The Home-made Pizza thread

[RootSkier]

Once again, slice.seriouseats.com has the info and ideas you are looking for.

[dumpy]

Anyone try making pizza on a 'normal' (ie non modified) bbq?

I got a weber (who doesnt) that I could use for this if results are satisfactory...

I make something similar to pizza thats more akin to real pizza than anything made with whole wheat, honey, BBQ sauce, oat, rye, soylent green, etc on my gas grill. I won't call it pizza cause I'm not starting with fresh dough, but damn is it good and it's basically pizza.

I start with some Naan, I like this kind for my grill pizzas.

I heat the grill up HOT, as close to 500 F as I can get it. I brush one side (the flat one) of the naan with olive oil, typically I make a garlic oil by cutting up some fresh garlic, adding it to the oil and microwaving for ~60 seconds.

I now grill just the side that I oiled, just to crisp it up a bit and add some burn lines, I rotate it a few times to even this out. This will become the top of the pizza.

Grab the naan, close the grill lid, go back inside. Brush the uncooked side with oil, flip over and start topping.

Once your grill pizza is ready to go, make sure your grill is back up to temperature.

This next part is very important and how you do this will vary depending on your grill. A modern gas grill is essentially a convection oven and grill in one. You want the heat from above to melt the cheese/cook toppings and the heat from below to crisp the crust. these two values are typically not in the proportion you want them to be, Here is how I handle this:

I put the grill pizzas on the front of the grill and quickly shut the lid. I then turn off the front burner, I let this cook for about 30 sec-1 minute, then I rotate the pizza (if done right you can get sweet grid lines) and shut the lid. I then hit the gas in the front for another 15 seconds or so, then turn the front gas off again and let cook some more. I keep repeating these steps until it looks crispy on the bottom and the cheese is melted, typically between 4-6 minutes.

I can usually whip up a couple of personal sized pies in under a 1/2 hour using this method and they are fucking delicious, most of the time is in the prep.

Oh and never call it 'za.

[Captain Anal]

cornmeal is commonly used as a "lubricant" on one's pizza paddle. you sprinkle down a small amount of cornmeal and it allows the freshly made pizza to slide off the paddle with ease and onto the pizza stone in the oven.

ask any pro pizza maker, they'll tell you the same (if they don't use cornmeal, they probably use a little extra flour on the paddle, but most recipes for making pizza will mention the use of cornmeal for decreasing the friction/stickiness of the fresh dough against the paddle).

Whenever I get pizza from someplace and there is cornmeal on the dough, I make a mental note to NEVER get pizza there again. It ruins the pizza. Fuck that shit... don't do it.

[Shredhead]

I do something similar on the grill. I use whole wheat pita's, olive oil, fresh tomato's, fresh basil and fresh cheese. I can make them in about 5 minutes.

[Pegleg]

I used to spend hours perfecting my homemade pizza dough (I like a neopolitan style, thin but not crackery, puffy and slightly charred around the edges with a crisp bottom). Then I discovered Whole Foods' dough is available in the refrigerated cabinet. It's made fresh daily, and damn if it isn't as good as my best efforts (and as good as some of the best places around here, like Marco's in Denver and Basta in Boulder, if you prep it right).

The key, for me, is to split it into two balls, let them warm to room temp, and use your hands to stretch and toss them (no rolling pins, they get all the bubbles out and make it less airy inside) so that you end up with two 12" pies. Very thin in the middle, but not tearing (which is the sign of proper gluten development). Put 'em on parchment, top moderately (thin crust falls apart if you put too much stuff on, especially wet stuff), drizzle a little good olive oil on top, and cook on a preheated-for-an-hour 500 degree pizza stone. Amazing. I'm now far too lazy to make my own crust anymore, since for $2 I can have two pizzas worth of crust from WF. They also have a multigrain dough, which is interesting and not bad, but it's not pizza crust - more like bread.

