(Part 2) Top products from r/Pizza

Now, I'm no pizza expert, but I have made dozens at home. So, your pizza has far too much sauce on it, which I think is a common beginner's mistake because I still make it from time to time. Also, you rolled the edges of the pizza a bit too much and too sharply. The technique to shoot for is taking your dough (which you should knead by hand for ~10 minutes, which builds the gluten connections and makes it really stretchy which translates to more flavor and chewy crust) and laying it on top of your fists and stretching it into the shape you want from the ever growing center area of the pizza. This will give you a natural bit of excess dough around the outside of the pizza, and you can then pat the dough down in front of it and you have your natural crust without rolling. It will look like this:

I then put the dough alone into the oven @ 450F for 9-12 minutes depending on how thick it is, then I pull out the primed "blank" and put sauce and cheese on it and put it back in for another 10-12. My pizza is always cooked through this way. I've found it to be the best way to make pizza without using a pre-heated pizza stone and screaming hot oven.

Don't be afraid to go pretty light with the sauce, you would be surprised how little you actually need. IMO this looks like just the right amount of sauce.

Now, when it comes to the mozzarella, I personally shred my whole-milk block mozarella because it browns better that way and I can get it a light golden color. I think the mozz has more flavor that way. However, many people would look at your mozz and say it's perfect. The mozz and basil placement are the best parts of your pizza IMO.

On the whole this is a really good first attempt. You should have seen mine HAHA it was, er, twice as thick, raw in the center and the dough tasted awful. I actually use Emeril's dough recipe with honey instead of white sugar. I also use 1/2 cup less flour than he recommends but the same amount of everything else (except water). My friends have told me my dough is some of the best they've ever had.

That's a really good first attempt. The key is to keep practicing, and find out what you like and after like 15-20 iterations you'll have it down pat. The whole point to me is to make it how I like it. Exactly how I like it.

edit: For the 10 minute knead, do it immediately after your pizza dough has risen, as soon as you pull it out of your bowl that has a damp paper towel or kitchen towel over it. Before grabbing it, sprinkle a little flour on your hands and rub them like you're washing your hands, then sprinkle a little all over your ball of dough, then pull it out rotate it in your hands and sprinkle flour all over it (rotate your dough), then place your hands over the ball of dough like a sorcerer holding a ball of energy, and push inward from your shoulders, then rotate the dough and push inward again. If you're watching TV the time passes quickly. I like kneading the dough by hand because it puts me in touch with something kind of primitive and old school, like how Italian mom's did it back in 1900 or something. There is no substitute for lots of kneading. On the whole, the more kneading the better. Most pizza places have professional-quality dough mixers and they'll have that knead their dough for anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. Their dough must be so freaking stretchy, I'm jealous. If you have a Kitchen-aid you can use a dough-hook attachment to do something similar.

Also, use bread-flour only. All-purpose flour tastes like shit IMO. Bread flour has more protein in it which results in chewier crust and better flavor, IMO.

Also, one of my secrets is actually to put a little bit of marjoram in the dough. Not too much, but it adds noticeable flavor. I also use a little more olive oil than is called for. Use extra-virgin, and if you can afford it, buy some good olive oil, like this. The difference between it and glass-bottle stored supermarket EVOO is immense (olive oil should always be stored in a light-proof medium because light breaks down the quality of it). Buy a big jug like that (which is actually the same price as the supermarket stuff) and fill up a bottle like this with it, and store that bottle in your cabinet away from light.

edit again: It seems like mozzarella might be a passion of yours. You can make your own using this kit. It's actually really easy to make mozzarella. That kit worked great for me. You can seriously make your own mozzarella in under an hour. All you'll need that you don't have in that kit are a set of thick rubber gloves like this for kneading the hot mozz to your desired thickness (more kneading = less water in the mozz).

Good luck on your pizza journey! Oh, I also sprinkle a small amount of cornmeal on the pan I use to keep the pizza from sticking, and I believe the cornmeal adds a small amount of flavor to the finished dough. Not too much corn-meal though.

