Sicilian Pizza Pan question

Hi Kokopuffs,

  Good question.  In most shops they put the pans right in the pizza oven. I would think you would use the stone as normal,heated.

I'm curious if this is the first time using the pan? Do you think it needs to be seasoned? What are you going to use as a release?

flour,meal, spray?

panini

I've worked in and even owned a pizza place. The best results we got was from using plain lard brushed into the pans. We put the pans in the oven. 

My ovens were just regular standard professional pizza ovens. I had/used one (my favorite) that had five 5' x 2' heavy metal shelves that revolved like a giant wheel. Another (the crummiest) that stood like a pillar with spinning shelves of some kinda stone surface (picture a four(4) layer merry-go-round). And still another that had three(3) shelves of 8" high that were 5' x 3'. Any decent pan/oven doesn't need any corn meal, unless you just like using it.  

If you think about it, anything cooked in a pan sees no real benefit for being on a stone or anything else really. Whatever is cooked in a pan has contact with that pan. Heat is heat otherwise in the oven. 

hmmm?

I don't know chef. Something that requires constant high bottom heat like pizza, I'm thinking I would prefer a shelf vs a rack.

But, I don't really know. Do I use the stone for heat or just to keep the oven clean? So you see. I should not even be in this thread

because I don't even know why I use the stone. I thought it was for heat. maybe not.

pan

Pizza stones give you a really nice crust, in all kinds of different ways, when the crust is directly on it. I love them at home or in small ovens or particularly when having to use a professional convection oven. I'm just not sure that they help a pan crust at all. My stone stays in my home oven almost all the time. It's a nice thing to use for many different applications outside of pizza. 

* Also, just for clarification sakes, I'm not a baker. LOL.

Ok Chef,

I have some time before Church. I called a good friend in Seattle who I knew would have answers. Ex hippie, NASA engineer-burned out-fried, home chef turned science teacher for

for kindergarteners of rich yuppies.

   I actually understood what he was explaining til we arrived at thermal dynamics etc, Bottom line is, when baking a pizza in a pan it is best to put the pan lowest closest to the heat source. Placing it on a stone will usually cook the top before the bottom. He does pizza at 550. I take his word because his favorite saying is" ask someone who knows", If  he isn't sure about something.

You were absolutely right!

btw I'm not a baker either:>)

panini

HHHMMMMMMMM .............

To tell you the truth, the only difference I know or have experienced is that outside of first being properly cleaned (so that no left over junky stuff causes nasty sticking), and second being properly greased (more no sticking), a pan is a pan. If I'm buying pans tomorrow, I'm not all that crazy about "Chicago Style" being that they are actually for me, too shallow, and I much prefer tall strait sides, not tapered. [A brand new pan, properly greased, will cook up a pizza just fine. You do not of course, have the "coolness factor" though. It's just a "GP" kinda thing to use a nicely seasoned pan.]

I couldn't find a really good pic, but this I guess is close:

Now I know this is probably a mistake, because I don't want to revisit the style of conversation like the "béchamel/lasagna thread", but I'll explain the way I learned "Chicago Pizza". "Pan" is dough, sauce on the inside, toppings, cook halfway, cheese, sprinkles (parm/romano/oregano), finish cooking. "Stuffed" is dough. toppings, some cheese, cook halfway, more cheese, sprinkles, top (sealed on edges but vented on top), cook almost done, sauce on top, more sprinkles, finish cooking. My ovens run +/- 500*. A good pan pizza takes +/- 40 min., a stuffed +/- 50 min.

In all my years of making pizzas I can't remember more than 3 stuffed pizzas larger than 12". They weigh about 26#s and cost north of $40. 

How did your pizza turn out?

Pans..not an expert.

The pizza we make at home is nothing like regular pizza. In my bottom wall oven I have a stone that was cut from an old blodget years ago.

I use a very thin crust but not normal toppings. When I throw it on the stone it's done in minutes. The stone absorbs any moisture and the crust will usually char in spots.

I don't make a thickpan  pie but do similar things kinda like an Easter type bread with different fillings. I use an old 1 /'2 sheet pan.

I have one for tonight, 1/2 sheet with pizza dough on the bottom filled with a mixture of chopped hard eggs, raw eggs, ricotto cheese, mozerella, regi., prosciutto & mortadello chunks, fresh spinache, asparagus tips,basil spice and cover with pizza dough. I cook fairly high with a hole on top to let out steam. I dust the pan with 00 it gets pretty crisp. Now we don't eat this hot it will set and we will eat at room temp. I used to bake this on the stone but this one I'm trying on the rack.

pan

oh I do slip it onto the stone for a few minutes when done.  I have tried a heavy guage pan but it retained too much moisture.

For me, I like the taller strait sides just for the way the pizza comes out. I think the tapered sides don't make for a nice "stand up" style pie. I've never had or used any "non-stick" pans, deep-dish or otherwise, not professionally anyway.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokopuffs 

Should my baking stone be left in the over to heat and then place the pizza pan on top of it; or, should the stone be removed

Keep the stone on the bottom of the oven to get extremely hot, then bake the pizza in the pan on a rack. When the pie is almost finished, peel out onto the stone for extra crispiness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by panini 

Hi Kokopuffs,

  Do you think it needs to be seasoned? What are you going to use as a release? flour,meal, spray?

panini

Seasoned like cast iron? steel usually doesn't, does it? or season for flavor? I like sesame at the bottom of my iron pans for flavor.

The best pizza stone I ever had was a large, unglazed adobe floor tile. I think I paid $14 for it. 

I grew up on sicilian pizza. It was always made in a rectangle pan but I guess if you cut it in half it would be 2 squares :O) My grandma didnt have a stone but I do use one. Either way is fine I think. I met someone else that partially cooks the dough with another same sized pan ontop. Then removes top pan adds toppings and finishes baking. This makes the dough soft and fluffy but still crisp on the bottom.