The Home Made Pizza Thread

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First pizza off my Unni Koda. I am pleased.

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I’m trying to make the transition from buying already made pizza dough from local pizzerias to making my own.

My biggest question in all the research I’ve done is how you manage your yeast...once you buy the yeast and have your culture in the fridge, when you have to add to your dough do you just take some of the revitalized yeast and add it to your dough? Then what’s left over, will the yeast regenerate by its self or do you have to add more yeast to the culture?

Somehow I haven’t been able to answer those things in my pizza making research, or maybe I’m thinking of it the wrong way...any tips appreciated!
 
applescrap said:
I buy dry yeast in bulk and keep it in the fridge.
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I do the same. But I keep the bulk of it in the freezer and pull out a 1/4 cup or so to keep in the fridge. I haven't had any problems with the yeast and it's a couple of years old.

When I use it, I proof it first in water with a pinch of white sugar.
 
elgatovolador said:
I’m trying to make the transition from buying already made pizza dough from local pizzerias to making my own.

My biggest question in all the research I’ve done is how you manage your yeast...once you buy the yeast and have your culture in the fridge, when you have to add to your dough do you just take some of the revitalized yeast and add it to your dough? Then what’s left over, will the yeast regenerate by its self or do you have to add more yeast to the culture?

Somehow I haven’t been able to answer those things in my pizza making research, or maybe I’m thinking of it the wrong way...any tips appreciated!
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Are you talking about keeping a portion of yeast, flour, and water mixed together, and using it when you bake? That sounds like you're trying to maintain something like a sourdough starter/culture. That requires a more complicated answer!

If that's what you're doing, then you'll need to feed it periodically. Like once a week in the fridge, then get it out a day or so before you make dough. Feed it at room temp every 12 hours, then make dough and add that. You won't need to add more yeast, just keep feeding it.

But most people who aren't deep into sourdough (don't want the effort of maintaining a culture) probably use dry yeast to make pizza. It's cheap, especially if you buy in bulk.

If you want a deeper flavor, you can make the dough, then refrigerate it for a couple days.
 
We recently discovered sliced gyro meat at the deli counter, obviously its great on a pita with onions and tzatziki, now I'm thinking about trying it on a pizza with a Greek-seasoned tomato sauce. If that turns out I'll try another pizza with cevapcici and mix some ajvar into the sauce.
 
Jayjay1976 said:
We recently discovered sliced gyro meat at the deli counter, obviously its great on a pita with onions and tzatziki, now I'm thinking about trying it on a pizza with a Greek-seasoned tomato sauce. If that turns out I'll try another pizza with cevapcici and mix some ajvar into the sauce.
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In San Francisco my aunt would take me to this pizza place. Probably Milbrae, anyways, the thing there was gyro pizza. They were expensive but they were killer and super filling. The gyros were good too.
 
I made these the other day. I'm always making pies. These didn't have much pepperoni because I accidentally put to much cheese on well and I think sauce. They were so good. Super crispy and cheesy.
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elgatovolador said:
I’m trying to make the transition from buying already made pizza dough from local pizzerias to making my own.

My biggest question in all the research I’ve done is how you manage your yeast...once you buy the yeast and have your culture in the fridge, when you have to add to your dough do you just take some of the revitalized yeast and add it to your dough? Then what’s left over, will the yeast regenerate by its self or do you have to add more yeast to the culture?

Somehow I haven’t been able to answer those things in my pizza making research, or maybe I’m thinking of it the wrong way...any tips appreciated!
Click to expand...
You can make a sourdough crust pizza, but the dough doesn’t alway rise as quickly and reliably as bakers yeast recipes. So you’ll probably want to start out “easy” then perhaps venture into sourdough.
 
Hoppy2bmerry said:
You can make a sourdough crust pizza, but the dough doesn’t alway rise as quickly and reliably as bakers yeast recipes. So you’ll probably want to start out “easy” then perhaps venture into sourdough.
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Could you add some bakers yeast to the sourdough to help it rise? I've been wondering what brewing strains might bring flavor-wise to pizza dough. Belgian esters, etc. Also thought about experimenting with dme in crust or sauce recipe. Maybe darker crystal for some more flavor? What would some hops in the sauce taste like? What about fennel and sweet basil in a beer? If I were to open a brewery, I'd experiment with things like that for the menu.
 
