Pizza Tips

[Audrey]

Can be found here (http://blog.recipelion.com/how-to-make-a-delicious-and-original-pizza/) :)

-Audrey, RecipeLion.com Editor

[TheKitchenSink]

As a former pizza man myself, I find specialty pies to be revolting in most cases, unless of course the eater is heavily intoxicated. To me they seem like novelty dishes. BBQ Chicken Pizza is rarely as good as either quality BBQ Chicken or a nice regular slice.

By the way, the main reason Chicago and New York have the tastiest pizza is that the old brick ovens have absorbed and retained flavor molecules over generations of use.

[Bacchus]

I respectfully disagree. Specialty pizza's CAN be very good. That doesn't mean all of them are. Of course we all know that it's all about the crust. Using a good quality dough is the key, along with refraining from overloading the toppings.
One of my favoirtes is Thai Chicken pizza. I get the peanut sauce from my neighborhood Thai restaurant, to be used as pizza sauce, then grilled chicken chopped finely, and traditional mozzarella. It tastes sooo much better than it sounds.

Freshly Made Pesto & Shrimp (baked on the grill)
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk308/Bacchus3266/IMG_2471.jpg

[Big Daddy's House]

That looks so good!!

[Bacchus]

thanks BDH, it is super easy and delish. Hit me up if you want the 411.

[Big Daddy's House]

Yes I'd like to know the recipe. Thanks.

[Bacchus]

Well I dont follow recipes so cant tell you exactly.

My pesto is fresh basil(hadnful),about 10 cloves chopped garlic, grated parmesan- about 3/4 cup i guess, and EVOO-1/2 cup maybe a little more....into the food processor., You could google Pesto recipe's it's pretty basic.

The dough I bought from a local pizzaria. Most of them will sell it for 2-$3. If not, publix does. The key is to let is rest in a bowl covered in EVOO for 1-2 hours a room temp.

Par cook the shrimp just for a quick minute or two prior to making pizza.

As always , add kosher salt and Fresh Gd BP.

[Big Daddy's House]

Ok, I'll just use my instincts and know-how. Thanks.

[jenn_k]

1. Always preheat your oven before baking your pizza.

2. A simple two-topping pizza in a 12 inch diameter pizza pan bakes evenly and thoroughly at about 400 degrees on the center rack in your oven.

3. Always place your pan in the center of the oven rack.

4. Always use oven mitts when handling hot pizza pans.

5. Lay your hot pizza pan on a flat surface for easiest and even cutting. Lay on a large wooden board, or an opened large dish towel.

6. To tell if you pizza is finished cooking, look to see if the cheese is melted, and is beginning to become golden brown. The edge of the crust should be medium golden brown, and when you lift the bottom edge of the crust the dough should look evenly browned.

7. Using ready made pizza dough is a bland dough, so you can spice it up by sprinkling on your desired seasons, whether it be Italian seasonings, garlic powder, Creole seasonings or sesame seeds. You can infuse your favorite ethnic tastes by sprinkling your favorite spices on the rolled dough.

8. Brush your pizza baking span with a little olive oil so the pizza doesn't stick. The crust will also pick up some of the olive oil flavor.

9. Lightly dust your tabletop or a large cutting board with a little flour. This is where you will roll out your dough. Rolling your dough puts the control of the desired pizza thickness in your hands.
10. Roll dough from the center outwards so the dough spreads evenly.

11. Place the rolled dough into your pizza pan. The dough should be a little bigger than your pan and you can use a knife to cut the excess or else use your thumbs to curl and roll the extra dough inward to create a thicker crust. Your thumb can press indentations, creating a fluted design, like in pie crusts.

[samue1eb]

Those are all good tips. I like to use a pizza stone for when I make pizza. I am big fan of nice thick crust, no thin crust for me.

[TheKitchenSink]

How did i forget about this thread? Good to see it's still going...I must say that that shrimp and pesto pie looks good.

I may have been a bit harsh on specialty pies earlier....there are some that I usually enjoy, but more often than not they stay true to Italian ingredients.

[Big Daddy's House]

Keep posting and sharing your tips with us.

[Chowhound]

I will be attempting my first pizza where I even make the dough later this week. My area is terrible for good pizzas. Lots of shops, all bad pizzas, IMO. I'm looking forward to dialing in a recipe. And that shrimp pizza does look good, but I too am more of a traditionalist.

[homecook]

I will be attempting my first pizza where I even make the dough later this week. My area is terrible for good pizzas. Lots of shops, all bad pizzas, IMO. I'm looking forward to dialing in a recipe. And that shrimp pizza does look good, but I too am more of a traditionalist.

Especially your goulash pizza.........lol

[Chowhound]

Hey, that was a good use for leftover goulash ;^)
And I'd do it again! So there. lol

[homecook]

I didn't say there was anything wrong with it........just that you said you're a "traditionalist" when it comes to pizza. lol

[Chowhound]

True, but I didn't say I was a traditionalist when it comes to goulash...

