The Home Made Pizza Thread

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Do you find that there is a "too hot" temp for the steel? I imagine cooking at 800F without adequate heating from the top would turn the dough to solid black char in less than 120 seconds.

Do i need to make any adjustment in dough hydration going from stone to steel, or can i just repeat my usual recipe (about 68% hydration)?

How about sticking? This thing looks pre-seasoned. Is oiling after every use routine maintenance for these?
I only season when it's rusted a bit which isn't very often. I switched from my standard pizza dough to the King Arthur long rise (link in my past post) just because it stretches so thin and does so easily. I guess I'd try your usual dough and see what you think. I sprinkle the peel with semolina and quite quickly put the dough and toppings on and get it on the steel as soon as possible. The only sticking problem I've had is when I let the pizza sit on the peel too long (say more than 5 minutes), never a problem with the pizza sticking on the steel. So I guess my dough is a pretty wet one, you can compare it to yours: 500g flour to 350g water.

So with a thin dough I've found 600F is the max without instant burning.
 
I only season when it's rusted a bit which isn't very often. I switched from my standard pizza dough to the King Arthur long rise (link in my past post) just because it stretches so thin and does so easily. I guess I'd try your usual dough and see what you think. I sprinkle the peel with semolina and quite quickly put the dough and toppings on and get it on the steel as soon as possible. The only sticking problem I've had is when I let the pizza sit on the peel too long (say more than 5 minutes), never a problem with the pizza sticking on the steel. So I guess my dough is a pretty wet one, you can compare it to yours: 500g flour to 350g water.

So with a thin dough I've found 600F is the max without instant burning.

I looked at that recipe the other day and it's basically the same as the one i use. Only change is i dropped the hydration a little because it was sticking to my peel too easily. Sounds like this should be pretty straight forward.
 
Yah it glued to the steel. I had to lift it off with a metal spatula. Wasn't as bad as when i put a pizza on a 900F stone though. That pizza had to get thrown out with the stone.
 
My first ones stuck as well but I think you'll find if you use semolina or cornmeal it not only keeps it from sticking to peel and the steel but also almost provides a barrier to the blazing steel. Maybe I'm not explaining it correctly but notice the rest of the crust where it didn't stick, it's fine. You may find that temp is fine if you can correct the sticking issue, at least that's been my experience.
 
Interesting point. I normally use semolina but for these test doughs I only used flour.

When i do pizzas tomorrow i'm also going to use my fibrament stone above the steel to help radiate heat down. That oven is going to take a long time to heat up with nearly 50 extra pounds in it!
 
Sweet! Pizza steel came today. 15x15x3/8".

Any tips for a first timer? Thinking of making a batch of scrap dough tonight to test with tomorrow before making a real pie.

Definitely make sure you give it enough time to properly heat up- they can take 30-45mins for everything to really reach equilibrium temperatures.

If you struggle with the crust burning before the top is finished, I typically switch my oven over to broil once the pies for in to keep things cooking evenly.
 
