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Homemade Pizza - Tips, Tricks, Recipes...

Mac8111

By Mac8111
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Mac8111

Mac8111 2107

Posted
Posted

I don't think we brought this thread over. 

If you are expert in the category, start typing. 

I am grabbing some dough from a local bakery.  I know there is some art to handling it.  What flour am I looking to use?

Sauce - What ya got.

I am cooking on the green egg with pizza stone.  Going to grab a bunch of ingredients and let people make their own.  One gal is vegetarian, so I guess I will grab some shrooms and shit. 

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HouTex

HouTex 1866

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Make your own dough. It's not hard. Make it the day before and let it slowly rise in the fridge. Alton Brown did a show on it.

Get a pizza stone and get your oven as hot as it can get.

There are no rules on ingredients.

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Kringelbert Fishtybuns

Kringelbert Fishtybuns 943

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If you make any styles that aren't on a stone, get a dedicated pan.  Since you typically have to cook at really high temps, an all purpose pan can have baked on shit/rust spots/imperfections that never really get cleaned off.  This will cause shit to smoke like hell when you throw it in the oven.

Make the same style several times and take notes on oven cooking times.  Every oven is different and trial and error is unfortunately the only way you can get things down pat.    

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Dark Horse

Dark Horse 2280

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I typically follow Kenji Lopez-Alt’s recommendations. He has a very methodical/scientific approach:

 

https://www.seriouseats.com/tags/pizza%20lab

 

I got a PizzaCraft oven as a gift that can get up to the 700F range. Definitely helps to get a crispy crust.

 

I use bread flour for most styles and 00 flour for Neapolitan.

 

Semolina is the best flour for dusting peels. I hate the way corn meal tastes on the bottom of pizzas.

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Dark Horse

Dark Horse 2280

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How long have you had that PizzaCraft? Seems like it's well-reviewed on Amazon.

Only since Christmas, but it definitely beats my electric oven. The only negative is I had recently invested in a baking steel and it doesn’t fit.

I burned the first few crusts because I had the temp too high throughout. It takes a little trial and error in adjusting the temperature.
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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7771

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I don't think we brought this thread over. 
If you are expert in the category, start typing. 
I am grabbing some dough from a local bakery.  I know there is some art to handling it.  What flour am I looking to use?
Sauce - What ya got.
I am cooking on the green egg with pizza stone.  Going to grab a bunch of ingredients and let people make their own.  One gal is vegetarian, so I guess I will grab some shrooms and shit. 


You want 00 flour. It makes all the difference in the world. I like to roast cherry tomatoes with garlic, put it in the blender with a little salt and use that as sauce. It's thicker than traditional sauce, but that is how i like it.
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Tommy El Gato

Tommy El Gato 10

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On 4/1/2018 at 6:26 PM, Mac8111 said:

I am cooking on the green egg with pizza stone. 

If you've made/bought a rack extender for your egg, use it with the stone.  You want the pizza as high as possible.  I like my BGE around 400-450 for pizza.  If I cook higher than that, then the bottom burns before the top is finished.

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Baboontyme

Baboontyme 2809

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As a pizza connoisseur, I appreciate all feedback in this thread. I checked out Dark Horse's seriouseats link (they generally have good stuff) and I think I unlocked another secret after some experimenting tonight. If you strive for a true NY style - i.e. round, greasy as all hell and delicious...the cheese is very key once you have the crust worked out. Shredded is out. Low moisture is out. You need mozz in a block that is neither of those and you need to shred it yourself. That, along with your pepp, will give you the greasy outlook you are looking for. 

Though I like the NY style crust and method I posted above, to get closer to a true NY style crust I still have some work to do. 

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CooterBrown

CooterBrown 18005

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11 hours ago, Tommy El Gato said:

If you've made/bought a rack extender for your egg, use it with the stone.  You want the pizza as high as possible.  I like my BGE around 400-450 for pizza.  If I cook higher than that, then the bottom burns before the top is finished.

I've also found putting the pizza stone on top of the platesetter helps keep the stone temp down a bit.  Flame directly on the pizza stone was too much.

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7771

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14 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

I've also found putting the pizza stone on top of the platesetter helps keep the stone temp down a bit.  Flame directly on the pizza stone was too much.

