Top heat on deck oven?

Pizza Shop Talk The Think Tank
1

If you have an oven like a Baker’s pride with the “push in for more top heat” slides… are you able to get a higher top heat than the deck temp. so that the top/bottom cook evenly?

I am interested in making a pizza a bit different than what most people here are probably making and that is pushing the limits of the ovens upper temp limit. I know there’s some gas deck ovens out there that’ll do 700F or at least the thermostat will go up to 700F. My concern is 700F is the top air temp, then the stone temp is actually much hotter? Where-as what I am looking for is the opposite. A hotter air temp than stone temp.

I have been messing around a bit on a wood fired oven with excellent results, cooking pizzas around 800 on the floor with 1000F roof temp and very happy with how this comes out. The question is can something similar (not THAT hot… but more than 550) be done without a dome oven?

You guys think I am nuts, but this is just a different type of pizza. There is sort of a cult following of neapolitan style pizza for example, as talked about in depth in “American Pie” by Peter Reinhart.

I know for example, with electric deck ovens you can control top heat independent of each other and make the top hotter. How/does gas deck work similarly with the baffles?

2

Have you tried an air impingement oven ? You always have consistent temp.

3

The side baffles allow heated air that is usually circulating AROUND the baking chamber to enter and circulate inside the chamber. It is a really, really low tech version of convection . . . no circulating fan. IS have not measured the temps in my Y600 oven, with baffles open, partial and closed, but I do get a much quicker top cook with the baffles oven on a light cooking load. When I get hopping, it still cooks the tops quicker, but notso much so that it is startling. Temps are riding much lower, and deck versus top are are much closer.

4

You can get the same type of profile from an air impingement oven too. You can reduce the airflow to the bottom of the pizza using either infrared panels or block-off panels, then oopen the top fingers to provide as much bake as you want. I think you should also be able to accomplish the same thing with the Picard oven too. Any of the IR ovens, such as the Gemeni-55 will have independant top and bottom control on the emitters, allowing you to get a heavier top than bottom bake if that is what you are looking for.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

5

A deck, or some sort of “brick” oven is in order as this will be part of the concept since the pizzas will be made right in front.

I do know they sell gas fired dome ovens. This may be an option. Deck ovens are just a relatively inexpensive route.

I do need to keep in mind the fact that if we cook them too quickly they will not last in a cardboard box.

6

My experience is that fast baked pizzas and cardboard delivery or take out boxes is not a good match.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

7

We use a gas fired dome oven made by Woodstone Corp out of California. They are pretty much the standard for these type of ovens. Our floor temp is at around 500 and the air temp (because of the flame in the back and the dome shape) gets up to about 700 or 800. The results are great and people love the pizza. Of course, it has to be thin crust as thicker dough will probably not cook through fast enough before the bottom and top burn.

I have tried to increase the floor temp to over 500 but it always seems to result in an unevenly cooked pizza (bottom burns before pizza is adequately cooked through).