First pie out of my GMG pizza oven

[ej0rge]

My GMG pizza oven accessory arrived today so I had to mix up some dough and try it. I'll post my dough recipe in the recipes forum.

Not my best job of stretching the dough by hand, and I was rushing because I was so stoked to try it out. Usually, the dough has longer to rise and rest, too.

Curiously the manual states that both 350f and 430f are the highest safe temperatures to set for the grill when using the pizza oven accessory. I decided that the inagural run should be 350. This is the temperature as read by the probe on the side of the grill, which is outside of the pizza oven.

Heat soak from ignition to launch was probably about an hour with the lid closed.

My bake time here was something like 2 minutes. didn't start the stopwatch until several seconds after launch. Based on the results, I would say that my target of 90 seconds is achievable with better conditioned dough and better stretch, and a bit less cheese. Or the same amount of cheese over a larger area.

There's also a trick where you hold the pie up near the roof of the oven for a bit after picking it up, and i forgot about that, or the char on the pepperoni spooked me.

I forgot to check the deck temperature with my infrared thermometer before launch. After I took the pie out it was at 680f according to cheap infrared.

Infrared thermometer readings should always be regarded as approximate unless you know the correct coefficient of emissivity of the material you are pointing it at, and at least what emissivity factor the IR thermometer gun was calibrated for. Because different materials emit differently. Bright metal for example is a poor IR emitter.

Oh yeah, here's a side-on view of the gap between the stone and the top of the flame shield. The manual admonishes the owner that if they have to replace the stone, the stone NEEDS to have standoffs. Maybe this is the real reason why.

 

[bauchjw]

Awesome first go! That pie looks so tasty Very helpful post too. I have a buddy getting a GMG, his wife insists on the pizza oven accessory, I’ll pass along to him! Thanks for a great post!

 

[Jabiru]

Nice work on the pizza! I have the pizza oven attachment and have used it multiple times and love it.

I found there is a delicate balance between the amount of toppings and temp setting. Getting the equilibrium so it cooks perfectly and super fast is something I am working on.

Running it at 450f was just to hot for our pizzas, base would cook perfectly but toppings needed longer, we have reduced the toppings amount and dropped the temp to 37%f by memory and gave us better results.

Would like to see your results from a second run.

 

[ej0rge]

Nice work on the pizza! I have the pizza oven attachment and have used it multiple times and love it.

I found there is a delicate balance between the amount of toppings and temp setting. Getting the equilibrium so it cooks perfectly and super fast is something I am working on.

Running it at 450f was just to hot for our pizzas, base would cook perfectly but toppings needed longer, we have reduced the toppings amount and dropped the temp to 37%f by memory and gave us better results.

Would like to see your results from a second run.

It's possible that there is some variation between readings on the GMG controller. PT200 sensors are pretty accurate, but maybe less so if their housing is crusted with soot or whatever.

Thermal management and pie load is certainly a complex subject, and I'm a little out of practice.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Definitely look forward to more! Need help taste testing?

Ryan

 

[Ringer]

Great looking pie! I'd be super happy with that. Great color on the crust too.

 

[ej0rge]

Great looking pie! I'd be super happy with that. Great color on the crust too.

Yeah i would like to see some browning on the cheese itself. I think in this case the temperature was too high, the crust was too thick, and the cheese was too much. But i sure didn't mind eating the results of this experiment.

 

[ej0rge]

dough recipe here:

My slightly ambitious pizza dough recipe.

I've been making pizza dough since my folks bought a kit including a really hefty ceramic stone and a really pitiful peel in about 1989. I started with the recipe that came with the kit. I talked a lot of smack about making better pizza than I can buy for a good long time and then for no good...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[Sven Svensson]

I ruined 7 pizzas in my new oven the first run before I got it dialed in. And by “it” I mostly mean me. If you did that on your first try I want you at my next backyard pizza party.

 

[ej0rge]

I ruined 7 pizzas in my new oven the first run before I got it dialed in. And by “it” I mostly mean me. If you did that on your first try I want you at my next backyard pizza party.

I've been making pizzas on stones in indoor ovens for 30+ years. I just need to get the hang of new equipment, and be more cognizant of my in-kitchen dough processing.

 

[Sven Svensson]

I've been making pizzas on stones in indoor ovens for 30+ years. I just need to get the hang of new equipment, and be more cognizant of my in-kitchen dough processing.

No wonder you nailed on the first try. Haha! I’ve been eating stone-cooked pizza for 30+ years but eating it and cooking are not the same, I guess.

On my first run ever I knew I was gunna mess it up so I had 2 proofing boxes of dough ready. I ruined at least one box. That’s positive thinking!

 

[ej0rge]

I don't feel like i nailed it but i was for sure close enough!

 

[ej0rge]

2nd pie.

Better stretch this time. Correct amount of cheese. Got some good browning on the cheese too.

Mise in place for this needs to include having tongs and a big spatula right at the grill to turn it. Oops.

I may have hit my 90-second target. Still feeling out thermal management.



Also, though I've been doing the "build it on the peel" thing for more than 30 years, this was my first attempt at the alternate method, described pretty well in this video by a poor bastard who works out of a shed by a public pool or something.

Ordered a similar perforated peel today.

 

[Sven Svensson]

Still looking very tasty.

 

[DRKsmoking]

Nice looking pizza, never worry about the shape but when you say

and a bit less cheese

I have to stop you and say that is just wrong...lol. never too much cheese

David

 

[JLeonard]

Looks good.....I always love trying out a new toy!
Jim

 

[Nefarious]

Awesome pizzas, I got my pizza attachment for my GMG Ledge late last evening, way to late to attempt

May get used tomorrow, I just hope I can come close to what your's was like. I think I will need a few tries to just get close. Have only made pizza in oven, never on a wood fire.

 

[ej0rge]

Awesome pizzas, I got my pizza attachment for my GMG Ledge late last evening, way to late to attempt

May get used tomorrow, I just hope I can come close to what your's was like. I think I will need a few tries to just get close. Have only made pizza in oven, never on a wood fire.

There's a balance to be found between the mass of the pizza and the temperature of the deck.

For a Neapolitan style thin stretched crust, you need Neapolitan style heat which the AVPN specifies as 430-480c or roughly 800-900f.

Heavier pizzas will burn on the bottom before the dough and toppings are cooked through at those temperatures. AVPN specifies 60-90 seconds bake time.

 

[civilsmoker]

Some nice pie and pretty nice add on to the pellet grill! Makes for a fun evening making pies together and not having to leave a tip!

 

[ej0rge]

4th.

Square because why fight the shape the dough ball took from spending days in a sandwich bag.

This time I used the "pizza mode" setting hidden two menus deep in the control app. Near as I can tell, it keeps the induction fan on full. Not really sure though.

I told it to heat to 300f, which it has to read as radiated heat through the steel body of the pizza oven attachment. Previous pizzas had the set temperature at 350 and 325.

Now that i have an adequate IR thermometer, i can read the temperature of the stone, and in this case it was about 700f. Which is not hot enough for this kind of pizza.

Took forever. Which is to say like 3 minutes.

This is the last of this batch of dough. I think the next batch will have more salt, less honey.

I do recommend this style of peel, and filing down the leading edge of the peel. And i am getting better at the technique demonstrated in this video: