There’s hardly anyone who doesn’t like pizza. If you’re a pizza lover just like me, you surely can relate to those midnight cravings. But ordering or getting a pizza that late at night can sometimes be troublesome.
What to do then? Well, you don’t have to worry at all. All you need is the best pizza stone at home. And you’re all set to make your very own pizza.
Here in this article, I’ll let you know how you can set up a pizza stone in the Big Green Egg and cook your pizza very easily. By following my directions, you can effortlessly use a pizza stone to make your desirable pizza. So, Stay tuned until the very end!
How to set up a pizza stone in the Big Green Egg or Traeger?
If you own a Big Green Egg, I can surely tell you love cooking outdoors. How exciting it is to cook your food and also enjoying nature at the same!
But cooking pizza in the Big Green Egg could be a little tricky, especially if you’re a beginner. However, that’s no problem. I’ll tell you some ways how you can expertly make the best pizza in the first go.
To transform your Big Green Egg into a stone oven to make pizzas, you need:
- A convector.
- A stainless steel grid.
- Flat baking stone or pizza stone.
Procedure:
Firstly, we need to use a stainless steel grid on top of the plate setter of the green egg. This grid will act as a spacer in the middle of the plate setter and the pizza stone.
Make sure the grid is at least 2.5-3 inches thick or you can adjust the thickness according to what is suitable for you.
After that, we need to place the flat pizza stone on top of the grid. Now, open the draft door of the ceramic base by at least 3-4 quarters to obtain a good high temperature. This way we will be done setting up the pizza stone in the green egg.
How do you cook pizza on a pizza stone?
All we need to do is put our desirable toppings on top of our pizza. Then, after making the pizza on the counter, it is time to transfer the pizza to the stone.
We will be using indirect heat when using the convector. Preheat the pizza baking stone inside the green egg for about 35-45 minutes to ensure that the dough doesn’t stick to the stone.
Subsequently, shift the pizza to the stone. Let it bake for 6-8 minutes at around 250°-300° C temperature. Ta-da! We have our well-baked, homemade, mouth-watering slice of pizza.
Should I Preheat the pizza stone before putting pizza
A problem that beginners mostly deal with is their pizza sticking to the pizza stone resulting in burning the crust. I don’t think I need to tell you how terrible a burnt pizza tastes! But every problem has its solution.
And the solution to this problem is to heat the pizza before putting the pizza on it. We need to heat the pizza stone for 35-45 minutes or even longer. So preheating for an entire hour will be more beneficial. The minimum temperature for preheating the stone is 500°-600° F. Try to heat your stone and baking oven simultaneously.
This will reduce the chance of your pizza getting stuck to the pizza stone. And it will give your pizza a nice brown color and a crispy texture.
Again there’s also a chance of this pizza stone getting cracked if you put your stone made of ceramic into a baking oven at a high temperature.
Again, it happens as the pizza stone cannot endure massive temperature changes. So, to avoid these problems, you must preheat your pizza stone before putting the pizza on it.
Should I oil my pizza stone?
No, you should never drizzle any oil on your pizza stone. Because if you oil your pizza stone in the process of heating, it can cause smoke. This might result in burning your pizza stone.
This is a very common mistake many people who are using the pizza stone for the first time make. They think it is wise to oil their baking stone for not letting their pizza stick to the pizza stone, because of which their pizza stone gets ruined.
A pizza stone has numerous pores. If you spray oil onto the stone, it might get into those tiny pores. So whenever you try to make pizza in that, it will create smoke and even cause a fire.
Therefore, to prevent such accidents, avoid using any oil in your pizza stone.
What temperature do you cook pizza on a pizza stone?
This depends on what type of pizza we’re making and the different types of dough we’re using. For example, some are cooked well in the range of 450-500 degrees—some need 650 degrees or even more to be well baked. So we should adjust the temperature needed for cooking our pizza according to our recipe. In addition, we should consider some factors on which the cooking temperature of our pizza depends. These are:
The thickness of crust: The thin or thick crust might change the temperature needed to cook a perfect pizza.
The moistness of dough: The wetness or dryness of the pizza dough can cause the pizza to cook at a different temperature.
The amount of time to cook the pizza: Less time needs more temperature, whereas more time needs comparatively less temperature.
The distance between the pizza stone and the dome: If the pizza stone is not that close to the plate setter, it might take a comparatively high temperature and more time to cook the pizza well.
Thus, considering all the aspects mentioned above can help us determine the temperature needed to properly cook our desirable pizza.
Frequently Asked Questions: (Related Question)
#1. Why is my pizza sticking to the stone?
Answer: There might be some reasons behind your pizza sticking to the baking stone. These are:
- Making a very moist pizza dough can stick your pizza to the pizza stone.
- If you have a hole in your pizza dough, the toppings might fall in the stone, causing the pizza to stick to the baking stone.
- Trying to lift the dough of the pizza before baking it properly. As the dough is still moist, this action of yours will lead your pizza to stick to the bottom of the stone.
#2. Things to do to prevent your pizza to stick to the baking stone:
- Preheat your pizza stone before making the pizza in it.
- You can spread a generous amount of flour or cornflour on the counter where you’re making your pizza dough. However, avoid using flour on the pizza stone as it will burn the flour.
- Don’t moist your dough too much.
- Ensure there’s no hole in the dough of your pizza.
- You can also use parchment paper on top of the pizza stone.
- Using a big green egg pizza peel to take out the pizza off the pizza stone.
Following these steps will prevent your pizza from sticking to the baking stone.
Conclusion:
I have cleared all your doubts regarding using a pizza stone and set it up in a big green egg. Now, you can make your very own pizza at home using the pizza stone following my directions.
Also, don’t forget to share this article with your friends so they can eat delicious crispy pizza too.
Bon appetit, Amigos!