The Home Made Pizza Thread

[headbanger]

That's better!

Not sure why they didn't take in the previous posting. The last pizza, the toppings started to singe and burn before dough was cooked to desired crispness. Think that the oven was too hot that day. In the dome between 1100-1200 and the floor was 800+ things can burn in the blink of an eye. My favorite pizza is the BBQ pizza with tomato sauce, and some spicy BBQ sauce below the cheese, topped with pepperoni, pulled pork, sausage, bacon, and a drizzle of BBQ sauce and sprinkle of BBQ rub on top. I've also done it with some peach pieces. Could also add ham.

TD

Man those all look awesome!

 

[BigRock947]

Wow...great thread. Subscribed...

I hate to admit that I just use a slightly modified Robinhood Pizza Flour package for my crust and what my family calls quick sauce - cut a can of tomato sauce and add spices.

This thread is an inspiration to up my game....

 

[Evets]

Well, let's see if I can remember off the top of my head, these measurements should be pretty close...

1 cup KA bread flour + 3/4 cup water + 1/2 cup polish, combine in bread machine mix/knead for 20-30 minutes then stop and let rise for 12 hour.

add in another cup flour + 3/4 cup water then mix/knead for 15-20 minutes then stop cycle and allow to rise for 8 hours.

add in the remaining 2 cups of flour, 1tsp salt and 1 cup water mix/knead for 15-20 minutes then allow to rise for 3 hrs more.

Wow! That's pretty complicated. Sorry I asked!:cross: I'll give it some thought though. Off the top of my head, I'd suggest not using the bread machine,. especially to knead for 15-20 minutes. For a hi protein flour like KABF, a 5-6 minute knead by hand is plenty. You should get a lighter, more open crumb that way. Sort of like this;

 

[Evets]

I love pizza!


Here are some pics from my recent efforts
I also like doing steaks on a "Tuscan grill" over the coals raked into front of pizza oven. Haven't tried them on my pellet smoker yet, but it doesn't get as hot as the pizza oven. Im using the sourdough cultures, yeah I read the varasano pizza page too! The French culture has the best texture of the four I bought (san Fran, plus two Italian cultures). I use King Arthur bread flour sometimes blend with Italian 00 or high gluten (KA sir Lancelot) but those specialty flours a hard to find. There is a whole wear flour called golden promise or something like that, which makes a terrific texture dough. A friend had given me some so I tried it. I typically do the initial kneading in a stand mixer, and reserve some flour and let it rest wet for 20 minutes. The Jeff varasano method I think results in dough that is waaayyy too wet, so I've modified. The calzone in there is actually a Stromboli, but was fantastic. I would have married it if I was still single..

TD
Umm where did all my photos go? Is there a limit to how many you can put in one post?

Hey TD, awesome stuff there! What kind of oven do you have? I like your collection of cultures. I use the Ischia regularly and have the Camoldoli hiding somewhere in my hobby fridge.
Oh yeah, I do steaks on a Tuscan grill too!

 

[TrickyDick]

Hey TD, awesome stuff there! What kind of oven do you have? I like your collection of cultures. I use the Ischia regularly and have the Camoldoli hiding somewhere in my hobby fridge.

My oven is the Primo model from .. Hmmm.. Quick email search.. made by Forno bravo. I liked the insulated door feature. I lost my San Fran culture somewhere along the way. Occasionally we have a big party and invite group of 10-16 friends and their kids over. One of them used to make pizza growing up at some neighborhood pizza joint. He is really good at working the dough into the pies, and then I operate the oven, and we alternate building the pizza.. One of the best, no photo, is the tomato pie, he calls it. No sauce, but build your pizza as if it did, starting with cheese then other toppings, but finish with fresh ripe tomatoes that you coarsely crush in your hands over the top, before placing in oven. Needs a good sized tomato or two for a larger pizza. Those are always fun nights!

I really like the French. Very active when it gets going, and I prefer the texture of the dough it produces for handling and forming into pies. Might just be I'm still on the learning curve of making dough. I didn't much care for the 00 flour compared to the KABF

TD

 

[Sammy86]

Pictures as promised

 

[ChshreCat]

Man... there's just something about those thick little pepperoni that curl up into cups and fill with their own grease that I've loved since I was a kid.

