The Last Great Pizza Thread

'Bout time we had a thread for all those that make their own dough and sauce. Too many good cooks on THP to let something as magnificent as that king of foods, pizza go unnoticed on this forum. This thread however comes with some rules to post...

1) Make your own dough and post the recipe. Thin crust. Whole wheat. Foccacia. NY or Chicago style. Naan....your choice!

2) Make your own sauce and post the recipe. Red. White. Olive oil w/ garlic. Whatever gets your mojo workin'!

3) Mandatory that it brings teh heat. Habs. Serrano's. Bhut's. T-Scorps. Fatalli. Hot sauce's and puree's will qualify. Using wimp sauce's such as Tabasco Brand or Franks will
be ridiculed with extreme prejudice and boooooed heavily!

4) Toppings can be anything. Pepperoni. Avocado. Greek olives. Pulled pork. If it came out of the ground or walked, swam or crawled, its all cool and the gang!

5) Bake them in the oven on a sheet pan. In cast iron. A pizza stone. On the grill. Got a wood fired pizza oven? Have mercy!

6) Pics are mandatory! Anyone can talk smack about it but put up or shut up. No pics? It never happened and ridiculing and boooooing will follow. Capiche?

Alright ya'll, lets get it on.....

 

[Booma]

Changed the photos better easier to see how. Was cooked at about 350-400 Celsius for a few minutes but the bottom did cook a lot quicker than normal. Will give it another try soon. I do like the ease of the dough especially if you feel like a quick pizza after work or something

 

[Booma]

Tried the 2 dough recipe again, but split into 2 balls and rolled out thin, got 2 decent size pizzas from it. I really like the ease of this dough but cooking in the wood fired oven is very different too work with compared to your normal types of dough, anyways still tasty
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Essegi]

Agreed that needs a different cooking.
Here my try.
So i used 2 cups (not the measure, just some random cups) of greek yougurt and 3 of flour with rising agent.
It ended that this was 300g of yogurt and 300g of flour.
Much better now, better to say equal weight of flour and yogurt.
Kneaded 8 minutes, it was good, not sticky and not dry.
Divided in 2 balls of 293-294g.
Then waited 15min to prepare other stuff.
 
First one standard margherita, i cooked it as quickly as possible, it still took 6-7 mins.

 

 

 

Too burnt on bottom.
 
The second has been cooked in 12 mins. Now with salt, oregano, pepperoni and white fatalii.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Bottom is ok, above is a bit anemic but well cooked.
 
Not bad at all, maybe i should retry with my standard electric oven to see if i am able to cook more homogeneously.
That are really thick pizzas, probably my thickest of round type. Consider that the standard is 200g for my oven and when i tried "scrocchiarella" type, thin and crisp, i tried 140g per pizza.
 
The first thing that comes to mind is to make some balls and wait a bit. The second one strechted more easily.
Since the point of that recipe is being fast i suggest to make dough and balls as first thing, then the rest (cut things ecc). Since normally after making balls a resting of 3-7 hours (depending on dough, how balls are made and probably temp) is required to achieve the correct elasticity.
 
Btw for a fast making pizza it's a good recipe!
 
PS @ THP: guess what? I've asked to my small local cheese producer if they sell not refrigerated mozz... They've said that they make mozz wednesday and just to go there that day or call them before. That's good!

 

[The Hot Pepper]

The milk in the yogurt is burning at high heats since regular dough has no milk.
 
Booma, are you turning the pie with the peel? Usually quarter turns or third turns... wood in corner, slide pizza in, turn, turn, done. Color on all sides. This doesn't let one side get too much heat. This combined with cornmeal or semolina on the oven floor could lift it from the bottom. I'd do a little extra.
 
Essegi, looks like you figured it out. Maybe also try cornmeal (or semolina).
 
It's used to help the pizza slide, but also lifts. The cornmeal that sticks gives it a unique taste, if you are opposed to this, use semolina.
 
Just sprinkle it down with your hand and slide the pie on top. 
 
Nobody likes a burnt taste but some slight char right around the rim is expected from wood and coal.
 
Nice experiments!

 

[grantmichaels]

I'm giving THP some props on this one. I happen to have experienced all of what he's said ... we're a granite fabricator at work, and there's a constant stream of Italians through our business ... my boss (the owner) is Italian, he had a pizzeria before our shop, his dad still has one on the island (still working in mid-80's) ... it's 3x turns, to do it in 1/4 sections, which is "a thing," and they are very dogmatic about it ...
 
But if you do that, you just make whatever the Italian equivalent of a "gringo" pizza would be ... because, there's a need to be progressively decreasing the time for each move as well, or you burn the bottom ... I suppose this is based upon needing additional time for the first position because the food is at such a heat deficit when it's 1st introduced, and that near the end, the opposite is true ...
 
Anyways, I've seem them talking shit and giving each other shit cooking pizzas at BBQ's etc over the years ...

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Yeah, the quarter turn is a bit of an art. Lombardi's coal oven in NYC is 950+ degrees and I think a pie cooks in 1:30. They have to be on point!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Essegi]

The milk in the yogurt is burning at high heats since regular dough has no milk.
 
Booma, are you turning the pie with the peel? Usually quarter turns or third turns... wood in corner, slide pizza in, turn, turn, done. Color on all sides. This doesn't let one side get too much heat. This combined with cornmeal or semolina on the oven floor could lift it from the bottom. I'd do a little extra.
 