You paid 30 euros for two 20cm x 40cm x 1.5cm plates?!? No offense, but that sounds way too good to be true.

I think that peel is, how did you put it? Utter crap :) Wood is absolutely critical for the launch, because, as the skin sits on it, it absorbs some moisture, which gives you considerably more time than metal does before the skin starts to stick.

It's not that ideal, and should only be temporary as you're looking for a real wood peel, but a thick-ish piece of cardboard will work pretty well- better than aluminum will.

Does Metro carry any wood peels?

This is the metal peel that you want for turning and retrieving:

https://www.amazon.de/dsfeqwq-Edelstahl-Schale-Schaufel-Tablett/dp/B07KXPNJ41/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543542724&sr=8-1&keywords=edelstahl+round+pizza+peel

The size should be just about right for a 40cm pie, and the price can't be beat. It looks like it's coming from China, which could take a while, so I'd order it quickly.

I can't tell if this is in stock or not, but this is the peel you want:

https://www.amazon.de/American-Metalcraft-Sch%C3%A4lt-verschiedene-Gr%C3%B6%C3%9Fen/dp/B0001MRSKM

You want the larger one- the 2616. This may have some trouble fitting in your oven, so you might need to sand down the sides a bit. This is the same one:

https://www.amazon.de/American-Metalcraft-Handle-AMERICAN-METALCRAFT/dp/B0118DZSI6/

but shipped from the U.S., and marked up accordingly.

You went through a lot of trouble to get a 40cm steel. Don't shortchange yourself with a small peel. You might not make 40cm pies right out of the gate, but, trust me, eventually you will.

Re; the flour you ordered. Yes, that's one of the ones I recommended. Perfect.

The cheese blocks we have here are about 2.5kg and look like this:

https://sc02.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1b474KpXXXXaQXXXXq6xXFXXX5/Mozzarella-cheese-block.jpg

3 euros for 150g is about how much we pay for scarmoza here. It is kind of extreme. It's the best cheese you'll ever find for pizza, but the price you pay for that level of quality is just too high.

On my last trip to my local distributor one of the blocks was firm but not yellow. I'm not sure how they achieved this, but, don't always go by color. Yellow and firm is ideal, but white and firm is still much better than white and soft.

Re; the photos. Metro most likely has security cameras in place, so, even if no one is around, try to be discreet about the photos.

Hey all,

Made my first pie this weekend. Per /u/jaaypeee very simple recipe seen below. Not the prettiest pizza, but it tasted great! I'm glad it came out a little Frankenstein-ish because it leaves plenty of room for improvements! Next time I'm making a sauce, hit me up with any simple recommendations!

I bought this flour and yeast. Baked at 550F in a cast iron that I sealed with bacon grease the night before. I couldn't believe nothing stuck! It was an AWESOME experience and I already ordered a baking steel and plan to make more pies at my girlfriend's parents place this coming weekend. A special thanks to /u/jaaypeee for the post and tips!

>I used the 48-72 Hour NY Pizza Dough recipe from the book The Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish. This was the second time using a baking steel. I heated the oven to 550 degrees fahrenheit and let the steel come to temp for about 45 mins. The pizzas took 5-6 mins to bake.

Ingredients

• Ingredient Measurment %
  
  
• Flour 500g 100%
  
  
• Water 320g 64%
  
  
• Salt 14g 2.8%
  
  
• Yeast 1.2g 0.3%
  
  Method
  
  
• Measure and combine ingredients. Water temp between 90-95 degrees fahrenheit.
  
  
• Mix the dough by hand. Target temp of 78-80 degrees fahrenheit.
  
  
• Knead the dough and let rise for two hours in a lightly oiled tub.
  
  
• Divide and shape the dough.
  
