Kalamazoo AFPO-C-2-NA-NG Use And Care Manual page 17

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Additional Cooking Tips
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Pizza making is the perfect opportunity for creative expression. It is relatively casual, so there is less
pressure, and follows a simple structure within which you can try a host of variations.
Pizza making is also great for communal cooking. People can gather to make a variety of pizzas
using their own toppings. The short cooking time offers instant gratification and encourages
experimentation.
KalamazooGourmet.com +1.800.868.1699
Use corn meal or flour between the dough and
the peel to help slide the pizza off the peel. Be
sure the dough is floured enough so that it is not
sticky on the bottom.
Do not leave an assembled pizza on the
countertop or the peel longer than absolutely
necessary. This can lead to the pizza sticking to
the surface.
Cook thin to medium crust pizzas directly on the
cooking deck.
Use multiple, smaller "flicking" gestures to coax
the pizza off the peel into the oven. Trying to do it
with one, larger gesture is more likely to dislodge
pizza toppings.
Do not overload a thin-crust or medium-crust
pizza with too much toppings. This will most often
lead to a soggy center crust. When in doubt, less
is more.
If the pizza sticks to the cooking deck, the deck
was probably not hot enough before the pizza
was put onto the deck.
ƒ Do not put a frozen pizza on the cooking deck. It
is almost certain to stick and to become burned
before it releases.
Rotate pizzas for even cooking. The oven is
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hottest at the back.
ƒ Brush burnt cornmeal or flour off the cooking
deck and into the crumb tray before cooking the
next pizza.
ƒ If you have any difficulty rotating the pizza inside
the oven using a peel, try using a smaller pizza
peel designed for turning. Or try long-handled
grill tongs to do the job. You can also use the
tongs to lift the edge of the pizza to check on the
bottom of the crust.
ƒ Avoid letting the pizza contact the cooking deck
backstop (Figure 5:E). This is a very hot surface
that will quickly burn the crust.
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