Weber kettle pizza making
Discussion
Have wanted a Weber GBS pizza stone for a while, but they seem to have discontinued the GBS one (sand coloured stone with a metal base with handles) and now sell a dark ceramic grey one instead.
https://www.weber.com/GB/en/accessories/cooking/pi...
First time using last night and set up as per instructions with direct heat from placing the briquettes under the stone. I used my briquette baskets which were both full, and pre-heated the stone for 15 mins or so.
Used semolina on the stone and pizza base, no oil. Cooked the first one for c. 5minutes, lid on. Subsequent pizzas cooked for c. 4 mins.
All the pizzas came out with a black ‘charcoal’ base so were only edible after surgery to remove the base, and the tops were possibly a little undercooked, cheese was melted but certainly no really browned sections of dough
So… what did I do wrong?
Clearly the stone was far too hot, but why?!
Too many briquettes?
Too close to the stone? Would tipping them direct on the lower grate be better
Would indirect heat be better?
All tips welcome!
https://www.weber.com/GB/en/accessories/cooking/pi...
First time using last night and set up as per instructions with direct heat from placing the briquettes under the stone. I used my briquette baskets which were both full, and pre-heated the stone for 15 mins or so.
Used semolina on the stone and pizza base, no oil. Cooked the first one for c. 5minutes, lid on. Subsequent pizzas cooked for c. 4 mins.
All the pizzas came out with a black ‘charcoal’ base so were only edible after surgery to remove the base, and the tops were possibly a little undercooked, cheese was melted but certainly no really browned sections of dough
So… what did I do wrong?
Clearly the stone was far too hot, but why?!
Too many briquettes?
Too close to the stone? Would tipping them direct on the lower grate be better
Would indirect heat be better?
All tips welcome!
Doubt the stone was too hot, more that the heat on top wasn’t enough.
The base will cook in a minute or so. You need to find a way to get the top hotter which is the limitation with an adapted bbq.
Even with a dedicated pizza oven like an ooni it’s tricky to balance top and bottom cooking.
The base will cook in a minute or so. You need to find a way to get the top hotter which is the limitation with an adapted bbq.
Even with a dedicated pizza oven like an ooni it’s tricky to balance top and bottom cooking.
Unfortunately no tips but I have looked at these Webber stones for a while and even in their own promotional videos the pizza never looks cooked the way I would want it.
Would it be worth moving the char basket's indirect against each side and seeing how that goes. Clearly you are having no problem getting it up to temp. That may also help the heat roll over the top and cook the toppings better.
Hopefully someone will come along with better advice.
Would it be worth moving the char basket's indirect against each side and seeing how that goes. Clearly you are having no problem getting it up to temp. That may also help the heat roll over the top and cook the toppings better.
Hopefully someone will come along with better advice.
I have a Weber kettle but never used the pizza stone. However, I think indirect heat would be better - if you think about a real pizza oven, the wood/fuel is pushed to the back/side of the oven so if the heat/your briquettes were directly under the stone, that might have been part of the problem. Maybe try again with the baskets situated at the back?
Many thanks for the replies.
I can’t find any videos of anyone using this new stone on a Weber kettle, but my thinking is much the same as all of yours - indirect heat feels like the right thing to do as the top needs to get a good blast of hot air as well. I even went back inside the house before I tipped the briquettes to check the instructions as I thought direct wasn’t right, but that’s what they say:
I think I’ll try either using the baskets but at the edges or lay a single layer of briquettes across the whole lower grate next time.
I can’t find any videos of anyone using this new stone on a Weber kettle, but my thinking is much the same as all of yours - indirect heat feels like the right thing to do as the top needs to get a good blast of hot air as well. I even went back inside the house before I tipped the briquettes to check the instructions as I thought direct wasn’t right, but that’s what they say:
I think I’ll try either using the baskets but at the edges or lay a single layer of briquettes across the whole lower grate next time.
You need the bbq REALLY hot, like 400C
Bank the coals up and don’t have them under the stone as this leads to the burnt bottom
Let the stone get to the 400C temp of as hot as you can get it then cook with lid off for as little time as possible.
If you can’t get to that sort of temperature (needs loads of charcoal) then try around 200C and put the pizza on a bit of baking paper. I’ve found this to help stopping a burnt bottom
Bank the coals up and don’t have them under the stone as this leads to the burnt bottom
Let the stone get to the 400C temp of as hot as you can get it then cook with lid off for as little time as possible.
