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Pizza - The Best Methods And Techniques to Make it At Home


alan7147

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What a coinkydink, I made pizza last night too.

Trader Joe's dough.

I had italian sausage from Snider's with homemade red sauce..

Mrs JPW had a white pizza with spinach and feta.

How is the Trader Joe's pizza dough? I have been thinking about buying some but I am always hesistant b/c I am not sure how long it is sitting in the cooler. I usually buy my dough from Vace.

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How is the Trader Joe's pizza dough? I have been thinking about buying some but I am always hesistant b/c I am not sure how long it is sitting in the cooler.  I usually buy my dough from Vace.

Turnover is usually pretty good, so that's not a big concern.

The dough itself is serviceable but not a stand-out in any way.

Vace is one of my favorite pies in the area, if I lived near it, I wouldn't even think of buying TJ's dough.

Speaking of which, I'm feeling the need for a Vace field trip. It's been WAY too long. :lol:

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How is the Trader Joe's pizza dough? I have been thinking about buying some but I am always hesistant b/c I am not sure how long it is sitting in the cooler.  I usually buy my dough from Vace.

I've used the Trader Joes dough numerous times with measured success. It's awfully convenient and can be frozen if you don't use it in a couple of days. I've also used it for quick calzones. However, if there was someplace like Vace near by, I'd certainly choose it over TJs.

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I bought some pizza dough at Wegmans yesterday to make tonight. To my dismay, when I got home from work the dough had expanded to three times its original size(so much so that it couldn't be used). I have bought dough many times at Vace before and this has never happend. Anyone had this happen to them or know what caused this?

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I bought some pizza dough at Wegmans yesterday to make tonight.  To my dismay, when I got home from work the dough had expanded to three times its original size(so much so that it couldn't be used). I have bought dough many times at Vace before and this has never happend. Anyone had this happen to them or know what caused this?

I have had the same thing happen to me with the Wegman's dough. I forged ahead, but the results weren't particularly good either.

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I bought some pizza dough at Wegmans yesterday to make tonight.  To my dismay, when I got home from work the dough had expanded to three times its original size(so much so that it couldn't be used). I have bought dough many times at Vace before and this has never happend. Anyone had this happen to them or know what caused this?

Is the Wegman's dough in the fridge when you buy it? I am also assuming that you kept it in the fridge at home too. My guess is that it was loaded up with yeast.

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Is the Wegman's dough in the fridge when you buy it? I am also assuming that you kept it in the fridge at home too. My guess is that it was loaded up with yeast.

It is in an open cooler in the deli section. I stored mine in the fridge. It expands and becomes very soft and moist.

I'm sticking with the Trader Joe's version after having some limited success with it.

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Have any of you all ever considered making your own pizza dough? Here is a recipe from “No Need To Knead” by Suzanne Dunaway, that is very quick and very, very easy. It can also be made ahead and refrigerated which is great for convenience and really adds to the flavor.

I use this recipe for my everyday pizza dough (if you are looking for a more complex company-quality crust recipe, PM me. I also have one for a spectacular thin-crust pizza and one for a really nice deep-dish pizza). The following recipe is originally written as a focaccia recipe, so you can also spread it out not quite as thinly, top it with some sea salt and herbs and use it that way also.

EASY PIZZA DOUGH

Makes one large pizza

2 cups water, warm

2 teaspoons dry yeast

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon salt

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

In a large bowl (or bowl of mixer), sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir until it dissolves. Stir in the 2 cups of flour and the salt and stir briskly until smooth, ~2 minutes (~30 seconds if using the flat beater in a mixer). Mix in the remaining 2 cups flour and stir ~2 minutes longer (~1 minute if using a mixer). Stir just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and the flour is incorporated. The dough will be fairly wet and sticky.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in volume, 30 to 40 minutes. (Or, for more flavor, cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. Remove the dough 2 hours before shaping and let it sit, covered, before proceeding with the recipe.)

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. If you have a pizza stone put it on the bottom rack of the oven (and if using a stone, preheat the oven ~1 hour before baking).

Oil a half-sheet or pizza pan generously with the olive oil (for ease in removal of the baked pizza, I like to line the pan with a piece of parchment paper and lightly oil the parchment). Pour the dough onto the pan, scraping it from the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula or flexible dough scraper. Liberally oil your hands and the surface of the dough with olive oil and gently press and stretch the dough with your fingertips until it covers the whole pan.

