How to get the firebrick floor HOTTER (to avoid a doughy / non-cooked pizza)

[ogopogodude]

Hello, ... I am still "trial & error' ing" pizza making at this point. I love my new oven but the toppings are getting well cooked, .. the edges of pizzas also are getting cooked (charred black) but the actual pizza dough isn't getting as cooked as I would like it. I have seen the occasional youtube video on placing / rearranging coals onto the centre of the floor to get the heat higher ... as one way of increasing the temperature floor. Then, pushing these embers back again to the side or back of the oven ..

Is there any other suggestions? And yes, ... we are making THIN pizza dough preps as another way of trying to get a crispy base. I am thinking that perhaps ... we are too much in a rush to start making pizzas & perhaps we should wait at least 2 hours so that the heat of the dome radiates down into the firebrick base/floor.

In any event, it sure is fun doing outdoor pizza making.

[ogopogodude]

Hmmm, I am thinking that my build may have been a bit "off" in terms of floor to interior height measurement. My dome interior floor dimension width is 36" in diameter, .. but I totally forget the height from centre of dome to interior ceiling. I am going to measure this today, ..

[UtahBeehiver]

Is the oven clearing all the way down the dome walls to the floor? If you are seeing a black ring around the bottom 1st and 2nd course, this might mean the insulation under the floor bricks is damp. I cannot recall what type of insulation you installed under the floor. If it was a v or precrete, there is a high probability the insulation still has some moisture in it. You just need to keep firing to work out the water. It takes me a min. of 2 - 2.5 hours of firing to get my oven saturated and cleared.

Another "user" error of soft bottoms is loading the pizzas with too much toppings, I always tell my guest when they build their pizzas "less is best".

[Chach]

How fast are you loading the oven with pizza from when you start your fire? Agreed with Russell thatvyou need to make sure the dome clears before you start that pretty much means your ready to start. Always test the floor temp I have had some hot floor temps and would burn the first one then i started to do the flour test.

[ogopogodude]

Yes, I think I am too much in a rush to start pizza making. I gotta let the dome get acclimatized to the interior heat and thus, I need to not put my pizzas in too soon. I am putting them in about an hour after lighting my match. ... but the actual "good" fire is about a 1/2 hour after that .. then it takes another 1/2 hour to reach embers .. and then in goes the pizzas. So, for sure I am putting them in too soon, even though visually it looks "good to go" ...

I do have an infra-red with laser pointer light to check on temperatures but I don't use it enough ...

The dome seems to be "clearing" ... but I don't really know what you mean by a black band at the base. Do you mean like, soot? The base of the interior of the dome does look a different colour than the upper brick layers. Here's a few pics.

[ogopogodude]

Chach ... expand on what you mean by the "flour test" ... I am assuming one throws a dust layer on the floor and it ignites ...?!?
As UtahBeeHiver indicated ... I do believe that I have a moisture issue. I will ask my mason what he used for the floor insulation under the fire brick.

Edit & update: yep, ... I am convinced I have a moisture issue and it will simply take time to get rid of this moisture. I looked at the inside of the dome, and there is for sure a dark band at the base of the dome brick. Thanks again, people for your input.

In any event, .. as one can see I do not have a counter top yet over the smoker oven to the left (just a real thick piece of plywood as a make shift counter top, nor do I have a surrounding countertop for the oven dome section, just concrete. I have a few months to decide what to do for the type of material to finalize things.

I am expecting to do a dark granite (left over pieces at a granite store, as we have quite a few of these places where I live). If anyone can suggest anything else, that would be great. Tile could be used I suppose. I kinda wanna stay away from a poured concrete counter top, as my luck it would turn out pretty crappy

[david s]

Do you have insulation under your brick floor? If not the heat from the floor bricks will wick away into the more conductive concrete supporting slab. Is the dome insulated or is your exterior the the brick of the internal dome. Again if the dome is not insulated you won’t be able to hold heat. Just like cooking pancakes, the first one is never the best. The oven floor will be too hot so just pull the first and maybe the second pizza closer to or maybe halfway into the entry where the floor will be cooler then progressively push each subsequent pizza deeper in. You also must maintain a fire on the side so flame licks up to the crown of the oven. Failure to maintain this flame leads to temp drop off.

[ogopogodude]

yes, .. I have insulation under the firebrick. I believe it is about a brick and half thick of vermiculite concrete. I think I have over come the doughy /non-cooked dough now, ... I was too eager to start cooking. I now leave the oven be really, really hot for two hours so the heat can distribute to the floor of the oven, as well as leaving the embers on the area where the anticipated food is going to be placed.