Also, interestingly, the dough balls are different from, and WAY better than, the dough that WF uses in their take-and-bake pizzas. That dough is pretty lousy, probably because it needs to be less sticky and firmer to hold up to being topped, wrapped in plastic, and then sitting in a fridge for a couple of days.

[Tectonically_Neglected]

I make something similar to pizza thats more akin to real pizza than anything made with whole wheat, honey, BBQ sauce, oat, rye, soylent green, etc on my gas grill. I won't call it pizza cause I'm not starting with fresh dough, but damn is it good and it's basically pizza.

I start with some Naan, I like this kind for my grill pizzas.

I heat the grill up HOT, as close to 500 F as I can get it. I brush one side (the flat one) of the naan with olive oil, typically I make a garlic oil by cutting up some fresh garlic, adding it to the oil and microwaving for ~60 seconds.

I now grill just the side that I oiled, just to crisp it up a bit and add some burn lines, I rotate it a few times to even this out. This will become the top of the pizza.

Grab the naan, close the grill lid, go back inside. Brush the uncooked side with oil, flip over and start topping.

Once your grill pizza is ready to go, make sure your grill is back up to temperature.

This next part is very important and how you do this will vary depending on your grill. A modern gas grill is essentially a convection oven and grill in one. You want the heat from above to melt the cheese/cook toppings and the heat from below to crisp the crust. these two values are typically not in the proportion you want them to be, Here is how I handle this:

I put the grill pizzas on the front of the grill and quickly shut the lid. I then turn off the front burner, I let this cook for about 30 sec-1 minute, then I rotate the pizza (if done right you can get sweet grid lines) and shut the lid. I then hit the gas in the front for another 15 seconds or so, then turn the front gas off again and let cook some more. I keep repeating these steps until it looks crispy on the bottom and the cheese is melted, typically between 4-6 minutes.

I can usually whip up a couple of personal sized pies in under a 1/2 hour using this method and they are fucking delicious, most of the time is in the prep.

Oh and never call it 'za.

Cheers man.

PS I got me a charcoal weber, so no gas burners... This is what got me thinking...

[dumpy]

Cheers man.

PS I got me a charcoal weber, so no gas burners... This is what got me thinking...

I think charcoal would also work well, it's just a little harder to control temperature. I think the pizza stone may alleviate some of that need though.

[BurnHard]

This thread's been neglected for too long. With all that Paleo talk, I forgot all about my roots!

Dough overflowing in the fridge after 24 hours of fermentation...


Lots of pizza!


One of the best I've ever made...


I just started seedlings for San Marzano tomatoes, hoping to grow A LOT this spring/summer.

Post yours up!

[The AD]

If anyone is on a gluten free diet try Namaste pizza crust mix. I was skeptical at first, but it makes a pretty good pizza.

[guest]

Anyone know any good yeast-free crust recipes?

[Pegleg]

Burnhard: Looks good, but are you cooking it directly on the rack in the oven? (It looks that way in the last pic.) For all the effort you're putting into the dough, you should really use a pizza stone. If you preheat the oven to 550 for an hour with a stone on the bottom rack, the stone will superheat to 600-700 degrees and you'll get something pretty close to a real pizza oven temp. Plus the stone dries out the air a bit, getting that crisp, slightly charred bottom.

If you're already using a stone, then... carry on. Pizza looks great.

[DaveTV]

These things work great http://www.gopresto.com/products/pizzazz/

http://www.gopresto.com/products/piz...ideo_wm_bb.php

[Crampedon]

This is a secret Pizza location. If I told you where it is I would have to kill you.

[krp8128]

Burnhard: Looks good, but are you cooking it directly on the rack in the oven? (It looks that way in the last pic.) For all the effort you're putting into the dough, you should really use a pizza stone. If you preheat the oven to 550 for an hour with a stone on the bottom rack, the stone will superheat to 600-700 degrees and you'll get something pretty close to a real pizza oven temp. Plus the stone dries out the air a bit, getting that crisp, slightly charred bottom.

If you're already using a stone, then... carry on. Pizza looks great.

Unless I am still fucked up from last night, physics fail.










