Ymm! Homemade pizza

[YmoBeThere]

Welding gloves?

These are much more pliable:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

81s+NSfXC+L._AC_SL1500_.jpg

[wilson]

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

I mean yeah, I do it gingerly, but just pull it. I don't wear gloves or anything. I suppose it's a high-risk proposition, but I've yet to burn myself.

[Phredd3]

I mean yeah, I do it gingerly, but just pull it. I don't wear gloves or anything. I suppose it's a high-risk proposition, but I've yet to burn myself.

Yeah, I'm not doing that. I'm 100% sure I'd touch the stone at some point. I'm not the most dextrous guy, despite the fact that I play percussion decently well. My mental musicality exceeds my physical capacity by a good bit, I'm afraid. A man's got to know his limitations.

[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

I wrote last year about growing San Marzano tomatoes for pizza sauce. Following up, here is what happened:

I planted seeds in February

seeds.jpg

Here are the seedlings about a month later

sprouts.jpg

Around here it is best not to plant seedlings until after Mother's day, and then a long (impatient - San Marzanos ripen later than most varieties) wait for the ripe fruit. But in the last few weeks there has been an abundant harvest.

tomatoes.jpg

I am quoting my last post, which includes a sauce recipe. When using whole tomatoes instead of canned, you need to go the extra step of peeling them first. For some of you this is probably old hat, but it was new for me. Of course I first went to the internet for instructions. There seem to be two schools of thought, one using a microwave, and the other boiling water. Naturally, I went with the microwave technique, which involves heating the tomatoes about 45 seconds on high.

Pro Tip: Don't. Ever. Do. This. Exploding tomatoes all over the inside of the microwave. OK lesson learned. Time to try technique two.

The boiling water technique seemed more involved (what, I have to figure out how boil water?) but it worked pretty well. First, wash, trim the stem ends, and any imperfections off the tomatoes. Then lightly score the skin in a few places.

Next, get a strong rolling boil going, carefully place a few tomatoes at a time in the pot (only as many as won't stop the water boiling) and let boil for about a minute. Then transfer to a large bowl full of ice water where the tomatoes can sit until you have boiled all the tomatoes that you are preparing.

After that, you can easily pull the skins off. Let the water drain off the skinned tomatoes so the sauce doesn't get too watery and follow the recipe above. I've found that the sauce freezes well.

More later about cooking with a wood fire...

[budwom]

I went to grade school with Sam Marzano! Small world...(his tomatoes are the best)

[BigWayne]

The boiling water technique seemed more involved (what, I have to figure out how boil water?) but it worked pretty well. First, wash, trim the stem ends, and any imperfections off the tomatoes. Then lightly score the skin in a few places.

Next, get a strong rolling boil going, carefully place a few tomatoes at a time in the pot (only as many as won't stop the water boiling) and let boil for about a minute. Then transfer to a large bowl full of ice water where the tomatoes can sit until you have boiled all the tomatoes that you are preparing.

After that, you can easily pull the skins off. Let the water drain off the skinned tomatoes so the sauce doesn't get too watery and follow the recipe above. I've found that the sauce freezes well.

You should just need to cut an "x" in the point of the tomato before boiling. For most tomatoes, you only need about 30 seconds in the hot water.

I just was able to get a good San Marzano harvest, but I am going to make bruschetta with it this afternoon. Haven't gotten enough that I need to make sauce.
san_marzano.jpg

[Section 15]

You should just need to cut an "x" in the point of the tomato before boiling. For most tomatoes, you only need about 30 seconds in the hot water.

I just was able to get a good San Marzano harvest, but I am going to make bruschetta with it this afternoon. Haven't gotten enough that I need to make sauce.
san_marzano.jpg

Impressive plant.

[Section 15]

More later about cooking with a wood fire...

This summer my family and I had dinner with a friend in Massachusetts, who showed us how to really cook pizza. A few years back (pre-pandemic) he spent a month in Italy, mostly in the Naples and Amalfi coast area, and developed a taste for pizza cooked with a wood fire. Returning home he built this oven in his back yard, which I christened, to his annoyance, the Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut 1.jpg

The walls are New Hampshire granite and the roof is Vermont slate (two colors).

PIZZA Hut 2.jpg

800 degrees of pizza magic.

PIZZA Hut 3.jpg

Cooking time is 90 seconds.

