Making Pizza

[McMalty]

I don't want to turn this into "what's the best commercial pizza" thread, but Jon from Fremont- have you had Me & Ed's pizza? Back in the 80's we still had them in Idaho and I remember that sauce to be one of the best I'd ever had- and their crust was great too, in my book. Wish they wouldn't have disappeared.

Here is my current sauce recipe, which is nothing like Me & Ed's, but I'll eventually hone in on it. Note the addition of salt, but not very much - I was concerned about salt intake at the time I did this batch. Out of five stars I'd give it a three. I think it would benefit from a puree maybe.

1 tbsp olive oil
30 romas, peeled, rough-chopped
7 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tsp salt

Simmer out excess liquid until it becomes dense, freeze.

holy crap, are you making a gallon of sauce?

 

[McMalty]

I'm also enamored with the idea of a brick pizza oven in my back yard, but I haven't crossed the threshold.

pizzahacker's rig is pretty cool! Might be a great (and portable) alternative.

dude, that's like a dream any pizza maker has (including me). just chillin outside on the patio, getting the fire stoked and baking a pie in the evening while drinking a beer, family is out there eagerly awaiting the pie....it's kinda like the dream of owning a microbrewery, only much more achievable.
......but u know, i got to thinking....unless i was making several pies, it would probably be a waste getting the oven all stoked up and hot for just one or two pies.....maybe not tho

 

[McMalty]

I did a pie on the BBQ grill using my stone. Was a bad idea as the flame directly touched the stone. Cooked the pizza fast but burnt the crust.
Now I use a piece of metal to deflect the flame so it don't touch the stone directly. Works a charm.

i don't know how to do it in a gas oven, mine is electric. but if that's the case, i would say the simple solution is to move the stone up to a higher rack

 

[boo boo]

just make sure you buy a peel (i have both wooden and metal, the metal one is awesome, but harder to find)

AND make sure you put your pizza on parchment paper, then put that on the peel, then just slide the pie with the paper right onto the stone. The paper will get really dark brown in the oven but it's fine, it's not going cause any problems unless you leave it in there for half an hour, in which case, the pie would suck anyway.

good luck. let us know how it turns out for you

Most times I just go with the stone and make the pie on my metal peel. It sometimes makes it hard to get off the peel, but a little dusting of flour and constant moving the pie on the peel keeps it from sticking.
Sometimes I use parchment paper, especially if I'm loading the pie with toppings.

 

[Chuginator]

holy crap, are you making a gallon of sauce?

LOL! It's one of the things I use my leftover Romas for in the fall. After it boils all day it gets nice and dense, then I just jam it in some small tupperware containers and freeze it. Lasts me quite a while.

Pizza rules!

Now if I could get a worthy crust going, I'd be pretty jacked.

 

[boo boo]

Pizza rules!

Now if I could get a worthy crust going, I'd be pretty jacked.

Oh crap, my mouth is watering right now. Man that looks soooo good.

 

[Chuginator]

Oh crap, my mouth is watering right now. Man that looks soooo good.

LOL! I hear ya. I want pizza for breakfast.

But- OOPS! I see onion in there! And meat! That's an old pic of spaghetti sauce. Sorry!

 

[boo boo]

LOL! I hear ya. I want pizza for breakfast.

But- OOPS! I see onion in there! And meat! That's an old pic of spaghetti sauce. Sorry!

Still looks good. Mmmm spaghetti.. think I'll grab a bag of sauce I made a month ago and thaw it out for lunch.

 

[Brewer_Steve]

This is a typical Friday night at our place:
https://picasaweb.google.com/se2schul/Pizza?authkey=Gv1sRgCPCr0PDcmpXYCg#

 

[Chuginator]

*sob* That brings a tear to my eye! Beautiful!

 

[Chuginator]

(and so is the pizza!)

 

[boo boo]

This is one I did a month ago and happened to snap a pic of.
http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a357/nflder/?action=view&current=pizzanight002.jpg
http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a357/nflder/?action=view&current=pizzanight004.jpg

 

[Chuginator]

Looks good! Is that bacon on there?

 

[boo boo]

Looks good! Is that bacon on there?

For sure. I love bacon.

 

[MBasile]

Last nights crust was subpar, it really didn't rise all that much

 

[bob1852]

I just pulled some dough out of the fridge. First time I've done a cold rise. I hope it's okay.

 

[passedpawn]

Pizza night at the Passedpawn residence. Thin & crispy. Made sauce & crust. Grilled over coals. Mmmm mmmm.

 

[FromZwolle]

very nice!

 

[McMalty]

Pizza night at the Passedpawn residence. Thin & crispy. Made sauce & crust. Grilled over coals. Mmmm mmmm.