But get a stone.

[TyWebb]

This is a secret Pizza location. If I told you where it is I would have to kill you.

WOW....pizza oven shangri la...private residence?

[Crampedon]

WOW....pizza oven shangri la...private residence?

It is a residence as well as an Art and Pizza Sanctuary, A place were beautiful women enjoy Pizza being served to give them energy for the nights music, wine and dance.

[js3908]

Anyone else tried broiled eggplant on a pie? Usually do eggplant, chicken, and some crimini shrooms, delicious!

[Pegleg]

Unless I am still fucked up from last night, physics fail.

Yup, you're still fucked up. The idea is that the bottom of the oven is where the heat source is (coils or gas flame). That heating element itself is significantly hotter than the temp of the oven. (That's why the oven cycles on and off as it cooks - the element comes on when the temp starts to drop, then clicks off when it's hot again. If the element stayed on the whole time, the oven would get too hot because the element is hotter than the ambient temp of the oven.) So, by putting the stone very close to the bottom, it absorbs and retains heat directly from the element which lets it get hotter than the ambient temp of the oven. That's why people usually say to put the stone on the bottom of the oven. Here's an interesting discussion of the effects of putting the stone in various places in the oven - note that it mentions that with the direct blast of radiant heat from the bottom, the stone gets up to around 680 degrees while the ambient temp in the oven is only 550.

[Crampedon]

Anyone else tried broiled eggplant on a pie? Usually do eggplant, chicken, and some crimini shrooms, delicious!

Never broiled it but tossed in itaian dressing and grilled is winner. In the above pictured wood-fired oven I often roast vegetables then put them on top. Mmmm.....

Great pasta dish to, grilled the veggies, toss with penne of bucatini and add herbs, soft cheeses,seasoning pesto or oil.....

[BurnHard]

Burnhard: Looks good, but are you cooking it directly on the rack in the oven? (It looks that way in the last pic.) For all the effort you're putting into the dough, you should really use a pizza stone. If you preheat the oven to 550 for an hour with a stone on the bottom rack, the stone will superheat to 600-700 degrees and you'll get something pretty close to a real pizza oven temp. Plus the stone dries out the air a bit, getting that crisp, slightly charred bottom.

If you're already using a stone, then... carry on. Pizza looks great.

Using a stone, no worries
I take the pizza out with the pizza paddle and immediately put it on the rack to let it cool without getting soggy.

Right now I'm using a pizza stone that someone left at my place, I want to get some kind of heavier and larger terracotta stone soon...

[Dantheman]

I want to get some kind of heavier and larger terracotta stone soon...

I use a 17" terracotta saucer. Flip it upside down and it works great. It's big, heavy and only about $15 at Lowes/HD.

[trainnvain]

^^^Yup, I line my ovens with unglazed red quarry tile.
Great for bread and pizza.
Side notes:
Salt, rest, rinse eggplant before roasting.
proofing, folding and de-gassing are your friend, as is levain for the dough.
corn meal is essential to the peel and stone (works better than flour).
pizza ovens can never be too hot (99% of the time).
too much topping will affect cooking temps and times in a bad way.

[Captain Awesome]

I have learned that the tastiest homemade pizzas I make are the ones with the least "stuff" on them. Specifically, sauce. I use crushed tomatoes now, and strain them through cheesecloth (real "cheesecloth", like you use for making cheese - not the gauze that's usually sold as such) to get a lot of the liquid out, add some spices to the tomatoes, then spread it very, very thinly on the crust. It keeps the crust from getting soggy, and delivers more of a flavor punch than anything else I've used. Then, 2, maybe 3 toppings, and we're done!

[Pegleg]

Here's a change of pace: anyone making chicago-style deep dish at home? Any recipes for the crust? Can't get a deep dish pie in Colorado that's worth a damn.

[Crampedon]

I use a 17" terracotta saucer. Flip it upside down and it works great. It's big, heavy and only about $15 at Lowes/HD.

Great tip for home use! Going to look today.