Immediately, place the plain crust (without toppings) in the oven (on top of the baking stone if you are using one) and reduce the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Bake for ~20 until the crust just starts to color. Remove from the oven, top with your desired toppings and then bake an additional 15-20 minutes until the toppings are heated through and the cheese is lightly browned.

Edited by mktye
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Is the Wegman's dough in the fridge when you buy it? I am also assuming that you kept it in the fridge at home too. My guess is that it was loaded up with yeast.

Yes, the dought was in the open cooler at Wegman's much like it is a Trader Joe's. It was kept in the fridge at home too. Couple of possible contributing factors I forgot to mention before-- 1) The dough was partially frozen at Wegmans and 2) It was about a 40 minute drive back to Bethesda from the Wegmans near Dulles.

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And then there is Vace for the rest of us :lol:
Noooo! ;) You can do it, I know you can!!! :P

For inspiration (and to prove I practice what I preach)...

Mixing the dough, mixed, and after 40 minute rise

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The dough, poured and then spread in the pan

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The half-baked dough (and half-topped, since I am apparently half-witted and forgot to take the picture before I started putting on the toppings) and ready to go back into the oven (brushed with garlic oil and topped with tomatoes, basil & mozzarella)

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Finished baking

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Time to eat (I started the dough at 5:00 and it was ready to eat at 7:00 even though I got busy and left the dough to rise to an hour and 15 minutes.)

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Edited to add: If you want a thinner crust pizza, you can use half the amount of dough and stretch it out more (just keep in mind that a thinner crust will take less time to partially bake before topping, only 10 minutes or so).

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Have any of you all ever considered making your own pizza dough?  Here is a recipe from “No Need To Knead” by Suzanne Dunaway, that is very quick and very, very easy.  

EASY PIZZA DOUGH

Makes one large pizza

Tonight I made pizza using mktye's recipe. In saying "Try it, you will be happy," mdt is correct. I used to ALWAYS get my dough from Vace and now I see no need nor knead to do so anymore.

I made the dough from the recipe, as written, yesterday in a KA mixer. Left it in the bowl overnight and this morning moved it to a smaller, floured bowl to sit outside while I was at work. mktye is right when she notes how wet and sticky this dough is, as it poured out of the mixing bowl in a very unsavory manner, looking like it had been a prop in "Ghostbusters" and was just "slimed."

Came home to see my dough had risen nicely and had the same issue removing it from the bowl. I proceeded to flour my countertops, my hands, the dough, the bowl, several small neighbor children and our pet rabbit before I attempted to turn the dough out for "processing."

I did not do a pre-cook in an attempt to do a deep dish or focaccia. I cut the dough into quarters and used them to make 3 small pizzas. (one quarter I bagged and put in the freezer to see how it holds up for future use.)

The dough was tough to manipulate because of its stickiness, but not frustratingly so. I'll need to figure out how to make the dough more easy to work with. (Attn: mktye. Expect PM barrage.)

The first pizza was a basic cheese, made with a certain butter sauce made from a certain brand of canned tomatoes. (See thread on pasta making/tomato tasting for the recipe). The cheese was the low moisture pizza cheese that I got from Paul at Blue Ridge Dairy at Dupont market yesterday. (did anyone go see his mozzarella making demonstration at the P Street Whole Foods last week?) When it was done cooking, I simply added some torn basil leaves from my herb garden. Cooked it on a stone in my oven, which I had turned up to 11.

This is the homemade pizza I've been waiting for. In my 5+ years in DC, I've essentially given up looking for that NY pizza that I grew up with. This dough did it. It was the EXACT texture, the EXACT flavor, the EXACT crunch, the EXACT snap when I folded the piece in half. (You do fold your pizza slice in half, don't you?)

The second one I made had some italian sausage slices, and chunks of the onion that was pulled from the tomato sauce I made. The third one was a copy of the first pizza, and was made specifically to be cut into slices for tomorrow's lunch!

Anyway, I for one will no longer need Vace, nor Trader Joe's for pizza. And I encourage others to try it too. I'm anxious to hear what other first-time pizza dough chefs encounter.

