Ymm! Homemade pizza

[rthomas]

First pizza made yesterday. I have a lot to learn but very much enjoyed the food.

Key lessons from yesterday:

1) Super easy setup for Ooni Fyra
2) Getting it lit and up to temperature easy also
3) Since you are cooking so quickly (1+minute) you can't put much on topping wise. In other words, it can't be triple stacked with pepperoni. Maybe if I had bought a gas powered one where you can regulate temperature a bit that is an option. But not so much with wood pellets.
4) Remember to put some corn meal on the pizza peel. Or use a wooden peel. My pizza turned out heart shaped.
5) 12" isn't a large pizza or I was hungry.

I do need more experience crafting the pizzas themselves.

A few lessons I have learned:
1. You can use Semolina flour on the pizza peel. Has a high burn temp that a typical OO pizza flour. Acts like tiny ball bearings.
2. Best OO flour for the crust is Caputo or King Arthur.
3. San Marzano tomatoes for the sauce.

[budwom]

^ King Arthur all the way...great flour, great company.

[-jk]

^ King Arthur all the way...great flour, great company.

Our mom swore by King Arthur for her weekly bread baking. She bought the big tubs.

-jk

[budwom]

Our mom swore by King Arthur for her weekly bread baking. She bought the big tubs.

-jk

your mom had great taste. Employee owned company that makes good stuff and treats the workers and customers well. Now known as the King Arthur Baking Company, their flour sales went crazy during the pandemic, up reportedly 20x in March 2020 vs the previous year, not much else to do but bake and munch.

[OldPhiKap]

I swear by Powdermilk Biscuit Flour.

[budwom]

I swear by Powdermilk Biscuit Flour.

definitely above average.

[OldPhiKap]

definitely above average.

Quiet week here.

I’ve been using a lot of high-gluten flour lately for bagels.. I need to try that for pizza crust and see how that works. I tend to use Glicks because I can get it on Amazon.

Other than that, I’m down with the King.

[YmoBeThere]

I used King Arthur flour. Today's effort was tastier and more visually appealing.

[bundabergdevil]

This thread is a nice little treasure trove/time capsule --- doing homemade pizzas again Christmas day and the recipes here are giving me great ideas again!

[Section 15]

This is the sauce to use for Neapolitan style pizza. It is easy to make and minimal in approach just like the best Neapolitan pizza. Also, I concur on King Arthur's 00 flour as the best for pizza. KA also sells "Perfect Pizza" and "Italian style" flour, but you want 00.

1. Start with a 28oz can* of San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes. You may see similar cans of "Italian Style" or "Roma" tomatoes on the supermarket shelf. Only use those in a dire emergency, like when there is a supply chain breakage.
2. Mince 3-4 cloves of garlic (or more if you like garlic). I had an Italian landlady who lived to be 105 and was strong as a horse (also deaf as a post) and the garlic smells from her kitchen were overpowering 24/7.
3. Fresh basil leaves. Best to grow your own, but in winter, you may have to use dried.
4. Blend until smooth. I use an inexpensive immersion blender, one of the best kitchen gadgets I've ever owned.
5. Some people will then heat the result in a sauce pan to drive out some moisture and thicken the sauce. I'm too impatient to wait this long and have never had a problem.

Spread the sauce thinly over the prepared dough and then add the rest of your toppings. I prefer just mozzarella and fresh basil leaves when I can get them. Two tips: Try spreading a very thin layer of pesto on the dough before the sauce. If you have fresh basil, cover the leaves with a little sauce so that they don't dry out during cooking.

* Last summer for the first time, I grew my own San Marzano tomatoes. I have never been able to find San Marzano seedling, so I grew them from seeds. (You can usually find "Roma" seedlings, but they are dry and tasteless, not worth bothering with.) Growing tomatoes from seeds is quite a process, something that was new to me. This year, I will document the process, starting in February, and post pictures of each stage. I'm already dreaming of pizzas on the grill next summer with homegrown San Marzano sauce and lots of fresh basil.

Yumm
Section 15

[BigWayne]

This is the sauce to use for Neapolitan style pizza. It is easy to make and minimal in approach just like the best Neapolitan pizza. Also, I concur on King Arthur's 00 flour as the best for pizza. KA also sells "Perfect Pizza" and "Italian style" flour, but you want 00.

1. Start with a 28oz can* of San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes. You may see similar cans of "Italian Style" or "Roma" tomatoes on the supermarket shelf. Only use those in a dire emergency, like when there is a supply chain breakage.
2. Mince 3-4 cloves of garlic (or more if you like garlic). I had an Italian landlady who lived to be 105 and was strong as a horse (also deaf as a post) and the garlic smells from her kitchen were overpowering 24/7.
3. Fresh basil leaves. Best to grow your own, but in winter, you may have to use dried.
4. Blend until smooth. I use an inexpensive immersion blender, one of the best kitchen gadgets I've ever owned.
5. Some people will then heat the result in a sauce pan to drive out some moisture and thicken the sauce. I'm too impatient to wait this long and have never had a problem.