  
• Let the dough balls ferment in the fridge for 48-72 hours. (I let the dough ferment for ~60 hours)
  
  
• Take the dough balls out of the fridge 60-90 mins before baking.
  
  
• Make pizza :)

Sure, it's a stepwise thing, it's daunting to do everything from scratch your first time. The dough is the trickiest bit anyway. A recipe that I like to use is this one: http://www.susanscookingschool.com/pizzadough.html. Though if you like the one you're using then there's definitely no reason to switch it at least for now.

Here's the stone that I use. It's not too pricey and gets the job done for me. I would also get a pizza peelwith it at some point so you can transfer the pizza to the stone. There's the whole aluminum vs. wood debate for the peel material, but honestly if you use parchment paper to transfer the pizza to the stone, it doesn't matter what kind of peel you get. That's just my two cents.

Again, only go into it as much as you still have fun. No reason to get all the fixins if it gets to be too cumbersome of a process. I personally enjoy making the process a bit more intricate, makes it interesting to me to see how I can improve my pizzas. Good luck!

It’s an expensive item but well worth it for sure. Just make sure when you research it you get the right steel. I purchased this one but in 3/8 thickness and anything thicker will bend the rack in your oven. It looks like they sold out of this thickness unfortunately but I’m happy with this one. I think I paid $85 for it if I remember correctly. If you go to their website they probably have it. Good luck.

I love the effort. I have concocted some silly things with firebrick in my grill. To no avail. The idea is good and I think an Argentinian techniche I just saw on "Mind of a Chef". This is what you need if you have a gas grill. From the looks of it you may not.

If you do have a gas grill, this really holds the heat well. Spend the time and heat it up properly. This is one I did in it I THINK. The top gets done well and the bottom is perfectly leoparded. I just made some last night on it. Cleans easy and has a nice case, I keep it under my bed.

You must have had some gorgeous smoke flavor!

Getting started will cost a bit of money.

1. I got this cheese making kit. Honestly you don't need that though. The kit contains cheese salt, rennet tablets, citric acid, cheese cloth, and a thermometer. For mozzarella you do not need cheese cloth and you should already have a digital thermometer in your kitchen (the one they give you isnt even digital). Cheese salt is just flaky non-iodized salt. The flakiness does help the salt incorporate into the cheese a bit better, but you really can use any non iodized fine grain salt for this. You can buy citric acid from the food store and you might be able to get rennet tablets there too (if not it'd cost you $10 on amazon). Whole foods sells citric acid in the bulk spices section and it'd cost you a nickel for enough acid for a pound of cheese.
   
2. Next you need some lactase enzyme drops. I get the bigger bottle since it lasts a long time and I use it for making ice cream as well. smaller one is here
   
3. Now for a recipe... I think I've been using this one here. It calls for twice the rennet as others... Not sure why. The cheese comes out fine so I haven't thought much of it. You should be able to get away with only using 1/4th of a tablet (instead of 1/2 a tablet) though.
   
   So to make it lactose free, you need to buy a normal gallon of whole milk that is pasteurized. NOT ULTRA-PASTEURIZED. It will say on the carton if its ultra pasteurized or just plain pasteurized. I've never seen any lactose free milk that is not ultra pasteurized. If you use ultra pasteurized milk, the cheese will not form correctly. So now you have a gallon of pasteurized milk and your lactase drops. I put twice what they say on the bottle into the milk (it says 5 drops per liter (about 4 liters per gallon), so I use 40 drops for a gallon of milk). I don't use it until two days after I put the drops in (instead of the 12-24 hours they say on the package). I also shake up the milk every time I'm at the fridge just to make sure it distributes evenly. Two days after treating the milk you can follow the normal recipe.
   
   I also take 4-5 of these pills when eating the cheese even though it probably is not necessary. I'd rather swallow a dollars worth of pills than risk ruining my day.
   
   Only problem is that the cheese doesn't seem to melt very well.

It looks well cooked, except for the cheese half, yeah? Maybe tent some foil over that side next time?