LOLOLOLOLOL

[QSis]

Those are all good tips. I like to use a pizza stone for when I make pizza.

+1

I like both thin and thick crust pizzas, though.

Lee

[Big Daddy's House]

I like THIN crust pizza.

[Chowhound]

What does a stone do? What is it's advantage over a typical carbon pizza pan? Does it need preheated when you heat the oven?

[Big Daddy's House]

Yes it does.

It is sort of like the floor of a brick pizza oven where the floor gets super hot to cook the pizza and it's crust in almost record time.

It can sometimes get even hotter than the actual oven itself!!

Berttuci's and other pizzarias also use a brick oven. It also helps to produce a crispier browner crust.

[Chowhound]

Thanks, Sherm

[Big Daddy's House]

You're welcome. Glad to help out!

[jainscott]

Hi
Your pizza was very attractive..just i loved it..tell me the recipe..
Thanks in advance

[Starliteny]

A chef told me that he doesn't pre-cook his pizza sauce because then you would be cooking it twice. Does anyone agree?

[Big Daddy's House]

Yes I do.

Might as well just let it go the first and ONLY time in the oven!

I made a piza today, and I didn't precook the sauce.

[HattoriHanzo]

Hey Bacchus, that pizza looks great !. I fully agree, keep it simple and use quality pizza dough. Incidentally, what sort of grill did you use ? The pic reminds me of my Kamado cooker which I cook pizza's in occasionally. My favorite is tomato, bocconcini, basil, anchovies, Kalamata olives and ham.

Cheers

[Village Idiot]

I've been dying for a deep dish pizza. My parents asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said beer money and a deep dish pizza pan. :confused:

[gkcircle2]

I've been dying for a deep dish pizza. My parents asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said beer money and a deep dish pizza pan. :confused:

My wife and I make our own dough and bake it in our cast iron skillet.

Montani Semper Liberi

[srvfan]

Can anybody give a better pizza dough recipe? I used the recipe from Videojug. First attempt, the crust was very tough. But that was because I left the broiler setting on. Second attempt, I turned off the broiler. The dough absorbed the tomato sauce nicely. But leaving it too long made the pizza a bit hard to cut.

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-pizza-dough-2

[Big Daddy's House]

Hi
Your pizza was very attractive..just i loved it..tell me the recipe..
Thanks in advance



I posted the recipe in the Main Dishes section of the Recipes forum.

The recipe for the dough / crust is in the Bread section.

[PizzaHomeChef.com]

I agree about the pizza stone (http://www.pizzahomechef.com/stone-pizza-stones-pizza-school-tips). Also, bake it on the bottom rack of your oven on as high a heat as you can (550F for most home ovens).

[Big Daddy's House]

Very colorful & attractive website with interesting things to get!!

[PappaLazarou]

I agree about the pizza stone (http://www.pizzahomechef.com/stone-pizza-stones-pizza-school-tips). Also, bake it on the bottom rack of your oven on as high a heat as you can (550F for most home ovens).

Could you explain the reason why you turn your oven right up to 550F yet put the pizza stone on the bottom shelf ? That doesn't make any sense at all to me. :confused:

[Whoopie Pie]

my guess would be to get the stone as close to the element as possible to get it as hot as you can.

I find that 550 is just fine and put mine close to the top, it is just a little hotter up there and browns the crust nicely.

[PappaLazarou]

my guess would be to get the stone as close to the element as possible to get it as hot as you can.

I find that 550 is just fine and put mine close to the top, it is just a little hotter up there and browns the crust nicely.

Maybe your right and with an electric oven it might get hotter at the bottom but inevitably, hot air rises. I cook mine exactly as you suggested and that's with a gas oven. :)

[LuvsToCook]

I agree about the pizza stone (http://www.pizzahomechef.com/stone-pizza-stones-pizza-school-tips). Also, bake it on the bottom rack of your oven on as high a heat as you can (550F for most home ovens).

Thanks for sharing. I love pizzas! :)

[emily]

That pizza recipe you gave was top-notch. Hope to see more recipes in this thread! thanks!:D

[bigfatcook]

I have an electric oven that is broken. It only heats up to 400 deg. Are there any alternatives to make a quality pizza at lower temperatures?

[Big Daddy's House]

Pizza is mainly always baked at high temps.

[cassyparks]

I'm a pizza lover and I love experimenting different toppings and flavorings on my pizza. You can create 101 pizza toppings.

[PappaLazarou]

I'm a pizza lover and I love experimenting different toppings and flavorings on my pizza. You can create 101 pizza toppings.

101 pizza toppings ? Are you sure about that ? How did you arrive at 101 toppings or do you mean variations ?

[LuvsToCook]

101 pizza toppings ? Are you sure about that ? How did you arrive at 101 toppings or do you mean variations ?

:D
I definitely a variations on the pizza. :p

[jackspin007]

nice tips, thanks for sharing.

[abi_csi]

The delicacy pizza looks lovely but I do like kepping it simple sometimes, just olive oil and garlic or tomato sauce base and mozzerella.

