Wisco 421 Pizza Oven

[Old Hippie]

Okee-Dokee Colts'n'Fillies, here's the new appliance at Chez Hippie:

Behold! The Wisco 421 Pizza Oven:



I just got the table done, and this is the oven "burning in" for an hour before we use it. Next photo: the table. Basic, basic; angle steel frame and a 3/16 inch aluminum sheet on top. I have the oven "sideways" because it seems to make sense for pulling things out. We'll see about that.



Next, the oven opened up. The rack is attached to the "door" and comes out for easy loading. It doesn't have retainers, so that's one reason I put the oven sideways. I hate droppin' pizzas.



...and there's a crumb tray! Just like downtown, man.



It's a perfect fit for my pan-pizza pan, and I have a small steel plate that I usually use for a tortilla griddle that will do "hearth" pizzas. It'll also do cookies, lasagna, flatbreads, pretzels, pie, chicken pieces, or anything that will fit through the 3-inch/7.5 cm opening.

In fact the first thing that it makes will probably be a batch of bacon treats for Princess Flapdoodle the Operatic Dachshund, as I'm out of them almost. Then a pizza.

I have it set to 450F here, but it goes to 500. I'll experiment to see how things cook; the elements are rather close.

O.H.

 

[maxman]

I like the looks of that unit! So what's the number for delivery???

 

[Old Hippie]

Well, for a first time, not bad.



I baked it at 450 just to establish a baseline. The top got done-er a little quicker than the crust but it was fine.

I've been thinking about ways to address that, and have come up with some ideas.

1. I'll try a pie with the oven cranked all the way up to 500F. I don't expect that to make much difference, just get the top done-er faster.

2. I have a piece of 1/4-inch steel plate that fits on the rack. With a bit of preheating to 500 then turning down to 450 for the bake, that might dump a blast of heat into the crust and brown it up a bit more.

3. I will try par-baking the crust for a few minutes before topping and finishing.

But for now beer, pizza, beer. Skookum!

The dawg treetz got baked in the regular oven. Mrs. Hippie was roasting a squash so it was already hot when I needed it. I'm planning a batch of cookies soon that I'll try "tlahanie" (Chinuk for "outside").

O.H.

 

[maxman]

what about the pizza on a ceramic slab instead of a pan?
Mind you, I really like pan pizza.

I'll bet it will do good on a lasagna as well.
or, open face sandwiches like a tuna melt.

 

[Old Hippie]

what about the pizza on a ceramic slab instead of a pan?
Mind you, I really like pan pizza.

Totally possible. I use a steel rather than a stone, but the idea's the same. On my list of things to try, for sure. The working area in the oven is basically 13" wide and 12" deep. I've seen a guy using a smallish round stone in his. My "tortilla griddle" (a 12-inch octagon of 1/4" steel) fits fine and I will be experimenting with that to see how the crust does with and without.

I'll bet it will do good on a lasagna as well.
or, open face sandwiches like a tuna melt.

Another reason I chose this oven. I can use it outside when it's hot and I don't need to put more heat in the house. The makers say that many 13x12" pans don't fit due to having handles on the sides, but that a 13x12 steam-table pan will fit just fine. As it does; that's what I use for making pan pizzas. It'd be a little smaller lasagna than I usually make, but it would be enough for us for at least two and probably three meals.

I grabbed some sheet steel out of the bits pile the other day and made a couple of 12x12 baking sheets. Once they were all cleaned up I made a batch of cookies. My next project is to put together a "slide-out" for the oven rack. Pulling it out means either one pulls it completely out of the oven (which is the design intent) or else pull it partway out and set the handle end down on the table, which leaves the rack tilted. Sometimes getting the rack back into the oven takes a gentle hand. I will make a set of "rails" that I can pull the rack onto so I can easily load/unload or rotate pans.

As a final bonus I could even do a frozen pizza in it. If ever I find myself in possession of one that must be disposed of to save my reputation.

O.H.

 

[timetofly]

Well, for a first time, not bad.

View attachment 1670938

I baked it at 450 just to establish a baseline. The top got done-er a little quicker than the crust but it was fine.

I've been thinking about ways to address that, and have come up with some ideas.

1. I'll try a pie with the oven cranked all the way up to 500F. I don't expect that to make much difference, just get the top done-er faster.

2. I have a piece of 1/4-inch steel plate that fits on the rack. With a bit of preheating to 500 then turning down to 450 for the bake, that might dump a blast of heat into the crust and brown it up a bit more.

3. I will try par-baking the crust for a few minutes before topping and finishing.

But for now beer, pizza, beer. Skookum!