Bruh I been making pizzas for years long before thinking about making beer, okay my wife and I make pizzas pretty often we typically just grab a box of pizza dough mix at Sam's club because that's the tricky part is making a good dough , lately I just grab a couple Pillsbury pizza dough cans and they're actually perfect though we used to go as far as making dough mix from scratch, anyways get both a normal crust and a thin crust dough put the normal dough down on the pan you've already coated well with cornmeal sprinkle on about 6 oz of feta ( yes we shop heavily at Sam's big bulk amounts of stuff we have a big family and also invite friends over often) then mozzarella the kind in the liquid with the herbs or the kind in the little balls high moisture anyways tear it up and layer about 2 oz rather evenly around the rim of the soon the be crust and roll it over it so the mozzarella is inside the crust now put about 12 oz of spinach,6 oz of feta, 1 lb of dry granulated parmesan ,about 2 dozen of the little sweet peppers they sell in bags every where now with the top cut off,1 onion peeled with both ends cut off, and a few teaspoons of olive oil in a blender blend it well slop this over the bottom crust that already has feta on it lay out a good layer of thinly sliced grilled or pan seared chicken all the way around don't play with it but don't pile it on to heavy, now take your thin crust dough and put it over the top of this already built pizza kind of push the edges of it under the rim of the normal crust pizzas crust,lightly cost it with olive oil and sprinkle it all the way across with cornmeal not to heavy though and sprinkle on your choice of cheese typically I use 5 alarm ,Italian five cheese,Mexican blend,and parmesan I grate up together in a bowl and add the blends and mix it and approximately 8 oz of cheese then I add venison meatballs(homemade made in homemade marinara sauce but any sausage meat made into meatballs and baked will work typically kept as left overs around here)I typically crumble them over it add cilantro a few good sprinkles a little sprinkle of thyme and oregano ,then the most important part I take 2oz of frenchs buffalo ketchup and 1 oz of any thousand island dressing and mix it really well and smear lightly on the crust then dilute it with just a little drizzle of honey balsamic vinegar and lightly drizzle this concoction over the pizza don't be to generous this is very very light please note then stick it in the oven at 425 for about 24 minutes it's a big healthy pizza very savory and 2 good slices and a couple beers are the perfect meal for parties but to be honest I'm a fatass typically I make several pizzas at a time also we typically make a big batch of hummus( hummus pizza can be good if you do it right) with herbs and sweet peppers and such and have this pizza, hummus and crustinis and beer with a rich dessert and hard liquor/shine/extra dry cherry wine for parties this pizza is awesome but please be careful with how much oily materials you add the oils are important but I also suggest to keep it from being a big greasy mess use the 2% milk cheeses as much as you can on top use rather ow moisture cheeses except the mozzarella .
 
Bruh I been making pizzas for years long before thinking about making beer, okay my wife and I make pizzas pretty often we typically just grab a box of pizza dough mix at Sam's club because that's the tricky part is making a good dough , lately I just grab a couple Pillsbury pizza dough cans and they're actually perfect though we used to go as far as making dough mix from scratch, anyways get both a normal crust and a thin crust dough put the normal dough down on the pan you've already coated well with cornmeal sprinkle on about 6 oz of feta ( yes we shop heavily at Sam's big bulk amounts of stuff we have a big family and also invite friends over often) then mozzarella the kind in the liquid with the herbs or the kind in the little balls high moisture anyways tear it up and layer about 2 oz rather evenly around the rim of the soon the be crust and roll it over it so the mozzarella is inside the crust now put about 12 oz of spinach,6 oz of feta, 1 lb of dry granulated parmesan ,about 2 dozen of the little sweet peppers they sell in bags every where now with the top cut off,1 onion peeled with both ends cut off, and a few teaspoons of olive oil in a blender blend it well slop this over the bottom crust that already has feta on it lay out a good layer of thinly sliced grilled or pan seared chicken all the way around don't play with it but don't pile it on to heavy, now take your thin crust dough and put it over the top of this already built pizza kind of push the edges of it under the rim of the normal crust pizzas crust,lightly cost it with olive oil and sprinkle it all the way across with cornmeal not to heavy though and sprinkle on your choice of cheese typically I use 5 alarm ,Italian five cheese,Mexican blend,and parmesan I grate up together in a bowl and add the blends and mix it and approximately 8 oz of cheese then I add venison meatballs(homemade made in homemade marinara sauce but any sausage meat made into meatballs and baked will work typically kept as left overs around here)I typically crumble them over it add cilantro a few good sprinkles a little sprinkle of thyme and oregano ,then the most important part I take 2oz of frenchs buffalo ketchup and 1 oz of any thousand island dressing and mix it really well and smear lightly on the crust then dilute it with just a little drizzle of honey balsamic vinegar and lightly drizzle this concoction over the pizza don't be to generous this is very very light please note then stick it in the oven at 425 for about 24 minutes it's a big healthy pizza very savory and 2 good slices and a couple beers are the perfect meal for parties but to be honest I'm a fatass typically I make several pizzas at a time also we typically make a big batch of hummus( hummus pizza can be good if you do it right) with herbs and sweet peppers and such and have this pizza, hummus and crustinis and beer with a rich dessert and hard liquor/shine/extra dry cherry wine for parties this pizza is awesome but please be careful with how much oily materials you add the oils are important but I also suggest to keep it from being a big greasy mess use the 2% milk cheeses as much as you can on top use rather ow moisture cheeses except the mozzarella .

