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[Bentley]

Much like my college education, I feel I got to the C- stage...

I'm hoping to mess with it enough to get to the "B-" mark...

but I'm not sure how much more ingredients I want to waste.

Thought I was the only one to feel this way!

[yorkdude]

That’s way above my pay grade. Kind of a shame but very respectfully it does look like it is no fun.

[Free Mr. Tony]

How did your pan hold up to the 900°+ heat?

Haha. Good question. Not great, but better than I thought it may. A little warped, but still usable.

[Kristin Meredith]

My feeling is that it is really a two person operation to make it the most efficient and productive.  We should have probably experimented with two of us -- Bentley minding the cook and me trying to feed pellets -- but I think we wanted to show how it worked for one person operating it because that is what most owners would do.

[Mudflap]

How would it work with grill grates instead of a stone for steak? Maybe to hot?

Mudflap

[TechMOGogy]

Perhaps the design using pellets is just not there based on real life use/tests
If it produced A+ pizza time and time again, there would already be competitors making other pellet pizza makers, just like all the pellet pits.
Great to read and see both yours and Bentley’s results!

[Free Mr. Tony]

Much like my college education, I feel I got to the C- stage...

I'm hoping to mess with it enough to get to the "B-" mark...

but I'm not sure how much more ingredients I want to waste.

Thought I was the only one to feel this way!

Based on others I've made, I'd give mine a "D+" at best.

My feeling is that it is really a two person operation to make it the most efficient and productive.  We should have probably experimented with two of us -- Bentley minding the cook and me trying to feed pellets -- but I think we wanted to show how it worked for one person operating it because that is what most owners would do.

I don't really have an issue with keeping it going. The problem is the burn. It's not clean, and it's uncontrollable. I can keep it functional no problem while making pizza, its just not a desirable result thus far. The smell says it all. It's a wood fired oven that smells like a wet bonfire. There is virtually no moment where you have that good smoke scent. My daughter stopped by Friday when I was doing my first run. She walked in the garage and said it smelled like fireworks.

Perhaps the design using pellets is just not there based on real life use/tests
If it produced A+ pizza time and time again, there would already be competitors making other pellet pizza makers, just like all the pellet pits.
Great to read and see both yours and Bentley’s results!

I think with more room and some additional engineering it may have some redeemable qualities. It needs to have a cleaner burn, be less reliant on flames for heat, and more room in the cook chamber. If I was the one keeping this, the first thing I'd do was get ahold of the gas burner attachment. That may alleviate some of the soot issues.

How would it work with grill grates instead of a stone for steak? Maybe to hot?

Mudflap

If you cut them to fit, it may work well. The steak was easily the best and simplest thing I've made.


All in all, I haven't paid much attention to this unit prior to us getting this together here on pellet fan. Based on what I've seen, I have a hard time understanding the mostly postive reviews. It seems to be a one trick pony that is not all that great at it's trick.

I really had hoped to prop it up for it's final home, but pretty sure I won't be able to. I hope whoever ends up with it can find it enjoyable, and useful. 

[Free Mr. Tony]

Yeah, chef Tom turned out some good pies in it, but he makes everything he touches look good.

On another note, picked up the book The Elements of Pizza and have been studying up....they talk about how most Naples pizza is lower hr and to move to higher hr when attempting similar type cooks in a home oven or other cooker that isn’t 900 degrees plus, as the longer cook times will dry the crust out otherwise....I stand corrected!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Glad you are enjoying reading it. I've read so many that alot of stuff runs together, but I remember that one being a decent read.

[Chris__M]

Again, noting that my experience was only a couple of sessions with a friend's Uuni and a Uuni 2 at that.

It occurs to me that the pizzas we were cooking didn't fill the pizza peel the way that yours and Bentley's appear to. I would guess that we were cooking 10" pizzas as opposed to 12" ones. Perhaps this is a reason we didn't have any of the char problem you seem to be getting.

Really not claiming any expertise, but hope this might help.

