Pizza success, FINALLY!!

Gato · January 2012

I was sitting around this morning and decided to try pizza again for lunch. I have tried twice before with ok results. All I kept hearing is how great pizza is on the egg, but I sure wasn't convinced. First time was edible but not great. The second time I tried, my five year old said the bottom tasted like a box. Funny stuff!!
Anyway I made a single homemade crust using the pizza dough from Bobby Flay's recipe and just cut down the amounts for one crust. This time I used the platesetter legs up with the grill and bge baking stone, which is supposed to be better on the gasket according to bge. Cooked between 550 and 600 and rotated the pizza during the cook for an even crust. Built the pizza on parchment paper to transfer to stone. The pizza was fantastic! I now finally realize what everyone was talking about. Glad I didn't just give up, hopefully I can duplicate it again.

Gato · January 2012

Thanks Tweev

Botch · January 2012

Congrats! Now, trying making the dough a day or two earlier, and let it rise in the frig during that time; let it warm up for an hour or two before building your pie. Really makes for a better crust.

Gato · January 2012

I was wondering if I could make some in advance and how best to store them. How long well they last?

Botch · January 2012

I've used dough up to one week old, but don't recommend going that long; but up to four days was no problem. I've never tried freezing the dough, hopefully someone else here has.

Gato · January 2012

You just store the dough ball in the fridge in plastic wrap or something??

Millsy · January 2012

Nice looking pie

trevorst · January 2012

I've used dough up to one week old, but don't recommend going that long; but up to four days was no problem. I've never tried freezing the dough, hopefully someone else here has.

I freeze dough quite a lot, works fine.

smokesniffer · January 2012

U R making me hungry for ZA

Botch · January 2012

You just store the dough ball in the fridge in plastic wrap or something??

I keep it in a bowl covered with plastic wrap, but it should have room to expand; don't wrap it directly in plastic wrap.

jbnelson502 · January 2012

Bobby Flay's recipe? Where can I find that?

Gato · January 2012

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/pizza-dough-recipe/index.html

Try this.

njl · January 2012

After pressing out the crust on parchment, how do you get it onto the hot stone?

Mighty_Quinn · January 2012

Slide peel under parchment....slide parchment with pizza on it onto hot stone...parchment will slide out from under crust after a couple minutes...finish cooking without parchment.

Gato · January 2012

Mighty Q is right. I don't have a peel, I just use a cookie sheet or something flat. Parchment will slide right off.

Hungry Joe · January 2012

Slide peel under parchment....slide parchment with pizza on it onto hot stone...parchment will slide out from under crust after a couple minutes...finish cooking without parchment.

+1

boatbum · January 2012

That is a great nugget of information about the parchment paper. Do you still use cornmeal between the dough and the parchment?

tjp1060 · January 2012

I'm gonna try the parchment idea on our next pizza. We used cornmeal for our first two pizzas. Although it did work, it make the crust grainy.

Mighty_Quinn · January 2012

No cornmeal necessary if you use parchment

Gato · January 2012

I want to try the cornmeal trick also. Probably will if I decide to get a pizza peel.
I don't use cornmeal on the parchment though

Mighty_Quinn · January 2012

If cornmeal makes it too grainy or gritty for you, try finding a very finely ground cornmeal, or better yet, use semolina or rice flour. They work just as well without any texture addition.

Botch · January 2012

Gato, if you do buy a pizza peel, make sure to get a wooden one. My first one was metal, and sometimes no matter how much flour on the bottom of the dough and cornmeal on the peel you use, it'll stick, somewhere, with disastrous results.

I still have my metal peel, it actually works better for removing the cooked pizza; but if you have only one, make sure its a wooden one.

Gato · January 2012

Thanks for the advise Botch. Will go with the wooden one if I get tired of the old cookie sheet. Think I've read they work better.

njl · January 2012

And the crust doesn't end up sticking to the stone? I guess once it's cooked on the bottom, it just won't stick?

Mighty_Quinn · January 2012

Right, it doesn't stick to the stone once it starts to cook. It should never stick to a hot stone. If you're use cornmeal, it is only necessary on the peel before the pizza goes on the stone.

Pizza success, FINALLY!!

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