Posting the rest here since Lemmy doesn't allow extended image posts.

I modified my Q stove pizza oven to take a steel instead of manufactured stone. I've done maybe 50 pies over the past couple months, and I am just not getting the 'perfect' bottoms I had hoped too. I think the stone takes too long to hear, coupled with it being slow to release heat back into the pizza. So my answer was to swap out the stone for a 3/8ths pizza steel.

That is the stone and the steel side by side. I've used the steel on some test runs in my indoor ove. and it performed admirably. But the tops were still slightly under done.

I used the stone as a template to line up on the steel, then cooking oil to aid the cut. I didn't want to use a petroleum based product since this is for food and I still plan on using the some some times.

Steel after the cut.

This was a 65% hydration dough. We picked it up off a YouTuber Charlie Anderson and use the 14% King Arthur bread flour.

Gratuitous dough money shots. It's been about 90 deg and 60% humidity 🥵 lately so the dough worked pretty magically.

We use a basic tomato sauce with just a bit of sugar and salt.

I always do plain cheese for test pies. Low skim mottz with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan.

Final product

Good burn on the bottom. Still going to have to work on the relative temps of oven and steel, but this is a vast improvement.