[LowSlowJoe]

I'm more and more convinced that cooking pizza at 700F+ in a small space , just isn't very practical...    In my PG500, I've managed one or two pizza's cooked at just above 700F that did 'OK'... , in my GMG Pizza Oven insert, I also managed a couple that were 'OK' when I had it up over 700F...      I've never cooked in a large oven that's really hot, so I can only really guess as to how it works, or how hard it is to do... but it seems to me that the more room you have to work in, the better... and, I also still think that in a real brick/stone oven, the amount of heat retained and radiated by the large domed roof  add a consistency to the process that's just hard to duplicate in a small oven with nothing but a stainless steel roof in it.

 But then, I will also say... only real pizza guy I personally know, insists that 550F is the only temperature you need to make a good pizza. ( I guy out of New Jersey , who's family's owned and operated a pizza place since the 70s )

[Bentley]

The heat was never an issue, even at 900°.  Even the soot, though not pleasant to smell, I never thought it flavored the pies...It is the space, it is just to small to work comfortable.  And I agree with FMT that one can keep it going, for me, it is just to many nit picking little things to deal with here and there and here and there...but I also see no advantage to a wood or coal fired pizza!  It is the romanticized cook we have all come to believe makes it have a unique and great taste...Sorry, I am hear to tell you it is no different then my Memphis...OR my 550° electric oven...and now having cooked on all three, and one full sized wood fired pizza oven, wont convince me otherwise!

[Chris__M]

Although I have been chipping in with my (limited) experience of the Uuni, for my own part, I crank my old Traeger up as high as it will go (couldn't tell you the temp, I just consider it "cranking it up to 11"), and have a big 1" stone that covers the grill area, with about 1-2" all round for convection. I leave it in there for 45-60 minutes before even trying to cook pizzas.

I prefer deep crust style pizzas, rather than thin, and find it works perfectly well for me. With the heat-up period, I obviously don't do this to cook just one pizza, but it is great for parties.

[Bentley]

I am curious if this would be more of what I consider a thick crust as opposed to a pan type pie?

How long on the stone?  How long between pies, if any delay at all?

I prefer deep crust style pizzas, rather than thin, and find it works perfectly well for me.

[Chris__M]

I prefer deep crust style pizzas, rather than thin, and find it works perfectly well for me.

I am curious if this would be more of what I consider a thick crust as opposed to a pan type pie?

This is the kind that I prefer. I know it is totally non-traditional. (Not my own picture, by the way)

How long on the stone?  How long between pies, if any delay at all?

In total, about 15-18 minutes. Thin crust 10 minutes. More or less a conveyor-belt - take a pizza out, shut the grill behind me, dump and slice the pizza, load up a new one on the peel, open the grill, slide it in... I've fed up to 20 in one go, with no-one having to wait for too long.

However, the stone is 19" x 14", so I can either cook one good sized pizza at a time, or two smaller ones side-by-side. Also, for the deep crust, it is first cooked plain until it just gets a hint of colour, then is topped with ingredients and baked further. So if I am planning a pizza party, I make a batch of pizza crusts in advance, usually in the morning. This not only reduces the cooking time of the deep crust to about 10-12 mins each, but it makes it a lot easier for people to handle if they are topping their own pizzas.

Hah - it sounds like I am running a pizzaria here. It's not something I do regularly, but perhaps once or twice a year. It's fun.
The more frequent times I get to make pizza for myself is when I am baking bread. In the summer, I prefer to bake a batch of bread in the traeger, rather than make the kitchen hot. So after all the bread and rolls have baked, I'll make myself a pizza.

[Bentley]

You might be surprised at how many people over here would prefer that type of crust to a thinner one.  Kristin used to go to a shop close to Del Mar, CA.  They served a very thick crust, it did not look like your crust, but about that thick.  Now to me, the slice you show almost looks like a sandwich bread. 

This is the kind that I prefer. I know it is totally non-traditional. (Not my own picture, by the way)