Jayjay1976 said:
Could you add some bakers yeast to the sourdough to help it rise? I've been wondering what brewing strains might bring flavor-wise to pizza dough. Belgian esters, etc. Also thought about experimenting with dme in crust or sauce recipe.
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Sure one could add some bread yeast to make the dough quicker, but that could come with trouble too, such as how much to supplement over proofed dough is not desirable, and sourdough purists (of which I am not) would think it cheating. ;)

As far as brewers yeast or using beer as an ingredient, sure why not? It won’t be “traditional” but all across the US pizza is different so depending on the regional influence it might not be a far out idea. Malt powder is an ingredient in some recipes, though I think it is different from DME we use in brewing. Maybe someone else with knowledge of that can jump in.
 
I've read for years on various pizza fora (specifically pizzamaking daughtcalm) where people were trying to replicate the impossibly sweet yet deliciously balanced flavor of Aurelio's pizza sauce, that a pint of beer was the secret sauce ingredient even though multiple former employees denied it. More likely someone mistaking malt syrup - a beer ingredient - for actual beer in the recipe. I had a chat with an Aurelio's, erm, employee about this recently and asked this question specifically, they would only say that beer is not in the recipe. I asked if malt syrup or extract was part of it, they only smiled, shook their head and walked away. That's confirmation in my book.

So from lots of experimentation based on vivid (violent?) Aurelio's pizza eating dreams I had years ago while living half a world away and the scribbled tasting notes I took at 3am of the precise flavors of my beloved Aurelio's, the essential components are oven-roasted crushed tomatoes, sweet basil and fennel, light touch of oregano of course, and malt sweetness of some type which must be readily available in restaurant quantities. I've seen malt syrup myself in restaurant depot, I wonder how it differs flavorwise from LME/DME. One way to find out I guess, time to raid my supply of pils DME I keep on hand for spinning up yeast starters.
 
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Adding maltpowder and or blended grain has been discussed previously here. It adds to some browning of the dough as well and is absolutely an ingredient worth trying considering. If you search malt on this thread you'll find some good tips on that. Ok I found it. It is malted barley flour or active malt, or malted flour. I think the Chicago recipe from deepdish.com uses corn syrup. Best of luck.
 
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elgatovolador said:
I’m trying to make the transition from buying already made pizza dough from local pizzerias to making my own.

My biggest question in all the research I’ve done is how you manage your yeast...once you buy the yeast and have your culture in the fridge, when you have to add to your dough do you just take some of the revitalized yeast and add it to your dough? Then what’s left over, will the yeast regenerate by its self or do you have to add more yeast to the culture?

Somehow I haven’t been able to answer those things in my pizza making research, or maybe I’m thinking of it the wrong way...any tips appreciated!
Click to expand...

I use cheap dried yeast, bought in 1 lb foil bags at Sam's Club. I store most of it in the freezer.
It's been a year or two since I've made a pizza, but my "secret" is to mix the dough the day or two before and let it ripen in the fridge. I also don't use much yeast; maybe half a teaspoon to 2 cups of bread flour.
 
Jayjay1976 said:
Could you add some bakers yeast to the sourdough to help it rise? I've been wondering what brewing strains might bring flavor-wise to pizza dough. Belgian esters, etc. Also thought about experimenting with dme in crust or sauce recipe. Maybe darker crystal for some more flavor? What would some hops in the sauce taste like? What about fennel and sweet basil in a beer? If I were to open a brewery, I'd experiment with things like that for the menu.
Click to expand...

I often add a TB of light or Pilsen DME to proof the yeast.

I don’t think you’ll get enough yeast character to be worth the cost.

Do NOT put hops in the sauce. Gross. Yuck. Barf. It will taste like bitter crap. No.
 
Frozen marinara made in wfo with added toppings cooked in the kitchen oven

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I use PizzApp+ on my phone for making dough recipes quickly,

and http://www.calbal.altervista.org/ as well, it has more advanced options. it's made by an Italian so some of the translations might be a bit off, but it's very good if you use sourdough or want to add IDY to sourdough or want to do multiple temperature steps.
 