Edited by CrescentFresh
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The dough was tough to manipulate because of its stickiness, but not frustratingly so.  I'll need to figure out how to make the dough more easy to work with.  (Attn: mktye.  Expect PM barrage.)
I like to use oil rather than flour while stretching the dough. It is a bit odd to get accustomed to, but it might make things easier. You can also add more flour at the start to make a bit firmer dough, but it will affect the texture of the end-product.

I am glad you were happy with the recipe!

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This is the homemade pizza I've been waiting for.  In my 5+ years in DC, I've essentially given up looking for that NY pizza that I grew up with.  This dough did it.  It was the EXACT texture, the EXACT flavor, the EXACT crunch, the EXACT snap when I folded the piece in half.  (You do fold your pizza slice in half, don't you?)

Are there people who don't fold their slices??? I wasn't going to give this a whirl because no matter how good it is, it isn't *really* pizza based on this same standard, admittedly subjective but it happens to be my baseline, but you have piqued my interest. I have to trust the word of a man who quotes Cookie Puss. I'll give it a try this weekend.

Dinner last night was some braised buffalo short ribs in a tamarind sauce, polenta, roasted zucchini from the Dupont market.

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Someone mentioned the other day (in the Ray's thread, of all places) that the only way to cook a pizza at home is on a pizza stone.

Well, I have another way, and it's on the grill.

I am a little embarrassed to say where I first saw this, but I'm sure many of you do it already and probably got it from the same guy. (Hint: he's in town this week.) The basic method is thus: Heat up your gas grill (charcoal- or wood-grilled has more flavor, but getting the heat right is tricky). Roll out pizza as you would before putting it on a pizza stone, but in an oval or rectangular shape that will fit well on your grill. Oil up one side with olive oil, sprinkle on some S+P on same side, and put that side down on the hot grill. (Depending on how hot your gas grill gets, you may want to turn it down to medium at this point. I'd make or buy a couple extra doughs your first time out to be safe.)

While the oiled side is cooking, oil up the top side and do the same S+P routine, then close the lid. Peek under the dough with some tongs and when it's done, flip it over (I usually do this with two hands, using my grill spatula and tongs). Immediately get your toppings on the cooked side, close the lid, and turn the heat down a little more. (For toppings, I like to make pestos -- mint, basil, or cilantro -- and throw on some chevre, mixed greens, and -- depending on the company -- anchovies. Or I make a mushroom sauce, an idea stolen from Rustico, and throw on some mozzerella and parsley. As Lou Reed once said, the possibilities are endless.) Check in at regular intervals with the bottom of your crust and you'll be good to go.

Thanks to the high heat of the grill and the liberal application of olive oil, the crust crisps up very nicely on the outside but stays soft and doughy on the inside. I've had very good results using this method, and it's a quick, easy way to make pizza in the summer without heating your kitchen oven up to 500 degrees.

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I have done this (learned it in a cooking class that I took) and think its great. If your grill is nice and hot you don't need much, if any, oil as the dough will crisp nicely on its own. An important point, that you mentioned, is that the toppings should already be cooked before placing them on top.

These would be fun at the next picnic.

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I've always wanted to try this, but have been intimidated by the burn factor. Plus, my dough making skills are sorely lacking.

Anyone have a dough recipe?

The most recent issue of Cook's Illustrated holds forth on this topic, and has a dough recipe, but the orientation is to get a good crust from a home oven, not the grill. They modify the normal dough recipe, incorporating 1/3 cake flour, to get a result from a home oven at 500 degrees which is similar to that from an 800 degree commercial oven. I've been playing with it, with mixed results :unsure: , but without using a pizza stone--need to get one.

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From mktye --click
That recipe as written makes a rather slack dough and it would be quite challenging to get onto a grill with both it and your sanity intact. I normally bake it on a piece of parchment on a stone in the oven, but using the parchment trick on a grill would result in an ashy mess! :unsure:

You can still use the recipe and just add more flour to make a firmer dough, or use the following focaccia recipe (which makes a better tasting crust anyway). It makes enough dough for a couple of large medium-thick crust pizzas.