As for a clean transfer in order to keep things round (if that's where you're having problems) I've had good luck with this peel and good old corn meal.

I have a home oven that reads 525; Should I get a Steel or aluminum plate?

• Stove info: https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/PRG304GH.html
  
  Recommended Plate Thickness? (1/4, 3/8, 1/2 inch?)
  
  Are there any best bang for buck plates that I should consider? OR is best DIY?
  
  
• Nerdchefs Steel Plate - .25 - https://www.amazon.com/NerdChef-Steel-Stone-High-Performance-Standard/dp/B00JXVNUHW/ref=lp_9453142011_1_1?srs=9453142011&ie=UTF8&qid=1549303763&sr=8-1
  
• Lodge Cast Iron - Pizza Pan - https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Baking-Pre-Seasoned-Round-Handles/dp/B0000E2V3X
  
• Baking Steel -.25 https://www.amazon.com/Baking-Steel-Original-Ultra-Conductive/dp/B00N205G22/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1549304615&sr=1-4&keywords=pizza+steel
  
  
  Holly Crap Aluminum is expensive....Are there any recommend products that I can buy? or is it a DIY?

Check out The Pizza Bible. It completely changed my pizza making. If you plan on making pizza regularly, that book will help you make really nice pizzas almost every time.

Regarding the raw dough on top, one thing the author recommends is to never use cold sauce. It should be at room temperature. I'm not sure what temperature your dough was when you rolled and topped, but that's another factor. Oven temp is another, as is having some method of providing lots of heat to the dough from the start (stone or steel). Your temp, at 250c is a bit low. Going to 285c if you can would be better.

That book does have some recipes where the dough is partially cooked before topping. I used to try that before I got the book. I haven't tried it since as I'm now making awesome pizzas using his directions.

As you can probably tell, I can't recommend that book enough if you want to really get serious about pizza making.

Sure:

Molino Grassi Italian Flour for Pizzas

Quite honestly it will be a revelation to your dough making compared to bread flour. Make it as wet as you can get away with while still being manageable then knead in with sprinklings of extra flour until you get that perfect texture.

I bought this .25" steel from amazon after I broke my ceramic pizza stone. I figured I might as well splurge for someone that won't break, and after more research I learned the steel is far superior to ceramic for more reasons than durability. I opted for the .25" model mainly because it is the most manageable weight to deal with.

With my ceramic I only used flower to keep it from sticking, which also worked well on the super hot steel, but for this specific pizza I used cornmeal

I actually used instant grits/polenta that I ground in a mortar and pestle because I did not have cornmeal on hand

It was this one here. Thought could be bit gimmicky but amazed with results. Got the dough bubbling up like I've never achieved before in the oven. It gets so much hotter.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B002VA4CDI/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1474393296&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=pizza+oven&dpPl=1&dpID=51J5MOcmr-L&ref=plSrch

Yeah. Mozzarella. Bought a kit online and used a gallon of milk. Pretty easy. Takes 30 min.

http://www.amazon.com/Mozzarella-Ricotta-Cheese-Making-Kit/dp/B00014CEXG?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Thanks! It was delicious. I used Caputo "00" Chefs Flour (red bag) and Saf Instant Yeast

Its actually more than a stone but here you go! You just need to make sure that your grill is capable of getting hot enough 800+ degrees. It's no UUNI but it worked well for me!


Amazon link

1. Adjusted the recipe myself from several different sources over a couple years. The only one I can remember that lent to it was a video from Binging with Babish.
   
2. If doing a room temperature rise for 24 hrs, it needs to be punched down about halfway through. But if I'm going for 24 hours I stick it in the fridge and take it out the morning of with no need to punch it down. In my experience, the longer rise has a better taste. Strangely enough, the texture is a little better when I make it the morning of and just do a 12 hour rise. This is just anecdotal though, and I'm no professional.
   
3. I got the 1/4" steel. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JXVNUHW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   Good luck!