If you are growing hops, you can cook hop shoots. They are nice. Google the price of them :0


not sure actual hops are useful though
 
Okay okay I get it no hops in pizza sauce, put down the weapon. Sheesh.

My wife sometimes makes ice cream with beer, stouts work really well and so do milkshake style IPAs, just thought there might be a savory application for fruity aroma hops. Maybe in a pickled application like giardiniera or a hot sauce? Looking for constructive feedback here.
 
I've made hop coffee before. Put a few pellets of Belma into a pot.

It wasn't horrible, but it was definitely not good, nor worth drinking.

Didn't pick up much bitterness, but did add an odd herbal tea quality.
 
schematix said:
I've made hop coffee before. Put a few pellets of Belma into a pot.

It wasn't horrible, but it was definitely not good, nor worth drinking.

Didn't pick up much bitterness, but did add an odd herbal tea quality.
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I've got a pound of Belma that I need a use for.... :coff3:
 
bleme said:
I've got a pound of Belma that I need a use for.... :coff3:
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Pretty much how it ended up in coffee. Didn't make great beer and didn't want to waste it. In the end the coffee was dumped and so were the hops.
 
Jayjay1976 said:
Okay okay I get it no hops in pizza sauce, put down the weapon. Sheesh.

My wife sometimes makes ice cream with beer, stouts work really well and so do milkshake style IPAs, just thought there might be a savory application for fruity aroma hops. Maybe in a pickled application like giardiniera or a hot sauce? Looking for constructive feedback here.
Click to expand...
I think it’s the concentration. An ounce of hops in 5 gallons is very diluted. So if you put a very small amount in sauce at the end, you might get aroma w/o too much bitterness. But it’s hard to do bitterness in food without going over board.
 
I am curious,will post on bread thread, But the simple truth org flour is so much better than gold medal. I have made a lot of buckets of dough and it just looks and feels different. It feels stiffer, more elastic, and shrinks harder when stretched. Its so good. These were really saucy and ended up good. I tried to show what these are like they are killer. Also last week my wife made some pasta sauce with a pound of ground beef and I tossed it on the pizza. Wow, good and pretty filling. These are pics of tonight.
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ericbw said:
I think it’s the concentration. An ounce of hops in 5 gallons is very diluted. So if you put a very small amount in sauce at the end, you might get aroma w/o too much bitterness. But it’s hard to do bitterness in food without going over board.
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Maybe I'll do a little test with a low AA hop, just a can of crushed tomatoes simmered with fresh basil, then take off the heat and stir in a few pellets. I'll test it as a dip so as not to ruin a whole pizza or maybe I'll just make a tortilla pizza with it. Maybe its a dumb idea, but if it does turn out well I'll whip up a batch for the guys at our next club meeting.
 
applescrap said:
I am curious,will post on bread thread, But the simple truth org flour is so much better than gold medal. I have made a lot of buckets of dough and it just looks and feels different. It feels stiffer, more elastic, and shrinks harder when stretched. Its so good. These were really saucy and ended up good. I tried to show what these are like they are killer. Also last week my wife made some pasta sauce with a pound of ground beef and I tossed it on the pizza. Wow, good and pretty filling. These are pics of tonight.View attachment 625733View attachment 625734View attachment 625735View attachment 625736
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The crust looks awesome, love the perfect degree of char you're getting, how are you cooking these?
 
Jayjay1976 said:
The crust looks awesome, love the perfect degree of char you're getting, how are you cooking these?
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Thanks. I have tried so many methods. The good news is that all of them work to some degree or another. My crust only gets charred in certain places because it's being spread on parchment I think. If you toss the pizza directly on to the stone I think the results are better but I am willing to compromise for easy clean up. Normally I would need to remove the pizza from the parchment to get this kind of color But this flour charred nicely. It would have been pretty burnt if I took it off the parchment.


Those pizzas were spread on parchment with Olive oil. Then I put them on a 550ﾟ quarter inch thick piece of steel that I bought. The oven preheated at 550 For 45 minutes or so. Then I have found to get the top darker the pizza gets moved higher in the oven. Long story short these pizzas were thrown on the 550 steel and pulled when looked ready.
 

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