Today's pie:

Pizza on Big Green Egg.

Ducks in a row




Pizza 1

640 for 6-minutes on new pizza stone. Upper looked good, bottom burned.





Pizza 2

540 for 8-minutes. Upper a little too blond, bottom nice color.




Lump charcoal w/small chunk of hickory.

Dough and sauce from The New Basics. First pizza raw sausage, second, par cooked. Will go small balls of raw from now on.

Pizza one had better flavor, aside from the burned bottom. Next time out I will try slightly under 600 and hope as the stone breaks in the crust will be less susceptible to burning.

All in all an ok first attempt.

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,

Good looking 'zas for the first shot on the Egg. I, too, had trouble finding the right balance of 'done to perfection' between the crust and toppings. It's a matter of experimentation, and I'll describe the setup and method I now use.

I normally cook pizza at a dome temp of 550°, and only after the Egg has had a good 45 minutes to equilibrate temperature. I use the feet that come with the Egg to raise the pizza stone off the plate setter, so there is an air gap between the two. That prevents the plate setter, which receives radiant energy directly from the fire and can become very hot, from transmitting it's heat to the stone. Just before I put on my pizza I wipe the stone with a damp cloth, cooling the surface and buying just a little time for the toppings to cook. This has worked well for me for about the last four years.

We bought an Egg six years ago following a trip to Italy where we were knocked out by the flavor of pizzas and breads cooked in wood fired ovens. I'm happy with our pizzas now. I need to put more attention toward our breads.



Thaiobsessed mentioned above that she wanted a wood fired oven for her pizzas. A ceramic cooker as a mulit-tasker might fulfill that role for her.

There are a dozen ways to cook pizza on the Egg. I just thought I would share with you the set up that has been successful for me. I hope this helps. Good luck!

DRC1379 wrote:I use the feet that come with the Egg to raise the pizza stone off the plate setter, so there is an air gap between the two. That prevents the plate setter, which receives radiant energy directly from the fire and can become very hot, from transmitting it's heat to the stone. Just before I put on my pizza I wipe the stone with a damp cloth, cooling the surface and buying just a little time for the toppings to cook. This has worked well for me for about the last four years.

I did not get the BGE feet, but do have a few ceramic briquettes which I will use.

Good tips, thanks.

Enjoy,
Gary

Pizza for breakfast.

No jalapenos for Ellen, heavy on the heat for me.

Breakfast pizza 1




Breakfast pizza 2





Enjoy,
Gary

an arugula and Parmesan pizza

Appetizer pizza
Baked on BGE w/olive oil, tomato, red onion. Topped with crema, nova lox*, red onion, parsley, olive oil.



Dessert pizza
Fig, apricot, plum macerated with red wine with a dash of kosher salt. Ricotta mixed with honey and kosher salt. Dotted with additional honey sweetened ricotta/fruit and mint when it came off BGE

Tasted better than it looks



*I love Fresh Farms, but the nova lox, while inexpensive, is strong, salty and very fishy. Not recommended for smoked salmon appetizer pizza

Just, barely, starting to get the hang of it...................

Tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil



Sausage, mozzarella, tomato, mushroom.

Yes, I know, a lot of sausage, I wanted to use up the last of my bulk Italian sausage


Mozzarella, capicola, jalapeno

Slowly, slowly, just starting to get it............

Fresh mozzarella, sausage, onion.

The Clam Pizza - For When You Need More Roughage:

Bill/SFNM wrote:The Clam Pizza - For When You Need More Roughage:

High in calcium, too!

LTH,

Made a couple of pizzas this evening, first was fine, crust, which I let develop in the frig, finally starting to get a bit of flavor. Second I learned a valuable, if obvious, lesson.

Pizza 1, mozzarella, olive, red onion, pepperoni, garlic



Pizza 2, mozzarella, olive, red onion, pepperoni, garlic, sausage



Stupidly tossed the olive oil impregnated paper towel I was using to oil the crust into the fire and closed the lid. Immediately flared and threw up a haze of greasy, oily smoke. Took me a minute to notice, I was turned away from the cooker, enough time to ruin the pizza, in particular the outer crust.

Crust tainted with greasy, oily smoke



Lesson learned.

Enjoy,
Gary

GW,

I'm very much enjoying your pizza learning process. Pizza 1 tonight looks especially appetizing, best of the lot so far I think. Bravo.

KZ

Gary, the peperoni pizza looks great! Kind of makes me want a BGE.

Bill/SFNM wrote:So when are you going to attempt a Thai-inspired pizza.

I thought about a Saag Paneer pizza with leftovers (but my Saag paneer didn't turn out that well). The Bread Bar at Tabla in NY used to have a delicious Saag Paneer pizza with a cornmeal crust.
As for Thai--I've been thinking a lot about that one. Maybe a Miang Kam pizza or panang curry shrimp. Stay tuned.

Here are some recent Margarita-ish pizzas (both with goat cheese, the first with sauteed cherry tomatoes, the second with sausage)

Kennyz wrote:I'm very much enjoying your pizza learning process.

Kenny,

Thanks, it's fun and enlightening to work through the pizza process. I've heard before its all about the bread (dough) and the more I work through it more I appreciate that sentiment.

