UncleNicksPizza
New member
First off, a little background about myself. I opened my pizza shop, Uncle Nick’s Pizza, Aug 29, 2011 at the age of 23. All my previous experience was in chain pizza operations (worked from 16-19 at Domino’s as an Instore, and from 19-23 as a General Manager and then Area Supervisor for Papa John’s Pizza). It was at that point in my life I decided to venture out and try to open up my own shop. I spent several months trying to make my own dough and sauce recipe, until I finally found something that I liked (and others who I had taste it did as well). I took all the money I had saved up, quit my job with Papa John’s, and started on opening up my shop.
Now, my biggest issue was finances. Being that ovens such as Baker’s Pride do not require a hood or ansul system here, and that they are available in smaller sizes and cheaper than conveyor ovens to operate, I went with that. I purchased a very small (36" wide x 28" deep per deck) double stacked Bakers Pride oven. It took some getting used to, but after not too long I was doing all right with it (I actually ended up baking pizzas on the screen instead of a peel directly on the stone, and that seemed to go over quite well in this area).
Now my problem is that I am growing, and this oven can only handle 2 - 3 cycles (so 6-9 14" pies) back to back before the stones cool down and do not bake the bottom of the pizza, and even the top. I then have to wait 30 - 45 minutes to do 1 more set or a full hour to hour 30 to do another 2-3 cycles. (The oven is set at 500 degrees and takes about 1.5 - 2 hours in the mornin to heat up. I have tried higher and customer satisfaction dropped as the product tasted burnt even after adjusting settings to accomodate.
So I have two primary questions. First off is this type of problem common with the ovens, or could something be wrong where my thermostat is not telling it to heat up quickly enough. And two, now that I have more finances, and since I have been cooking on a screen (but still get a nice crispy bottom) would going to a conveyor oven cause a large difference (I know a difference is inevitable) as I see a lot of them advertising now that they provide a deck back, and people tell me even th older ones can be adjusted to provide a similiar bake.
Any assistance would be appreciated.
Now, my biggest issue was finances. Being that ovens such as Baker’s Pride do not require a hood or ansul system here, and that they are available in smaller sizes and cheaper than conveyor ovens to operate, I went with that. I purchased a very small (36" wide x 28" deep per deck) double stacked Bakers Pride oven. It took some getting used to, but after not too long I was doing all right with it (I actually ended up baking pizzas on the screen instead of a peel directly on the stone, and that seemed to go over quite well in this area).
Now my problem is that I am growing, and this oven can only handle 2 - 3 cycles (so 6-9 14" pies) back to back before the stones cool down and do not bake the bottom of the pizza, and even the top. I then have to wait 30 - 45 minutes to do 1 more set or a full hour to hour 30 to do another 2-3 cycles. (The oven is set at 500 degrees and takes about 1.5 - 2 hours in the mornin to heat up. I have tried higher and customer satisfaction dropped as the product tasted burnt even after adjusting settings to accomodate.
So I have two primary questions. First off is this type of problem common with the ovens, or could something be wrong where my thermostat is not telling it to heat up quickly enough. And two, now that I have more finances, and since I have been cooking on a screen (but still get a nice crispy bottom) would going to a conveyor oven cause a large difference (I know a difference is inevitable) as I see a lot of them advertising now that they provide a deck back, and people tell me even th older ones can be adjusted to provide a similiar bake.
Any assistance would be appreciated.
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