Newby need info on how NOT to burn pizza crust

[mountain adventures]

I am using AP Flour with a 65% humidity recipe. My oven is a Firerock Oven and I am getting it up to 800 degree F. Once the flames go down and I have nice hot coals, the oven side temps are about 800 degrees and the floor is around 770 degrees. I really have to work hard and fast to rotate the pizza as it bakes. Even after doing this my crust is still burning. Charring in some cases. What do I need to do to coorect this? I am looking for a more all around brown crust. I have found that I have to also add the cheese to the pizza at the very end of cooking to prevent it from burning. I HATE THE CARBON taste! Please help!

[tusr18a]

Re: Newby need info on how NOT to burn pizza crust

After you pull the coals to the side of the oven, let the floor cool for 15 minutes or so. Before you put a pizza in the oven that you intend to eat , push out a piece of dough and just top it with a little sauce. Put the dough round on the floor. Leave it there for several minutes until the dough is heavily charred. What you are doing here is taking some energy out of the floor. Remove the charred dough and discard. Now place the pizza that you want to eat right in the same spot where you just burnt the first pizza. By using this process, you should see less char on the bottom of the pizza.

Don't be tempted to move the pizza around on the floor. Leave it in the same spot. Rotate the pizza about half way through the bake leaving the pizza on the same part of the floor. You do this because the other parts of the floor are hotter and will cause more char.

As you bake more pizzas on that same area of the floor, you will see less char.

With respect to cheese burning, it sounds like you are using a grated mozzarella cheese that comes in a bag at a grocery store. This type of cheese has a lower moisture content and is prone to burn in the WFO. Use a fresh mozzarella ball that has been soaking in its own brine. I use Grande brand. Other brands will work too. This should solve your charred cheese issue.