By the time I got there, our guys had baked their first pie. They were at 525F and had the vents closed. They had been slowly closing the vents to reduce top temperature and had a question for me… er, you.
The pizzas were actually coming out great but our main guy asked if they should turn the whole thing down a bit and reopen the vents. He was thinking that the airflow up top might be good and that he was simply too hot to begin with. I’ve read many posts here and thought 525 was pretty normal…
I know we’ll get it but thought you all might have some input. We expect a big weekend with 50,000 bikes in town for the Americade motorcycle rally.
There are many variables - your dough, for one.
But basically, I encourage you and your oven-guy to experiment and come up with a vent/temp setting that cooks the pie perfectly.
It MAY be a lower temp and open vents that gets your cheese bubblier before the bottom’s done - if that’s what he’s looking for. Then again, a lower overall temp will also extend your cook time - so you may NOT want to lower it, if indeed both the top and bottom of the pizza are coming out cooked the way you want them to.
Please note - there are TWO vent adjustments to set. First, there is the black knob you see on the face of the oven. That comes with instructions right on the plate (pull to increase bottom heat/push to increase top heat). Then, INSIDE the oven - one each side, there is a handle that you can slide back or forward to open or close a single row of vent holes.
Heck, you COULD set up the oven with one side open and one side closed, in case you cook a couple different crust styles…
Also remember, doing test cooking with a temperature change can take a while. Like a half a day. Because it can take a pretty long while for the oven to settle into a new temperature and for you to get a feel for the difference - especially if the deck’s still above the new set temp, or if you are busy and opening the door a lot, etc.