What are you eating?

[orbital]

Thanks guys.  The crust is still work in progress. The crispy/chewy holy grail gets closer and closer each one.  Good eats none the less.

Allan

Allan, did you make that at home? Do you have a special oven for it? I want to try out cooking some pizzas myself, but conventional ovens do not go up to the required temperature even if I were to use a pizza stone 

[mahler10th]

Yummy.

[toledobass]

Allan, did you make that at home? Do you have a special oven for it? I want to try out cooking some pizzas myself, but conventional ovens do not go up to the required temperature even if I were to use a pizza stone 

I did make it at home in a regular POS oven. (I'm not even sure it is really getting to the highest setting of 500) I do have a pizza stone and I make sure it's preheated for a long time.  The other thing I've been experimenting with is after the stone has been preheated to the highest setting for an hour or so, I've been putting the oven on broil before throwing the pizza in.  It kind of mimics the higher heat a good wood burning oven would give you. You kinda have to experiment with how far away from the element or burner you should place the stone and you have to watch it really *really* closely as the window of perfect to charred can happen before you know it.  That along with a pretty wet dough that has more than a day to do it's thing and ferment has been getting pretty good results.  There is still something not quite perfect about it, but I think I'm on the right path.  If you try out any of those ideas let me know how they work for you and if you have any other ideas that I may be missing let me know about them!!!!!!!!

A friend of mine who makes a pretty mean pizza told me about a guy who cut off the lock mechanism and used the cleaning cycle to get really high heat from his POS oven.  Those things can't be built to withstand that regularly though. I would think.


Allan

[mahler10th]

There is no such thing as a Haggis Pizza.  But with toledobass's expertise, I think one could be pioneered and it would sell very well.
Toledobass, your Pizza needs to be sent to us all so we can enjoy it - looks like you're a real Pizza officianado.

[orbital]

Thanks a lot Allan.

I will be doing some experimenting starting next week, but from all the sources I've spoken to (and read) you really need a 700F+ heat to make a pizzeria style crust. Otherwise, I'm told, I'd either have to sacrifice the crunchiness/char of the crust or have to do with a somewhat dry pizza, unless I play around with the baker's percentages. As far as I know 56-57% is the optimum percentage for pizza, but taking that up to say 65% may yield better results. I am very curious to experiment.

And one more question, what type of flour do you use? High gluten?

[toledobass]

I've been using King Arthur AP (11.7%).  I've got a batch of dough using all King Arthur bread (12.8%)  So i'll see how that turns out.  King Arthur also has a 14% that I may give a go.  I use them mainly because they are available to me not for any other reason.  I'd give Caputo or whatever a try if I could find it easily.

You really aren't going to get a char like a good neopolitan pizza.  Actually, you probably aren't going to get anything even close to a neopolitan style pizza.  But what can you do?  You can still mess around and make some of the best pizza you've ever had outside of your favorite pizzaiolo. All that effort is worth it I tell you!!!!!


Allan

[orbital]

I've been using King Arthur AP (11.7%).  I've got a batch of dough using all King Arthur bread (12.8%)  So i'll see how that turns out.  King Arthur also has a 14% that I may give a go.  I use them mainly because they are available to me not for any other reason.  I'd give Caputo or whatever a try if I could find it easily.

You really aren't going to get a char like a good neopolitan pizza.  Actually, you probably aren't going to get anything even close to a neopolitan style pizza.  But what can you do?  You can still mess around and make some of the best pizza you've ever had outside of your favorite pizzaiolo. All that effort is worth it I tell you!!!!!


Allan

Yes exactly. Thanks for all the info Allan.

[toledobass]

There is no such thing as a Haggis Pizza.  But with toledobass's expertise, I think one could be pioneered and it would sell very well.
Toledobass, your Pizza needs to be sent to us all so we can enjoy it - looks like you're a real Pizza officianado.

You know, I've never tried haggis but have always wanted to.  I'm pretty sure that if you have the right crust it almost doesn't matter what you put on.   It'll be good as long as the topping is good in and of itself.

One thing I wanna try is a riff off of liver and onions.  A pizza topped with foie and carmelized shallots. 


Allan 

[Peregrine]

The most often cooked dish in my repertoire; plate of spaghetti with a freshly prepared tomato sauce. Threw in some basil leaves, but the basic premise is always the same; olive oil, garlic, chopped tomatoes and seasoning. Sometimes add some chilli, sometimes olives, possibly a tin of tuna.

[toledobass]

Stopped by Brix Wine bar for some steak frites and a nice glass of wine this evening. Nothing ground breaking here, and nothing I really can't do just as well at home but well done and completely satisfying anyway. I especially love the simple no nonsense menu linked below, the reverse of the menu being the reserve list.   

Brix Menu

Alas, no time for dessert as the 7:00 call for the Mrs.' rehearsal encroached on our bistro time.

Allan

[toledobass]

And one more question, what type of flour do you use? High gluten?

Well I've made 2 higher gluten flour pizzas so far and I'm not really sure it's gonna work out.  I think perhaps a mixture of bread and AP flour may be better.  The dough is super tough compared to AP and the first one I tried I ended up not rolling out thin enough. It was really too chewy and bread like.  The second I made much thinner and while I liked the results it turned out more like a NY style pizza with a good crispy bite to it.  Good but not what I'm looking for. I don't think the dough responds well to the lower temp of 500. I have 3 more of these things to use up then I think I might try and spike some AP with just a touch of the higher gluten bread flower. 

Allan

[Bogey]

Had a beauty like this at the ballpark tonight.  Also dove for and snagged my first foul ball! 

[orbital]

  The second I made much thinner and while I liked the results it turned out more like a NY style pizza with a good crispy bite to it.

That's the recipe I'm looking for  One that can more or less stand horizontally when you fold and hold it from the edge.

[toledobass]

That's the recipe I'm looking for  One that can more or less stand horizontally when you fold and hold it from the edge.

Higher gluten flour for you me thinks!!!!

Allan

[M forever]

Tonight, a Tyrolian speciality: Spaghetti with Sauerkraut.

[uffeviking]

Spaghetti? 

You mean Spätzle, I hope. You probably ran into one of those pseudo 'Austrian' restaurants serving your Wiener Schnitzel with green beans, mushroom gravy and Sauerkraut! Yuck!

[uffeviking]

Everything from my own garden, - except the garlic flavoured French vinegar and English walnut oil sprinkled over it. 

[Lilas Pastia]

Lis, this is just the kind of lunch I crave (with some cheese on the side)  .

Cooked tonight for tomorrow's dinner: pork tenderloins in an apricot and cream sauce. I'll probably fix green beans, and orzo with butter, lightly flavoured with lemon.

[uffeviking]

Always cheese on the side, André! I even had some after I ate tonight's dessert. The bowl  looked so pretty and didn't want to ruin the looks with ice cream, but thought better of it! The peaches are from my neighbour's garden, but the blackberries are all mine!

A few years ago a little birdie pooped in my wild area and I watched a blackberry bush prospering. My gardener is not happy because as everybody knows, those bushes get out of control in no time. Well, I cross the bridge when I get there, this is the first year I picked almost a pint of those luscious berries. - Got to watch the gardener so he will not dig up the bush! 

[uffeviking]

André: what is orzo?