Spread the sauce thinly over the prepared dough and then add the rest of your toppings. I prefer just mozzarella and fresh basil leaves when I can get them. Two tips: Try spreading a very thin layer of pesto on the dough before the sauce. If you have fresh basil, cover the leaves with a little sauce so that they don't dry out during cooking.

* Last summer for the first time, I grew my own San Marzano tomatoes. I have never been able to find San Marzano seedling, so I grew them from seeds. (You can usually find "Roma" seedlings, but they are dry and tasteless, not worth bothering with.) Growing tomatoes from seeds is quite a process, something that was new to me. This year, I will document the process, starting in February, and post pictures of each stage. I'm already dreaming of pizzas on the grill next summer with homegrown San Marzano sauce and lots of fresh basil.

Yumm
Section 15

Very common here in my area to find San Marzano plants. I have been growing them the last couple years and they do very well for me. Might still be a couple partly ripe ones hanging on the dead vines right now.

[Section 15]

Very common here in my area to find San Marzano plants. I have been growing them the last couple years and they do very well for me. Might still be a couple partly ripe ones hanging on the dead vines right now.

Must be a regional thing, I never see them around my area. I assume there must be a significant Italian-American community in your area, or at least an active Knights of Columbus lodge.

Glad to hear that you are growing and enjoying them.

Section 15

[YmoBeThere]

I made two pizzas today. Lesson learned: I need better process to get the second pizza on to the pizza peel. The first one was no problem, I made the pizza on the peel. The second one got bunched up on the peel and I lost about a third of the pie. Well, I didn't lose any of it was just much smaller than original laid out. Second lesson learned, stretching the pizza well definitely takes practice.

[Section 15]

I made two pizzas today. Lesson learned: I need better process to get the second pizza on to the pizza peel. The first one was no problem, I made the pizza on the peel. The second one got bunched up on the peel and I lost about a third of the pie. Well, I didn't lose any of it was just much smaller than original laid out. Second lesson learned, stretching the pizza well definitely takes practice.

One thing I do is use a separate peel for each pizza and make sure the peel is well floured. You can buy cheap wooden peels (basically thin plywood) for this. As long as the dough stays dry i.e. don't load on too many moist toppings, it will slide fairly easily onto the stone. I then use a thin, better quality, metal peel to remove the cooked pizza. Since the pizzas cook so quickly, having them all ready to go as soon as one is finished saves time.

Maybe there are some other ideas people can suggest.

Section 15

[YmoBeThere]

One thing I do is use a separate peel for each pizza and make sure the peel is well floured. You can buy cheap wooden peels (basically thin plywood) for this. As long as the dough stays dry i.e. don't load on too many moist toppings, it will slide fairly easily onto the stone. I then use a thin, better quality, metal peel to remove the cooked pizza. Since the pizzas cook so quickly, having them all ready to go as soon as one is finished saves time.

Maybe there are some other ideas people can suggest.

Section 15

Yeah, a second peel makes a lot of sense. I have ample storage and as you note should be able to find one that isn't too expensive.

[wilson]

Yeah, a second peel makes a lot of sense. I have ample storage and as you note should be able to find one that isn't too expensive.

We use a large metal peel and slide the pie(s) directly onto a hot pizza stone in the oven. Our kitchen space is limited, so we hang that peel on a hook alongside pots & pans.
We’ve also found that a layer of parchment paper under the pie can really help; slide it out after a minute of baking and things seem to do well.

[Section 15]

We’ve also found that a layer of parchment paper under the pie can really help; slide it out after a minute of baking and things seem to do well.

That's an interesting idea. Does the parchment burn at all? I am assuming that you are cooking at 500 F or higher. Any particular technique for pulling the paper out from the cooking pie?

Thanks,
Section 15

[Phredd3]

One thing I do is use a separate peel for each pizza and make sure the peel is well floured.

We use corn meal rather than flour. It acts both as a desiccant and as ball-bearings, to make the sliding off as easy as possible. Flour is fine unless it gets even a tiny bit wet, in which case it acts as an adhesive, which is pretty much the opposite of what you want.

We do need to get a second peel, though. Right now it's a long time between pies, since I don't make another until the first one is off the peel and on the table. It means I always eat last.

[wilson]

That's an interesting idea. Does the parchment burn at all? I am assuming that you are cooking at 500 F or higher. Any particular technique for pulling the paper out from the cooking pie?

Thanks,
Section 15

Just...pull. After the crust sets for a minute or so, it slides right out.

[Section 15]

Just...pull. After the crust sets for a minute or so, it slides right out.

Maybe I'm not understanding. You were talking about pulling the paper out from under a partially cooked pizza in a hot (500 F +) oven. How do you grip the paper with oven mitts (and steamed up glasses), or do you use some sort of tongs? When I cook on the grill, the temps get even higher (600 F or more). Not sure I could just reach in and pull out the parchment from under the pie. Welding gloves?

Section 15