The Home-made Pizza thread

[sb]

So I have a couple questions of a procedure nature.

My crust turns out well. I would like to get it more airy.

It's nice and puffy out of the bowl but when I stretch it to fit the pan I seem to loose it.

I also have been pre cooking the crust for 5-8 minutes then adding toppings. Often the center will be puffed up 2" and to get the toppings on I must push it back down to get it to lay flat. I do this gently with a spoon.


So are there things I could do to maintain the fluffy nature of the dough /crust?

Tnx in advance

[Cruiser]

Maybe shape the crust in the pan a half hour or more in advance of cooking then cover it so that you can get an additional rise in the pan. When I'm doing pan pizzas I do a long slow rise in my wine cellar overnight then I put the dough into oiled cast iron skillets in the morning then they go back into the cellar until dinner time.

[Powder Ho]

I form my dough out slightly larger than my pan and roll the last inch or so on top of itself. I also let it sit for 15-20 mins before putting the toppings on. I don't precook the crust and I don't have any under cooked or burnt areas.
When I do a deep dish I'll cover the pan with tin foil for some of the cooking time to prevent burnt toppings.
The search for the perfect crust is part of the fun.

[esseff]

Yes. Crank up over to highest (preheated) temp and put it all in at once. Just make sure dough is even (meaning you have uniform thickness, or at minimum slightly thicker perimeter). It should not take more than 12 minutes to cook one 18" pie in a conventional oven (500 deg. temp max) with medium heavy toppings.

I don't precook the crust

[bagtagley]

Starting with a nice, round ball is key. Press down on the ball to flatten, then press outwards with your finger tips to about 1/4-1/2" from the edge, stretching and turning as you push. Once it's big enough, I'd pick it up and basically pass it back and forth from hand to hand in almost a figure 8, using the rim as a guide for your hands. You can also fly it. Kinda flashy, but it works. Or, you can keep pressing and stretching it with your fingers to get it to the size/thickness you want. You want to try to stretch from the rim. If you spend too much time on the middle, it'll get too thin. Youtube has thousands of examples of this.

Rolling pins have no business touching pizza dough. Room temp dough is easier, but cold is fine if you don't have time.

ETA: This is good cause he shows how to make a good dough ball, which I think is as important as stretching technique.

[Peruvian]

Do calzones count?

[stapes]

Made some pies on Sunday. It’s that Serious Eats foolproof pan pizza recipe I got from Pegleg in the cookin’ thread. Never fails.

[Captain Awesome]

Do calzones count?

[Phall]

Last night was good! I need to figure out how to get a better cook on the crust of my smaller margharita's. 550 deg electric oven on a pizza steel. 00 flour, san marzano sauce, less than ideal mozz ($ saving due to having folks over).
Trad. Marg. Solid, but crust could be crispier.


Pepperoni, same as marg in terms of crust


BBQ chicken. Famous dave's zesty sauce, chicken, red onion, moz. Cooked longer, crumbled mozz cooked slower, allowing for longer cook and crispier crust. Will try this on the marg next time.


Clam pie (roomate is from outside New Haven)
Canned (a sin, I know) clams, OO, basil, oregano and garlic sauce, mozz. Crust was good on this too.

[Cruiser]

Damn, I thought that pizza steel was supposed to be the silver bullet for making crispy crust. I've been patiently waiting for my current stone to crack so I could buy one.

[Phall]

Its not bad, I also bought the cheapest one on Prime I could find. The BBQ chicken definitely had the best crisp, need to perfect the time on the marg. I may spring for a UUNI or build a woodfired oven this summer.

[Powder Ho]

Damn, I thought that pizza steel was supposed to be the silver bullet for making crispy crust. I've been patiently waiting for my current stone to crack so I could buy one.

I can't speak to steel, but a cast iron pizza pan is light years better than a stone IMO.

[MakersTeleMark]

This is going into naan territory. Time to pull it back a bit boys.

[Ripzalot]

https://youtu.be/7cqYiUmutGI

Sent from my SM-A510F using Tapatalk

[sb]

Latest attempt using dough suggestions and a thin steel cooking pan, the kind with small holes in it.

Crust is notably lighter and fluffier, took dough out of fridge and gently spread it on the pan and covered while it warmed up for at least an hour. Did not pre cook crust. It is off the hook airy and light.

[Powder Ho]

Latest attempt using dough suggestions and a thin steel cooking pan, the kind with small holes in it.

Crust is notably lighter and fluffier, took dough out of fridge and gently spread it on the pan and covered while it warmed up for at least an hour. Did not pre cook crust. It is off the hook airy and light.

Awesome looking pie!

[sb]

I burned the shitfk out of three of the fingers on my left hand but so worth it.

[sb]

[Phall]

So after the last pies I posted, I forgot I had two doughs left in the fridge. I made them Monday night of this week, six days after refrigerating. I also lowered the oven rack to the lowest possible rung, and cranked it. I let the pies go a little longer on the steel, probably 10 mins, and the crust was much crispier. I'm finding that as much as I want to use nice, round slices of moz, that crumbling into larger, irregular chunks takes a little longer to get brown. The crust had developed some nice air pockets and got the bubbles I have been after. More to come!

[Cruiser]

[sb]

I luv the esoteric shapes.

You should do states next.

[Cruiser]

Too much bourbon to make 'em round

[XXX-er]

I never hear them called " Pies " up here ... just the word " pizza "

[sb]

Whoops, left my dough out all night and found it this morning, put it in the fridge before leaving for work.

Guess I will find out later if it is messed up. Hope not.

[sb]

Turned out fine.

I know you folks were worried.

If anything the crust was even more airy and fluffy.