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[Keith_W]

A pizza in a Skillet?? This is new to me. Really nice!

When you want to cook a pizza, you have a heat conduction problem. The base cooks by conduction, the top cooks by convection and radiation. If you don't balance the two cooking methods, you will end up with one or the other overcooked while the other side is undercooked. I have a lot of pizza cooking experience in everything but a proper pizza oven, so I know from experience that the most common scenario is that the bottom is undercooked and soggy whilst the top is burnt to a crisp. And yes, I have tried everything - terracotta tile, different oven heights, and so on.

I have found that the most reliable method is to preheat the skillet on a stove. Make the pizza, then put it on the skillet, then into the oven's top shelf with the grille on at full blast. Within 3 minutes, the pizza is done. It's not quite 90 seconds that you get with a proper woodfired pizza oven, but then domestic ovens can't reach that inferno-like temperature.

That's a pizza bianca and Margherita. You can tell it's home-made because it's a bit ... umm, rustic.

My problem at the moment is that I can't get the pizza to slide off the peel into the skillet because it sticks a little bit. I can form it nice and round, but the shape is distorted when I try to get it off the peel. I have been told to dust the bottom of the pizza with polenta. I have been dusting the bottom of the pizza with flour, which is apparently not good because flour absorbs water too readily and then it sticks to the peel. So i'll try that next.

 

[mlsstl]

My problem at the moment is that I can't get the pizza to slide off the peel into the skillet because it sticks a little bit. I can form it nice and round, but the shape is distorted when I try to get it off the peel. I have been told to dust the bottom of the pizza with polenta. I have been dusting the bottom of the pizza with flour, which is apparently not good because flour absorbs water too readily and then it sticks to the peel. So i'll try that next.

I've been using corn meal (polenta) on my pizza paddle (and for other breads) for almost 50 years now. It works great. I've never tried the skillet method. In fact, earlier this summer I bought an Ooni and have been experimenting with it, though there is a definite learning curve. Here's an olive oil, garlic, proscuitto & paper thin onion pizza, with a hint of oregano, that I just love. (Not cooked in the Ooni.)

 

[thegeton]

Chicken breasts, boneless, skinless. Rubbed with a mild paprika/chile/salt/secret rub, then allowed to dry out a bit in the refrigerator.

Grilled on a Traeger wood fired grill @450F until the internal temp is 160F. Removed, slathered with a poblano/chile arbol vinaigrette, and then thrown back onto the grill until the internal temp is 170ish.

Pretty amazing...

 

[Joeyd33]

When you want to cook a pizza, you have a heat conduction problem. The base cooks by conduction, the top cooks by convection and radiation. If you don't balance the two cooking methods, you will end up with one or the other overcooked while the other side is undercooked. I have a lot of pizza cooking experience in everything but a proper pizza oven, so I know from experience that the most common scenario is that the bottom is undercooked and soggy whilst the top is burnt to a crisp. And yes, I have tried everything - terracotta tile, different oven heights, and so on.

I have found that the most reliable method is to preheat the skillet on a stove. Make the pizza, then put it on the skillet, then into the oven's top shelf with the grille on at full blast. Within 3 minutes, the pizza is done. It's not quite 90 seconds that you get with a proper woodfired pizza oven, but then domestic ovens can't reach that inferno-like temperature.

View attachment 490265View attachment 490266

That's a pizza bianca and Margherita. You can tell it's home-made because it's a bit ... umm, rustic.

My problem at the moment is that I can't get the pizza to slide off the peel into the skillet because it sticks a little bit. I can form it nice and round, but the shape is distorted when I try to get it off the peel. I have been told to dust the bottom of the pizza with polenta. I have been dusting the bottom of the pizza with flour, which is apparently not good because flour absorbs water too readily and then it sticks to the peel. So i'll try that next.

love it, that 2nd pizza looks awesome! Yeah it takes a bit of time and technique to get it right. Like @mlsstl said, I also used cornmeal on the bottom. If I remember right you still have to lift the pizza every 2 minutes or so , so that the cornmeal doesn't get burnt. Wish I could remember more but my tinnitus has ruined a lot of my memory.

Have you guys ever tried that chicago styled pizza? It doesn't look the best to me but I've seen a few chicago pizza places that ship out frozen pizza. I'm not expecting too much but I do want to try a chicago styled pizza just for the fun of it. (Yeap, I know this isn't a true Chicago pizza,but it may still be fun to try out.)

 

[Chrispy]

Pulled out of the oven this afternoon, about to cut into it.

 

[Doodski]

Pulled out of the oven this afternoon, about to cut into it.
View attachment 490293

That looks wonderful. I was making rye bread and sweet white bread sorta sourdough for a year and a half. it was amazing. I very much enjoy a artisan type loaf.