[abi_csi]

Apparently you can get deep fried pizza in Scotland - Urgh!

[Leanne]

I make a "Diabetic/low carb" version of pizza by simply replacing the bread base with Aubergine ( egg plant ). I just top this with all the usual toppings. Yummy. Pizza is one of the enjoyable things that people on a strict healthy diet can sometimes miss out on. By using this simple trick we can still enjoy the flavours of our favourite pizzas.

[abi_csi]

Hey Leanne that sounds lovely, a really good idea to try. I don't eat much aubergine because I get stuck for ways to use it, I don't like to fry it because it's like a sponge and ends up filled with oil. I recently toasted one over the stove and it had a nice smokey taste.

[Forma]

When I was making my pizza I found that the dough wouldn't really get cooked in the middle, even on a stone. I ended up finding these great extra large pizza pans with holes in the bottom.

The dough recipe I use is a beer dough recipe that I got in my Black & Decker bread machine and it is amazingly delicious.

I make my own sauce and usually only put whole milk mozzarella and pecorino romano on top with salt and pepper.

The pan makes a great crust.

[Guts]

I've been making pizzas at home for years. There are so many different types first you have to decide on the type of pizza you want to make then crust thick crust deep dish and so on. There's a website that I go to that really discusses pizza in depth. If you go there, you'll see everything is done in bakers percentages so you will need a scale. There is also a definition of terms page that is interesting to look at. This is not a recruitment post this is this something to help so you understand pizza making a little better. By the way that pizza on the green egg looks fantastic. here's the forum site;

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php

[Guts]

there are also some common mistakes made while making home pizza. One is dough to wet, another is too much sauce (which will make the center of the pizza soggy), or even too much cheese. I find that hard to believe but yes you can put too much cheese on. the other is not preheating your oven long enough. Most ovens will reach 450°F. At least I'm able to get by gas oven up to 625 to 650°F the way I determined that temperature is to use a infrared thermometer and shoot the stone.

[Big Daddy's House]

Dag, that looks good!!

[mars777]

My area is terrible for good pizzas. Lots of shops, all bad pizzas...

Ditto here and it shouldn't be. Why, back in ' 72- '76 this mom & pop shop had the best pizzas ever. Sadly, the kids took over the business later on and their food is a mere cardboard cutout shadow of its former glory. Tsk-Tsk-Tsk.....

Mike

[Oscar.08]

Looks delicious, I hope I can grab a bite of it :)

[mars777]

It's beautiful. Good photography too.

Mike

[Big Daddy's House]

I had pizza the other night. It was GOOD!! Might have some more tonite!!

[mars777]

Home made?

Mike

[natt12321]

Pizza I made a while ago now:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/large/187511066.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF3XCCKACR3QDMOA&Expires=1313697919&Signature=RzUt9%2Fx5lZlZgT35DTFGcEAnQuQ%3D

I only do thin crust, like the Italians. No deep dish, it's not traditional (or as nice IMO).

[Guts]

this dog really likes pizza do you blame him. if he was a little bigger he would probably grab a beer on the top shelf to go with that pizza.

http://blog.tv.gawker.com/5785543/watch-a-dog-steal-pizza-right-out-of-the-refrigerator

[mars777]

[QUOTE=natt12321;29924
No deep dish, it's not traditional (or as nice IMO).[/QUOTE]
I agree copmpletely. There's just nothing better!

Mike

[dlitedrive]

Thank you for sharing! :)

[mars777]

Guts, that is a be-yoo-tea-ful pizza! Mightee fine, I'd say!

Mike

[Guts]

thanks MARS

I prefer a strong flour (high protein content/hi gluten) there are a lot of different types of flour in which one you use. I believe makes a difference. The Italian flour 00 . I have never had success with. Because I can't get my oven to the high temperatures needed to make a decent pie. I use King Arthur, Sir Lancelot flour or King Arthur bread flour called special flour when you buy it in service size bags (50 pounds) this brings up another subject service size bags? I find it cheaper much cheaper to buy my flour and 50 pound bags. For example, a bag of King Arthur Sir Lancelot flour cost about $18-$19 for 50 pounds. I know you say I'll never use that much flour but I've gone through hundreds of pounds already. Even if you only use half the bag is still cheaper than buying 5 pound bags at the grocery store. Even if you had to throw some out. So it would be my pizza tip to buy your flour in bulk. If you have the room to store it. I put mine in large zip lock baggies you can put it in the freezer. If you like or in a large container and keep it bulk. All you have to do is search out a bakery supply store in your area.

[marnisl]

I've been wanting to make pizza from scratch since watching this delicious demonstration last week on the Canadian cooking show "Simple Fresh Delicious." http://www.simplefreshdelicious.com/recipes/unprocessed-tomato-mozzarella-pizza/

Saw a "pizza kit" on sale today - stone, rolling pin, etc - might pick it up. I'm the most nervous about doing the dough but I guess that'll come with experience.