Making pizza

[siercia]

The other day when we were heading for Trader Joe's, Widget asked me how to make pizza. I explained how you make (or buy) the dough, roll it out (she's supremely fascinated by the tossing the dough up in the air concept), and the put whatever toppings you want on top. I told her that we could buy some dough and try it out if she wanted. Lo and behold, there was dough to be acquired right at TJ's. Huzzah!

Foolishly, I told her we could make pizza on Tuesday, as that was the soonest we would all be around for dinner. Not an optimal day for pizza making, given that it was aproximately a billion degrees out, but she was commited to the idea, and I don't like to break promises to her.

We had a blast! She rolled out her dough all on her own, let me pour her sauce on, and then did all her own toppings and cheese. We were completely unable to get the pies onto the already hot pizza stone (anyone have any suggestions on that?) and so baked them on a cookie sheet. They were delicious, although I think they'd have been better if we'd rolled the dough out thinner.

Now I'm all inspired (for when the weather cools down) to make pizza with all kinds of interesting toppings. Yum.

Comments

[damonaleesa.livejournal.com]

There's something about a homemade pizza. We made a few last winter because all the pizza places in New Haven make really thin crust that tastes like crackers. Supposedly, people like that, but I want the crust to have some flavor like a good bread. I think our dough could have been rolled just a bit thinner too. We'll probably try again this year. How do you get the dough onto a hot pizza stone?

[oxlahun.livejournal.com]

I'm lazy about the crust, and willing to use the TJ's equivalent of Boboli just to make my life easier (and require far less oven time). Also they're pretty sturdy, which is handy if you get carried away. :)

Black beans, either heated until mushy or just mashed with a fork, make an excellent replacement for tomato sauce, and open wide the realm of things you can add to the top. One of my favorites, ganked from Antonio's in Amherst, is avocado, fresh tomato, and feta. Barbecue chicken also works very well on a black bean base.

[gala.livejournal.com]

Cornmeal. Lots of cornmeal.

From http://www.tasteofamerica.com/subject/pizza.html (http://www.tasteofamerica.com/subject/pizza.html)

The pizza shovel, or pizza peel as it is correctly called, should be dusted with cornmeal. Use white or yellow corn meal, but if you are a beginner, use about 1/2 teaspoon of corn meal. The corn meal is going to act like little organic ball bearings to allow you to slide the thin crust pizza on to the baking stone. It takes a few tries to become expert at doing this, but the larger amount of corn meal used , the easier it will be.

[gimmeapony.livejournal.com]

I love TJs pizza crust! The whole wheat ones can be a bit doughy if you don't roll them out thin, though. I don't have a pizza stone and just use a big non-stick cookie sheet, too. I should get off my butt and get a pizza stone one day.

My current favorite pizza to make: Roast eggplant, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and whatever else you have handy under the broiler. Spread some pesto on the crust, sprinkle a bit of low-fat mozzerella, add roasted veggies (with sundried tomatoes, olives, artichokes, whatever's handy) sprinkle on a bit more cheese and voila! Tasty and healthy, too.

[kdinconn.livejournal.com]

Oh pizza making, a very fun activity indeed. I am interested to see what other people suggest (other than going out and buying a pizza peel and using cornmeal which is the 'traditional' way to get the pizza onto the pizza stone).

When nemomori and I did our first attempt with the pizza stone we also had difficulty getting it onto the hot pizza stone. What I don't recommend is to flour the back of a cookie sheet (or whatever you are making the pizza on) and then slide it onto the hot stone when you are ready. This requires much more flour which really ruins the taste of the dough in my opinion. With hind sight I suppose the cookie sheet method would work better with cornmeal but that wasn't handy at the moment.

After talking to a coworker who uses her stone regularly she said that she doesn't even bother preheating the stone anymore and puts the dough on cold. In my opinion this is still better than cooking the pizza on a cookie sheet but I am sure true pizza makers would not approve.

Speaking of pizza dough, I have a fairly enjoyable recipe that we use that doesn’t require any yeast (so it can be made in a snap). Let me know if you would be interested.