FOCACCIA

Makes two ~10”x18”x2” pieces

1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

4½ teaspoons (2 packages) dry yeast

1 cup water, hot from the tap

~4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons salt

1¼ cups water, hot from the tap

¼ cup olive oil

In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a mixer, mix the 1 cup flour with the yeast and then add the water. Beat vigorously to mix together well, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the sponge to ferment for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature.

Mix in 3 cups of the flour, the salt, water and oil, then let the dough rest for 10 minutes for the gluten to start to develop. Knead the dough by hand or with a mixer with the dough hook for 15 minutes adding the reserved flour as needed to form a soft (think playdough-like softness), but not overly sticky dough. If using a food processor, mix with the steel blade for 10 seconds, add 1 cup additional flour (or more if necessary) and process an additional 30 seconds. Place the dough in a large bowl (or back in the mixing/mixer bowl), cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1 to 1½ hours or until doubled in size. Punch the down the dough and let it rise again for 1 hour. Punch down the dough again, divide it in half, put each piece into a large oiled zip-loc bag and put in the refrigerator for 24 to 36 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450 degrees or heat grill and take the dough out of the refrigerator, remove it from the bags onto a lightly-floured surface, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for ~1 hour. Shape and bake with your desired method. (And, as CI does with the grill, I suggest partially cooking the crust before adding the toppings even when baking in an oven.)

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I haven't made pizza dough in years, though it's time I did. The dough I use on the grill is already prepared, either from Trader Joe's or the Italian Store (the latter is better, but I haven't tried Vace's yet). This saves a lot of time, the dough works fine if you allow it to rest at room temperature (I give it an hour if I can), and it's easy to have a few extra on hand when they're 90 cents each. I also should've noted that I usually make my pizzas on the grill pretty thin -- this is more of a flatbread-style pizza than a true Neopolitan pizza, but it works.

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I just moved to a new apartment about a month ago, and can FINALLY grill legally on my balcony. So I bought a Weber 22.5" and have since gone a little grill crazy - using it pretty much every night since moving. I've always been tempted to try the whole grilled pizza thing. It always seemed to me, though, that it would make more sense to put the dough on a stone on the grill rather than directly on the grate.

Trouble is, I can only get one pizza at a time on my 22.5", but I can get TWO in the regular oven. That's usually enough to do about 10 pizzas in an hour. I suppose I could use the grill to do a THIRD, but running between the kitchen and the balcony sounds a little hectic to me. I can see setting myself on fire in the mad dash to avoid over-crisping.

Here's the dough recipe I use. Clearly it's veeeeeeeeeery different from most pizza recipes you see out there in that it uses milk instead of water and a lot of sugar. It's generally a crowd pleaser, though, so I'm not changing it :unsure:

1 1/8 cups all purpose flour

1 1/8 cups bread flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup skim milk

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon yeast

½ tablespoon honey

½ tablespoon molasses

½ tablespoon 100% pure maple syrup - none of that 2% maple + 98% corn syrup bullshit

1 tablespoon corn meal

Heat olive oil and milk together in a saucepan until slightly warmer than the temperature you would take a shower in. Mix in honey, molasses, syrup, and yeast.

Let mixture sit for five minutes or until yeast has started to foam.

In bowl, combine flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and stir until the dough forms a ball.

Knead well by hand or using a Kitchen-Aid dough hook.

Coat dough in olive oil and cover with plastic wrap or a wet towel. Let rise in a warm, humid place for ninety minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down, and divide into balls five inches in diameter (seriously, I looked up the conversion from diameter of a sphere to diameter of a pizza-shaped cylinder... it works). Let the balls rise, covered, a bit longer until nice and spongy. At this point, the dough can be frozen or refrigerated. Just make sure it's back up to room temp or warmer before working with it.

Roll out (or, if you're more than 50% pure-blood Italian, TOSS) as thinly as possible. Brush olive oil on dough. Using a pizza peel coated in corn meal, place on a pizza stone heated in the oven at maximum temperature. Top with your favorite toppings, and bake until the crust is golden brown - about 10 minutes.

I'd be interested to hear what any professional bakers have to say about my recipe.

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I just moved to a new apartment about a month ago, and can FINALLY grill legally on my balcony. So I bought a Weber 22.5" and have since gone a little grill crazy - using it pretty much every night since moving. I've always been tempted to try the whole grilled pizza thing. It always seemed to me, though, that it would make more sense to put the dough on a stone on the grill rather than directly on the grate.