Essegi, looks like you figured it out. Maybe also try cornmeal (or semolina).
 
It's used to help the pizza slide, but also lifts. The cornmeal that sticks gives it a unique taste, if you are opposed to this, use semolina.
 
Just sprinkle it down with your hand and slide the pie on top. 
 
Nobody likes a burnt taste but some slight char right around the rim is expected from wood and coal.
 
Nice experiments!

Thanks boss, sometimes i used semolina (is the same of durum wheat?). Never tried cornmeal... Maybe i could try here... My best pizzas were with just flour and no fat btw.
 
Not sure to understand what you mean with that: "Just sprinkle it down with your hand and slide the pie on top. " You mean just "dirt" the pizza bottom with semolina or cornmeal prior cooking?
Btw by too much burn i mean that i actually felt the burnt taste in the first.
Btw some distributed burnt spots on crust are the proof of a correct cooking (some say also maybe correct dough ripe).
 
 

a pie cooks in 1:30.

That it's what is supposed to be, 60-90 s to achieve perfection! I just need an oven like that (sooner or later i'll get something good!).

 

[Ashen]

that  yogurt& self rising dough recipe is very similar to a Naan recipe my wife's Indian friend gave her.  The major difference being  using  plain flour and yeast instead of self rising flour.   I will have to give this a go sometime. 

 

[Booma]

The milk in the yogurt is burning at high heats since regular dough has no milk.
 
Booma, are you turning the pie with the peel? Usually quarter turns or third turns... wood in corner, slide pizza in, turn, turn, done. Color on all sides. This doesn't let one side get too much heat. This combined with cornmeal or semolina on the oven floor could lift it from the bottom. I'd do a little extra.

 
Haha of course i'm turning it THP, thats why the whole outside ring is a little burnt hahaha. This cooked much better on the bottom, average heat was 300-350 Celsius, but i had a bigger fire to try to cook the top a little more, which resulted in the rim burn.....
 
And i use semolina on the peels all the time, best thing to slide a pizza off!!!!

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Booma try semolina on the floor of the oven too, not just the peel. It will help with burning.

Essegi, that's what I meant, shake some on the wood oven floor or stone you are using.

Cornmeal is thicker and works even better. It's like little wheels.

 

[grantmichaels]

'those skates' also make the best sesame bagels stand out from the pack ...

toasted with butter, black lava salted mater, and torched/salamander muenster ... yum.

want.

 

[frydad4]

Yea I don't think it loves the very high heat. I cook for 9-10 mins at 450, which is nothing compared to the rocket heat you guys are able to create. I think it prefers a less aggressive heat, but good stuff all around. I think several people have found this recipe works quite well!

 

[Essegi]

Yea I don't think it loves the very high heat. I cook for 9-10 mins at 450, which is nothing compared to the rocket heat you guys are able to create. I think it prefers a less aggressive heat, but good stuff all around. I think several people have found this recipe works quite well!

9-10 mins at 450 is not much, it cooks fast too.
 
With that self rising flour i tried some other pizza, just kneading, 65% idro, a tsp of evo to avoid being sticky... Balls of 213g. Then strained mozz first and cut the rest.
The idea was to use the yogurt recipe but with water instead yogurt since i don't like the fact that needs to be cooked at lower temps.
 
Standard margherita:

 

 

 
Holy sheeittt!
Who ate it said that was good because was crunchy. It was completely dry. And i didn't like the taste. That's the worst pizza i've posted here. I'm still shivering.
 
Next, cherry peppers and pepperoni, oreagno;

 

 

Not ugly as the previous but quite meh.
 
Last one, anchovies, pepperoni, maasdam, tosella, asiago (and still mozz). Also i used some evo before splattering the tomato puree.

 

 

Still a bad pizza but who ated it said that was good... But because that cheese combo has been one of the best i've ever tasted. I must combine that cheese again (more or less same quantity of all).
 
For sure yougurt recipe is much better than this and also it's easier to knead. Just avoid the above stuff.

 

[JayT]

Regular dough, didn't have any greek yogurt.
 

 
 

 

[Nova]

What no bottom pic? No side cut pic to show the air in the crust?
 
Also no alcohol.
 
I'd still smash it!

 

[JayT]

It has peppers, bbq sauce, bacon, and sausage.  That should be enough.

 

[sicman]

Nice pie my man. That has my name all over it.

 

[Essegi]

Here 2 mozz made yesterday and never refrigerated:

 

 

 
So i mad that pizza in teglia. 85% idro and 47,5 h of fridge + 2 outside.
I used special care for my method. Just to confirm that you must know what you are doing or it's a lottery. I believed to know, evidently not.
 
So i cooked the base with a bit of evo and tomato puree for 10 minutes on bottom position.
Topped with some more tomato puree, oregano, mozz, cayenna and anchovies on the other side.
 
Out of interest: that could be the least cheap thing i've posted here... Yesterday mozz from a small local producer not refrigerated, excellent homemade conserva (tomato puree), oregano from my aunt garden, good quality flour. Regular yeast, decent evo. Average anchovies (not deluxe but not cheap).
And cayenna from a friend of mine.
 
Btw cooked for 3 minutes on second top position with grill function:
 

 

 
Why no cavities? Some of the worst looking cavities... 
Also a couple of mins more of cooking would have been good.
For the rest look is ok.
 
Btw dough tasted really really good and mozz for sure was good too.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Nice melt.
 
Nice oil crust.

 

[grantmichaels]

That sure looks good to me.