Does anybody have one of these counter top pizza ovens? Like this?

I'm thinking about getting one as the reviews are really positive and the pictures look pretty good but I thought I'd ask here too.

I decided to pony up after the second stone broke. I ended up with the Dough-Joe because I could get it in a 3/8 inch thick size. The 1/2 inch just seemed too heavy and everything I read about them said the thicker the better. And with Prime, I figured I wasn't paying shipping on something close to 30 pounds so I ponied up the extra $10.

Get one. They're great.

The importance of a baking stone or baking steel is that you don't want to put a pizza in a hot oven with a cold surface that it's sitting on. Say you take a baking sheet with the pizza and toss it in an oven at 450, the baking sheet is going to absorb the heat, and take awhile to get up to temperature, and the bottom of the crust will not get heated at the same speed as the rest of the pizza. This results in a soggy feeling pizza.

Now if you have a baking stone or steel, you let them preheat with the oven. So when you put the pizza on the stone or steel, the crust will get cooked just as rapidly as the rest of the pizza.

The key is getting a pizza peel so that you can transfer the prepared pizza to the pizza stone or steel.

link to the pizza peel I got

Dough:



Olive Oil Dough from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day:
3 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon Yeast
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons Kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
7 1/2 cups (scoop and sweep) unbleached all-purpose flour

To make the dough: Use our dump and stir method of mixing the dough in a 5-quart Container with Lid, using a Danish Dough Whisk or wooden spoon. Then cover the container, not airtight and let it rest for about 2 hours on the counter. The dough can then be used right away, but it is much easier to handle once it has been thoroughly chilled. The dough can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

​

*I used a detroit-style pizza pan, put a liberal amount of ghee in the bottom & also sprinkled semolina for extra crunch. Par-baked crust at 550 for about 15 minutes (bottom rack), topped and cooked another 15 min (one rack above the bottom).

​

Sauce

​

I'm sorry I don't have a recipe (just wing this part), but I sauteed some garlic; added penzey's italian seasoning and also fresh rosemary & basil. Added canned tomatoes & a small can of tomato paste; simmered for about an hour or a little more on low.

You can do better. Locally sourced would be the best option but there's also:

• 1/4" for $39 shipped.
  
• 1/2" for $98 shipped.
  
  Cheaper, and they had the sense to make theirs square.

hey, we keep the ol' questions in the bi-weekly threads (stickied at the top of the main feed.)

That being said, check out these two peels:

• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001MRSKM
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0037XFTTY
  
  Like /u/RockinghamRaptor said, the wood is for launching (dust it with semolina) and the metal is for retrieving / rotating.
  

This is the $30 steel I have. There are thicker ones but this is the only one that would fit in my countertop oven: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JAFTN8G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amazon Italy have them on Prime delivery. I got mine delivered from there to the UK nice and fast (though you will need to order a plug adaptor too!)

Pizza-book. :)

thanks! yup i use this stone, and i can get the surface temperature to about 650. i feel like i could probably get it hotter, but i don't particularly want to blow through tons of gas.

Yes, I typically let it rise at room temperature for a few hours. I'll try letting it sit longer once it's rolled.

I'm cooking it at 450 on a Heritage Ceramic Pizza Stone

https://www.amazon.com/Heritage-Black-Ceramic-Pizza-Stone/dp/B00O83CTOK

For the dough? I used the method in Tartine Bread which produces about a 75% hydration dough, although I increased it to closer to 80%.

Stone
Heritage Black Ceramic Pizza Stone and Pizza Cutter Wheel - Baking Stones for Oven, Grill & BBQ - Non Stain https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O83CTOK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1LCBCb4BRMS34
Steel
Baking Steel - The Original Ultra Conductive Pizza Stone (14"x16"x1/4") https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N205G22/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UMCBCbXGSBD08

The steel really makes a huge improvement over the baking stone for getting some nice spotting on the bottom. I wish I would have bought one sooner. I got this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LBKWSGW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I could have bought a piece of steel at the local steel place for $35 that was the same size, but I didn't feel like cleaning off all of the crap from it and softening the edges. I just wanted to use it.