Trouble is, I can only get one pizza at a time on my 22.5", but I can get TWO in the regular oven. That's usually enough to do about 10 pizzas in an hour. I suppose I could use the grill to do a THIRD, but running between the kitchen and the balcony sounds a little hectic to me. I can see setting myself on fire in the mad dash to avoid over-crisping.

Here's the dough recipe I use. Clearly it's veeeeeeeeeery different from most pizza recipes you see out there in that it uses milk instead of water and a lot of sugar. It's generally a crowd pleaser, though, so I'm not changing it :unsure:

1 1/8 cups all purpose flour

1 1/8 cups bread flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup skim milk

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon yeast

½ tablespoon honey

½ tablespoon molasses

½ tablespoon 100% pure maple syrup - none of that 2% maple + 98% corn syrup bullshit

1 tablespoon corn meal

Heat olive oil and milk together in a saucepan until slightly warmer than the temperature you would take a shower in. Mix in honey, molasses, syrup, and yeast.

Let mixture sit for five minutes or until yeast has started to foam.

In bowl, combine flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and stir until the dough forms a ball.

Knead well by hand or using a Kitchen-Aid dough hook.

Coat dough in olive oil and cover with plastic wrap or a wet towel. Let rise in a warm, humid place for ninety minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down, and divide into balls five inches in diameter (seriously, I looked up the conversion from diameter of a sphere to diameter of a pizza-shaped cylinder... it works). Let the balls rise, covered, a bit longer until nice and spongy. At this point, the dough can be frozen or refrigerated. Just make sure it's back up to room temp or warmer before working with it.

Roll out (or, if you're more than 50% pure-blood Italian, TOSS) as thinly as possible. Brush olive oil on dough. Using a pizza peel coated in corn meal, place on a pizza stone heated in the oven at maximum temperature. Top with your favorite toppings, and bake until the crust is golden brown - about 10 minutes.

I'd be interested to hear what any professional bakers have to say about my recipe.

Where did you get this recipe?

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Where did you get this recipe?
Short answer: Practice. Long answer: I experimented with many basic pizza dough recipes I found on-line a few years ago. I liked the results I got with milk more than the result with water. I played around with different fats - olive oil works the best, I've found. The sugar is where I went really nuts. First I just used honey, then I started adding molasses from a tip from my father. For a few months I was on a maple kick, working the syrup into as many savory dishes as I thought it would work in - including pizza. Plus, since the best pizza in the world is made in Vermont*, it seemed natural. I ended up tweaking the amounts a little (hence the odd 1 1/8th), and ended up with a pretty consistent, easy to work with dough.

*I am of course talking about Vermont Flatbread. You've probably seen it in the freezer section of your local Whole Foods, but let me tell you that there is NO experience on Earth, especially for a pizza lover, like eating one of George's masterpieces right after it's taken out of his hand-built, mud and brick, wood fired oven. They're as much a product of technique, experience, and spiritual magic as they are of the recipe.

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Short answer: Practice. Long answer: I experimented with many basic pizza dough recipes I found on-line a few years ago. I liked the results I got with milk more than the result with water. I played around with different fats - olive oil works the best, I've found. The sugar is where I went really nuts. First I just used honey, then I started adding molasses from a tip from my father. For a few months I was on a maple kick, working the syrup into as many savory dishes as I thought it would work in - including pizza. Plus, since the best pizza in the world is made in Vermont*, it seemed natural. I ended up tweaking the amounts a little (hence the odd 1 1/8th), and ended up with a pretty consistent, easy to work with dough.

*I am of course talking about Vermont Flatbread. You've probably seen it in the freezer section of your local Whole Foods, but let me tell you that there is NO experience on Earth, especially for a pizza lover, like eating one of George's masterpieces right after it's taken out of his hand-built, mud and brick, wood fired oven. They're as much a product of technique, experience, and spiritual magic as they are of the recipe.

I suppose you never tried a non-sugar dough with an overnight cold ferment. That is a great way to make some tasty dough. While I have never had the pizza from Vermont, it would be hard to convince me that it is the best pizza in the world.

I will try this at some point, but I am going to stick with Reinhart's recipe for tried and true.

