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The Physics of baking good Pizza (2018)

arxiv.org

101–110 of 127 posts

Re: The Physics of baking good Pizza (2018)

#101
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m sure you could manually remove/bypass the lock. I’m not quite sure what’s safe about opening a 550 degree oven but is dangerous with a 890 degree one.

Most household ovens (standard kitchen range) are on the floor. When you open them, the heat rolls up into your face. A blast of 800 degree air will scorch your corneas if you are looking down.

But 550 won't? I suppose it's because during clean things are burning but ...

Re: The Physics of baking good Pizza (2018)

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Alternatively, scrub the peel with cornmeal between launch and next pizza You would have to make do like that if you only have one peel, but in general you'll be better off with separate Launch, turning and extraction peels. They do different jobs and so have different designs. The turning peel is typically quite different to the other two, but as mentioned, you'll do better with 2 different ones for launch and ext…

Absolutely, I have a separate turner. All good points, but it can be done without. Generally my flow once things get going is: 1) clean launcher (scrub with cornmeal to remove sauce burned cheese etc) (15 seconds) 2) heavily flour the launcher with fresh cornmeal and kneed flat a single pizza dough (1 min) 3) build pizza with toppings (30 seconds) 4) launch, watch for flare ups (pull pizza away from flare ups and let…

> real mozzarella cheese which is outrageously expensive in the US

do you mean the "fresh" stuff they sell in some US stores, in liquid? Or the bufalo?

I actually did a 1/2 and 1/2 test with a friend, half bufalo mozz & half standard shrink-wrapped mozz. He preferred the bufalo, I was meh.

The interesting thing was, the bufalo had so much moisture that it soaked through the crust. At least the shrink-wrapped stuff is dryer so you don't have that problem.

Re: The Physics of baking good Pizza (2018)

#103
post #13
post #3

Ok, what's the verdict on using pizza stones?

The role of a pizza stone is to provide heat from the bottom. The important part is how much heat is released over what time. If you have an oven that is very hot, you find yourself needing a stone that doesn’t transfer as much heat (e.g. made from clay) , because your bottom will burn (with a coridierite stone for example). In ovens, you need all the heat you can get. From what I’ve heard baking steels work best for…

A stone also captures some of the moisture being released, slowing the drying process and allowing the dough to expand for longer. Not likely to affect pan pizza, but important for bread. Source: Bouchon Bakery Cookbook by Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel

Re: The Physics of baking good Pizza (2018)

#104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely, I have a separate turner. All good points, but it can be done without. Generally my flow once things get going is: 1) clean launcher (scrub with cornmeal to remove sauce burned cheese etc) (15 seconds) 2) heavily flour the launcher with fresh cornmeal and kneed flat a single pizza dough (1 min) 3) build pizza with toppings (30 seconds) 4) launch, watch for flare ups (pull pizza away from flare ups and let…

> real mozzarella cheese which is outrageously expensive in the US do you mean the "fresh" stuff they sell in some US stores, in liquid? Or the bufalo? I actually did a 1/2 and 1/2 test with a friend, half bufalo mozz & half standard shrink-wrapped mozz. He preferred the bufalo, I was meh. The interesting thing was, the bufalo had so much moisture that it soaked through the crust. At least the shrink-wrapped stuff is…

Pardon me I meant the "fresh" stuff they sell in US stores is outrageously expensive, ~$10/lb. I don't really know what Bufalo is but the stuff I'm talking about would be fairly moist too, you need to use the cheese sparingly or else it will create a puddle on the surface.

Re: The Physics of baking good Pizza (2018)

#105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most household ovens (standard kitchen range) are on the floor. When you open them, the heat rolls up into your face. A blast of 800 degree air will scorch your corneas if you are looking down.

But 550 won't? I suppose it's because during clean things are burning but ...

No post body was provided.

Re: The Physics of baking good Pizza (2018)

#106
post #77

How do you move your pizza from the shovel to the stone/oven? Its so sticky.. I keep failing at this resulting in dirty oven or calzones… to the point that I am back at using backing paper and giving up in the stone.

1. Make sure you have all your toppings ready before you begin assembling your pizza.

2. When you grab your dough ball (before you stretch it), coat it with flour. This is critical.

3. Stretch the dough on a floured counter top. Only transfer to your lightly floured peel when it is ready to be dressed. This reduces the amount of time it is on the peel.

4. Work quickly once your dough is on the peel.

NOTE: If white flour isn't working as a barrier on the peel, consider rice flour or corn meal as they don't absorb water like white flour does.

Re: The Physics of baking good Pizza (2018)

#107
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After some experimentation, I ended up doing pizza on a stone that sits atop a steel on my gas grill, with another stone suspended above to reflect heat back down. I find that the steel’s conductivity keeps the stone nice and hot while reducing thermal loss when I place the dough, while the stone provides “softer” more even heat to the pizza to prevent scorching.

Does the steel under the stone actually do anything? I think of the advantage of steel as getting things to equilibrium faster, but your stone should already be at equilibrium.

I have noticed a different versus not having it. I think the additional thermal mass helps maintain high, even heat when you lay the dough down, so you get a crispier crust.

Re: The Physics of baking good Pizza (2018)

#108
post #47

Good pizza is all about the pineapple!

The combination of ham and pineapple on a pizza can be very tasty because the sweet and tangy flavor of the pineapple complements the savory and salty flavor of the ham. The combination of these two flavors can create a delicious balance on the pizza. Additionally, the texture of the pineapple can add a nice contrast to the softness of the cheese and the chewiness of the ham. Many people also enjoy the way the flavor…

I love pineapple and jalapeño (and ham or pepperoni). The sweet plus spicy is really tasty..

Re: The Physics of baking good Pizza (2018)

#109
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the steel under the stone actually do anything? I think of the advantage of steel as getting things to equilibrium faster, but your stone should already be at equilibrium.

I have noticed a different versus not having it. I think the additional thermal mass helps maintain high, even heat when you lay the dough down, so you get a crispier crust.

The extra thermal mass I would definitely believe, yes! I just wouldn't expect there to be additional benefit from the high conductivity of it being steel.

Re: The Physics of baking good Pizza (2018)

#110
post #79
post #19

The paper recommends against baking pizza on steel because this would cook the pizza too fast, but this is only true at the temperatures of pizza-specific ovens (paper says 620F / 325C). If you're trying to cook a pizza at home in an oven that only goes up to 550F / 290C the steel helps a lot to make up for the oven not being quite hot enough. (I use a pizza stone, though, mostly because that's what I already have)

I have found that steel works up to ~650F but becomes too conductive above that (hence using stone). Stone is not conductive enough below 650F-700F

thats not how that works. stone and steel are both exactly as conductive at one temperature as they are at another, at steady state.
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