The Home Made Pizza Thread

[applescrap]

@davidabcd I have spent some time today looking at detroit pizza. I am interested in all things pizza. Do you cook the sauce with the pizza? Seems some do, some dont. I would think it gets heated if cooked or cooked a little if you start with raw tomato sauce like I do. Brick cheese? I have asked before but think I understand now. Its not mozzarella and is from Wisconsin apparently. Sounds good to me, never tried cheese combos. I see others are trying, how is that going. I know cheddar can burn so goes on late. I like the cheese to edges and the way that looks and tastes. Seems dough is a little different too. Will you please share a little more about this new to me and wonderful style. Tia!

 

[davidabcd]

I am interested in all things pizza.

I, too, am interested in all things pizza. I sent you some info.

 

[Staestc]

We've been learning to make decent pizza recently. Were having trouble with it being too wet. Had an pizza epiphany when I learned its all about cooking hot & fast! To test that theory I made up a small pizza with the wettest ingredients possible: lots of sauce, fresh uncooked veggies, fresh sliced tomatoes, queso blanco (fresh cheese, very wet). Cooked at 500F for about 7 minutes...it was a bit moist, but nothing like the pizza stews we've been making....as a result of not cooking hot enough.

Made up a "normal" one, cooked at 500F, and it turned out awesome (thats the pic)!


View attachment 657246

That's a gorgeous slice of pizza!!

 

[Curtis2010]

Yes, and yummy too!

My wife likes thin crispy crust so the dough is unleavened. Its a 50/50 mix of general purpose and whole wheat flour...gives it a nice nutty flavor.

We've also tried other specialty flour blends like lentil flour with good results for bread and pizza. I think of it like the grain bill for beer...why not mix flours for different results?

 

[Curtis2010]

Havent tried our home over yet. Our gas grill sets up pretty well as an oven (have used for bread in the past). Gets to about 500F.

Just tested our home oven...it gets to about 425F and holds there...looks like BBQ oven will continue to be our bread & pizza oven. I have some scrap plate steel which I may use to make a pizza steel to help it out a bit.

 

[davidabcd]

I'm lucky with the 550°F indoor oven. I use the BBQ during the warm months. It would be fun to try bread on the BBQ.

 

[brewbama]

Havent tried our home over yet. Our gas grill sets up pretty well as an oven (have used for bread in the past). Gets to about 500F.

Try placing bricks on the grill and place your stone or steel on the bricks. It’ll raise the pizza into the lid area where it will be hottest.

 

[Curtis2010]

Try placing bricks on the grill and place your stone or steel on the bricks. It’ll raise the pizza into the lid area where it will be hottest.

Good idea. If I find the sweet spot I could then weld up a steel w legs on it of just the right height.

The BBQ gets to just over 500F at a few inches above the grates...so dont have to go too far!

 

[VApatriot]

Made this Chicago style stuffed pizza last night. My second attempt at trying to recreate Giordano's at home. Came out pretty good but the crust was a little too tough, still room for more improvement. Got lot's of good info from pizzamaking.com/forum.

Sorry for the poor picture quality, cheap phone don't you know.

 

[Curtis2010]

Would be pretty easy to fab up something like this grill top pizza oven. Anybody ever use one?

 

[davidabcd]

crust was a little too tough,

What's your basic dough on that and cooking temperature? It looks great though and you've got the artistic part down. I don't know what the basic dough is for a Chicago pizza; I'm just curious.

 

[applescrap]

Steel is too effective on a grill. Ime the bottom burned before the top. Iiac thats why they use cordite in pizza ovens. That would be better. Also I have seen others fashion grill ovens with bricks. Seems a good idea. Also there are a lot of commercial pizza oven tops for grills and come to think of it a few pages back, we all discussed these stainless boxes with a stone in them. They arent to expensive. I made a few different styles on grill, but I think elevating the pizza is key in getting a better top.

Just tested our home oven...it gets to about 425F and holds there...looks like BBQ oven will continue to be our bread & pizza oven. I have some scrap plate steel which I may use to make a pizza steel to help it out a bit.

 

[applescrap]

Oops should read before post. Sounds like you are on the right track. Yes if you get the steel up a little I think it will help with bottom burn also cook top better and also maybe allow for parchment use too. Hope you share your findings.

Good idea. If I find the sweet spot I could then weld up a steel w legs on it of just the right height.

The BBQ gets to just over 500F at a few inches above the grates...so dont have to go too far!

 

[applescrap]

Really should have kept up, haha, I forgot to upload screen shot I took of it. Yes we discussed it heavily a few pages back. Cant remember who owns it.

Would be pretty easy to fab up something like this grill top pizza oven. Anybody ever use one?