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I will try this at some point, but I am going to stick with Reinhart's recipe for tried and true.

Reinhart rocks...his cold ferment brings out a great nutty flavor in the wheat, and also got me to stop adding sugar. Departing a bit from the VPN recipe, I still use a mix of tipo 00 and softer flour, and include a bit of olive oil, as I have trouble preventing a lean tipo 00 dough from becoming tougher than I'd like.

Thanks for the detailed instructions, CI...I've been meaning to try grilling the dough, after both Raichlen and the Dean & DeLuca cookbooks raved about it, but haven't worked out how to keep it from sticking to the unconventional grates on my TEC.

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Reinhart rocks...his cold ferment brings out a great nutty flavor in the wheat, and also got me to stop adding sugar. Departing a bit from the VPN recipe, I still use a mix of tipo 00 and softer flour, and include a bit of olive oil, as I have trouble preventing a lean tipo 00 dough from becoming tougher than I'd like.

Thanks for the detailed instructions, CI...I've been meaning to try grilling the dough, after both Raichlen and the Dean & DeLuca cookbooks raved about it, but haven't worked out how to keep it from sticking to the unconventional grates on my TEC.

What would happen if sugar WERE used in a cold ferment?
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What would happen if sugar WERE used in a cold ferment?

I guess you really enjoy sweet doughs. I obviously don't when it comes to pizza.

The yeast would grow more quickly and not elicit the same flavors that occur in the longer slower growth cycle. This technique is commonly used for many old style breads (mktye, correct me if I am wrong) and produce a depth of flavor that is not seen in quick rise recipes. I also wonder if some sugar would remain, making the dough sweet, although not as sweet as your original recipe.

I have made simple doughs with just water, flour, yeast, and salt and have let some ferment quickly and others slowly and the difference in flavor is amazing.

Yeast are pretty amazing bugs and produce a range of flavors (good and bad) depending on things such as temperature, food, and strain of yeast used. This is put to good use in beer making, but that is for another thread.

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I guess you really enjoy sweet doughs.
I enjoy the flavor imparted by the sweeteners more so than the sweetness itself. I'll defintely have to try the sugarless cold ferment, though. Maybe I'll experiment with cold fermenting sweetened and unsweetened dough. Thanks for the tip!
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I guess you really enjoy sweet doughs. I obviously don't when it comes to pizza.

The yeast would grow more quickly and not elicit the same flavors that occur in the longer slower growth cycle. This technique is commonly used for many old style breads (mktye, correct me if I am wrong) and produce a depth of flavor that is not seen in quick rise recipes. I also wonder if some sugar would remain, making the dough sweet, although not as sweet as your original recipe.

I have made simple doughs with just water, flour, yeast, and salt and have let some ferment quickly and others slowly and the difference in flavor is amazing.

Yeast are pretty amazing bugs and produce a range of flavors (good and bad) depending on things such as temperature, food, and strain of yeast used. This is put to good use in beer making, but that is for another thread.

I tend to agree about the sweetness thing -- leave it out of my pizza dough.

I plan on experimenting with more dough recipes soon, and my wife and I have been talking about doing a pizza on the grill. So this is really useful info.

Question though....yeast - which do you use and where do you get it? We've only used this dry yeast you buy at the grocery store, Fleischmann's(?), with only OK results. I'm looking to expand my yeast horizons and would prefer any sugegstions.

Also, anyone ever try to 'proof' the dough in the oven? My Miele oven comes with a proofing setting specifically designed for doughs... Thoughts?

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I tend to agree about the sweetness thing -- leave it out of my pizza dough.

I plan on experimenting with more dough recipes soon, and my wife and I have been talking about doing a pizza on the grill. So this is really useful info.

Question though....yeast - which do you use and where do you get it? We've only used this dry yeast you buy at the grocery store, Fleischmann's(?), with only OK results. I'm looking to expand my yeast horizons and would prefer any sugegstions.

Also, anyone ever try to 'proof' the dough in the oven? My Miele oven comes with a proofing setting specifically designed for doughs... Thoughts?

I have used Fleischmann's but just ran out and have moved onto SAF Instant, which give good results.