 

[headbanger]

Wow! That's pretty complicated. Sorry I asked!:cross: I'll give it some thought though. Off the top of my head, I'd suggest not using the bread machine,. especially to knead for 15-20 minutes. For a hi protein flour like KABF, a 5-6 minute knead by hand is plenty. You should get a lighter, more open crumb that way. Sort of like this;

It's basically the bread machine method Ed Wood describes in his book. I want to get the process down first with the machine, then I'll move on to Varasano's method in the KA mixer and decide which I prefer. After that, I may try kneading by hand just to see what happens.

I appreciate the feedback! I will knock back the knead times on the next batch to 5 mins or so and see what happens.

 

[Melana]

I made a couple of "Detroit Style" pies this evening.

mmmm pizza porn

 

[dog_gone]

There's a lot of GREAT info here... pizza really is a beautiful thing!

I probably missed it, but does anyone have specific pizza stone suggestions for those of us without a wood-fired oven? Is there an appreciable difference between a stone and a cast iron pizza pan?

TIA!

 

[TrickyDick]

There's a lot of GREAT info here... pizza really is a beautiful thing!

I probably missed it, but does anyone have specific pizza stone suggestions for those of us without a wood-fired oven? Is there an appreciable difference between a stone and a cast iron pizza pan?

TIA!

Well a cast iron pizza pan has got to be pretty darn heavy I would think.

The most important thing about using a stone, is to have it preheated prior to use. You need to put it into your oven when both are cold or it can crack (a stone). It can still crack when you put cold pizza on it when it has been heated in the oven since these are usually small and thin as compared with wood fired ovens. This happens. Some folks go crazy and modify their oven so they can set it to cleaning mode and still be able to open the door, to simulate the high heat from a wood oven. This probably makes the stone even more prone to crack. I bet cast iron could work but I would worn about food sticking. Let us know if you try it.

You will of course need a pizza piel or peel, forget how is spelled. Basically a wooden or steel utensil for placing, and positioning the pizza onto the hot stone in oven and removing it from the hot stone when it's ready. Oil and loose flour in your dough and on your peel can create a lot of smoke on a heated stone. You need to be able to slide the dough off the peel though, so usually there will be a bit of flour for lubrication.

Start with small pizzas. Build them quickly on your peel and get them into oven so they won't stick to your peel, or even worse, half stick to your peel and held stick to the stone....disaster. Start small and work your way up. You can lift the edge of the dough and blow with your mouth, some air to get the dough to lift from the peel if its starting to stick while you are building your pie, or final shaping your dough, and also should do to check its not stuck just before you slide into oven, especially if its heavy pizza and doesn't slide easily.

TD

 

[Wolfbayne]

How did I ever not see this post? Great info on here guys. I have built my own pizza oven off several hundred websites and we love it! I will deffinately have to post pics later!

Nothing like brew day and the pizza oven fired up!

 

[TrickyDick]

How did I ever not see this post? Great info on here guys. I have built my own pizza oven off several hundred websites and we love it! I will deffinately have to post pics later!

Nothing like brew day and the pizza oven fired up!

Welcome! I felt the same way when I found this thread yesterday!

 

[reynolds5520]

I am using a Fibrament stone. I leave it in the oven all the time, so the weight isn't an issue.

http://bakingstone.com

 

[headbanger]

There's a lot of GREAT info here... pizza really is a beautiful thing!

I probably missed it, but does anyone have specific pizza stone suggestions for those of us without a wood-fired oven? Is there an appreciable difference between a stone and a cast iron pizza pan?

TIA!

I've heard that the tavertine (sp?) tiles like you can get at Lowes work well and are cheap compared to a "pizza stone". They are also thicker, up to 3/4'', so that may help with cracking issues but they are square though I think you can find them up to 20"x20" or so. A bot of corn mea or masa flour will really help with sticking too.

 

[Evets]

I like these. Cordierite. Something like Fibrament, as I understand it, but maybe a better heat conductor. They're not cheap but they won't crack like the thin Walmart/Target stones will. I've got two of these. They work great. http://www.webstaurantstore.com/ame...stone-15-3-4/124PS1575.html?utm_source=Amazon
Some people like cordierite kiln shelves like you can buy here. http://www.axner.com/cordierite-kiln-shelves.aspx?page=2
Still others like 1/2" steel plate, though there's a pretty steep learning curve baking on steel. Very easy the char the bottom. You need to use with the broiler to finish the top before the bottom burns. Makes a nice 4 minute NY style pie once you get the hang of it.

 

[Evets]

As for peels, I suggest getting two. A wooden one for launching and an aluminum for retrieving. Aluminum is nice and thin for slipping under a finished pie but uncooked pizza dough will stick fast in a heartbeat. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.
Oh, and I prefer white rice flour for dusting the wooden peel. It's a little coarser than plain flour, so it's a good lubricator, but it's finer that cornmeal, which is just nasty IMO.

