# Pizza On The Smoker



## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

Obviously, there is a big learning curve. I bought pizza stones and a pizza peel to do it up right, and then couldn't get the raw pizza off the peel and onto the pizza stone.

I would greatly appreciate any words of wisdom from anyone who succeeds at this cooking activity. 

Previously, I just built the pizza on a metal pizza pan and then put the pan and pizza onto the smoker still together.

Fortunately, my collapsed disaster pizza turned out really delicious but sad looking. I'd like to do better.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

Watching this. we haven’t tried it yet.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Corn meal on the peel is your first step.

It will solve your problem easily. I also make sure the dough is not moist. Dough should not stick to your hands or surface before you put on toppings. More cornmeal on the stone would help but I don't need it as long as the stone is very hot. If you use enough cornmeal on the peel, enough will transfer to the stone..My stone never leaves the oven.


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## doozie (May 21, 2005)

I curse the pizza peel, I can't really get the hang of the transfer. He makes it look easy.


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## oldasrocks (Oct 27, 2006)

You forgot to smear it with 30 w oil first.


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

It’s all in the mix , it can’t be stick at all . 
Most pizza places have tons of doe sitting in the cooler I like to let it sit a little but out on the counter . 
I make pizza on a small egg smoker a pizza stone 13” I think


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

Put a piece of parchment paper on your peel.


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

I do as gilberte said, put your pizza on a piece of parchment paper. Super easy to move it around than.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Parchment on a pizza stone is not great for a pizza. A pizza stone should be above 500 degrees. Parchment paper should not be above 450.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

Maybe I am using too much toppings. If I try to pull the pizza, the edge just stretches while most of the pizza doesn't move.

Fortunately, we all love pizza, so I can practice a lot while trying to figure it out.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Try cornmeal. It is like tiny ball bearings rolling the dough across the peel.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

painterswife said:


> Parchment on a pizza stone is not great for a pizza. A pizza stone should be above 500 degrees. Parchment paper should not be above 450.











It’s Fine To Heat Parchment Paper to High Temperatures In the Oven | Cook's Illustrated


The paper won’t release noxious chemicals, and will not burn.




www.cooksillustrated.com





Most parchment paper is rated for temperatures no higher than 420 to 450 degrees. But it’s true—we occasionally recommend using this liner for bread and pizza baked as high as 500 degrees. 
Phone calls to several manufacturers, including Regency and Reynolds, put any safety worries to rest: Using parchment at higher-than-recommended temperatures does not release noxious chemicals, and the paper will not burn. 
But there’s no question that it can darken and turn brittle. For pizza and other flatbreads that bake in 20 minutes or less, the parchment doesn’t turn brittle quickly enough for it to be an issue. For dishes that are in the oven at high temperatures for more than 30 minutes, such as our Almost No-Knead Bread, parchment can break down enough to fall apart—a particular issue in this recipe, in which we use the parchment as “handles” to remove the bread from the hot pan. In this case, we’d recommend seeking out paper rated for use at the highest temperature available (Regency brand, rated for up to 450 degrees, is the one we recommend for prolonged high-heat applications) and placing a strip of folded aluminum foil (4 or 5 inches wide) beneath the parchment when baking. The foil had no detrimental effect on the color or texture of the bread we baked, and it made for easy removal of the loaves, even after the parchment itself had become brittle.








Using parchment at higher-than-recommended temperatures does not release noxious chemicals, and the paper will not burn.


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## doozie (May 21, 2005)

Why You Should Never use Parchment Paper on a Pizza Stone


I almost burnt down my house using parchment paper on my pizza stone. Learn why you never should do that, and how you actually bake pizza on a pizza stone.




thepizzaheaven.com





I guess you can take your chances. Depends on how hot the pizza stone gets on a smoker.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

Well, if it’s a smoker like my Traeger, they don’t get all that hot. Ours goes up to about 475-500 and many of the recipes from Traeger direct you to use parchment paper on the stone.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

I don't like using parchment paper at much more than 450. It is coated with silicone and you are not supposed to put food on silicone at 500 degrees. My baking stone is always at least 500 degrees when making pizza.

If you bake your pizza at a lower temp, then it should not be a problem.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

Luckily, no noxious chemicals are released when parchment is heated higher than the standard recommendaction.


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## weaselfire (Feb 7, 2018)

The real secret is the dough. It should be fairly dry and slide on a peel fine, corn meal adds to the ease. And yes, parchment paper is fine for pizza.

Jeff


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

We bake our pizza at 550 degrees for 7-8 minutes, always comes out great. Been doing it for thirty years or better.


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## wdcutrsdaughter (Dec 9, 2012)

A month late but figured I'd add this because I do it differently. 

I use a pizza stone on a Traeger smoker grill.
I spread the dough right onto the pizza stone.
Put it in a cold grill - start the grill - par cook the crust this way.
Pull it out when it looks good to be topped.

Top it, put it back in and that's it!


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

That video is cool.


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

He you go one pizza on a 12” stone on a small ceramic smoker @ 425o for 14 minutes 
I cheat I have frozen pizzas but the gils love them


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

My family had pizza on the smoker again last night and we are getting better at it.

Dough was turned out onto the granite countertop that was generously coated in flour and given a couple of turns. Then it was hand stretched. Checked constantly to make sure there was enough flour to keep it well loose from the counter

Next lifted, not slid, onto the peel that was dusted with a generous coating of coarse corn meal. Sauce and toppings were put on the dough while it was on the peel.

After that, it would slide off of the peel onto the stone if some care was used. The stone was also coated with corn meal and the pizza lifted easily to turn it.

The most expert guy on You Tube was recommending semolina and not flour for the countertop, but I went to three different stores and couldn't find any semolina. Is that one of the Covid shortage items? I used to buy it right next to the flour in the baking ingredient aisle. I also looks next to the pasta. Nope, none available.

I also found some advice to not roll the dough, that would ruin both the rise and textur_e. _I'd done it once with the rolling pin and the difference was beyond striking_. _If you roll the dough you get a flat cracker-like crust that looks just like what you get at bargain pizza places. The hand stretched dough puffs up along the edges and looks wonderfully expensive and artisan. If you ar going to do all the work of making the pizza at home, make the very best pizza that you can make. You wouldn't even have been able to buy what we had last night, not at the most expensive pizza place. It is well worth the extra work to have it.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

I buy semolina from Bob's Red Mill. It is an Oregon company and is usually in the baking aisle but in a special section for that company's products. You can get it online as well from Amazon.

I agree, you just can beat making pizza the right way at home with the right methods.


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## stacieh (Jul 21, 2016)

We do pizza on our Big Green Egg and had a tough time getting the dough off the peel for years until we watched a few YouTube videos. First off, make sure you dough as set out at least 4 hours, I like to go 6 hours. This lets the gluten relax and it doesn't "retract" when forming your crust. We set the dough on a cookie sheet covered in plastic wrap and let it come to room temp for 6 hours. Then I spread flour on my clean countertop and start on the edges pressing the dough out in a circular motion. Then I move to the center and press out more. We stopped using a rolling pin and have less sticking issues by just forming the crust with our fingers. Now, flour your peel and move the crust to the peel. Quickly add your toppings to your crust. About every 30 seconds I shake the peel in a back and forth and side to side motion to keep the crust moving. <<<---- Quick and keeping the crust moving is KEY!! Now quickly go out to your smoker and the crust should come off your peel easily. 

We just use all purpose flour and have had good luck with this method. We also found a wood peel works better than a metal peel, but we still use the metal peel if we're making several pizzas at a time, but I think the wood peel is easier with the keep it from sticking.


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