Pizza attempt #1: I make failure!

[LMJ]

Oven: Gas oven older than I am at 500 degrees
Pizza stone: Bottom of the oven, unglazed bottom of a ceramic floor tile
Recipe: Alton Brown's "Pizza Pizzas" http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_13823,00.html

Result: Bottom of the crust came out BLACK. Cheese had just barely started to brown. Sharp provolone is NOT a good pizza cheese, EEK! Sauce was barely there. Crust that wasn't burnt lacked any personality.

Any ideas where I went wrong?

 

[Andy M.]

Put your stone on an oven shelf in the lowest position rather than the bottom of the oven. If that helps a little but not completely, lower the temperature 25F as well.

Use mozzarella, not provolone.

What is your crust recipe?

 

[LMJ]

2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure olive oil
3/4 cup warm water
2 cups bread flour (for bread machines)
1 teaspoon instant yeast

Pizza stone on the rack? Okay, I'll try that. Is there any danger that over the long term it'll distort the rack shape?

Alton's recipe specificed a mix of provolone, mozarella and jack. I'm gonna stick with just the mozarella next time.

Well, that's my last hope for an infallible source of culinary info... Still like most of his food, though.

 

[Andy M.]

Try more olive oil, 2 tablespoons; and less sugar, a teaspoon or two.

AB's recipes are sometimes less than great. There is no infallable source of culinary information.

Your oven rack should be OK

 

[Dave Hutchins]

Xnay the sugar I have never sean sugar in any dough formula for pizza

 

[Katie H]

Sorry, Dave, just about any pizza dough recipe I have has some sweetener/sugar in it. Could be sugar or honey. Sugars are one of the components that are essential in yeast doughs. Sometimes it takes a little playing around with to find the correct amount(s).

 

[Dave Hutchins]

For a 14 inch pizza
3 cups ap flour
1 TBL instant yeast
1/4 cup EVOO
1/2 to 3/4 cup water
1/2tsp salt
with a stand mixer or a good food processor
mix all but water for a minute or pulse a few time to mix
then add water a little at a time till dough forms a ball and pulls away from the walls
let rise for 1 hour and punch down let rest for 15 minutes then make your pizza
I some times add a 1/2 cup of good Parmesan cheese to the dough
this how I have made mine for years and years Have fun

 

[CharlieD]

Sugar is not a problem. Another thig you could try is to bake prebake crust about half way. And the add the sauce and cheese. make sure cheese is room temp.

 

[LMJ]

Hey guys, thanks for all the help. I finally got it perfected! Ended up settling on a recipe from Peter Reinhart. No sugar, heavy on the olive oil, high-protein flour, and it came out perfectly.

I still haven't gotten a pizza peel. :/

Though I did just get a used smoker, so now I'm gonna start on BBQ.