Topic: Pizza Recipe (by chriswg)

[pizzaman]

Hi all
I have noticed one thing in all your recepies for pizza sauce is that you are heavily flavouring the tomato sauce?This is ok for a deep pan american style pizza that could not be further away from an authentic thin based napoletana stone baked pizza.I make the most simpliest of bread recipes possible as it is not necassary to add anything else,strong bread flour,dried yeast ,water and salt thats it!
The secret to a great pizza is good quality toppings an less is more!!
But the main secret is the pizza oven,i have a built in pizza oven at home that reaches 500 degrees centigrade so thats twic as hot as a conventional domestic oven.My pizza's cook in approximately 90 seconds!

Maybe next time i cook some i will shoot a video so if anyone is interested then let me know.


pizzaman

[Malc.]

If your local to me, I am happy to film it for you. ;D

I think, like alot of things, the cooking process is more important than anything else. I also agree with your toppings comment. We seldom over do the toppings as you say, less is more.

Built in oven at home, now that's dedication.

[jimmy2x]

Hi all
I have noticed one thing in all your recepies for pizza sauce is that you are heavily flavouring the tomato sauce?This is ok for a deep pan american style pizza that could not be further away from an authentic thin based napoletana stone baked pizza.I make the most simpliest of bread recipes possible as it is not necassary to add anything else,strong bread flour,dried yeast ,water and salt thats it!
The secret to a great pizza is good quality toppings an less is more!!
But the main secret is the pizza oven,i have a built in pizza oven at home that reaches 500 degrees centigrade so thats twic as hot as a conventional domestic oven.My pizza's cook in approximately 90 seconds!

Maybe next time i cook some i will shoot a video so if anyone is interested then let me know.


pizzaman

i just gotta see that. i agree the oven is the thing. i have an electric oven only and it slightly lets my pizza's down. with the right oven i would be near perfection if not there. The base is slightly soft in my pizza's due to pasting the wet sauce on before cooking so i now give the base 5 mins oven time on its own. this helps to create a crispier pizza.

[peterandjen]

I dont really get the pizza thing, its just spicey cheese on toast imo, ok occasionally, once or twice a year, ill get a bit of a pizza craving and go and buy one but it doesnt make me want to go out and do it all the time.
Same as Donkey kebabs, i dont see whats so incredible about them either, im the same with them as with pizza's ill maybe eat 1 or 2 a year, and i usually feel bunged up to hell for a few days afterwards.
Yeah niether are a cullinary marvel  in my oppinion.

[Malc.]

I have been reliably informed by 'er indoors that after all the discussion about pizza, I have to make a batch of dough balls and tomato sauce. she want's our home made pizza tonight. :

Opportunity to take a few pics though.

[Malc.]

Chris, I promised you the sauce recipe I use, i've just finished a batch so here goes:

1 Large Clove Garlic finely sliced
1 Small Dried Red Chilli crumbled
3 Tins (400g) Whole Plum Tomato
2 Tsp Dried Oregano
1 Handful Fresh Basil chopped
Salt & Pepper to season

In a pan gently fry the Garlic until soft. Add the Tomato whole (if any are split remove seeds before cooking, this prevents a bitter taste developing), Oregano and the Chilli. Bring to the boil and gently simmer for 1 hour. Stir a break up the tomato then add the Basil and season well with Salt & Pepper. To finish, stir in two or three tablespoons of good Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

This sauce freezes well and will keep for several months. It can be used as a base for other dishes like meat balls or spag bol. If your just using it on pizza you could blend it before adding the basil to give a thicker sauce, but we like it a little more rustic.

[George]

I dont really get the pizza thing, its just spicey cheese on toast imo, ok occasionally, once or twice a year, ill get a bit of a pizza craving and go and buy one but it doesnt make me want to go out and do it all the time.
Same as Donkey kebabs, i dont see whats so incredible about them either, im the same with them as with pizza's ill maybe eat 1 or 2 a year, and i usually feel bunged up to hell for a few days afterwards.
Yeah niether are a cullinary marvel  in my oppinion.

Why be so negative about a food type that clearly not one of your favourites?
Pizzas ARE a culinary marvel in my opinion.

Pizzaman - what's the basic design/layout of your home made oven if you can get it up to 500C? That's no mean feat!

[Malc.]

Chris,

Tonight's Pizza was very good having tried a variation based on your cornmeal idea. Though I have to be honest, I completely misread what you meant.

Anyway tonight I made the dough using half strong flour and half cornmeal flour. The result was an amazing stonebaked base quite different to the almost Ciabatta style crust that we normally get using 3/4 strong flour and 1/4 Semolina flour.

I now consider it to be a successful failure, if that makes any sense. We will be doing it again though I am going to add olive oil to the dough when I knock it back on first proove. I may also adjust the amount of cornmeal back slightly.

[JerryM]

Pizzaman,

would love to see u're results either pics or video.

where did u get the oven from.

my main bug bear is that i can't adjust top & bottom heat in my domestic oven - on the next purchase going to be a must.

i'm surprised that the x2 heat makes that much difference - is it just speed. i cook at 200C thin base "napoli" in a steel tin at ~9mins and it's not far short of restaurant quality.

for me too the tom sauce has to be plain - i just add a little puree and sugar.

[pizzaman]

George and JerryM my pizza oven is a lincat stone based electric oven which i built in above my cooker.To JerryM the difference of cooking a pizza in 90 seconds or 9 minutes is this,when the bread is very thin and goes into the oven,it rises instantly and starts to brown straight away which inturn creates a crispy outside(it doesn't have time to dry out) and a soft inside,with no doughy consistancy in the middle.Have you ever had pizza and picked it up and it sags in the middle?Well basically the dough is raw and not cooked.I have cooked pizza in many different ovens over the years and my pizzas were good but missing that perfectly cooked taste and since i have had the oven its all changed,i use a peel to pickup the pizza and land it straight onto the stone,the heat above and below really does make a difference.

My next project is a wood fired outside,but i am a little reluctant because they are expensive and the taste of them compared to normal stone baked is nominal.By the way i have cooked naan bread with the stove top method in a hot pan and then i did them in the  Pizza oven and there was no comparison,the pizza oven ones were perfect.
Hope this answers your queries

Pizzaman