Pizza's ready!


 
P

Paul K

TVWBB Guru
Been too long, so did a combo pizza last night. Topped it with hot Italian sausage, criminis, red & green peppers and onion. Cheese was simply mozzarella and parm.

This is my go-to dough recipe:

Flour*: 413 g
Water: 260 g
IDY: 4 g
Salt: 4 g
a pinch of sugar to feed the yeast.

*I used KA bread flour with about 45 g of gluten added, but total weight was 413 g.

Sauce is simply canned crushed tomatoes, olive oil, fresh garlic, oregano and a pinch of salt.

Worked the dough in a machine and let it proof overnight in the fridge. Took it out a couple of hours before cooking. This is enough dough for two 12" pizzas. Baked at 525 for about 6 minutes.

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Paul
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">used KA bread flour with about 45 g of gluten added </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I've been using the KAB Flour as well with great success, although at a slightly higher hydration. What benefits are gained from the addition of the VWG?
Nice pie! Are you using the screen on a stone or just on the rack?
 
Great looking pizza! A question if I might - what were your time/temps and did you use a stone? Would you characterize your crust as thin? Medium? Thick?

Pizza is my wife's favorite food and I am struggling to perfect cooking it on my Kamado Joe. I see that folks like to cook theirs at 500+ degrees, but when I do that, the crust gets overbrowned before my cheese gets nice and bubbly!

Help a dude out with some advice!

Thanks,

Pat
 
Marc,

I add the gluten to increase the 'chew' of the dough. Similar to the feel you get with good bagels. I've been using a screen for about a year now and am very pleased with it.

Pat,

This pizza was cooked at 525 for about 7 minutes. I do have a convection oven and do rotate the pizza about halfway through the cook. The dough recipe yields a med-thin crust on a 12" screen. As far as your crust/cheese issues; you might try baking in your oven. I find I have much greater control in the oven. My early attempts on my kettle were...well let's just say a learning experience. The crust and cheese issue usually comes down to rack position and temp. Try cranking up your oven to the highest temp and raising your rack to the highest position and see how that works out. At times I've also pre-cooked my dough for a few minutes then topped with all the other ingredients and finished it.

Paul
 
Hmm, good point, Paul, about raising the rack to the highest level. I would think that would help reflect or bounce heat back down on top of the pizza to cook the ingredients better than down lower. I've read of people using a stone on a rack above as well below for that reason.

Rich
 
Paul, I'm just the opposite . I get better results on my grill than I do in the oven. On the grill I can cook a pizza(500 degrees or so) in about 4 to 5 minutes. A little longer if I want a crunchier crust. The toppings always cook. But I don't use any green pepper usually only 'rooms and black olives. I found the green pepper made it really soggy unless I precooked it. I make a part white flour and part whole wheat flour crust. It comes out great. Also, found out I get a better proof rise on my dough if I use distilled rather than tap water. Threw out a whole bottle of IDY before I stumbled on that fact.
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Nice looking Pizza!!!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I've been using a screen for about a year now </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'll second the screens. Love them! I even do most of my breads on them rather then the stone.
 
Paul,

I generally sautee most of my veggies and meat. I've found that mushrooms will really give off a lot of water so they're a must and I can remove excess grease from meat like sausage this way. If you haven't tried it yet, do a cold proof in the frig for 1 to 3 days. Less yeast is needed and it develops a good flavor.

Paul
 
Nice looking pie!

I do the same as Paul K and pre cook/saute the toppings things are less wet and oily and crisp/carmelize a bit which is what I prefer. I prefer red over green peppers if I use fresh, just a preference - I like the sweetness of the red better. I also like to use sweet peppers out of the jar. When I do I strain and press them between towels to get most of the liquid out of them. I also thin slice pepperoni and press it to get some of the grease out before cooking.

I'm a fan of the "naked pizza screen" without the stone in the oven (550 deg). Everything finishes out perfect. Got that tip from Bryan Stevens a few years ago. You simply lower/raise in the oven until you find the place that work best to achieve top/bottom "doneness" about the same time. Once you find the spot you don't need to change it.
 
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