Oven temp issues - quest for holy grail

[pizzafun]

Hello,
STruggling with my Andiamo 70.
My first couple experiences were that the top of the pizza was cooking but the bottom was not.
My next experience was that I put a pizza in the oven & it it immediately caught fire on the bottom.
I do have an infrared temp gun & I am looking for 850 degrees.
I let the oven cool for about 45 minutes after I burned the pizza with no door on & the bottom was undercooked & the top of the crust was not cooked enough.
I use a log holder & good wood.
suggestions? or am I far away from getting there?
thank you.

[david s]

Re: Oven temp issues - quest for holy grail

Try casting about half a teaspoon of semolina onto the floor prior to placing the first pizza. It should turn black in 3 secs. 2 secs= too hot, 4 secs= not hot enough. I always cook my first pizza with about a third of it in the entry, because the oven floor is way cooler there. Subsequent pizzas can be placed a little further in.

[pizzafun]

Re: Oven temp issues - quest for holy grail

forgot to mention that I do not use the door in the front at all, i did not use a burning log but rather very hot coals from the wood that burned, I do not move the coals back & forth while alternating the places I put the pizza (maybe I should), I have the coals sit in the back & side

[david s]

Re: Oven temp issues - quest for holy grail

Maintain a flame, with your fire on the side, that extends to the top of the dome. This will cook the top of the pizza better and give you an oven light.

[pizzafun]

Re: Oven temp issues - quest for holy grail

thanks for your help! I will try the flour test. Should I move my coals from the left to the right for each pizza? Is 800-850 the target temperature? I assume I can add wood during the process if I am cooking 9-12 pizzas? any other tips?

[david s]

Re: Oven temp issues - quest for holy grail

I usually don't move the fire at all. If cooking lots of pizzas I just fire up for longer, like 3 hrs. If only doing about 5 pizzas then 1.5 hrs is usually sufficient. But every oven is different. Keep firing and cooking. If you cast a vermicrete insulating slab it may not be properly dry yet and that may be a contributing factor to the floor cooling off fast.