You lost me at "Pillsbury"
 
You lost me at "Pillsbury"

First homemade pizza i ever made (about 15 years ago) was with the pillsbury pizza dough in a pressurized cardboard tube.

Oddly enough it actually tastes good, but it doesn't taste like real pizza dough and the texture is out there.
 
The Pillsbury isn't bad, but it gives off that more buttery/biscuity flavor compared to other dough. I much prefer the Great Value dough over Pillsbury when I go that route.
 
So much for cooking at 500. Black in 4 mins.

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Cooked with stone on top on first rack and steel 2 levels below it.
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How about 3 min on the steel, and then switch to the stone for the last minute under the broiler. Think you are pretty darn close, but I don't mind a bit of char. The steel will be great for spring regardless of whether it stays there for the full bake or not. :mug:
 
How about 3 min on the steel, and then switch to the stone for the last minute under the broiler. Think you are pretty darn close, but I don't mind a bit of char. The steel will be great for spring regardless of whether it stays there for the full bake or not. :mug:

The spring on this pizza was great. Light and fluffy inside with a crispy crackling crust. Haven't had it this way since i had my thermostat overridden 600+F electric oven.

I was going to try reducing the heat for next time, but i think i like your idea better. I'll keep it at 500, but right at 3 minutes i'll move it up to the top rack to broil for a min or two. The parts of this crust that are just deep deep brown are really good. There's just a touch too much acrid burned taste right now.
 
Well I can give you the best recipe for dough I came up with 3/4 cups corn four 1/2 cup white flour 1/8 cup course ground cornmeal(like polenta 1/4 cup boiling water 1 egg and 3 teaspoons of olive oil get it mixed well before adding yeast mix it well leave covered with cheese cloth in a bowl for a few hours it makes a nice sized pizza only problem is it isn't very pliable until the yeast have really worked it over then tossing it it breaks pretty easy but it does cook well and taste great
 
Goat cheese, home cured maple bacon, and home grown mushroom pizza on the baking stone. Definitely one of my favorite combos. Forgot to add the spinach though.

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Oh also a big easy smoker with a thin slab works great for making pizzas just my big easy got broken so I got a bigger locker style smoker
 
Last night fixed up some pizzas with instant dough. Came out alright. I was too lazy and busy to make a crust from scratch.

I did get to try a pizza in the cast iron pan and it seemed to work fine, although I could have cooked a bit longer, and should have used real dough, and a bit more.

I wonder if I should place the crust in the pan while the pan is cool, or wait until it's hot and then slide the whole pie in there. The second method seems rather difficult.

Oh, and I need to crank up the heat next time.
 
Last night fixed up some pizzas with instant dough. Came out alright. I was too lazy and busy to make a crust from scratch.

I did get to try a pizza in the cast iron pan and it seemed to work fine, although I could have cooked a bit longer, and should have used real dough, and a bit more.

I wonder if I should place the crust in the pan while the pan is cool, or wait until it's hot and then slide the whole pie in there. The second method seems rather difficult.

Oh, and I need to crank up the heat next time.

Pilsbury thin canned dough is good I a cast iron for Chicago stuffed style pizza
It has that almost sweet pie crusty texture that works well with that style za.
 
Last night fixed up some pizzas with instant dough. Came out alright. I was too lazy and busy to make a crust from scratch.

I did get to try a pizza in the cast iron pan and it seemed to work fine, although I could have cooked a bit longer, and should have used real dough, and a bit more.

I wonder if I should place the crust in the pan while the pan is cool, or wait until it's hot and then slide the whole pie in there. The second method seems rather difficult.

Oh, and I need to crank up the heat next time.

Is the bottom of your cast iron pan smooth enough to turn it upside down for baking the pizza?
 
Pilsbury thin canned dough is good I a cast iron for Chicago stuffed style pizza
It has that almost sweet pie crusty texture that works well with that style za.

You know, that is one thing that I liked about Chicago style pan pizza; the different crust. I can get tired of the same thing over and over, and the texture and flavor of that style is a nice change. I should buy a bunch of that dough and make a nice, thick, deep dish pizza in that pan!
 
Is the bottom of your cast iron pan smooth enough to turn it upside down for baking the pizza?

I'm not sure what you mean by turning it upside down. But, no, it's still a young pan with a thin seasoning on it so far. Same pebbly texture as from the store. I have thought about taking to work to see if they can smooth it out.

