Cooking pizza in tiny gas oven with pizza stone

Question

I currently have a tiny gas oven to cook with this summer and I like to cook a lot of pizzas, but I have always cooked them in standard electric home ovens.

I have been doing some reading here and here, but I don't think I have enough information yet.

Typically, I cook the pizzas on a 15" stone with store bought fresh dough and follow these steps:

1. Preheat oven with stone for at least 30 min at 425 F
2. Put dough in for about 2 min by itself
3. Layer on toppings
4. Push back into oven for 10-15 minutes (depends on the oven)

My current oven will fit my 13" pizza stone, has a single flame rod (whatever that's called) on the bottom that starts in the back and extends towards the front. I cannot see into the oven as I normally would to watch the browning of the crust.

So a couple questions:

• How long will the pizza take to cook at some temperature? (<= 500 F)
• Do I need to let the dough sit by itself in the oven?

Concerns:

• Opening the door too much to check the pizza (I know gas fluctuates more)
• Burning (one the SO references said 90 seconds to cook)

Answer 1

I realize this is an old question, but here goes. FWIW, I used to bake pizza w/gas, but for the last 15 yrs, it's been electric. Lots of variables, such as thickness of dough and baking stone, etc. but experiment with some of these tips:

1. Make sure baking stone is hot enough (I use an inexpensive laser remote thermometer).
2. Place stone on top rack. Heat rises and the roof of the oven will then emit enough heat to thoroughly cook the sauce and cheese. This will emulate a pizza oven. (And no need to par-bake crust.)
3. I usually crank up the temperature to 550F.
4. Slide the prepared pizza from a peel onto the stone (I use rice flour or parchment paper to prevent sticking). A peel could be an upside down cookie sheet, thin plywood, or even cardboard if you don't have a real peel.
5. Baking time should be around 5 min., and a little char on the bottom adds taste.
6. The above is based on NY-style pizza, but thicker crusts may need longer times--possibly at a lower temperature.
7. Good luck. The doorbell may be me. I'll bring the beer or wine.