Let's Talk BBQ

Outdoor Cooking Equipment => PIZZA OVENS - Wood Fired => Topic started by: pz on December 13, 2013, 11:23:00 PM

Title: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: pz on December 13, 2013, 11:23:00 PM
Because we really like cracker-crisp crust, we've been working on different techniques to develop the texture we like
My sweetie's idea to paint the raw crust with olive oil, then add a liberal sprinkling of coarse salt.  Here the crust just came out of the oven, and is ready to be flipped over to add the toppings.  What you see here will be the bottom.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6t3r8WJStyw/UqvYxS24mpI/AAAAAAAAFcQ/2V7HhTfGB5Q/w1362-h908-no/IMG_2889.JPG)
Toppings of the evening include mozzarella, cheddar, feta, fresh Aerogarden basil, fresh tomato slices, thinly sliced beef stick
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-MEHGUFJXFNk/UqvYvgVmBiI/AAAAAAAAFcE/9VOhn3TNWKw/w1362-h908-no/IMG_2883.JPG)
Poor focus, but the finished pizza
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-mwOHzK1pzQo/UqvYyNoQFTI/AAAAAAAAFcU/ZlkLsMmVvks/w1362-h908-no/IMG_2888.JPG)
The bottom remains nice and brown - crust is cracker crisp just the way we like it, and the beef stick had that crispy sausage taste and feel.  The salted olive oil bottom gave the pizza an extra zip.
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nz2--iDkYD8/UqvYz1QPbFI/AAAAAAAAFcc/aOBcCej9CU0/w1362-h908-no/IMG_2891.JPG)
On the last pizza we used sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, roasted red peppers, mozzarella, cheddar, and feta
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SjlL6LFz2aQ/UqvY2j8tMtI/AAAAAAAAFck/KN6oINLgAp8/w1362-h908-no/IMG_2892.JPG)
Title: Re: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: sparky on December 14, 2013, 12:07:44 AM
I sure would like a couple slices of that.  I'm hungry.   :)
Title: Re: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: sliding_billy on December 14, 2013, 06:09:22 AM
Great looking pie.
Title: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: Pappymn on December 14, 2013, 08:33:14 AM
Looks like perfect pizza to me
Title: Re: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: muebe on December 14, 2013, 10:22:21 AM
Those look great pz! Thanks for sharing your method ;)
Title: Re: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: smoker pete on December 14, 2013, 10:28:51 AM
Great looking pizza pz!!

Would you mind sharing the recipe for that crust, temps, etc.  ...  Thanks  :)
Title: Re: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: smokendevo on December 14, 2013, 10:38:22 AM
Nice pizza pies there PZ
Title: Re: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: africanmeat on December 14, 2013, 11:28:48 AM
This is a good looking pizza .
thin and crispy .
yummy
Title: Re: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: pz on December 14, 2013, 11:20:29 PM
Thanks for the kind comments, folks - pizza is definitely a work in progress for us, and we continually try to improve.  We'll get there one of these days.

Quote from: smoker pete on December 14, 2013, 10:28:51 AM
Great looking pizza pz!!

Would you mind sharing the recipe for that crust, temps, etc.  ...  Thanks  :)

My pleasure - my sweetie does all the dough in our family, and she says it is easy (for her, I think).  Many pizza purists will talk about measuring by weight rather than volume as the only way to achieve good dough.  For example, I recently saw a recipe in which flour was measured to 5 significant figures (843.79 grams), but to my inexperienced eye, that is a bit too extreme.  Other pizza people talk about the "feel" of the dough as the hallmark - my wife is among the latter.

Ingredients
Method
Load all ingredients except water in your mixer of choice, start blending on slow, and begin adding water slowly until a ball of dough forms.  If the dough starts sticking to the sides of the bowl, add flour in small pinches until the dough pulls away from the sides and bottom of the bowl - my sweetie assures me that anyone can get the "right feel" by adding more water if too dry, or more flour if too wet.  The key is that the dough needs to pull away from the bowl.

Here's what my wife means by heaping cups, and how she adds water:

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5TCZtz1TzrE/Uq0jHtR1YVI/AAAAAAAAFe4/-RZKcDx6OnY/w1362-h908-no/IMG_2900.JPG) (https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SZTkWDuc3KE/Uq0jIx1sPVI/AAAAAAAAFfA/8H8fAa_XxQc/w1362-h908-no/IMG_2901.JPG)

Cover and prove the dough.  If we plan a room temperature or slightly warmer prove, up to 12 hours or so (we can start the dough in the morning and can use it when we come home from work).  If you prove in the fridge, we've heard up to 96 hours or so is okay - we've not tried it that long yet.  My wife made dough this morning and we're going to let it go 24 hours on the kitchen counter as an experiment.  She also added the sugar which she usually doesn't.

With pizza stone in the oven, preheat the oven to 450F, and let the stone heat for 10 additional minutes at that temperature.  If you don't have a stone, a cookie sheet will work fine.

While the oven is heating, divide the dough into 4 equal portions (each makes a 10-12-inch pizza), and roll one out as thin as you like your crust

Transfer the rolled dough to a pizza peel (generously sprinkled with flour or corn meal, whichever you like better to decrease the friction between dough and peel

Add 1 tsp of oil to the dough, and spread to a thin film by hand or bristle brush.  Add coarse salt if you want a tasty surprise when you take your first bite

Once the oven is to temperature, transfer the dough to the hot stone, and bake for approximately 3-5 minutes - watch it after 3 minutes and take it out when you like the color of the brown spots

Take the entire stone with crust out of the oven, and turn the crust over so the oiled/salted surface is now in direct contact with the stone and start layering your ingredients.  We like to put any ingredient that is likely to dry our or burn on first and then cover with cheese

Put the completed pizza into the 450F oven and set the timer for 3 minutes, and then begin watching every minute or so.  Remove when you like the color, the cheese bubbles, of the crust browns - basically remove it when you like how it looks.

Some use a pizza cutter (blade in disc form), but I like to use a 12-inch chef knife which is the perfect length for these small pizzas.  You won't believe the crispy cracker-like sound as the blade slices through the pizza.


We usually bake 4 pizzas, and that gives 2 on the first day, and 2 on the second day.  By the morning of the second day the crust has softened due to the damp ingredients, but a quick reheat in a 450F oven for 5 minutes makes the crust all better again.

Here's the leftover pizza from yesterday, topped with a poached egg

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dGxpvlfZhqk/UqzyAvRGPPI/AAAAAAAAFd8/ToeoC-VL_1o/w1362-h908-no/IMG_2897.JPG)
Title: Re: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: smoker pete on December 15, 2013, 11:24:24 AM
Thanks for the recipe.  I'll be trying this soon  :)  The dough sounds like it might be a No-Knead Pizza dough recipe.  I like that ...
Title: Re: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: pz on December 15, 2013, 12:48:55 PM
Yes, mostly no knead, but my wife says to let the mixer run for a couple of minutes after all ingredients are incorporated. If you stretch the dough and it tears, it will need kneading.
Title: Re: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: muebe on December 15, 2013, 04:42:30 PM
pz that is very similar to the recipe I use in the bread maker ;)

Thanks for posting!
Title: Re: Perfecting the pizza crust in the indoor oven
Post by: pz on December 15, 2013, 11:17:42 PM
Sure is fun experimenting, isn't it, muebe?  I think most dough recipes are quite similar, with the main differences being the hydration level.