutes at 450.

Have you had to replace your oven heating element yet. I’d speculate that a $19.95 pizza stone is not large enough to cause problems. However the larger ‘stones’ which are more like an oven insert can trap a lot of heat under them and perhaps subject the heating element to excessive temps.

[DramaQueen]

Originally Posted by justplainbill

Have you had to replace your oven heating element yet. I’d speculate that a $19.95 pizza stone is not large enough to cause problems. However the larger ‘stones’ which are more like an oven insert can trap a lot of heat under them and perhaps subject the heating element to excessive temps.

I have been making pizzas with a stone for over 20 years and always with an electric oven. I have never replaced or repaired a range in all of the years I've been baking (45) so I can't imagine why I would have to replace heating elements because of the stone. Using a stone allows for heat circulation and is no different than putting a cookie sheet on the bottom rack of an oven. As for the inserts, they are a gimmick and not worth the money and are virtually useless. A plain oven does just as good as an insert and with fewer problems. Since the insert really doesn't come in contact with the food except for the bottom, why bother?. As for trapping heat and exposing the elements to excess temperature, that can't happen. When I clean my oven I throw the latch and press "Clean." The oven heats to 800 degrees so I don't think there is a problem there. The elements are designed to turn off when the desired temp is reached except for cleaning.

[akwx]

Originally Posted by DramaQueen

I love making my own pizza and I like the thin, crisp crust. I always use a pizza stone on the bottom of my oven, preheated to 450 degrees and bake my pizzas at that temperature for about 10 to 12 minutes per pizza. Perfect, delicious pizza every time and the crust is a beautiful, golden brown. If you don't want it crisp just make the dough thicker or don't spread it out as much.

Pizza dough recipe aside; when you're ready to prepare the pizza for the oven with the pre-heated pizza stone (or whateverelse alternative you might be using), do you actually slide the prepared pizza (w. all of the toppings) with some sort of wide (12" or wider) spatula onto the stone in the oven?

I also understand (from reading other posts at DC) that a porous heated stone will absorb the moisture from the dough, thereby creating a crusty pizza. A thick and chewy pizza crust would be my favorite.

I've been baking focaccia bread in a heavy 12" cast iron frypan with some success.

[RPCookin]

Although I'm just getting into making my own pizza, from my experience in Italy the hotter you can get your oven the better the result. We had dinner one evening in Varese (northwest of Milano) at the home of a friend of a friend. He has a wood fired oven on his balcony, and we had home made pizza from it. He starts the hardwood fire about 3 hours before it's time to cook, and then we all had great wine and beer and friendly conversation while the oven was heating. He preheats the oven to about 350 degrees Celsius (about 650 F). Each 8-9 inch individual pizza took 2-3 minutes to cook completely. The pizza was hands down the best I ever had, with fresh veggies from the garden, buffalo mozzarella, home made sauce, and real Italian prosciutto, speck, and sausage.

I am going to try my absolute best to duplicate what I had there, although I don't hold much hope without the wonderful oven he had. But my oven goes up to 500 degrees, and that's where it will be heated to when I try my first attempt this week. The other thing I've read is that you need to preheat the oven, and then let it heat for at least another 15 minutes after the sensor beeps to be sure the stone is heated through.

[DramaQueen]

Originally Posted by RPCookin

. The other thing I've read is that you need to preheat the oven, and then let it heat for at least another 15 minutes after the sensor beeps to be sure the stone is heated through.

You're right about letting the stone heat for a long period of time. The 500 degree temp is great, but you can get good results from 450-475 too. The hotter your stone the better your crust will be.

[Caine]

Originally Posted by akwx

I also understand (from reading other posts at DC) that a porous heated stone will absorb the moisture from the dough, thereby creating a crusty pizza. A thick and chewy pizza crust would be my favorite.

In that case, use a pizza pan instead of a stone, let it rise in the pan for about 30 minutes prior to baking it, and bake it at 375F for 30 to 35 minutes, depending on whether you like your cheese white and googey or brown and chewy.