PIZZA Hut 4.jpg

Hmmm... Now I'm hungry

Some notes for pizza nerds: While my friend lives an easy drive from the King Arthur flour store in VT, and he uses OO flour for the dough, he only uses Italian flour. American flour apparently isn't authentic enough. Also, when I told him I was growing my own San Marzano tomatoes for sauce, he flatly told me that the only real San Marzano tomatoes are the ones grown in southern Italy. (I guess like the only real champagne comes from the champagne region of France.) So he imports canned tomatoes like he does the flour. I mean, no sense in going only part way, right?

[Phredd3]

Some notes for pizza nerds: While my friend lives an easy drive from the King Arthur flour store in VT, and he uses OO flour for the dough, he only uses Italian flour. American flour apparently isn't authentic enough. Also, when I told him I was growing my own San Marzano tomatoes for sauce, he flatly told me that the only real San Marzano tomatoes are the ones grown in southern Italy. (I guess like the only real champagne comes from the champagne region of France.) So he imports canned tomatoes like he does the flour. I mean, no sense in going only part way, right?

Pffft.

The walls are New Hampshire granite and the roof is Vermont slate (two colors).

What, there's no granite or slate in Italy? No pizza cutter for that guy. He uses a corner cutter.

[aimo]

This summer my family and I had dinner with a friend in Massachusetts, who showed us how to really cook pizza. A few years back (pre-pandemic) he spent a month in Italy, mostly in the Naples and Amalfi coast area, and developed a taste for pizza cooked with a wood fire. Returning home he built this oven in his back yard, which I christened, to his annoyance, the Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut 1.jpg

The walls are New Hampshire granite and the roof is Vermont slate (two colors).

PIZZA Hut 2.jpg

800 degrees of pizza magic.

PIZZA Hut 3.jpg

Cooking time is 90 seconds.

PIZZA Hut 4.jpg

Hmmm... Now I'm hungry

Some notes for pizza nerds: While my friend lives an easy drive from the King Arthur flour store in VT, and he uses OO flour for the dough, he only uses Italian flour. American flour apparently isn't authentic enough. Also, when I told him I was growing my own San Marzano tomatoes for sauce, he flatly told me that the only real San Marzano tomatoes are the ones grown in southern Italy. (I guess like the only real champagne comes from the champagne region of France.) So he imports canned tomatoes like he does the flour. I mean, no sense in going only part way, right?

That makes for some really expensive pizza!

[Section 15]

Pffft.

Jealous maybe?

That makes for some really expensive pizza!

Well, what's your first born son worth?

[Phredd3]

Jealous maybe?

I prefer "envious".

[rsvman]

This summer my family and I had dinner with a friend in Massachusetts, who showed us how to really cook pizza. A few years back (pre-pandemic) he spent a month in Italy, mostly in the Naples and Amalfi coast area, and developed a taste for pizza cooked with a wood fire. Returning home he built this oven in his back yard, which I christened, to his annoyance, the Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut 1.jpg

The walls are New Hampshire granite and the roof is Vermont slate (two colors).

PIZZA Hut 2.jpg

800 degrees of pizza magic.

PIZZA Hut 3.jpg

Cooking time is 90 seconds.

PIZZA Hut 4.jpg

Hmmm... Now I'm hungry

Some notes for pizza nerds: While my friend lives an easy drive from the King Arthur flour store in VT, and he uses OO flour for the dough, he only uses Italian flour. American flour apparently isn't authentic enough. Also, when I told him I was growing my own San Marzano tomatoes for sauce, he flatly told me that the only real San Marzano tomatoes are the ones grown in southern Italy. (I guess like the only real champagne comes from the champagne region of France.) So he imports canned tomatoes like he does the flour. I mean, no sense in going only part way, right?

This is really awesome. As a side note, that type of pizza is known as Neopolitan pizza, famously made that way in Naples. Not only are they cooked at very high temperature for a very short period of time, but the dough for the crust is quite a bit different from pizzas made even elsewhere in Italy itself.

There is a restaurant in our area that makes it. The guy who owns the restaurant had to train for several weeks to learn how to make the crust properly. He also had a real deal Neopolitan pizza oven sent over from Naples. The price for the oven and getting it over here to the states was enormous, but the payoff is perhaps worth it. He makes the best pizza I have ever had anywhere.

I'm sure your friend's pizza is delectable. From the picture you posted it actually looks like "real deal" Neopolitan pizza.