Proofing in the oven does not make much sense to me (my oven does it also). Once your dough is proofed you then have to wait for the oven to raise to temperature which take a bit of time. Not to mention that if you are using a stone you want to heat it for at least 30 minutes if not an hour. Bythat time the dough will be over proofed.

If your kitchen is on the cool side, just take the dough upstairs where the house is usually warmer.

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Question though....yeast - which do you use and where do you get it?
I also use SAF -- the "red" for regular dough and the "gold" for sweet/sour/rich dough (it really does make a noticable difference in rising times).

I nearly always buy it from King Arthur Flour and store it in my freezer in a well-sealed container.

One thing to keep in mind with the instant yeasts is that they are designed to get going quickly and if you proof them in water with just a bit of flour and/or sugar for a period even as brief as 10 minutes, you can actually starve the little guys to death. I never do an initial proof with dry yeast (unless I know it is beyond its expiration date or has been abused with high temperature storage) -- I just toss the yeast in with the other dry ingredients, add the liquid and let it go to work. :unsure:

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OK, maybe I know even less than I thought! So, what is the official definition of proofing? I had thought it meant allowing time to pass to allow the yeast to do its thing on the dough

Two different definitions are in use here. You're thinking of proofing dough. To proof yeast, especially activated dry yeast, is to mix it into a small amount of liquid of appropriate temperature, typically with flour or sugar for nutrients, to kickstart its growth cycle and to permit you to observe its viability before committing your dough to it. If you don't see adequate activity, try fresher yeast.

And that vacuum-packed brick of yeast, is it in packets? Or do you just break some off to use every time you need some (and do you keep it stored in the freezer too)?

It's granulated, just like the packets and jars, and measures easily with a spoon. I store mine in a cold part of the refrigerator, but that's a leftover habit from brewing days...would it be better off in the freezer?

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Last-minute pizza grilling question!

I'm about to grill pizza for the first time. I'm using a pizza stone, so don't try to talk me out of it. ;)

My question is, I have a Weber 22." I'm using jumbo lump hardwood charcoal. How much will I need? One chimney starter worth, or two? Should it be arranged directly under my 18" pizza stone, or around the sides?

Thanks! I hope someone gets back to me before 6 :unsure:

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Last-minute pizza grilling question!

I'm about to grill pizza for the first time. I'm using a pizza stone, so don't try to talk me out of it. ;)

My question is, I have a Weber 22." I'm using jumbo lump hardwood charcoal. How much will I need? One chimney starter worth, or two? Should it be arranged directly under my 18" pizza stone, or around the sides?

Thanks! I hope someone gets back to me before 6 :unsure:

One chimney's worth oughta do it. Two is too hot to cook damn near anything on that size grill. Also, doesn't it kinda defeat the purpose of grilling a pizza if you use a pizza stone?

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One chimney's worth oughta do it. Two is too hot to cook damn near anything on that size grill. Also, doesn't it kinda defeat the purpose of grilling a pizza if you use a pizza stone?
Heh... I suppose this isn't what people mean when they say "grilled pizza," is it? Really I'm just using the grill to try and achieve the same effect/flavor one would get with a real wood-fired brick oven. Any tips?

I tried hauling mud and clay up from the creek to my fourth-flour apartment, but the management gave me some earful about zoning.

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Another thing to consider is that you might crack the pizza stone when you put it on the fire. You may want to warm it up to 400 degrees or so in your oven before you put it on the grill rack. Hopefully you have something heat proof to carry it over to the grill.

I speak from experience as I once used a pizza stone as a "fireproof" stand to start another batch of coals in a chimney when I was smoking some pork butt. The stone cracked and the chimney put a nice little charred circle on my brother's backyard deck. I was lucky to not set fire to a big pile of dry leaves below the deck. This may have been because all the heat being was in one portion of the stone, but it could have been due to it going from about 75 degrees to 500 in a few seconds. :unsure:

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Heh... I suppose this isn't what people mean when they say "grilled pizza," is it? Really I'm just using the grill to try and achieve the same effect/flavor one would get with a real wood-fired brick oven. Any tips?

I tried hauling mud and clay up from the creek to my fourth-flour apartment, but the management gave me some earful about zoning.

Grilled pizza is putting the dough directly on the grate.

Anyway, did you do it? Results better than the oven?

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Grilled pizza is putting the dough directly on the grate.