 

[applescrap]

Theres a serious website devoted to it, i think its called realdeepdish.com or something like that. He is super passionate. Goes over the history, full recipes, different doughs iirc and certainly a real chicago dough recipe. Its corn syrup iirc that is special to that dough. Haha, lol, crying, made a few and family doesnt like them and I love them!

What's your basic dough on that and cooking temperature? It looks great though and you've got the artistic part down. I don't know what the basic dough is for a Chicago pizza; I'm just curious.

 

[VApatriot]

What's your basic dough on that and cooking temperature? It looks great though and you've got the artistic part down. I don't know what the basic dough is for a Chicago pizza; I'm just curious.

I made the dough from the post at the beginning of the thread in the link below. I think I should have started rising the dough before I put it in the fridge.

https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=30449.msg303645#msg303645

 

[juggabrew]

Baking in general question here. Looking for book ideas for my wife’s bday. for bread baking, yeast cultures, dough recipes. My wife expressed interest in starting a sour yeast culture so I thought I’d look for a class she could take (way too expensive in Denver area..$250). Or get her a book. Do you guys have any suggestions?

I’m stuck on bday ideas and her bday is dec. 23rd

 

[davidabcd]

The Sister Pie cookbook www.sisterpie.com/cookbook is peripherally relevant and the only cookbook I can vouch for. I wish I could be more on the money but I figured if someone is interested in what you mentioned above, there's a good chance they'd like this cookbook as well.
The shop has a great backstory as well.

 

[juggabrew]

The Sister Pie cookbook www.sisterpie.com/cookbook is peripherally relevant and the only cookbook I can vouch for. I wish I could be more on the money but I figured if someone is interested in what you mentioned above, there's a good chance they'd like this cookbook as well.
The shop has a great backstory as well.

Cool ill take a look at it. I also was thinking a bread making kit would get her started. We already make our own basic bread and pizza dough but do not have any of those tools that come with the kits.

 

[davidabcd]

bread making kit

Sounds like a great idea. Also, you could put your request on "Homemade Bread Thread" to zero in on the crowd who will definitely have good suggestions.
Good luck.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

Thin and crispy pizza day

 

[eimar]

Baking in general question here. Looking for book ideas for my wife’s bday. for bread baking, yeast cultures, dough recipes. My wife expressed interest in starting a sour yeast culture so I thought I’d look for a class she could take (way too expensive in Denver area..$250). Or get her a book. Do you guys have any suggestions?

I’m stuck on bday ideas and her bday is dec. 23rd

May i suggest :
"Artisan breads every day " from Peter Reinhart. It covers refrigerated fermentation , sourdough and a chapter about pizza dough . If i have to keep only 1 book about baking that's the one.

 

[applescrap]

Made a thin style. Haha, it was soo big that i tossed it with peel and half cookie sheet together. Welp as I was tossing it in realized whats going to hold that up, its bigger than steel. It was going to droop and drip so I made a calazone on the end. Ended with a pizza that made 5 slices and a thin crust calazone that was yummy. Didnt get a great crunchy crust but it was chewey and we all couldnt stop eating it. Made calazone by flipping parchment over and then back to expose top.

 

[Curtis2010]

We are getting much more consistent now. This was yummy:

 

[Curtis2010]

The dough I made for this might be of interest to you guys. My wife likes thin crispy crust so unleavened dough makes sense to me. This dough is 50/50 mix of whole wheat/general purpose flour for a total of 500g, 250g of water (50% hydration to start...I had to add a bit more when kneading), 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp sugar, and a few tablespoons of olive oil. Super quick and easy (no fermentation). Like a flat bread. Cooks up nice & crispy.

 

[Curtis2010]

Try placing bricks on the grill and place your stone or steel on the bricks. It’ll raise the pizza into the lid area where it will be hottest.

Tried raising my cooking surface...got much lower temps...here is why I think:

I have an "infared" grill, so its grates are already very much like a pizza steel and get plenty hot near the surface of the grate (~500F with all 3 burners on hi). Cooks pizza in about 5-8 minutes. I place a couple of layers of ceramic tile on top of them (dont currently have a proper stone/steel) just to even out the heat some more.

So, for this type of BBQ I think keeping the cooking surface low is key.

Good news is that it makes a decent pizza oven!

What Ive got:

https://www.charbroil.com/performance-series-tru-infrared-3-burner-gas-grill-463280019

 

[Jwin]

Hey! Been a while.
I'll add in my quarterly comment.
I have been doing some other culinary experiments that led me down the road of trying different materials as my stretching lubricant material, for lack of better terms.