[dchenes.livejournal.com]

I've tried making pizza dough myself two or three times now, and no matter what recipe I use, it always comes out salty. When I want pizza, I go to Trader Joe's and buy dough.

Interesting Toppings

[kdinconn.livejournal.com]

Speaking of interesting toppings. I was looking for something different to do for a topping combination the other day and came upon a message board full of suggestions.

The one we tried was an apple dessert pizza... Make dough, spread melted butter on top, sprinkle on brown sugar, put down thin slices of Granny Smith apples (used 2 apples), sprinkle on extra sharp cheddar cheese. Yum. (Although in hind sight I should have added cinnamon or more brown sugar.)

The other one which I got vetoed for wanting to try was to make a cheese pizza as normal and then when the pizza is about 5 minutes from being done put on marshmallows and put back in the oven to finish cooking. Now on first glance one would say gross. The textures would be all wrong. But really adding sugar to tomato sauce isn't all that odd and marshmallows are just sugar. I would use mini marshmallows so you don't get a big glob of marshmallow in every bite. Sounds like a pregnancy craving doesn't it? HA.

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Seconded. This is what we do at home. But instead of a peel, we use an completely flat industrial style cookie sheet purchased at China Faire for about 4 bucks. It has no sides though one end slopes up so you can grab it when you take it out of the oven. We also don't put the stone in the oven till it is loaded with the first pizza, which means that you assemble the first pizza on the stone and the second one on the cookie sheet while the first pizza is cooking.

As for toppings, try this one on for size: a very thin layer of tomatoe sauce, fresh basil slices, dried cherries rehydrated overnight in balsamic vinegar and a little sugar, crumbled goat cheese, and a little mozarella on top (with the mozarella on top, the delicate stuff like the fresh basil doesn't get too dried out). Another favorite of mine is the combination of slices of canned pear and small lumps of ricotta cheese placed on a pie with a very thin ammount of tomato sauce as a base.

And yes, I do also like some really normal flavors too ya know. My favorite make at home flavor is either fresh mushroom & chicken, black olive & garlic, or straight up pepperoni. I usually don't order mushroom pizzas when I eat out because I'm always so disappointed by the mushrooms. Either they use canned mushrooms or they overcook the little white mushrooms and they come out all sad and chewy.

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

BTW, would you do me a favor since halleyscomet has his phone turned off and I don't know if he's set up his new voicemail? Would you just let him know that my bi-weekly gaming thing has moved to our house for just card games and stuff because 2 out of the 4 of us can't make it this week.

BTW, hope you liked the treat I sent for you!

[siercia]

Their dough was pretty good! I little chewier than I like, which is why I figured it would be better if I rolled it thinner. We used a plain one and the one that's preseasoned with oregano and basil and garlic, and that second one was really yum.

[siercia]

I will tell him when he gets off the phone.

Treat? I know nothing of this treat. I'll ask him about that too, when he gets off the phone.

Re: Interesting Toppings

[siercia]

The apple pizza sounds fantastic. My (sadly no more) favorite pizza shop used to do a dessert pizza that had all kinds of yumminess, fruit, nuts, sometimes chocolate. was awesome.

I have to say though, that your marshmallow idea sound pretty nasty. If you try it and it's good, let me know.

And Widget would love to have a cousin ;P

[siercia]

I'd love your recipe for dough.

We tried flouring our workspace, but it didn't work - I was conscious of not using too much flour, since I knew it would mess with the taste, which meant we ended up not using enough to make it not sticky. I've got a cookie sheet with no rims that I think will make a decent faux pizza peel if I can make the dough not stick to it.

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

I hope he didn't forget the treat! That would be sad. If he did, I will have to send you one tomorrow.

Its possible that he just hasn't gotten around to sharing the treat because he hasn't had lunch yet himself....

[siercia]

I debated flour vs. cornmeal when we started. Guess I should have gone with cornmeal =)

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

On second thought, if he's stuck on the phone, you could just find his lunch in the fridge and grab the treat for yourself! Just make sure you take one for you and leave the other one for him to have for lunch.

[kdinconn.livejournal.com]

Now I am in the mood for pizza.