Enjoy,
Gary

thaiobsessed wrote:Gary, the peperoni pizza looks great! Kind of makes me want a BGE.

The BGE is a nice piece of equipment, easy on fuel and holds temp very well. A little tricky, at first, to keep steady at smoking temps, but a champ at high heat.

Your "Margarita-ish" pizza looks delicious, looking forward to your rendition of Saag Paneer or Thai.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

Kennyz wrote:I'm very much enjoying your pizza learning process.

Kenny,

Thanks, it's fun and enlightening to work through the pizza process. I've heard before its all about the bread (dough) and the more I work through it more I appreciate that sentiment.

Enjoy,
Gary

In addition to being fun, enlightening, and often delicious - one of the things I like most about projects like this is that they give you even greater appreciation for chefs/ cooks that manage to serve wonderful pizza (or gnocchi, puff pastry, burgers and ice cream in the case of similar "projects" I've taken on) nearly every time. The downside - at least for me - is that it sometimes makes it harder to enjoy the good but flawed versions when I eat out.

Kennyz wrote:The downside - at least for me - is that it sometimes makes it harder to enjoy the good but flawed versions when I eat out.

Kenny,

Very true, I know it is difficult for me to enjoy BBQ at most commercial establishments.

Enjoy,
Gary

Third post to this thread, probably eighth pizza-making session this summer. I'm getting much better. I'm using about 30% whole wheat flour in the dough these days. It's giving me a density and a flavor depth that both Jill and I enjoy.

Roasted eggplant with tomato sauce and pecorino cheese


Cherry tomato with bacon and roasted garlic

This one was very interesting. I par-cooked the bacon in a skillet and then gave the tomatoes about 30 seconds in the bacon fat. The garlic was roasted in the oven and spread thinly over the dough.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:This one was very interesting. I par-cooked the bacon in a skillet and then gave the tomatoes about 30 seconds in the bacon fat. The garlic was roasted in the oven and spread thinly over the dough.

Nice looking pizzas Mr. M, very nice indeed.

Pizza with pear, gorgonzola, honey, lemon juice, fresh rosemary. Big Green Egg lump charcoal/apple wood

LTH,

Made a few pizzas on the BGE tonight, a straight up margarita and a Pizzaboy Sausage Special.



I put a bit of cornmeal in the dough just to 'see' no change in flavor/texture though I was spare with the amount. Next time out I may try more cornmeal or, possibly, whole wheat for one fourth of the all purpose flour.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:LTH,

Made a few pizzas on the BGE tonight, a straight up margarita and a Pizzaboy Sausage Special.



I put a bit of cornmeal in the dough just to 'see' no change in flavor/texture though I was spare with the amount. Next time out I may try more cornmeal or, possibly, whole wheat for one fourth of the all purpose flour.

Enjoy,
Gary

Looks great Gary. I was just thinking that I really should take you up on your offer to make a pizza lunch for Pizza Boy. Let's try to set something up for next week. Even if he doesn't enjoy it, I know I will.

Btw, I've had good success in obtaining extra crispiness/crunchiness by subbing in about 5% semolina flour for the primary flour in the recipe. For my personal taste, this has worked out quite well.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Looks great Gary. I was just thinking that I really should take you up on your offer to make a pizza lunch for Pizza Boy. Let's try to set something up for next week. Even if he doesn't enjoy it, I know I will.

I am at your disposal.

I guess I'm not the only one who's had an unexplained urge to put sausage on my pizza lately...

Spicy italian sausage, blend of Fiore di Sardo and Asiago from Graziano's, tomato sauce and basil



Sopressata, Capicola, blend of Fiore di Sardo and Asiago from Graziano's, tomato sauce and basil and a few oil cured olives on half

^^Gorgeous^^

I love this thread.

I know it gets said a lot, but it really is hard to go wrong with bacon...

Corn, sage, roasted tomatoes, asiago and bacon


Thyme, roasted tomatoes, carmelized onions, blue cheese and bacon


Oil-cured olives, gorgonzola, asiago and pancetta

A few years ago I took a cooking class with Tony Mantuano, chef at Spiaggia...

Here's his recipe for a really great cracker-crust pizza dough

4 cups flour
2 oz whole wheat flour
1/4 oz yeast
3/4 oz olive oil
1/2 to 1 qt water
1/4 oz salt
1/4 oz honey

Place lukewarm water in bowl with honey, yeast, and olive oil; whisk all together until yeast and honey are dissolved.

Proof

Add flours and salt in mioxing bowl with dough hook. Mix flour to assure equal distribution.

Add yeast mixture. Mix, then add water. (High humidity, less water; low humidity, more water) Work until smooth, soft, and elastic.

Proof at room temperature for 1 - 2 hours.

Knock down and refrigerate.

Yield: 2 pounds pizza dough.

Sorry, that's all the detail he gave us. I've been using this recipe for a dozen years, and like it every time.

Though a Chicago-area resident for many years, I just don't care for
deep-dish or stuffed pizza! Too much bread. Sorry

Mike

Topped with Duck confit, mushrooms sautéed in confit fat, teleggio cheese and amadeus cheese:

10/7/09 Foraged hen of the woods, fresh tomato, leek, garlic, truffle oil, Saxon Homestead Creamery "Big Ed" cheese, oven cranked all the way, camera phone.