Yep, this is how I do it.  Invert the platesetter so it's legs point down, then put the stone on top of that.

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LosIllini

LosIllini 91

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Love me some homemade pizza.  A few quick things I've learned-

If you make your own dough, having a yeast starter can really help w/ giving it some flavor vs. neutral tasting dry yeast.  Cold fermenting helps too.

Pizza stone in the oven or gas grill works great.  As does a cheap peel from Amazon, with parchment paper (you want pizza not calzones) to transfer to the stone.

Get some good whole milk mozzarella, cool it down in the freezer for a bit/ then shred it in a food processor.

There are some really good crushed/ pureed canned tomatoes- Sclafani, 7/11, Cento San Marzanos, Tomato Magic, etc. that aren't acidic.  Add some sugar/ salt and they're ready to go.  Don Peppino and Contadina pizza sauces are good pre-made.  If  you're in Dallas- Jimmy's Italian market has most of these, as well as a decent mozzarella/ provolone mix (and dough balls too).

pizzamaking.com forums have some really good recipes/ advice

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Tommy El Gato

Tommy El Gato 10

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11 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

I've also found putting the pizza stone on top of the platesetter helps keep the stone temp down a bit.  Flame directly on the pizza stone was too much.

Yep, plate setter is a must.  I add my extended rack on top of that, and the pizza stone on top of the rack.

I still like my baking steel better, but in the summer time I go with my bge. 

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Mac8111

Mac8111 2107

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On ‎4‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 11:05 AM, Chewbacca said:

Yep, this is how I do it.  Invert the platesetter so it's legs point down, then put the stone on top of that.

Alright.  Did 6 pizzas last night on the green egg.  Was slammed with trying to keep up with cooking and hosting friends. 

Bought the dough from my local bakery. 

I did a test pizza and the green egg was too hot. (around 700).  Charred the bottom pretty good, but pizza was still pretty good.   I got the temp down to around 500-475 and it was better pizza.  Was only taking about 6 min per pizza. 

I didn't find any semolina at HEB, so I just used regular flour.  Probably wasn't the best option, but that's what I went with. 

I used this no cook  sauce recipe that came America's Test Kitchen.  I really liked it.  Had good acidity and no sugar. 

No Cook Pizza Sauce

I did find some fresh mozzarella at HEB and I threw it in the freezer for 20 min and then grated it. 

Had a variety of ingredients and let people make their own pies.  My favorite was Italian sausage, pepperoni, caramelized onions and mushrooms .  ( I had done a quick sauté of the mushrooms so that they wouldn't dry out on the pizza.)

 

My Super Peel made it easy to transfer pizzas from Stone.

Super Peel

 

Definitely will be doing more pizzas soon.   Just not six in one evening. 

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Anastasis

Anastasis 23466

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5 minutes ago, Mac8111 said:

Alright.  Did 6 pizzas last night on the green egg.  Was slammed with trying to keep up with cooking and hosting friends. 

Bought the dough from my local bakery. 

I did a test pizza and the green egg was too hot. (around 700).  Charred the bottom pretty good, but pizza was still pretty good.   I got the temp down to around 500-475 and it was better pizza.  Was only taking about 6 min per pizza. 

I didn't find any semolina at HEB, so I just used regular flour.  Probably wasn't the best option, but that's what I went with. 

I used this no cook  sauce recipe that came America's Test Kitchen.  I really liked it.  Had good acidity and no sugar. 

No Cook Pizza Sauce

I did find some fresh mozzarella at HEB and I threw it in the freezer for 20 min and then grated it. 

Had a variety of ingredients and let people make their own pies.  My favorite was Italian sausage, pepperoni, caramelized onions and mushrooms .  ( I had done a quick sauté of the mushrooms so that they wouldn't dry out on the pizza.)

 

My Super Peel made it easy to transfer pizzas from Stone.

Super Peel

 

Definitely will be doing more pizzas soon.   Just not six in one evening. 

sorry, imgur still down, the pics didnt come through. 

