uneven cooking

[gtofani]

I finally fired up the oven and cooked pizza for supper.
I had a problem getting the middle of the pie and bottom cooked before the top started to get too dark.
Since the problem seemed to be more at the beginning of the cooking, I am guessing that I did not have the floor hot enough.
Still the last pizza had a more "doughy" taste and needed cooked more.
How do I get the middle of the pie to cook without burning the top and outer crust?

[Tscarborough]

I spread the coals (sans ash) on the floor for about 10 minutes before I prep the oven for cooking.

[gtofani]

ok, I will give it a try, thanks

[Derkp]

I do the same as Tscar. and it works well, mid way throuhg a big bake I have raked the side coals back over the oven floor to recharge. A little messy to get mostly ash free, but it works

Derk

[PizzaIdiot]

Add that to the list of best practices!
If I could only find my list...

-Jeff

[texassourdough]

You answered your own question. Make sure the hearth is hot! While an IR gun is nice the simplest way to know is to throw a teaspoon or so of flour onto the hearth and count seconds - like one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three and at three the flour should suddenly turn BLACK. If it is over four seconds the hearth is too cold and if it is two seconds the hearth is too hot. You can bake decent pies on cooler hearths, but...your problem is almost certainly your hearth is (still) wet.

Dry your oven out and life will be much more predictable and pleasant!

The ultimate answer is totally obvious once you think about it! If the top burns and the bottom is not cooked the hearth is too cold for the dome temp. If the top is not speckled and the bottom is burned the dome is too cold or the hearth temp. And if this is happening, FIX IT! Either rake coals over the hearth to recharge the hearth and rebalance the oven OR put in some fresh wood to get moree radiant heat from the dome!