I think I learned a few days ago as I observed the cooks at my favorite pizza place that one secret is to use sliced provel cheese, as opposed to shredded mozzarella, like most people do. Is that some kind of an industry secret? (I think it was provel, even though it comes out orange…)
Does anyone have any recommendations on crust recipes, tomato sauces, cheeses, etc? I’m especially fond of a thin, crispy crust, AKA St. Louis style. I’ve never really been able to make a pizzaria-style pizza, and I haven’t found any tips or secrets on the web.
This isn’t exactly thin crust, but when I make pizza I use a Boboli. Some sauce, then I mix mozzarella, cheddar, and swiss. Oh, and mushrooms, pepperoni, and onions, of course.
I think the secret is in the sauce. I find it imperative to have LOTS of garlic and good quality cheeses. I have an awesome recipe for pizza… e me if ya want it
If you make your own dough, and you’re looking for thin crust, chill it, form it on the pan with a rolling pin, then freeze it. You can get ultra thin crust this way.
I have lived here in Chicago for almost my entire life and therefore have some experience with this culinary treasure.
I, like eveyone, like deep dish and sauced pizzas except for SILENT-BOB of course!
But my favorite is just so simple:
Fresh crust thinly sliced roma tomatoes thinly sliced mozzarella
fresh torn basil
a drizzle of olive oil
a tiny dash of sea salt/garlic paste- really tiny
You want the bright sweet tomatoes, the slightly smoky/tangy mozzarella, and the fragrant basil (most of all) to be the three dominant flavors.
On a baking stone or grilled? Even better.
Use a pizza baking sheet, over a regular baking sheet. It’s metal with little holes in it. (I’ve heard a pizza stone is even better, but I don’t have one, so I can’t say.)
I make my own crust, but it’s a just a standard recipe out of a cookbook, and nothing particularly special. As for toppings, though, I gotta recommend sliced roma tomatoes. Yum! I also like yellow squash and red bell pepper, if I’m feeling like veggies, or just the tomatoes and pepperoni, if I’m not. Sprinkle a little italian seasoning on it, maybe some crushed red peppers, and you’re good to go.
So can I use a recipe intended for thicker crust (eg, Papa John’s style, or Domino’s regular crust) and just flatten it more? The recipe I was going to use can be found at: http://breadrecipe.com/AZ/JaysSignaturePizzaCrust.asp
Is there a special recipe for thin crust, or is a crust a crust?
Also, do you make it wahfer thin before you freeze it, and the freezing keeps it that way?
I’m trying to get away from the homemade/Tombstone/American taste I’m used to, and recreate the old-skool-Italian-grandfather type of pizza found at quality Italian restaurants. I know they have bigger, hotter ovens, but I figure I can get it pretty close, with some help. One thing I’ve noticed about those places: there’s something about that cheese. Silky smooth, it is. The crust is the other part that sticks out in my mind.
Some Pizza Pointers:
The crust. The recipe you’ve picked looks good, but I’d make a change: If you have the time (this’ll add hours to the rising time, but make the flavor of the crust unbeatable), your best bet is to make the crust with ice-cold water and let it rise s…l…o…w…l…y. Mix the yeast with about a 1/4 of a cup of warm water (about 100-105) and the sugar. Let it get bubbly, then add the rest of the water (1 1/4 cups) as ice-cold water. The rising time will be about 3 hours.
Once it’s risen, deflate it gently (DON’T punch it down, it turns the crust into a rubber band that you’ll never get stretched out. Just poke it lightly and let it gently deflate) Let it sit for at least 5 minutes or so. Then start rolling/stretching (I prefer stretching the crust, but even if you roll it, use your fingertips to put some texture on the crust after rolling: holds the sauce better. Put some corn-meal on a pizza-peel (those paddle like things they use in pizzarias…if you don’t have one, use a cookie sheet or cutting board. Put the crust on it, and let it sit for about 15 minutes or until it starts to rise again.
