Tomorrow, is my big test.

[Mexman]

Well, tomorrow will my first big test to see if I will ever be a Pizza chef.
I'm having my first pizza Party. I've only cooked one pizza in my new WFO and it was a disaster. Overdone.
I was planning on inviting about 6 good friends over to try out my oven and dough making , topping process.
Other friends found out about my party and somehow,(just couldn't say no) I'm up to 16 people arriving at 4 PM tomorrow.
I'm making enough dough for around 20 pizzas, in case I burn a few.
Wish me Luck

[jeeppiper]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

Gulp! Keeping my fingers crossed for you. The good thing about make-your-own pizza party is that each person must take full credit (or blame) for his/her own pizza.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

Don't even look at it as a test, just relax and enjoy the process. The only advice I would give is to burn a nice long fire so the oven is truly heat soaked. Like 4-5 hours worth. It makes a big difference in how the oven operates, for the better. Heat soaked to 800 degrees is much better than a hot face of 1000 degrees any day.

[Mexman]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

Don't even look at it as a test, just relax and enjoy the process. The only advice I would give is to burn a nice long fire so the oven is truly heat soaked. Like 4-5 hours worth. It makes a big difference in how the oven operates, for the better. Heat soaked to 800 degrees is much better than a hot face of 1000 degrees any day.

Thanks for the advice. I will start the fire at 12 noon. I had one of the locales deliver me three pickup loads of dried oak. So I can keep stocking the fire.

I think the first pizza came out overdone because I didn't have enough flame.
The floor was hot, but the top never got very brown. I kept waiting for the outside crust to turn golden brown like it did in my home oven.
Everyone coming are good friends, so we will have fun. Just in case, I have two cases of cold beer and a gal of Mex. tequila

[Greenman]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

Once the bottom is good lifting it to the top of the dome will finish the job quickly and you will have the real item.

[Mexman]

I now love my FB WFO

As I mention above, I'm having 16 people over for my first pizza party this afternoon at 4 PM.
Since I've had trouble getting my oven up to temp, I started the fire today at 11:30 to make sure it's upto temp at 4PM. Yesterday, after 5 hours of fire it was little over 600 degrees. I was very disappointed at the performance and felt it was because my builder used whole fire bricks instead of cutting them in half for the dome
I had several loads of dried oak delivered a few days ago. I decided to build a larger fire and use the oak.
To my surprise, the dome cleared in 40 min and the oven temp. Was around 800 degrees. All this in less than a hour.
What a difference hard wood and a larger fire makes.
Now, I need some eatable pizzas for my guest when they arrive at 4

[Mooveebuff]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

I hope everything went well for you...can't wait to hear the results! Hard wood and a large fire are the way to go. I made that mistake on my first few fires (not the right wood). I hope everybody had a good time.

[Gordoni]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

Waiting for the pictures! Sure it was a hit!

[boerwarrior]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

The difference in firings could also be due to the fact that your oven still is not completely dry. It takes a long time to dry an oven and if you used whole bricks there is a lot more moisture that needs to be gotten rid of. If this is true then your oven will continue to get easier to heat to temperature the more you use it.

Good luck!

[Mexman]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

The party went over great!!!
I baked about 15 Pizzas and everyone of them were eatable. My guest all went home happy and I think, hoped they would be invited back again.
The only problem I experienced was getting the raw pizza on my metal peel
All the pizzas were prepaired on a wooden, well flowered, cutting board.
Even though, the board had a lot of flower on it, the peel sometimes would not slide under it. It seemed to happen most when someone would roll the dough thin with a wooden rolling pin and put a lot of topping on it.
I had one guest who said he had worked for several years at a Pizza Rest. Kept picking his dough up and flipping it with his hands. These were easy to get on the peel. I also had trouble turning the pizza with the large peel when it was in the oven. I need to find a small round turning peel. Here in Mexico( unlike the US). I can't just go online and order one.

My oven worked great. It cleared in 40 min and stayed over 800 degrees for 5 hours

[stonecutter]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

Make a small turning peel...that's what I did. It's nothing more than a circular metal plate on a stick.

[jeeppiper]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

Congrats Mexman! Glad you discovered the solution to your temperature problem in time. It is amazing how much knowledge and experience you gain in just the first few oven firings.

[Mexman]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

Make a small turning peel...that's what I did. It's nothing more than a circular metal plate on a stick.

Don't have my tools with me in Mex.so I don't have any way to cut metal.
I ask my Maint man to get someone to make me one. He has a friend who has a metal shop. Said he would get me one this week

[wotavidone]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

The only problem I experienced was getting the raw pizza on my metal peel
All the pizzas were prepaired on a wooden, well flowered, cutting board.
Even though, the board had a lot of flower on it, the peel sometimes would not slide under it. It seemed to happen most when someone would roll the dough thin with a wooden rolling pin and put a lot of topping on it.

Heavy toppings are death to real pizza for at least two reasons.
One, the pizza is heavier meaning more resistance to sliding and, two, the pizza takes longer to top so the flour under the dough has longer to absorb moisture from the dough and glue the dough to the board.

Really need to be cooking on trays when someone wants the big layer of umpteen different toppings, and cooking on trays means you might as well go to a pizza chain store

I top my pizzas when the dough is on the board I use to put them in the oven. I have several peels made from MDF. Once they get too soiled/rough they become fuel and I make a new one.
Put the toppings on, give the board an experimental shake and if the pizza doesn't float, I use a cake slice to lift the dough a little and trap some air under there, then shake it again to get it flaoting.

[Lburou]

Re: Tomorrow, is my big test.

Congratulations on your first pizza party. Its a big moment,a nd the pizza looked good.