If you can’t get to that sort of temperature (needs loads of charcoal) then try around 200C and put the pizza on a bit of baking paper. I’ve found this to help stopping a burnt bottom
What you need is a barabaque (spelling?) which turns your Weber into a pizza oven.
Works perfectly although googling doesn’t turn anything up, perhaps they’ve closed down.
I bought one and used it for a summer before buying an uuni, it really was terrrific.
It’s a metal insert that goes between the kettle and lid and you burn wood at the back of the bbq to create the flame over the top of the pizza stone as you would in a pizza oven.
Works perfectly although googling doesn’t turn anything up, perhaps they’ve closed down.
I bought one and used it for a summer before buying an uuni, it really was terrrific.
It’s a metal insert that goes between the kettle and lid and you burn wood at the back of the bbq to create the flame over the top of the pizza stone as you would in a pizza oven.
I use the onlyfire pizza attachment, which also doubles as a rotisserie.
Load coals at the back using the trays that came with the Weber. I also put a couple of lit coals under the stone but only two. When the stone is up to temp top up the fire in the trays with seasoned hard wood. You need the flame to wrap over the pizza to cook the top as fast as the base on the stone.
It works but is much better if you place a deflector above the pizza ie to stop the heat going into the lid space. This forces flame over the pizza and protects the handles on the lid.
Load coals at the back using the trays that came with the Weber. I also put a couple of lit coals under the stone but only two. When the stone is up to temp top up the fire in the trays with seasoned hard wood. You need the flame to wrap over the pizza to cook the top as fast as the base on the stone.
It works but is much better if you place a deflector above the pizza ie to stop the heat going into the lid space. This forces flame over the pizza and protects the handles on the lid.
595Heaven said:
Used semolina on the stone and pizza base
So… what did I do wrong?
Clearly the stone was far too hot, but why?!
I'd suggest getting your stone really hot first before putting your pizza on it. But maybe the base is cooking before your toppings are cooked?So… what did I do wrong?
Clearly the stone was far too hot, but why?!
Could have been the semolina burning. When cooking pizzaz in my Ooni pizza oven I use semolina on my pizza peel to help it slide off and onto my oven stone, and sometimes if too much semolina remains under the pizza base it can burn. I would suggest you don't need to put semolina on the actual stone, and it could be this which is burning?
Edited by LeadFarmer on Saturday 16th July 21:51
Made pizzas again tonight… a different issue this time 
So last time I’d put all the briquettes in the baskets directly below the pizza stone which meant the bases were burnt well before the toppings were cooked. The instructions say direct heat, but the stone was clearly far too hot.
This evening i spread the briquettes more evenly - a rough circle around doing the outside and a small mound in the centre underneath the stone.
Let it heat up for about 15 mins and put the first pizza on. After about 6 minutes I checked on it and it was clearly nowhere near cooked. Left it another five, and then had to resort to putting it in the oven to finish cooking. Cooked the others in there from scratch.
The temperature gauge on the top of the kettle lid only got to c. 180°C at most, so no where near hot enough this time!
AAAarrgghhh!
So…. For next time I think I’ll mound the coals back in the centre but not in the baskets, as this put them too close to the stone.
Very frustrating!
This is the stone by the way… https://www.weber.com/GB/en/accessories/cooking/pi...
So last time I’d put all the briquettes in the baskets directly below the pizza stone which meant the bases were burnt well before the toppings were cooked. The instructions say direct heat, but the stone was clearly far too hot.
This evening i spread the briquettes more evenly - a rough circle around doing the outside and a small mound in the centre underneath the stone.
Let it heat up for about 15 mins and put the first pizza on. After about 6 minutes I checked on it and it was clearly nowhere near cooked. Left it another five, and then had to resort to putting it in the oven to finish cooking. Cooked the others in there from scratch.
The temperature gauge on the top of the kettle lid only got to c. 180°C at most, so no where near hot enough this time!
AAAarrgghhh!
So…. For next time I think I’ll mound the coals back in the centre but not in the baskets, as this put them too close to the stone.
Very frustrating!
This is the stone by the way… https://www.weber.com/GB/en/accessories/cooking/pi...
I had the same issues.
Now I cook with the coals on the outside wall in a circle. No coals under the stone. Get BBQ up to regular oven temps as per instructions and cook to the package instructions. After all, it’s just a glorified oven when the lid is down. Co es out perfect.
I do turn the pizza every few mins as all bbqs have a hotter side and a colder side.
