The Gear Forum Home Pizza Thread

It's Friday night here. Was using a Pizza Stone on the grill, but it is like 40F outside,
so I moved it to the Oven. Cook time was a little longer, but I am still full of "Hell yeah!" :beer



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Oh that looks really good!

I got into making pizzas during the pandemic, got myself a pizza stone, got halfway decent at it. My family doesn't like tomatoes so we would often just do olive oil and seasoning. I just cook them in the oven with a hot stone. Tried the grill but heat on the bottom vs top isn't as good. As much as I'd like a pizza oven, I live in Minnesota so half the year my deck is covered in snow.

Unfortunately, my kids play hockey and part of our association requirements are to sell pizzas. So I had to order 60 pizzas over the last two years, and my chest freezer has been well stocked. So I almost never make pizza anymore, which is a bummer. I'm actually down to about 3 pizzas left, but expecting another 20 pizzas next month.
 
@Sleezy E - what's the pizza sitting on in your picture? Is that a pan or a peel?

I've heard good things about "pizza steel" rather than pizza stones. My stone is a bit warped at this point and if it breaks I may try a steel instead.
 
Jarick said:
@Sleezy E - what's the pizza sitting on in your picture? Is that a pan or a peel?

I've heard good things about "pizza steel" rather than pizza stones. My stone is a bit warped at this point and if it breaks I may try a steel instead.
Click to expand...
It's just a metal peel
 
Inspired by this thread, I made up some dough and sauce today and proceeded to make a really crappy pizza. My stone isn't quite big enough so the crust was a little too thick, and then I put a little too much sauce on it so it was soggy.

Going to make the rest of it tomorrow and do much better!
 
Jarick said:
Inspired by this thread, I made up some dough and sauce today and proceeded to make a really crappy pizza. My stone isn't quite big enough so the crust was a little too thick, and then I put a little too much sauce on it so it was soggy.

Going to make the rest of it tomorrow and do much better!
Click to expand...

Olive oil brushed on the dough prior to the sauce is supposed to help reduce the sogginess that sauce causes. Haven't tried it though.
 
Jarick said:
Inspired by this thread, I made up some dough and sauce today and proceeded to make a really crappy pizza. My stone isn't quite big enough so the crust was a little too thick, and then I put a little too much sauce on it so it was soggy.

Going to make the rest of it tomorrow and do much better!
Click to expand...

You can pre-cook the dough a little, there's a guy on YT called Vito Iacopelli. I've found his videos useful. He's done a few on cooking in a conventional oven in 2 stages.
 
Jarick said:
Inspired by this thread, I made up some dough and sauce today and proceeded to make a really crappy pizza. My stone isn't quite big enough so the crust was a little too thick, and then I put a little too much sauce on it so it was soggy.

Going to make the rest of it tomorrow and do much better!
Click to expand...

Man, I feel ya. I have a few years of trial and error and LOT of questionable results. :LOL:

I feel like I have narrowed it down to what works for me (long proof for the dough of
3 days in the Fridge being one of the most crucial steps--for me). Long proof means
that yeast is really lively and makes the dough easier to work with.

I think a tight sauce helps, too. I cook mine down (about an hour) so a lot of the water
content from the tomatoes evaporates. Tomato paste can help tighten it up, too.

Also, stay away from Part-skim Mozz. That shit has crap ton of water in it. Whole milk Mozz
has more fat and less moisture and will help keep the sog away.

Have fun! :chef
 
Yeah I'm going to cook down the sauce some more. I did a sauce and paste blend with a little olive oil in there (which I probably didn't need). I'm just going to brush it on though, not slather it. I also need to roll out the crust as thin as I can so it cooks quicker, or maybe I could just bake it in a cast iron pan.
 
If your Stone is hot enough and heated up and the crust is thin you should have no problems.

I am gonna work on my Detroit-style Deep Dish Pizza this winter. Totally different approach,
but equally delicious!! :)
 
With regards to water content of the sauce, I don't cook or cook down the sauce at all. I make Neapolitan-style pizza, though... so it depends what kind of pizza you're going for, and what you're trying to achieve with the sauce, I suppose.

I simply use high quality canned San Marzano tomatoes, which have a natural bright sweetness and balanced acidity. (I add fresh garlic, salt and a little olive oil). The sauce is not heated until the moment it hits the oven.

HOWEVER... I drain much of the excess water off in a fine sieve before using the tomatoes. And then the other thing to consider is to not put too much sauce on in the first place. I then spread the sauce quickly around with the back of the ladle I used to add the sauce, and then no sitting around - straight into the oven.
 
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