The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Screen for pizza

salma's picture
salma

Screen for pizza

Has anyone heard of a pizza baked on a screen and if so, sources to buy?  That's what a friend was telling me.  She said it comes out much crispier.  If you baked on a screen, would you not use the stone or keep the stone on a lower rack?

Salma

Postal Grunt's picture
Postal Grunt

Check Amazon. com.

flournwater's picture
flournwater

To your second question, leaving the pizza stone in the oven while baking your pizza screen version would tend to maintain a more even temperature in the oven so I would do that.

naschol's picture
naschol

I have baked on a screen and on a pizza stone and both give a nice, crisp crust.  I bet what they were referring to was baking on a screen rather than a pan.  

 

You can get inexpensive screens from http://www.akitchen.com/store/screens-pizza.html.

 

Nancy

salma's picture
salma

Thanks for your input Flournwater and Nancy.  It seems that the screens are pretty cheap and worth a try.  Keeping the stone in the oven would help hold the heat.  I still have this question that if I used the screen and put it right on top of the stone, would that defeat the purpose of the screen to have the heat flow thru?  Would you put the screen on one of the racks?

Salma

flournwater's picture
flournwater

I haven't used the screen, but from what I've read and seen it's typically used resting atop a metal pizza pan.  So, I suppose you could use it resting on a stone.  But I wouldn't.  I'd just lay it on a rack with the stone on a rack below it and see how that worked.

jayelde's picture
jayelde

These are used in pizzerias. They allow the dough to rise a bit before baking. Thay are placed directly on the heavy stone base of the ovens. They keep the ovens cleaner as the corn meal used is much less as the peel doesn't have to allow the dough to slide off. Typically the pizza is allowed to cook for several minutes to firm up the bottom then the peel is used to lift the pizza and the screen is pulled out of the oven and the pizza is placed directly on the stone. Makes for a nice crispy crust without burning the bottom as these oven are very hot.

jayelde

jayelde's picture
jayelde

On a further note - form the dough and press it out on the counter. Once you have moved it to the screen do not press it down. You can stretch and resize but if you press down the dough will be forced through the screen and will expand when it is baked. You will have to scrape the pizza off of the screen as it will be stuck.

jayelde

Nickisafoodie's picture
Nickisafoodie

You can find pizza pans that have 1/4" holes punched in them every half inch or so.  This will give you a very nice crisp crust.  Keep the stone on the bottom of the oven and put the pizza tray in the top third.  preheat oven for 30 min at 550 degrees.

I avoid the screens as they are usually aluminum but they do work fine...

Barbara Krauss's picture
Barbara Krauss

I bought two of these after reading that they were a good alternative to parchment paper, but I had no luck with these at all.  The crust did not brown nearly as well as when I placed the dough on parchment paper and then directly on to a hot stone.  I threw mine away. 

frankie g's picture
frankie g

We sell them on our site... basically, they are great for they're really good for making pizza... if one wants to transport easily, or take their time in building the pie.

When the dough is stretched and placed on the screen... one can just slide, move, pick up the pizza (by the screen) without affecting it's shape etc..

Place the pie (on the screen) in the oven.  Once the pizza dough cooks a bit and sets up - and can be maneuvered with a peel, remove the screen and place the pizza directly on the oven stone...

Hope that makes sense...

Frankie G

www.fgpizza.com

Pain Partout's picture
Pain Partout

I will stick with my parchment (is this a pun?) and peel transfer to hot oven stone.  Over the years, I have tried perforated pizza pans, and screens.  For me... the pans and screens just don't give the same crisp crust that I get from using parchment. I threw mine away. 

If you want an even crispier crust,... slide/wiggle out the parchment part way through the cooking process, using a thin metal peel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kitchen Barbarian's picture
Kitchen Barbarian

I use Super parchment or Pan Pal pan liners from thewebstaurantstore.com - reusable parchment.  Just roll it up into a tube to store it.  I slide the pizza on the super parchment off the paddle onto the baking stone, then after about 3 mins, I pull the super parchment out - it's easy, just grab a corner (don't burn your fingers!), lift the pizza with the paddle, and pull it right out.

This totally solved the whole magical twist of the wrist holding your mouth just right while praying to the pizza gods  while trying to get the pizza to slide off the paddle thing.  We can now get the pizza right into the oven with no muss, no fuss, no bother, and no pizza pieces all over the back of the oven, the floor of the oven, the door of the oven, and possibly the floor of the kitchen as well.

Love reusable parchment!