Now I cook with the coals on the outside wall in a circle. No coals under the stone. Get BBQ up to regular oven temps as per instructions and cook to the package instructions. After all, it’s just a glorified oven when the lid is down. Co es out perfect.
I do turn the pizza every few mins as all bbqs have a hotter side and a colder side.
Too much semolina I'd say. you literally need a very light dusting (wiping most of it off with your hand) on your peel to launch, non on the stone.
Stone needs to be 430C before launch, the biggest issue will be you cannot control your heat well. if the toppings aren't cooking but the base is there's not control over the heat/flames rolling over the top of the pizza to cook fully, once the pizza is cooked you could lift the pizza off the stone and hold high up in the oven for a short period of time to cook the toppings where the heat is.
Stone needs to be 430C before launch, the biggest issue will be you cannot control your heat well. if the toppings aren't cooking but the base is there's not control over the heat/flames rolling over the top of the pizza to cook fully, once the pizza is cooked you could lift the pizza off the stone and hold high up in the oven for a short period of time to cook the toppings where the heat is.
It's not you, it's just not a good system. Pizzas need a lot of heat on top to cook the toppings before the base turns to charcoal, which in a proper pizza oven you get from the huge thermal mass of the stone/brick roof, not just the flames licking around the top of the dome.
When doing pizzas in a kitchen oven, you can actually get half decent results (despite the low temp) by putting a pizza stone on the shelf above the pizza instead of below (or both if you have two) but there's no way to suspend a stone, or any thermal mass, from the lid of a Weber kettle.
I'd give up on it, or use it for steaks or something, and get a proper pizza oven if that's something you're into. You might find ways to work around it with experimentation, but you're always going to have that problem of more heat below than above. It's just fundamentally not the way to cook pizza.
When doing pizzas in a kitchen oven, you can actually get half decent results (despite the low temp) by putting a pizza stone on the shelf above the pizza instead of below (or both if you have two) but there's no way to suspend a stone, or any thermal mass, from the lid of a Weber kettle.
I'd give up on it, or use it for steaks or something, and get a proper pizza oven if that's something you're into. You might find ways to work around it with experimentation, but you're always going to have that problem of more heat below than above. It's just fundamentally not the way to cook pizza.
This is the new GBS stone
https://www.weber.com/GB/en/accessories/cooking/we...
I have the original Weber pizza oven for my kettle, has a much lower lid and protection for the underside of the stone.
As others have said you don’t want the heat directly underneath. Have it round the edges, and if possible use some hardwood.
https://www.weber.com/GB/en/accessories/cooking/we...
I have the original Weber pizza oven for my kettle, has a much lower lid and protection for the underside of the stone.
As others have said you don’t want the heat directly underneath. Have it round the edges, and if possible use some hardwood.
Not tried to make a pizza in mine yet, but if you switch to lump wood charcoal, I would recommend the chimney starter.
They have two sizes and I’d definitely go for the larger one.
Filling it full of charcoal and putting one of the ‘natural’ fire lighters (the wood shavings and wax affairs) underneath, it’s ready to dump out within 20 mins and then you can start cooking straightaway.
Maybe try that with the coals round the edge; then as soon as the temp gauge hits ~250, stick the stone on and then when the temp hits 350/400 put the pizza on.
They have two sizes and I’d definitely go for the larger one.
Filling it full of charcoal and putting one of the ‘natural’ fire lighters (the wood shavings and wax affairs) underneath, it’s ready to dump out within 20 mins and then you can start cooking straightaway.
Maybe try that with the coals round the edge; then as soon as the temp gauge hits ~250, stick the stone on and then when the temp hits 350/400 put the pizza on.
Don't know why people think it can't be done. You just need to get the temperature up high enough. Use lump wood and make sure it's dry. Leave it a bit longer after lighting: the temperature generally climbs initially, drops and then climbs again. Make sure the vents are wide open.
Pizzas are best when thin. They shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes to be done completely.
Pizzas are best when thin. They shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes to be done completely.
This is the attachment I used. As I said before, it’s not that you can’t do it on a Weber it’s just that it’s a total faff trying to overcome the design flaw.
With this offset bit in the middle, you loaded logs to the back which the draught made the flames pass over the top.
But if a genius bit of kit for wood fired pizzas on a Weber but once a bought an Uuni it was made redundant, as the Uuni is just so much easier to use.
With this offset bit in the middle, you loaded logs to the back which the draught made the flames pass over the top.
But if a genius bit of kit for wood fired pizzas on a Weber but once a bought an Uuni it was made redundant, as the Uuni is just so much easier to use.
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