The recipe is (and I am pretty sure I have it memorized):

1/2 c. Bisquick
1 1/2 c. flour
2/3 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. baking powder
(optional) seasonings in the dough

It makes a very biscuity type of dough which is much more filling than the typical dough and reheats better in my opinion. Let me know if you try it. :-)

[siercia]

I've got a cookie sheet like that as well - it's what we used, but with flour instead of cornmeal.

The dried cherries recipe sounds awfully good. I've got an idea in my head for one with a bechamel type sauce, with ham and veggies. Most pizza places that make pizza like that put onions on them, which, no thanks. Lots of ideas in my head.

I may be the only person in the world who prefers canned mushrooms on her pizza.

[siercia]

Boboli is certainly easier, but Widget really liked rolling out the dough, so we'll likely stick with that for a while. I like your black bean suggestion. That sounds fantastic.

[siercia]

ooooh, that sounds fantastic.

[siercia]

He forgot the treat, as he forgot his own lunch as well. (Which I guessed was the case, since he's gone walkabout to get his lunch earlier.

And I delivered the message. He's cancelling the danging girls ;)

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Thanks for acting as relay service. I will make sure that there is a treat saved for you out of the batch we make tonight and that he brings it in to work for you tomorrow.

Re: Interesting Toppings

[kdinconn.livejournal.com]

Just so I don't get a reputation of craving odd foods (give that a couple more years), here is the message board (http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=59943&view=findpost&p=824141) that I found the marshmallow pizza on. Now doesn't that look tasty?

[apers.livejournal.com]

grilled pizza is super yum, and you dont have to heat the house up to eat it :)

[dchenes.livejournal.com]

No, you aren't; I like them too.

[rawrin.livejournal.com]

kids + dough = good times!

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

My mother still has a cookie sheet criss-crossed with the marks of dozens of divided pizzas. We usually made pizza one night a week, the last few years we were all at home.

Pizza. Mmmmm.

[siercia]

True, but then my poor Wiley has to stand over a hot hot fire while it cooks, which isn't so nice for him. But we will probably try that too. Do you use a pizza stone, I assume?

[siercia]

That's awesome. I like food activities tht are fun for everyone.

[apers.livejournal.com]

nope.

I roll the dough out onto well greased foil then place on grill. After cooking one side i flip it and put the toppings on.when almost done I put right on the actual grill plate.

individual sized pizzas are key

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

Dunno if you got an answer to this, but this is what Aaron and I (mostly Aaron) do:
The crust is laid out on the stone before it goes in to the oven. Then he bakes the crust for a few minutes, then pulls the stone out with the crust half-done. Pile on all the yummy stuff, pop it back in the oven.
Works very well, I love the pizzas he makes. I'm usually not a dough-y type of gal but I eat up every bite when it's Aaron-made.

[siercia]

Well, many people are saying the cornmeal will act like edible ball bearings and allow the pizze to roll right off it's surface onto the pizza stone. We'll see next time.

I like the cracker like crust, but not with "normal" pizza toppings. Something like gorgonzola cheese and prosciutto and maybe some scallions? YUM.

Re: Interesting Toppings

[siercia]

That does look yummy. Bookmarking that for future reference.

[siercia]

Oh, prebaking the crust is an interesting idea. We'll have to try that!
Does Aaron make his own dough, or do you use pre-packaged?

[gala.livejournal.com]

I vote against putting the pizza on the stone first, since the point of the stone is to have a hot surface to cook the crust. If the stone has to heat up too, your pizza doesn't cook as well.

[gala.livejournal.com]

Likewise. They're like the mushrooms in cream of mushroom soup.

[siercia]

Yeah, that was my thinking too.

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

It depends on how prepared we were to make home-made pizza. We used to get pre-packaged stuff often, but we recently acquired a Cuisinart, so he's been really motivated to use home-made dough because having the machine makes it so much easier to knead and whatever else.
I'm a bit embarassed to say that I'm not nearly as professioned in pizza making as Aaron; he usually makes them. Cheese isn't my favorite thing in the world, so I don't usually cook with it.