Tim M's BBQ cooking area
Visit again - we cook often
Pizza
in the egg
My
very 1st attempt at pizza
1999
|
Pizza A'la Tim M |
Ceramic Plate Setter >>>
Here is the ceramic plate setter - they may be purchased other places, but I know BGE sells them. See their website to order one.
This sits on the main grid and the stone sits on top of this. Today I set a layer of firebricks under the plate setter - just to raise it and the stone higher to make it easier to slide the pizza on the stone.
Here is the set-up. On the main grid is my plate setter with the BGE pizza stone on top.
Note how it is high enough to get the pizza directly on or off without having to drop down over the edge of the egg.
This picture shows the new plate setter and BGE pizza stone on it. As you can see - they have been used. Never get the stone wet or greasy.
Here is our subject for this meal. This is a 10" pie with pepperoni and green olives.
This is my homemade peel -- works really well. It's masonite.
Here is the pie as it goes on the EGG. The EGG was brought up to 575-600 deg (the max with new slide/daisy top) and held at 575 for 5-10 min for any smoke to stop.The Plate Setter has been in for the whole time. I add the pizza stone and preheat it for 10 min. You may have to adjust the preheating (burnt crust = less preheat). I then slide the pie on the stone. It helps to have a little corn meal on the stone to aid sliding off the pizza later.
14 min later it was done. I could have left it on another 2-3 min - the toppings are just starting to blacken.
Crust is a golden brown.
A more recent pizza
I got a new Plate Setter from BGE and this is it with my well worn BGE pizza stone on it. With this combination it is almost impossible for me to burn the crust of my pies. I insert the setter and lite the fire from under my grate. I add the slide/daisy top and open it wide open - this will max out at 575-600 deg.
Here is the pie on the pizza peel - use lots
of flour on the peel to keep it from sticking. You can see 1/2 is for
me the other for my picky eater.
This pie was about 14" diameter (no wimpy little pies for me).
Here is the end results after 18
min at 575 deg dome temp. The pizza stone was only allowed to preheat
10 min . The crust was nicely done -- no
where near burnt!
My picky eater rated it a 9.8!
Making the dough
Here is my dough following a recipe from the BGE forum. It has just been blended together with dough hooks and I am finished with it and its going to rise now for 40-45 min. As you can see it is not really sticky - moist but it does not stick to my hand. I have added a little flour so I can kneed it without it being sticky (I am no baker!! - if I can do this, so can you)
Here is my dough after its first rise and after I punched it down. You can see its doubled in size. Its about 3/4 of its final size. Lightly sticky but nothing sticks to my hand. Certainly not dry in any way - not sticky where it clings to you either.
Now I put it aside until I am ready to cook - 30-40 min more. Then I cut in half and make two 10" pies.
To the right is a deep dish attempt I made with a 13" cast iron skillet that is sitting on a plate setter. 20 min at 650 deg and while good - not as good as the ones above.
The pepperoni only side was for the 16 yr old who doesn't like anything.
To the left are two pizza peels. The one on the right I made from scrap masonite board that is about 1/4" thick. The other peel I purchased from www.Katom.com for about $9 -- what a deal! It is best to have two since you prepare one pie on one and remove the other pie with the second peel - much easier with two.
The forums refer to a |__| firebrick pattern. To the right is a diagram showing this U pattern of firebrick with a pizza stone on top. This will replace the Plate Setter and pizza stone combo pictured above. They work the same, the setter is just easier since it's one piece and more stable.
See what this Green Egg is all about:
|
|
