gregz > wrote:

-snip-
>
>Most good traditional shops push the dough onto the oven floor. I thought
>it was metal, but I never looked in.

I'll bet it is stone, both for its longevity and its emmisivity-- and
I'll also bet it is hotter than any oven I've ever owned can get.

>I questioned the use of a stone, and
>any pan. Some shops like to use a pan to size a pizza. You often find black
>flakes on the bottom of good pizzas, and it will also have blackened areas
>on top. I think you need plenty of heat to do it well. I thought, if you
>use a stone at home, you need to preheat it before putting dough on top ??
>What's the point ?

Yes the stone is in the oven so it preheats. My oven's top setting
is 550. When the oven is 550, the surface of the stone is 600+.
[the commercial oven is over 700F]

When the pizza is slid onto it immediately sears and crusts the
bottom-- and transfers more heat quicker than air would.

You can try it for about $10 from home depot or Lowes. An unglazed
tile will work almost as well as a pizza stone-- they just don't last
as well. [in my experience, anyway]

Jim