The other crucial investment a pizza chef needs (IMHO) to make an awesome pizza crust will require a small investment: A pizza stone. These can be found in your local cooking supply store (Bed, Bath and Beyond, fer example). This will get you the crispy on the outside/chewy on the inside crust that you want (if you make it thin enough, it’ll make it crispy all the way through)
About 45 minutes before you roll/stretch your dough, put the stone in the oven on the second-from-the-bottom shelf. Remove the upper shelf completely, it’ll just get in the way. Crank the oven to the hottest possible setting and let the stone get hot for an hour.
For the toppings, see MikeG’s post. Only comment I’d make is that the fresh Basil is crucial, and a bit of fresh parmesan grated on top couldn’t hurt (Neither could some sliced Provolone). The other key to getting the creamier texture that you want is to use real cheese, not artificial Mozzarella-cheeze-like-product.
Anyway, once your pizza has risen and is topped, slide it onto the baking stone and let it cook about 8-11 minutes. Once it’s done, let it sit for 3 or 4 minutes to give the cheese a chance to congeal a bit. Otherwise, your toppings’ll just run off the crust.
I once had a student placed in a place that has the second best pizza I’ve ever had. I was talking with the owner and he gave me some tips for home made pizza. The first thing he said is get a pizza stone, it’s the only way to get the crust to cook like it does in a restaurant. Secondly he said don’t bother making your own pizza dough, get the frozen bread dough and use that for the crust. He said he does this at home because then he doesn’t have to go to the trouble of making his own crust, and pizza dough is basically bread dough. Don’t over work it either.
Sauce: Use either straight tomato paste or dilute it a bit. You want the sauce to be fairly thick. Personally I go for the tomato sauce that has garlic added.
Ingredients: Use whatever, just make sure you use quality.
Cheese: He recommended a mixture of three cheeses. He uses some no name cheeses because he likes the way they melt. He recommended a shredded mixture of Mozzarella, Romano and Chedder Cheese.
Finally and most importantly he said to buy a good quality cutter, don’t use the ones that you can buy for $3.00 in the grocery store.
I use a pre-shredded pre-combined cheese that I think is superb: contains mozzarella, smoked provolone, romano, and parmesan. Very tasty. Mozzarella alone melts into a flavorless stringy soup; it has to be mixed with something else. Cheddar is, in my experience, nasty as a pizza cheese; it doesn’t mix well with other cheeses and releases tons of oil.
I do use sauce, but only a couple of tablespoons. I do NOT care for biting into a big nasty pocket of hot tomato sauce.
What I’m hunting for are two things: first, suggestions on good additions to the crust to make it more flavorful, and second, a way to make my pepperoni get nice and crisp while still cooking the pizza on the bottom. Any help is appreciated.
A pizza stone will really help. Without mine, I was unable to make a decent pizza in my cranky, 50 year old electric oven. Just think what it could do in an oven that cooked evenly!
I often use pre-made dough from the supermarket. To get the best flavor I either choose packages that have fully defrosted or take it home and leave it in the fridge overnight if all they have are fully frozen ones. Then I take it out an hour or so before I start dinner so it can warm up to room temp. Cold dough is stiff and rubbery. If you let it warm up it will start to rise and bit and be much easier to work.
Also, I suggest breaking free of the tomato sauce/cheese/topping rut. I love to experiment. (I’m a veggie; meat eaters can make appropriate substitutions.) I’ve made BBQ pizza with BBQ sauce, smoked, BBQ flavored tofu, and cheddar. I also like to use peanut/satay sauce and a baked tofu with Asian spices (like Tofu Lin) with or without cheese. Caramelized onions and feta (no sauce) is yummy, too.
Well since I figured out that cheese was causing my migraines and I figured out that I’m severely allergic to pork, my tastes in pizza have changed. Any old crust and sauce would do as long as it was smothered in good cheese and pepperoni.
Now, what I find important in a good pizza is REAL olive oil on the crust. And a nice flavorful (somewhat spicy) sauce is also important. And canned (or jarred) mushrooms! I can’t stand fresh mushrooms on a pizza.
To get the pepperoni crisp, don’t cover it with cheese. And ALSO use a baking stone instead of a metal pan for baking.
I have an electric oven that has the broiler in the main oven. I cook the pizza until it’s about 3-4 minutes from done and then kick on the broiler. This does a nice job on the toppings while not making the crust into a tooth chipping frisbee.