The dawg treetz got baked in the regular oven. Mrs. Hippie was roasting a squash so it was already hot when I needed it. I'm planning a batch of cookies soon that I'll try "tlahanie" (Chinuk for "outside").

O.H.

Nuttin' wrong with that pie, O.H.!!

 

[timetofly]

Okee-Dokee Colts'n'Fillies, here's the new appliance at Chez Hippie:

Behold! The Wisco 421 Pizza Oven:

View attachment 1668890

I just got the table done, and this is the oven "burning in" for an hour before we use it. Next photo: the table. Basic, basic; angle steel frame and a 3/16 inch aluminum sheet on top. I have the oven "sideways" because it seems to make sense for pulling things out. We'll see about that.

View attachment 1668891

Next, the oven opened up. The rack is attached to the "door" and comes out for easy loading. It doesn't have retainers, so that's one reason I put the oven sideways. I hate droppin' pizzas.

View attachment 1668892

...and there's a crumb tray! Just like downtown, man.

View attachment 1668893

It's a perfect fit for my pan-pizza pan, and I have a small steel plate that I usually use for a tortilla griddle that will do "hearth" pizzas. It'll also do cookies, lasagna, flatbreads, pretzels, pie, chicken pieces, or anything that will fit through the 3-inch/7.5 cm opening.

In fact the first thing that it makes will probably be a batch of bacon treats for Princess Flapdoodle the Operatic Dachshund, as I'm out of them almost. Then a pizza.

I have it set to 450F here, but it goes to 500. I'll experiment to see how things cook; the elements are rather close.

O.H.

Nice looking set up, my friend!

 

[Old Hippie]

So it's been a little while and I've been busy with other things, but last night a sausage a-pizz* was on the menu:



This time I used the steel under the pan. While that dumped some extra heat into the dough, it also raised the pan up a little closer to the top element. With results as you see. I'm thinking that for this style of pie that's a bit less useful. Also the weight of the steel plus the weight of the pan and pizza made the oven rack bow a bit and come out of its channels. So again, good information and another piece of the puzzle but I'll be trying another option next time.

My next pie I'll parbake the crust for about five minutes first. With this style I put half the mozz onto the crust once I've got it panned and then let it rise around the cheese for about five hours. Then dollop on some sauce and build the rest of the pie before putting the other half of the cheese on top.

All this is in search of a good pan pizza from this oven. I haven't even gone into the hearth style yet! I have a bread recipe I use for pita that ought to make good hearth crust. It's a mixture of white and semolina, easy to work with. Might work out well with the steel not to have that heavy pan sitting on it. We have fresh basil and cilantro at the moment, so a hearth pie would work out well.

Mrs. Hippie and I will be eatin' the other half of the pie for supper shortly...

O.H.

*Peter Reinhart says "Down East" (in the eastern US) they also say "a-pizz" pronouncing it like "Ah Beets." I'm amused.

 

[Old Hippie]

After a summer of baking, I thought I'd revisit the thread and sum things up a little.

First, let's just acknowledge that using this oven for fresh pizzas is very definitely "off-label." But whatever.

I've been using a 13x9 steam table pan because I had it. It worked OK but sometimes I thought the higher side walls might have hindered the process. I finally succumbed to the pressure and bought a couple of USA Pans quarter-sheets. They're not here yet but I'll be trying them out soon in the big oven.

The idea to use a piece of steel was good, but it looks like a 1/4-inch piece is too heavy for the rack to support well when there's also a deep pan of pizza on it. Not to be deterred I'm considering a 1/8-inch piece instead.

What's happening is that the bottom of the crust isn't cooking as fast as the top. One way to address that is like a Sicilian pizza; parbake the crust for a while before topping and finishing. Again, a quarter-sheet pan may change that equation a bit. We'll see. I wish I could dig in and diddle with the ratio between the top and bottom elements.

In the end, I was able to make pizzas that more-or-less pleased me. Also without heating up the house, which was maybe the bigger benefit. The oven was inexpensive enough ($250) that it was a good experiment. Further; electric. I wouldn't have been able to make pizza otherwise during our extreme drought and bans on all outside fires including cooking fires.

I'm now gratefully firing up the kitchen oven, which makes qualitatively better pizza. Come next spring I'll put the Wisco back out on the table and set up for a summer of outdoor pizzas. In the meantime, I'll be experimenting more with focaccia, square pies and different hearth types on various crusts. I get a good setup of steel plate, I can do hearth pizzas in the Wisco. That's next year's idea.

O.H.

 

[deafficianado]

They do sell pizza pans with holes. I use them to make my pizza’s underside more crispy.