1kg 00 flour
600ml Yorkshire water
30g pink salt
Teaspoon of ADY

Made 10x 170-175g balls which for me are 9 to 11 inch pies depending if I want big crust or not.

2 room temp prove after mix and kneed. 24hr cold ferment, out of fridge and 2 hours room temp then balled, then another hour to rise abit.

New flour really made a difference, higher protein than my normal one, lots more colour. Link below.

Molino Grassi Italian Flour for Pizzas and Focaccia, 1 kg, Pack of 10 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FWMVW5R/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_OKWuDbK6MY3KR

I have a Ferrari G3 pizza oven that I bought from Amazon Italy. I tried using a stone in my oven and the skillet method but couldn't get a decent char that way.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferrari-G10006-Delizia-Pizza-Oven/dp/B002VA4CDI

You might want to check out this book when its released in October.

http://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Pizza-Flatbread-Five-Minutes/dp/0312649940/ref=pd_sim_b_5

There first book tells you how to make enough dough for 3 pizza crusts or loaves of bread, and keep it in the fridge all week. It only has to proof for about 40 mins, for bread, and if I'm making pizza crust I just roll it out right away once its out of the fridge, sauce and topping it, and throw is on to the baking stone.

American Pie, by Peter Reinhart. Half book, half recipes, and no one knows bread like Peter.

The Mecca, in my book.

(admittedly, my "book" is Tony's Pizza Bible, soo..)

I use the bread dough recipe from Chad Robertson's Tartine

Pizza Flour: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FWMVW5R/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Has anyone tried one of these?

Pizzeria Bianco got a glowing review in American Pie

I found a pizza cone kit. Here is a demo for how it works

http://www.amazon.com/Pizzacraft-Grilled-Pizza-Cone-6-Piece/dp/B008BZ9AWK

I've made many many pizza's, but u/ThePoopSmith's pizza recipe has been my go-to for the last two years. It's phenomenal every time, and the weight-based recipe makes it fail-proof.

I use Antimo Caputo 00 bread flour but next time I'm going to give King Arthur a try.

I gotchu fam

Probably this (shipping is $11.50).

https://www.amazon.com/Brick-Wisconsin-Cheese-Mild-oz/dp/B00HYMXJO6

You can order it on Amazon but you cold also get away with any mild cheddar.

I used the Pizza Bible which is full of different dough recipes.

If anyone wants to give this a try, I got this kit a couple years ago https://www.amazon.com/Pizzacraft-Grilled-Pizza-Cone-6-Piece/dp/B008BZ9AWK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468426059&sr=8-1&keywords=pizza+cone+kit

It works, but it's a PITA to try and eat one. Although it's pretty good if you fill it with mac & cheese, but then you're eating pasta and a bunch of dough and you can only eat fat ass foods like that once in a while

I think it was this one, bit thin I'm guessing?

https://www.amazon.com/Pizzacraft-Steel-Baking-Plate-Round/dp/B00JAFTN8G

I think I'll look to get the aluminum when I can.

I'm still wondering why this batch felt so much different though, when kneeding and later shaping. Is it likely to just be a small miscalculation in water, or perhaps I didn't knees it well enough?

3/8 inch is fine, any thicker it might weigh to much for your oven racks and warp them. I bought this one and it’s great.

Not a huge weight difference in between 1/2 and 3/8 (maybe 6-7 pounds) but I was afraid of my oven racks bending or warping. I’ve used it a lot and it stays in my oven and I zero problems with it.

So you're all telling me this recipe is bullshit? I mean, I followed it and these are the results. Its just hard to believe someone could publish this crap if it wasn't tested. Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day


I'm going to toss this and try again tonight. The more I think about it, the more I think I must have measured wrong.