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Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans?

Re: Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans

I use them for a few reasons. First, my ovens are old and heat unevenly. I use screens and I don’t get “burnt” spots on the bottom of my pies because air can circulate under the pies. Another reason is that if I make pizzas on the board I can only make one at a time. By using screens I can premake several pies with sauce and cheese and then when it gets busy I only have to top them and pop them in the oven. This works especially well if the grill or fryer get overwhelmed and I need to leave the pizza station to bail out my grill/fryer cook which happens quite often. Also, when I am training someone new, they don’t have to “guess” at what the right size is. an 18 inch screen equals an 18 inch pizza, this makes training easier for me. I’m sure other people have other reasons, but those are mine.
 
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Re: Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans

i agree charlie… i am one of those people who use screens with deck ovens.

Besides premaking them, they come out perfectly round .
 
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Re: Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans

We’ve been using them for basically the same reasons. For the busy periods we have one station that just makes skins. They stack them on racks from which the toppers pull from.

I suppose you could buy round pizza cutting boards to form the dough on but at $65 bucks a piece that would get pretty pricy compared to screens. Plus it would make them pretty heavy.

The training and expertise is less using screens. Unless you are pulling from south of the border, it is difficult getting good help around here that take work seriously.

Having said all that, I know of some operators that do some tremendous volume with deck ovens not using screens. I plan on experimenting not using screens and if we see some good improvements I would like to go and visit some of these places. I’m really curious to see how they do it, especially when orders of 20 or 25 pizzas come in. How are they staged?
 
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Re: Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans

Thanks for posting but they don’t seem to answer my ?.I use to make up pies ahead as well but did it with my pans.Why would that stop you from making them up ahead.I stretched the dough out put it on the pan, sauced and cheesed and put it on a rack in the cooler.I assume that is what you do as well(or leave at temp for an hr).Also I had 18" pans that obviously made 18" pies.
 
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Re: Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans

Maybe I misunderstood you. You put the pans in the oven as well? If that is what you meant the answer would be that the screens allow better heat penetration to the bottom of the crust.
 
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Re: Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans
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misteroman:
Thanks for posting but they don’t seem to answer my ?.I use to make up pies ahead as well but did it with my pans.Why would that stop you from making them up ahead.I stretched the dough out put it on the pan, sauced and cheesed and put it on a rack in the cooler.I assume that is what you do as well(or leave at temp for an hr).Also I had 18" pans that obviously made 18" pies.
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Screens function as I understand your description of the pans in your shop. I and other make the pizzas on the SCREENS . . . don’t use pans. . . and slide the screens into the ovens with the pies on them. Also the up front cost is WAYYY less than pans. I did the calculations of the pans costs and the screens costs, including replacements, in my operation over last 3 years . . . .

actual screens costs . . . . . $150.00
estimated pans costs . . . . . $700.00 (annodized aluminum)
(for same number of screens in live production)

I may gradually add annodized disks into the equation, but that will take time and testnig to be sure we get a good bake technique.

Screens for us allow for controlling the bake of the bottom crust as well as uniformity of pies, simple transportation and relocation in the decks as needed. Require less space for storage, less cleaning effort, and actually are LESS efficient in baking in my oven . . . takes longer to bake my pies.
 
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Re: Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans

doesnt the dough stick to the screen?
 
Re: Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans

yeah I noticed that the pans were way more $$$ when I was looking at ordering them.Wouldn’t it bake the bottom faster though as half of it is exposed due to the holes?
I’ve always used pans so I know no other.
Derek
 
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Re: Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans

not if you put a little flour on the skin
 
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Re: Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans
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misteroman:
Thanks for posting but they don’t seem to answer my ?.I use to make up pies ahead as well but did it with my pans.
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We just got in this business last summer and our chef was a believer in loading pans with dough only and banking them in the cooler. Some may remember a post I did last year about “cook time”. In our 525-550F 981 double deck, it took 25 minutes to bake a pizza (not to mention prep time). I’ve since learned that the 981 at 50,000btu doesn’t have the recovery of a more powerful “pizza” oven. We were taking cold pans/dough, dressing them and throwing them in the oven. It almost killed us.
We now use screens for the first few minutes and then slide them right to the deck. Bake time now 8 minutes.

I got a tip from a guy in Steamboat last winter that if you use RICE FLOUR instead of corn meal or other, you can make your pies on the board and they will slide off and the rice flour won’t burn as easily… Going straight to the deck will shave another minute and also keep us out of the oven. C.
 
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Re: Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans

I can see the screen/no-screen conversation for deck cooking. But to me (OK, maybe it’s JUST me), using pans makes sense for a DIFFERENT STYLE pizza crust. My pizza wouldn’t cook right in a pan, and what I’ve had that I liked coming from a pan wouldn’t cook right on a screen.

Anyone follow me here?
 
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Re: Why would you use screens in a deck oven instead of pans
MM:
I can see the screen/no-screen conversation for deck cooking. But to me (OK, maybe it’s JUST me), using pans makes sense for a DIFFERENT STYLE pizza crust. My pizza wouldn’t cook right in a pan, and what I’ve had that I liked coming from a pan wouldn’t cook right on a screen.

Anyone follow me here?
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I think that may be the crux of the discussion after all. My pies with my style crust needs the open bake . . . maybe a perforated disk, but not a solid pan. If we used pans, we’d be developing a different pie with different techniques and dough.
 
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