Pizza Anatomy

dgaddis1

Bought a ball of dough from Publix.  First, Rao's pizza sauce, then left over pulled pork (that has been mixed with BBQ sauce already), crushed pineapple, and baby bella mushrooms.  We like lots of toppings.



Now cheese, either mozzarella or an 'Italian blend', and then sprinkle some Dizzy Pig Mediterranean-ish seasoning on top.



Cooked on on a rack raised about 4" above the felt line with a 500° dome temp for about 10mins.  On this one I let the temp go as high as 700° for the last few minutes.  Add some BBQ sauce when it comes off the grill.

NPHuskerFL

Looking good.  I like the choice of BBQ toppings I'm not a huge fan of Publix dough but, in a pinch it does the job. Do you ever make your own dough?  Any pictures of your setup for illustration especially for the newbies? Nice work. 

dgaddis1

Haven't tried making our own dough yet.  We will, just haven't yet.  The ready made option is easy, which is nice when getting home late.

Here's my set up.  Plate setter is legs up.

Hub

I am a Publix regular but have never seen a ball of pizza dough for sell.  Which part of the store should I be looking?

pflug

Publix has them by the Bakery section.  I have been pretty happy with it.   It was especially helpful as I was learning and adjusting my set up. I usually get two 13" pies from one ball. 

dgaddis1

Hub said:

I am a Publix regular but have never seen a ball of pizza dough for sell.  Which part of the store should I be looking?

I would have never found it had my little sister not told me about it!  It's in the deli/bakery, and in our two local stores it's always in a small cooler that's about 2ft wide and 2ft tall with a glass door on the front.  Next to the cakes.

TideEggHead

Looks delicious! We use publix dough and split it too, haven't ventured into making our own dough just yet.

NEKEgger

What is the advantage of the raised rack?  I just put my pizza stone on the grate.  

dgaddis1

NEKEgger said:

What is the advantage of the raised rack?  I just put my pizza stone on the grate.  

Radiant heat off the dome to help melt the cheese and cook the toppings.  I found that with the stone at the gasket level the dough was getting overcooked before the toppings and cheese were ready.  Getting it up higher cooks the toppings and melts the cheese faster, so it's all done at the same time.

That's for this particular combination of dough, temp, and heavy toppings.  Different dough and/or toppings and/or temperatures will change things.

northGAcock

@dgaddis1 A question and a comment. How was the Rao's sauce. I have seen it for some time....but feel they are right proud of the price. I have used some of their sauces and enjoy....so curious of your thoughts on that.

On the pizza dough front, I have had mixed results with the Publix dough. More issues than positive on pizza, but have found it perfect for calzones. I make my dough now with OO Flour and freeze. Much happier. 

Thanks for posting....always enjoy looking at good za.

Legume

Alright, it's titled anatomy of a pizza, so I'll ask.  You put your toppings under the cheese?  Do they cook much like that (like the mushrooms)?

Spaightlabs

Think how much better that would be with real pineapple instead of that canned crap?

dgaddis1

Legume said:

Alright, it's titled anatomy of a pizza, so I'll ask.  You put your toppings under the cheese?  Do they cook much like that (like the mushrooms)?

They cook well enough.  The pork is already cooked of course.

northGAcock said:

@dgaddis1 A question and a comment. How was the Rao's sauce. I have seen it for some time....but feel they are right proud of the price. I have used some of their sauces and enjoy....so curious of your thoughts on that.

On the pizza dough front, I have had mixed results with the Publix dough. More issues than positive on pizza, but have found it perfect for calzones. I make my dough now with OO Flour and freeze. Much happier. 

Thanks for posting....always enjoy looking at good za.

Rao's sauce - It is good.  Not worlds better than others, I also like Classico's sauce.  The wife like Rao's because it's much lower in sodium.  We can get 2.5 full size pizza's out of one can of sauce, so the price/pie isn't too bad.

RockyTopDW

Mezzettas pizza sauce is the best store bought I've found.  It's also at publix and is cheaper than and better than Rao's.  I believe it's $5.00.