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7771

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Alright.  Did 6 pizzas last night on the green egg.  Was slammed with trying to keep up with cooking and hosting friends. 
Bought the dough from my local bakery. 
I did a test pizza and the green egg was too hot. (around 700).  Charred the bottom pretty good, but pizza was still pretty good.   I got the temp down to around 500-475 and it was better pizza.  Was only taking about 6 min per pizza. 
I didn't find any semolina at HEB, so I just used regular flour.  Probably wasn't the best option, but that's what I went with. 
I used this no cook  sauce recipe that came America's Test Kitchen.  I really liked it.  Had good acidity and no sugar. 
No Cook Pizza Sauce
I did find some fresh mozzarella at HEB and I threw it in the freezer for 20 min and then grated it. 
Had a variety of ingredients and let people make their own pies.  My favorite was Italian sausage, pepperoni, caramelized onions and mushrooms .  ( I had done a quick sauté of the mushrooms so that they wouldn't dry out on the pizza.)
 
My Super Peel made it easy to transfer pizzas from Stone.
Super Peel
 
Definitely will be doing more pizzas soon.   Just not six in one evening. 
00 flour. Buy it on Amazon.
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LosIllini

LosIllini 91

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14 hours ago, Mac8111 said:

I didn't find any semolina at HEB, so I just used regular flour.  Probably wasn't the best option, but that's what I went with. 

I used this no cook  sauce recipe that came America's Test Kitchen.  I really liked it.  Had good acidity and no sugar. 

Try parchment paper if you're having trouble transferring from peel to stone.  Works especially well w/ more hydrated doughs.  Pull the paper after a couple of minutes, after the dough has started to firm up.

Picked up some Tomato Magic ground tomatoes, and used for sauce on my last pizzas.  Excellent, fresh, sweet taste right out of the can.

2847-2T.jpg

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ChickenSandwich

ChickenSandwich 9831

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On 4/4/2018 at 12:10 AM, Baboontyme said:

As a pizza connoisseur, I appreciate all feedback in this thread. I checked out Dark Horse's seriouseats link (they generally have good stuff) and I think I unlocked another secret after some experimenting tonight. If you strive for a true NY style - i.e. round, greasy as all hell and delicious...the cheese is very key once you have the crust worked out. Shredded is out. Low moisture is out. You need mozz in a block that is neither of those and you need to shred it yourself. That, along with your pepp, will give you the greasy outlook you are looking for. 

Though I like the NY style crust and method I posted above, to get closer to a true NY style crust I still have some work to do. 

what you are looking for is a triple washed Mozz.  Hard to find, commercially the best brand is "Grande Cheese", but some substitutes can be found.  The triple wash prevents the moisture from being fully released causing the yellow or plastic cheese consistency.  Best part about the triple was is the reheat factor, since the moisture level is so much higher, the cheese will reheat multiple times before becoming craft shredded cheese.

Best results for NY style crust is a long rising time.  24 was the minimum, but 36-48 was preferred

NY also does not use a "cooked tomato" in most of their sauces (no pot of sauce on the stove top etc - sauce cooks on the pizza).  They are simply a binder and not meant to be featured over the other ingredients. 

 

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ChickenSandwich

ChickenSandwich 9831

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19 hours ago, Mac8111 said:

Alright.  Did 6 pizzas last night on the green egg.  Was slammed with trying to keep up with cooking and hosting friends. 

Bought the dough from my local bakery. 

I did a test pizza and the green egg was too hot. (around 700).  Charred the bottom pretty good, but pizza was still pretty good.   I got the temp down to around 500-475 and it was better pizza.  Was only taking about 6 min per pizza. 

I didn't find any semolina at HEB, so I just used regular flour.  Probably wasn't the best option, but that's what I went with. 

I used this no cook  sauce recipe that came America's Test Kitchen.  I really liked it.  Had good acidity and no sugar. 

No Cook Pizza Sauce

I did find some fresh mozzarella at HEB and I threw it in the freezer for 20 min and then grated it. 

Had a variety of ingredients and let people make their own pies.  My favorite was Italian sausage, pepperoni, caramelized onions and mushrooms .  ( I had done a quick sauté of the mushrooms so that they wouldn't dry out on the pizza.)

 

My Super Peel made it easy to transfer pizzas from Stone.

Super Peel

 

Definitely will be doing more pizzas soon.   Just not six in one evening. 

temp is not wrong, just in a full size pizza oven you would be moving the pizza to a different part of the stone to control the heat/burn of the crust, which you cant do on the green egg, but hotter the better.  Need to research some techniques to I can cook at extremely high temps without burning. 