.......thought u were getting a pizza stone...?

 

[bob1852]

Mine came out nice tonight. The stone got a little too hot so the bottom of the crust got a little more cooked than I would've liked, but still really good. My first try with the overnight slow rise in the fridge...

 

[McMalty]

Mine came out nice tonight. The stone got a little too hot so the bottom of the crust got a little more cooked than I would've liked, but still really good. My first try with the overnight slow rise in the fridge...

yeah, that looks pretty good. i might try raising the stone up a level. Gas stove?
The cheese is perfect tho..

 

[bob1852]

yeah, that looks pretty good. i might try raising the stone up a level. Gas stove?
The cheese is perfect tho..

Electric stove; stone on the bottom (first time doing that, usually put it on the lowest level).

I saw it was getting a little hot, but wanted the cheese to finish...

Tasted great. Better than Little Ceasar's. haha.

 

[azscoob]

AZ, I was pounding on your door for like 30 minutes! I could smell the pizza cooking too, all I heard was a whispered voice say "Sssshhh dont answer the door"

It would seem you didn't want to share your pizza with me!!

 

[bob1852]

AZ, I was pounding on your door for like 30 minutes! I could smell the pizza cooking too, all I heard was a whispered voice say "Sssshhh dont answer the door"

It would seem you didn't want to share your pizza with me!!

Oh. That was you?

 

[passedpawn]

.......thought u were getting a pizza stone...?

I already had one, and it is on the grill under the pan. I ended up putting the pizzas into perforated cutter pizza pans, then onto the superheated stone on my grill. Worked better than expected.

 

[android]

i'll add some of my thoughts.. i've been making pizza pretty consistently for about 8 months (4 pies a week or so). I like to make 4 dough balls at once and just let them chill in the fridge until i'm ready to use them. then you can pretty much have pizza whenever the hell you want. i usually stick to flour, water, instant yeast, and salt. occasionally i'll put in like 1-2% oil just to switch things up, but not usually.

for (4) 12" dough balls that weigh ~ 260 g each:

625 g flour (usually I use King Arthur bread flour, but any kind will ultimately work)
387 g water
1.6 g instant yeast
12.5 g salt (kosher or sea salt)

I dissolve the salt into the water, mix the yeast and flour together and after turning on the paddle on the kitchenaid, i slowly pour the water/salt mixture into the flour/yeast. i let the paddle gather everything together and switch to the dough hook. knead on lowish speed for about 7 minutes, remove from the bowl and divide into 4 even 256 g dough balls. do a little shaping to "skin" them, spray with oil and plop into a plastic container to rise on the countertop for about 1-2 hrs, then into the fridge for the long haul. you can start to use them the next day, but i find the flavor development in the doughs only gets better until about day 5 or 6, then they start to get overfermented, but i've used them up to 9 days later and still had a nice pie.

for sauce, i go to the italian market and, if they have them, get the 6-in-1 brand crushed tomatoes in puree. i ain't ****ting you, this will make the best pizza sauce you will find. all i do is open the 28oz can, dump in about 1/4 tsp each of garlic and onion powder, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper and maybe 1/2 tsp of oregano. mix it up and there you have it, no simmering, none of that business. it cooks on the pizza, doesn't get any easier or tastier IMHO. if they are out of 6-in-1 i'll get paradiso or a different good brand. i try to stay away from hunts and whatnot, but those can be used in a pinch also.

heat the oven to 550 for 45-1hr before baking. i set my stone directly on the floor of the oven (be careful with the cheapo thin stones though if you heat high, they are prone to cracking). a decent stone will be your friend if you want to make great pizza.

edit: forgot to mention that i usually cook it on the stone for about ~5 minutes, then move it up to the top rack with the broiler on to get the top browned nicely. it will burn pretty quick if left on the bottom/stone too long, so i almost always do the stone first, then the broiler to finish it off. just keep an eye on it and get it off the stone when you are happy with how the bottom looks.

here's a few snapshots:

 

[FromZwolle]

that tears it. its pizza tonight.

 

[passedpawn]

for sauce, i go to the italian market and, if they have them, get the 6-in-1 brand crushed tomatoes in puree. i ain't ****ting you, this will make the best pizza sauce you will find.

I've looked and never found the 6-in-1. I use Hunt's. Guess I need to find an italian market.

Your pizza looks great. I'm making thick-crust like that this weekend. Thanks for the great post.

 

[azscoob]

Pizza for me in a few days, gotta build a dough pipeline I guess.

 

[El Pistolero]

I've looked and never found the 6-in-1.

6-in-1 can be ordered here.