I had Amazon ng results with a (eyeball) blend of 1/3 corn meal, 1/4 flour, 1/4 potato starch, 1/6 light dme.

Aside from the dme, not much new here except the potato starch. See Japanese fried chicken.

The sugar helps with browning but can detract from a crisp exterior. The sugar you use for browning can be greatly reduced or even eliminated with a longer (thus colder) ferment; thus, you have a better chance at dough that browns as well but has more of a crunch on the outside.

You can certainly follow your plan with same dough at room temp vs. cold ferment, but the length of time and temp factors into how much yeast is optimal that they might not truly be "equal" outside of those factors. Eventually, I'd recommend keeping all your non-yeast ingredients the same but changing your yeast % for the cold vs. room temp ferments.

Below is the chart I use to figure out yeast, temp, and fermentation times. These aren't to be taken rigidly but are seen as a general guideline.

View attachment 656737

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Mushroom and pepperoni misshaped pizza as I guess I’m out of practice hand stretching the dough, was tasty though.

 

[6Tap]

View attachment 658778
Mushroom and pepperoni misshaped pizza as I guess I’m out of practice hand stretching the dough, was tasty though.

That looks very tasty.

You have inspired me to try and make a homemade pizza this week. [emoji482]

 

[ba-brewer]

When I first started making home made pizza I made quite a few ameba pizza. Still seem to get one or two ever session.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

When I first started making home made pizza I made quite a few ameba pizza. Still seem to get one or two ever session.

Actually, I know why this happened, the dough was proofing while I was at church, and being in a hurry to get it done, I didn’t let it rest enough after deflating and giving a quick knead before making the pizza. Gluten.

 

[applescrap]

I throw pizzas of odd shapes nearly every time. I think there are 3 reasons why I do. One is because I never let my dough rest. Working it cold right from the fridge plays a part. Another is working too quickly. And third I have noticed mats with circles, screens and other tools used that aid in really circular pies. I never knead my dough from start to finish. The no knead guy said that and I have stuck to it. When kneaded my dough will become much more compact. I spread with oil and gloves on.

I have a plan though. What if I drew a circle using a popcorn bowl on the parchment. Then flipped it upside down to use as a guide? Doesnt matter becuase honestly I dont see myself ever not cooking on a pan and cutting huge new New York slices. The half sheet and or cookie pan I think will do a wonderful job of making a big square pie. Then Ill cut it zigzag. This will be my go to. I love it so much. Man, dang, the fold. Well anyways tomorrow I will be trumpeting some other technique . So happy pizzmaking for 2020.

 

[ba-brewer]

When I get rushed and the dough does not stretch I pull out the rolling pin. I give it a couple shots with a minute rest between.

Not ready dough is much better than dough that sticks to the peel half way thru the slide.

Next time I get an oblong pizza I might give it a zig-zag cutting.

 

[applescrap]

Made two sheets of thin crust. Its translucent in spots from being thin. Haha, slice next to coffee pot and kitchen aid give size reference. And a routund rolly polly calazone!

 

[davidabcd]

Since I always use a pizza screen, I don't get fun shapes. Something I'll just have to live with.

 

[Staestc]

Got enough dough for 3 14" NYC style pies coming together on the counter at the moment Probably will do RTF for one pie tonight, and cold ferment the rest for tomorrow or later.

And the UPS elves can yesterday with a package from the Italian Grocery!

 

[6Tap]

Ok, my fingers are crossed that I am going to end up with a delicious pizza with these ingredients.
U peeps have inspired me so here I go with attempt #1.

Plan B is if all fails I have 5 other 90 min IPA’s that will be my meal instead. [emoji12]

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

View attachment 659140
Ok, my fingers are crossed that I am going to end up with a delicious pizza with these ingredients.
U peeps have inspired me so here I go with attempt #1.

Plan B is if all fails I have 5 other 90 min IPA’s that will be my meal instead. [emoji12]

Do I see beets or potato on that plate? Either way not your average ingredients.

 

[6Tap]

Do I see beets or potato on that plate? Either way not your average ingredients.

No, pepperoni and mushrooms. The mushrooms had no stems at the store and therefore look like potatoes to me.

My wife just got home and saw the mess and decided to leave since it stressed her out... [emoji12]

Figure I just have to have things cleaned up when she gets back.

 

[ba-brewer]

@6Tap, I see you have some fine ground corn meal in your pic, is that for your dough or as an anti-stick agent for the bottom of your pizza?

For an anti-stick agent a medium ground seems to work best for me. Too fine and it seems to absorbs moisture from the dough and the dough sticks if I don't work fast. Too course(polenta) works great for sliding off the peel but seems to get embedded into the crust and needs to be swept off the bottom.