Anyway, did you do it? Results better than the oven?

I did. Problem was, the stone was too hot. Or rather, the stone was the perfect temperature and the AIR was too cool.

I ended up with a slightly burned bottom and slightly undercooked toppings.

I wonder if using hardwood charcoal just made everything too hot. In any case, the flavor was not appreciably improved over the more convenient oven. Next time I might try the direct-on-grate method.

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I did. Problem was, the stone was too hot. Or rather, the stone was the perfect temperature and the AIR was too cool.

I ended up with a slightly burned bottom and slightly undercooked toppings.

I wonder if using hardwood charcoal just made everything too hot. In any case, the flavor was not appreciably improved over the more convenient oven. Next time I might try the direct-on-grate method.

Did you keep the lid on while the stone was heating up? That might help to keep the air above the pizza a bit warmer, but I don't think it the little webber would ever get hot enough. Do the flip on the grill and then finish in the oven. Just remember to cook the toppings first.

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Did you keep the lid on while the stone was heating up? That might help to keep the air above the pizza a bit warmer, but I don't think it the little webber would ever get hot enough. Do the flip on the grill and then finish in the oven. Just remember to cook the toppings first.
Yeah, I kept the lid on. The stone itself was 700F over most of the surface. Way hotter than what I get in the oven. I guess it's just losing too much heat when I take the lid off to put the pizza on.
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I did the pizza stone on the grill a couple of weekends ago and what I found that worked well for me was to cook the dough on one side for a couple of minutes and flip it over so that I was topping the precooked side. I slid this back onto the stone and ended up with a thoroughly cooked pizza. As for toppings, my onions and mushrooms were thinly sliced and raw but peppers and eggplant I grilled ahead of time.

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I have been making pizza on the Gas Grill for over 10 years.

I start with dough from Trader Joe's. At a $1 a ball it has true price performance. Especially since my boys eat the pizza.

Get grill hot. Usually 15 minutes on High.

Cook on grill for 2-3 minutes. Should not be burnt.

Take off using pizza pell and place ingrediants on cooked side.

My boys favor Dom Pepinos pizza Sauce and a Mozerella/Romano blend.

Back on grill for another 3-4 minutes.. The cheese will melt and and uncooked side should be done.

This is a regular item at our house for my teenage boys. Very simple and good. It might be harder using non-gar grill but the results should be the same.

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Not sure if this belongs in the pizza thread or the grilling thread, so I'll put it in both (don't kill me, Don).

Wood-fired pizza on a Weber 22" kettle. Can it be done? How? A thousand gold pieces to the man or woman who gives me the answer!

Easy, but they are not cooked exactly like normal pies. The toppings to be put on the pizza, minus the cheese, should be cooked completely before placing them on top. Any sauce should be hot when placed on top.

  • Make your dough, portion out enough for a 12" pie, shape and place on peel sprinkled with cornmeal.
  • Oil up the grill and slide the dough in one motion. If it does not go on perfectly don't try and move it as you will tear it apart.
  • When the bottom is cooked slightly crisped flip. It will easily come off the grill.
  • Continue cooking until done. The dough will be slightly undercooked at this point.
  • Cover with desired toppings and finish with the cover on the grill. You might need to slide it over so that it is not directly over the hot coals. The idea at this point is to melt the cheese and heat up the toppings.
  • Enjoy.

Note: The fire should be med-high in heat. You can test with smaller pieces of dough to find what works on your grill.

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I guess this belongs more in the grilling area, then.

I've only ever used charcoal. For wood, do I just buy wood and burn it in the grill? How much should I use? Do I put the pizza on instantly or let it burn down to coals?

Basically I want to recreate a big brick wood-burning oven in a Weber kettle.

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We use the pizza stone on our gas grill. We put the stone on the cold grill and heat them both up at the same time. We roll out the dough on a piece of parchment paper, top the pie, then just slide it on and off the stone. We let the stone cool down on the grill too - thus no breaking during the heating/cooling cycle. The edges of the parchment paper get burned, but nothing that influences the pizza. With the lid on the grill, the crust and toppings get done just right. Of course, you need a pizza peel to get the pizza on/off the stone. We've found that our splatter screen works just fine (as long as the plastic handle doesn't come in contact with the grill, of course).

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