I used plenty of grease in it for the pizza, though, and it slid right out. Last night I cooked Steak Sandwich stuff right in there. Meat, onion, green peppers, mushrooms. Didn't stick a bit (ok, well the cheese stuck on one spot, but I let it cool before cleaning it.)
 
I'm not sure what you mean by turning it upside down. But, no, it's still a young pan with a thin seasoning on it so far. Same pebbly texture as from the store. I have thought about taking to work to see if they can smooth it out.

I used plenty of grease in it for the pizza, though, and it slid right out. Last night I cooked Steak Sandwich stuff right in there. Meat, onion, green peppers, mushrooms. Didn't stick a bit (ok, well the cheese stuck on one spot, but I let it cool before cleaning it.)

We have a fifteen and a quarter inch cast iron pan that I will turn upside down and use the flat bottom, which is now up, as a steel to bake pizza on. We also use a cast iron camp stove grill/griddle combo to use as a pizza steel. The griddle side has a flat 16" x 7" surface. Both are small compared to pizza steels but a lot cheaper.
 
We have a fifteen and a quarter inch cast iron pan that I will turn upside down and use the flat bottom, which is now up, as a steel to bake pizza on. We also use a cast iron camp stove grill/griddle combo to use as a pizza steel. The griddle side has a flat 16" x 7" surface. Both are small compared to pizza steels but a lot cheaper.

I see. I don't recall ever paying attention to the bottom. I thought you meant the bottom of the inside. The handle sticks straight out so I am pretty sure it would lay flat upside down. I might try this.

After I make a Deep Dish! :rockin:
 
Very nice @icebob!

I just degassed some bulk dough and made four 390g dough balls for Saturday pizza fest. Pics to follow.
 
I think I'm pretty set with my pizza crusts. I'm starting to think about selecting a better sauce or even making my own at some point. I've just been using Contadina Pizza Squeeze so far. I want to keep the sauce pretty mild, my wife can't handle spicy food at all and I'm not much better. Any recommendations?
 
I think I'm pretty set with my pizza crusts. I'm starting to think about selecting a better sauce or even making my own at some point. I've just been using Contadina Pizza Squeeze so far. I want to keep the sauce pretty mild, my wife can't handle spicy food at all and I'm not much better. Any recommendations?

I discovered this website over a decade ago (doesn't look like it has changed since then either) that jump started me on homemade pizza: http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm

I had kind of forgot about it until a couple weeks ago and was re-reading it after 11 years of homemade pizza making to see maybe what i had missed back then.

Long story short, the sauce recipe and process described in section 8 is simple and amazing. I just used simple Hunts whole peeled tomatoes, but fsck this sauce is pure simple goodness. From the link:

Pour the can out into a bowl

Cut the green/yellow stem ends off the tomatoes with your hands or a paring knife, then discard.

Squeeze out the seeds into the puree and then Dip the tomato into the puree. You can even cut the tomato open to get out any remaining seeds, by essentially rinsing them with the puree. This will have all the seeds fall into the puree. <--- this is a really smart step!

Put the flesh back in the can

At the end of this process you have a can of flesh and a bowl of watery puree and seeds. Strain this, pouring the puree back into the can. In the strainer are then 90% of the seeds, all by themselves. Discard the seeds.

Now crush the tomatoes. This is one of those areas where I made a recent change for the better and it's really helped a lot. I used to crush the tomatoes by hand. But it was always a bit chunky. Now I blend them with an immersion mixer ("boat motor"). I cannot tell you exactly why this has made a huge improvement in the TASTE of the tomatoes, but it has. I've done side by side taste tests. The tomatoes should be crushed but not pur ed. Go Easy. I have nothing against using a food processor or mill, but I will say that you should not crush by hand.​

I season simply with salt, garlic powder, onion power and a mix of dried italian herbs. Overall really easy. Takes about 5 minutes and makes enough sauce for a dozen pizzas.
 
Saw icebob cooking and then yeastie jumping in got me thinking pizza. Did a 8hr. Poolish + 8hr rt ferment dough and threw together this Greekish pie, "lamb", kalamata, feta, bell pepper, and eggplant. Definitely not replacing my normal routine but not bad for a 24hr pie..

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