Seattle's Sazerac Restaurant & cooking tip! Brick Oven Restaurant Reviews Discuss Seattle's Sazerac Restaurant & cooking tip! in the Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart forums; I visited here last night with friends for happy hour. Great food and atmosphere. I talked a little with the ...

[jrparks]

I visited here last night with friends for happy hour. Great food and atmosphere. I talked a little with the staff about the oven and my project. They only run there over about 550 º and burn Washington State apple wood.

A cooking tip they gave me was to wad up a paper towel and toss it onto the fire as the pizza is almost done. They old me it creates some kind of convection and forces all the hot air down to giving the top of the pizza a quick broil. I’m curious if anyone else has heard of or tried this…and does it work? I’m weeks away still before I’m cooking pizza.

Cheers,

[Mitchamus]

haven't tried the papertowel thing....

AFAIK Most people lift the pizza close to the dome to finish the top...
(if it's not done)

[dmun]

The Pizzarias in Naples keep a pile of woodchips under the oven, for that final burst of flame. Check this video:

Paper towel? All that black soot floating around the oven? I think someone's pulling your leg.

[james]

I'm not really a big fan of the woodchip thing either. If your oven is hot and in tune top and bottom (550ºF definitely does not count), you are going to get a great puff, brown cheese and char without doing anything special.

I think of putting the pizza near the oven dome to finish it as more of a problem solver (top not done) than an every pizza technique.

What do you all think?
James

[Les]

I lift the pizza to the top just because I seen it done on a video. The upside is that it gives the impression I know what the hell I'm doing. The paper towel does sound like a bad idea.

Les...

[jrparks]

It did seem like and odd tip, but that is one reason why this form is so helpful....I get expert advise!
I need to come out of the gate running as I will be cooking pizza with ten 4-grade girls for my daughter 10th birthday in early May. …and one is a vegan. But what I’ve never understood is, if we're not suppose to eat animals, why are they made of meat?

[PizzaPolice]

Don't think I would take advice from a dude who runs his WFO @ 550F. There is nothing wrong with wood chips in a properly maintained hot oven. They go in first. If the oven is cooler than at service temperature, the wood chips, kindling sticks or 8th splits will linger and produce a soot layer that hangs about midway between the floor and ceiling. Once the oven comes up to temperature, the wood will readily combust instantly.
The paper towel idea really sounds like a bad idea especially with food in there.