Make your own pizza - the Holy Grail? (1 Viewer)

[Lew Crippen]

Make your own sauce for cheap and good.

 

[Jason_V]

Or you can use cottage cheese...

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Onions are cheap at the Cash & Carry store (same chain as Smart & Final in California. A 50 lb. sack of onions varys from $5 to $10. (Id. is as big an onion state as it is a potato state.) I split a sack with several of my neighbors.

WinCo always sells large cans of pitted whole olives for 98 cents. I slice them with my egg slicer since pre-sliced olives are much more expensive.

 

[Eric_L]

Another thread pointed me here - lets see which thread wins!

I am looking for help with designing my own pizza crust recipe. I want to know how the different ingredients can interact to create different features like chewyness, thickness, flakiness, breadlike, etc... That could save me having to experement to findout myself...

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Chewyness and flakiness are a function of gluten. The more gluten, the tighter the structure and the chewier the crust. If there is little to no gluten, a flaky or soft crust will result. Gluten is formed during kneading, the more the dough is worked, the more gluten is formed. Thickness is a function of how thin the dough is rolled and how much of a rise it has. The rise is governed by the amount of yeast. For a thin crust, use less yeast and don't work it as much. For a thicker, chewy, breadlike crust, use a bread recipe and knead for a longer time.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

A couple of days ago I had the best pizza here in Atlanta that I've ever had in my life and I've had pizza in NY. The margherita was bliss.

Antico Pizza Napoletana

http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/review_antico_pizza_napoletana/Content?oid=1195800

They also sell that wonderful dough.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I love the fact that I just got banner ads for Papa John's Pizza at the top of this page when it loaded!

 

[Eric_L]

Originally Posted by Jeff Gatie

Chewyness and flakiness are a function of gluten. The more gluten, the tighter the structure and the chewier the crust. If there is little to no gluten, a flaky or soft crust will result. Gluten is formed during kneading, the more the dough is worked, the more gluten is formed. Thickness is a function of how thin the dough is rolled and how much of a rise it has. The rise is governed by the amount of yeast. For a thin crust, use less yeast and don't work it as much. For a thicker, chewy, breadlike crust, use a bread recipe and knead for a longer time.

Thanks Jeff;

My first attempt worked pretty good, on my second attempt I noticed that the dough was sticking to the kneading bar more than the first. I suspected there was too much water and added some flour, but that didn't seem to help... or maybe I didn't add enough... ? The second recipe was much flakier than the first. I thought that was because I doubled the yeast though.

 

[Mike Frezon]

We've been on a real run of making homemade pizzas at our house recently as my local grocer has been regularly stocking bags of refrigerated fresh wheat pizza dough.


We just rise the dough the afternoon we plan on cooking it and I've become fairly adept at rolling it out. I am always amazed at those guys who can toss dough. Add healthy toppings and you've got a tasty, reasonably healthy dinner! Along with veggies, turkey or chicken sausage make an excellent topping! Turkey bacon, too.

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

No pepperoni Mike?? A homemade pizza isnt complete without it.

 

[Mike Frezon]

No pepperoni Mike?? A homemade pizza isnt complete without it.

Well......they DO make a turkey pepperoni as a healthy option, but it's still not very good for you. The veggies are good enough.

When I want a real treat, though, I'll cook up some chicken or turkey sausage. Or, even chunks of chicken are pretty good...especially dripping in hot sauce! Yum!

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

Sounds good, ill try that sometime.