Pizza 101

jonboy · February 2010

I would like to start making pizza in the eggs.
Please consider me as a beginner looking for pizza magic.
I have some high gluten flour from RD to use.
I would like to find a recipe for a cracker type crust and a thin nice chew crust.
Any suggestions?
The recipes that are suggested, will they perform the same in the oven and an egg, assuming the use of pizza stone and 450 degrees. I was thinking i could experiment inside and later move to the egg for baking.
I have the artisan bread in five mins book. Does the master recipe do well if you use a high gluten flour in it? Any success or failures with that?
Thanks for the assistance and getting me started on the right foot.
I need to get a pizza peel to work with.
jon

[Deleted User] · February 2010

I can only answer two questions-

Yes, you can cook it the same in the Egg as you would in an oven (except you have to make sure it's burning clean first).

Yes you need a pizza peel.

If you want, because you are only talking about cooking at 450 you can cook pizzas inside until you are comfortable with what you're doing, then start cooking outside. Me, I have only cooked pizza outside on the Egg.

fishlessman · February 2010

i just buy the dough at the market. you may find with those types of pizzas that cooking them hotter will give you better results, the thicker pies are better suited for temps below 500 imho. i cook with no gaskets on my egg just so i can cook the real thin crusts in the 900 degree plus range. do you have a cracker crust recipe, thats one pizza ive never had

jonboy · February 2010

I was guessing at the 450 temp. I thought that was a good temp for pizza but higher might be better.
Would 550 work better?
We have made a few jiffy mix pizzas but i would like to make something really good. I have tried the pre made crust also.
I am in search of tried and true recipes for the cracker type crusts and a thin chew to the bite crust.

Ross in Ventura · February 2010

Here is the one I use
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001199.html

Ross

HungryMan · February 2010

Looks good Ross. I will try that one next week.

fishlessman · February 2010

this was the site that got me cooking hotter for the thin chewy crust style pizzas, alot of work so i use the storebought but still get pretty good results. he had his recipe posted for years, looks like he went into business with it

http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm

Bacchus · February 2010

A peel is one option. You can also use a pizza screen available at RD and other places.
Myself and at least a few others normally use aerated pizza pans. I slide mine out from underneath once the crust has solidified enough.

fishlessman · February 2010

heres how i do them. warning, your gaskets will melt at these temps and thats the least of your worries. i think most go around 550 to maybe 650 for there thinner pies but the texture is different as you go higher
http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&Itemid=55&func=view&catid=1&id=411252

CaptainJimmy · February 2010

i wouldnt bother expirementing in the oven... I would work on perfecting it in the egg...the doughs are so cheap, the cheese isnt expensive it you shred it yourself, and canned tomatoes are about 29c a can on sale, so if it sucks you chuck it right? the pizza stone is the most expensive part.

I do not use a pizza peel, i have pizza pans and i use parchment paper. works very well for me and no unitaskers.

I do not 'raise' the pizza stone, i set it right on the platesetter. i cant tell the difference if i raise it or not.

I have made the doughs and I found the frozen or fresh doughs bought at the market were just as good if not better. The trader joes whole wheat dough is OUTSTANDING.

our favorite pizzas so far (other than traditional sauce and cheese):

pulled pork, bbq sauce, fresh basil, mozz & chedder blend
pesto&chicken (no cheese)
garlic infused olive oil, fresh basil, pepperjack
tomato sauce, onion, cheddar
buffalo chicken breast, buffalo sauce, cheddar

i have cooked as high as 700, i find my pizzas cooked at 450 are more even and less likely to burn the bottoms on the stone

mkc · February 2010

jonboy wrote:

I would like to find a recipe for a cracker type crust and a thin nice chew crust.
Any suggestions?

jon

Jon,

In addition to all the great Egg and pizza advice here, for specific recipes and dough techniques for cracker (or really any) style pizza, I really like the www.pizzamaking.com forum. There is a specific sub topic there which discusses cracker style. I learned about that group from folks here, and it's really helped with my pizza (NY style and Chicago style) adventures.

For NY style I prefer Flagpull's recipe (in the topic "Tonight I dine with Sir Lancelot"), and for Chicago you can't beat BTB's Malnati clone with semolina (top sticky in that sub topic).

jonboy · February 2010

Thanks for all the great info.
I looks like i have a lot of reading to do and experimenting.
jon

Pizza 101

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