 

[Evets]

I've heard that the tavertine (sp?) tiles like you can get at Lowes work well and are cheap compared to a "pizza stone". They are also thicker, up to 3/4'', so that may help with cracking issues but they are square though I think you can find them up to 20"x20" or so. A bot of corn mea or masa flour will really help with sticking too.

If you go with quarry tiles, make sure they are unglazed. That stuff will come off on your pizza. I don't know what's in it but I wouldn't want to eat it.

 

[reynolds5520]

As for peels, I suggest getting two. A wooden one for launching and an aluminum for retrieving. Aluminum is nice and thin for slipping under a finished pie but uncooked pizza dough will stick fast in a heartbeat. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.
Oh, and I prefer white rice flour for dusting the wooden peel. It's a little coarser than plain flour, so it's a good lubricator, but it's finer that cornmeal, which is just nasty IMO.

All good advice there! I have had a couple of mishaps with perfectly good pizzas thrown against the back of my oven from insufficient flour under the launch or stuck za at retrieval that could have been more easily broken loose with a thin aluminum peel. I hate cornmeal. It works, but I won't use it. That was the only flaw at the pizza joint I grew up with, darn cornmeal all over the bottom of an otherwise wonderful pizza.

 

[theveganbrewer]

I will spread a cloud of curse words so thick the neighbors run for cover on a Friday night when my pizza sticks to my peel or an edge gets caught going onto the stone.

My stone cracked completely in half 6 months ago, I just pushed it together by hand and use as is, no negative effects. I preheat at 550 for 30 minutes then turn on the broiler for another 15 minutes of preheat. Then switch to 550 regular oven and put pizza on. Cook 4 minutes, then broil at 550 for 2 minutes and remove.

 

[LakesideBrewing]

My new wood fired oven:

 

[oneandahalfshepherds]

Pizza tonight after reading this thread

 

[Evets]

I'm off to the Green Dragon farmers market with the Airstream.

 

[headbanger]

I'm off to the Green Dragon farmers market with the Airstream.

Godspeed sir!

 

[passedpawn]

I will spread a cloud of curse words so thick the neighbors run for cover on a Friday night when my pizza sticks to my peel or an edge gets caught going onto the stone.

My stone cracked completely in half 6 months ago, I just pushed it together by hand and use as is, no negative effects. I preheat at 550 for 30 minutes then turn on the broiler for another 15 minutes of preheat. Then switch to 550 regular oven and put pizza on. Cook 4 minutes, then broil at 550 for 2 minutes and remove.

Yep, I'm done with stones.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

How long did it last on the grill? What if you preheat it in the oven?

 

[passedpawn]

How long did it last on the grill? What if you preheat it in the oven?

I used it a dozen times on that grill, and also in the oven. Maybe I had an especially hot fire that day. But it just broke while sitting there. If you mean to preheat in the oven then move it to the grill, that sounds like a recipe for 3rd degree burns to me.

I'm replacing it with this:

Lodge Pro-Logic P14P3 Cast Iron Pizza Pan, Black, 14-inch

 

[reynolds5520]

Thin stones can crack from the direct heat of a grill.

Here is what Fibrament says about their grill specific product:

For years FibraMent users have enjoyed the benefits of baking delicious breads and pizzas indoors. Now bakers can go outdoors to their barbecue grills and bake a perfect pizza.

Because no baking stone can be exposed directly to flame, FibraMent for Grills includes a protective metal pan. FibraMent is placed in the metal pan while it bakes your favorite pizza.

http://bakingstone.com/grilling.php


It shouldn't be too hard to DIY the pan under the stone.

 

[theveganbrewer]

I know this doesn't apply to 99% of you guys and gals, but I made vegan pepperoni today for my pies and it cane out awesome. I tried to recreate the spices and the crispy oiliness I remember and think they came out great. They don't look like them obviously, but taste wise, as close as I can get.

This was just coming out of the oven, then they went on a baking sheet under the broiler for 10 minutes to get crispy. It's just vital wheat gluten and a ton of spices.

This one's ugly cause I've been making my quick and fast dough and it doesn't stretch well. The recipe I posted earlier is much better for making a nice looking pie.

 

[Evets]

A friend of mine has been experimenting with something called "seitan", a meat sub made with VWG. Looks similar to your vegan pep. http://foodcurated.com/2013/04/monks-meats-a-vegetarian-butcher-makes-a-case-for-wheat-meat/