Pizza Crispper

I've never heard of this. How does it work?

Anything you want to be exposed to the air in the oven on the bottom.

Obviously that excludes thin batters. The rest is up to you.

I've used something similar. It didn't give me the results I'd hoped it would, and i found it to be difficult to clean - cheese and other crud gets stuck in the holes. Mine had smaller holes than the one you link to, and so was probably harder to clean.

I use a fibrament slab these days, but if i were to go that direction again I would probably just go to a restaurant supply and buy some pizza screens.

You can use it on your outdoor grill for vegetables.

Another newsgroup posted that pizza can be reheated crisply in a non-stick skillet on the stovetop.

gloria p

Must be either anidea whose time is right, or another idiot like I was calling myself:

I've been eating pizza, fresh and reheated, for probably over 40 years. The other day, I tossed a couple slices in a skillet at lunch time. It didn't hurt that the skillet had a tiny bit of browned butter film left from breakfast, but I was kicking myself for not having thought of it before! Works great with the lid on, as it warms the toppings through at the same time the base crisps up...

Dave

It can't work. You must have something that will hold heat to bake pizza. You need a heavy stone. There is a striking difference between the 5lb stone I bought at Macy's and the 30lb stone I bought at the local restaurant supply house. Heat the stone up for a full 45 min. at 550F. The pizza should cook in 6-8 minutes. Spray H2O mist in to mimick a baker's oven.

Kent .

I use something similar on my grill for small items... veggies, scallops, shrimp etc.

Did you ever try reheating french fries that way? I was making a hamburger and remembered sole leftover restaurant fries, when I tossed them in the fry pan they were great!

I have been using the same Lodge cast iron skillet for thirty years now. Didn't have to buy anything new either! It is the only was to reheat pizza.

Have you ever seen a pizza place spray water into their ovens? I haven't.

Water vapor is used to crisp up the top crust of breads, including baguettes, but that's about it. Don't see how it would do anyhthing for a pizza.

-- Larry

Pizza places use a baker's oven, which sprays H20, creating a high humidity environment. This crisps the crust, as it does with any bread. The mist at home attempts to do the same thing. It does give you a crisper, more nicely browned crust.

Kent

Good pizzarias use a pizza oven, with a deck temperature around 720 degrees, and a bake time around 90 seconds. The really good ones are fired with fruit wood.

I've worked in the back at Pizzahut, and they use a conveyor convection oven, at about 550 degrees, and a bake time of a few minutes.

In neither case is there any humidity enhancement, but the baking conditions are far beyond normal baking conditions.

I've checked both my favorite local piiza shops. One uses a wood over (Faccia Luna), and one uses gas (Quattro Formaggi). Neither adds any moisture.

My home oven gets to 550 in convection mode, which does a very good job without adding moisture. My wife does add moisture when she makes baguettes, usually in the form of ice cubes into a try set on the bake stone.

My outdoor grill gets up to 700+ with all three burners blasting, which works great for both grilled and bakestone pizzas. No moisture added in either case.

-- Larry

I have one and I absolutely love it! The holes allow the bottom to brown and crisp. I have regular pans and won't use them any more after using this kind of pizza pan.

dizzi

Well, the trick is that it is perforated, and those holes apparently help crisp the dough on the bottom of the pizza.

And, my guess is, yes, it would work for other things, but, since it is perforated, you would have to put a cookie sheet on the shelf below the one the crisper is sitting on. (In order to catch drippings, etc.) Note, if you do this, the crisper and the drip-catcher need to be on different shelves. . .

Alan

==

It's not that I think stupidity should be punishable by death. I just think we should take the warning labels off of everything and let the problem take care of itself.

--------------------------------------------------------

I believe that using a pizza pan with a perforated bottom will provide a crisper crust. I know that the fast-food pizza companies use something like that to speed cooking of their pizzas.

'Tain't the same as a big pizza stone, but apparently it works.

Alan

==

It's not that I think stupidity should be punishable by death. I just think we should take the warning labels off of everything and let the problem take care of itself.

--------------------------------------------------------

Right, that's why i suggested a pizza screen.

Wait a second.

I bake potatoes right on the oven rack itself, and grab them off with tongs.

No sense putting something between them and the rack.