Question...did you take the dough straight from the fridge or did you let it sit out at all?  (we always tried to keep the dough cold until tossed - got a new green egg I haven't used yet)

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Baboontyme

Baboontyme 2809

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5 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

what you are looking for is a triple washed Mozz.  Hard to find, commercially the best brand is "Grande Cheese", but some substitutes can be found.  The triple wash prevents the moisture from being fully released causing the yellow or plastic cheese consistency.  Best part about the triple was is the reheat factor, since the moisture level is so much higher, the cheese will reheat multiple times before becoming craft shredded cheese.

Best results for NY style crust is a long rising time.  24 was the minimum, but 36-48 was preferred

NY also does not use a "cooked tomato" in most of their sauces (no pot of sauce on the stove top etc - sauce cooks on the pizza).  They are simply a binder and not meant to be featured over the other ingredients. 

 

Placeholder post. After some searching you can buy a 6 lb brick of their whole mozz online at a place called Vern's cheese. $35 + shipping. 

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Baboontyme

Baboontyme 2809

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I'm fittin to make one tonight in the oven. It is my birthday and when you're old and boring with kids this is the kind of shit you do to enjoy your day. I also consolidated all of my meetings to this morning, went to work out at lunch and then treated myself to a lovely sushi lunch solo. I picked up my youngest from daycare because she is pleasant and sweet and she and I hung out at home and chilled this afternoon. I even took a short nap. Then we picked up the boy from school, hung out until the wife got home, ate some cake and all that. Then I went to pick up a stick of pepperoni for my pizza and a bottle of vodka because that's what I felt like drinking. Fascinating stuff. Anyway, if it turns out decent I'll post some pics. 

Edited by Baboontyme
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kopp0e

kopp0e 1135

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On 4/1/2018 at 9:55 PM, HouTex said:

Make your own dough. It's not hard. Make it the day before and let it slowly rise in the fridge. Alton Brown did a show on it.

Get a pizza stone and get your oven as hot as it can get.

There are no rules on ingredients.

When in high school I worked at a Little Caesar's and at closing the leftover dough from the cooler would get pulled out (sometimes) & loaded with ingredients... Normally I brought some brisket from Dickey's Barbecue & tossed in a few chicken strips from Wal-Mart, a fix for those nights you want something quick...

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Baboontyme

Baboontyme 2809

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On 4/10/2018 at 10:16 PM, Baboontyme said:

I'm fittin to make one tonight in the oven. It is my birthday and when you're old and boring with kids this is the kind of shit you do to enjoy your day. I also consolidated all of my meetings to this morning, went to work out at lunch and then treated myself to a lovely sushi lunch solo. I picked up my youngest from daycare because she is pleasant and sweet and she and I hung out at home and chilled this afternoon. I even took a short nap. Then we picked up the boy from school, hung out until the wife got home, ate some cake and all that. Then I went to pick up a stick of pepperoni for my pizza and a bottle of vodka because that's what I felt like drinking. Fascinating stuff. Anyway, if it turns out decent I'll post some pics. 

I never posted them because I got drunk and lazy. But it turned out pretty damn good. I'm gonna make another tonight. And despite an hour of cardio every fuckin day, this is why I can't lose my beer gut. 

This is whole mozz in the freezer for 45 minutes or so + cubes of Wisconsin brick cheese. 'roni is Boars Head stick, sliced. Sauce is Prego or Ragu or some shit. 

 

41337686562_3595a7b85d_z.jpg

26509767257_76656b7e72.jpg

40666647214_68f0e629d2_z.jpg

41381041681_b83c9769fd_z.jpg

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Baboontyme

Baboontyme 2809

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I'm rockin the Detroit style tonight. Sauce on the burner. I don't have any brick cheese. Going to cube up some whole mozz and maybe a bit of muenster. Going psycho on the diet tomorrow so this is a last hurrah. Wish me well. If it turns out nice I'll get some pics up. 

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 45897

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I use this as a base for my sauce, because it pretty much doesn't have anything in it I don't want.  I add oregano, salt, and sometimes other herbs.

 

Image result for heb organic tomato sauce

Ingredients:  Organic Tomato Puree, Sea Salt, Organic Sugar, Organic Red Pepper, Naturally Derived Citric Acid

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