Making a Pizza at Home

[freebird5825]

Grandma was Bohemian but married an Italian. Her MIL taught her how to cook the Italian way. Her pizza was about an inch thick made from her famous bread dough, rubbed with a little garlic, herbs and olive oil, nothing else. That’s nostalgia.

ah yes, the olive oil. with any type of fresh dough, put a little virgin olive oil in a bowl and turn the dough gently to coat the outside. then let it proof (or rise) for about 30 minutes. the elasticity of the dough will amaze you.
BTW, this trick works for any dough, including bread dough.

 

[mh]

2stone pizza grill.

I bought one of these a few weeks ago.

2stone pizza grill

i use it on my weber genesis grill. it's on expensive side
but it works *really* well. i can make pizza with it that's as good
or better than most restaurants. the pizza only takes a few minutes
since the heat inside gets well over 500 i would guess 700 or 800.

the trader joes in my area sells uncooked pizza dough blobs.
which works pretty well. so i can make pizza on impulse by just popping
down to trader joes. ... wonderfull!

 

[clifp]

e.

The disadvantages were that there was a lot of shopping, prepping, cleanup, and leftover ingredients involved, and like Dex said below, after all of that the result was very high in calories! Everybody wanted their favorite toppings piled on, and the calories piled on too.

Definitely agree it is a lot of work, I found it to be a fun joint cooking project though. I assumed that calories were less than pre bought pizza, but you Dex maybe right. Although, things that I put on like tomatoes, garlic, onions, mushrooms, and turkey sausages don't have a ton of calories.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

We do the boboli thing. Nice feta, olive oil, tomatoes, some hot peppers and spinach, yum. Of course then theres the all meat clog your arteries fiesta. We wont get into that and scare the kids...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

The one I had this morning was olives, feta, red onion, red pepper. Decent for a cheap frozen model.

The sams and costco 3 meat pizza is a joy to behold and a thrill to eat.

 

[Midpack]

We've tried everything and I don't think you can re-create the results of wood fired neopolitan pizza oven at home unless you have one yourself. The temps are as high as 900°F in a wood fired oven and the pizza cooks in 90 seconds or less. Fortunately, there is a bonafide wood fired pizza restaurant near us and we go there often.

However, we've taken to making grilled pizzas on our Weber gas fired grill (on high) and they are very good. Still not equal to a wood fired oven, but better than a conventional oven IMO.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

We've tried everything and I don't think you can re-create the results of wood fired neopolitan pizza oven at home unless you have one yourself. The temps are as high as 900°F in a wood fired oven and the pizza cooks in 90 seconds or less. Fortunately, there is a bonafide wood fired pizza restaurant near us and we go there often.

However, we've taken to making grilled pizzas on our Weber gas fired grill (on high) and they are very good. Still not equal to a wood fired oven, but better than a conventional oven IMO.

Ya somtimes Ill throw it on the grill. Pretty tasty. Pizza is so expensive around here so much cheaper doing it yourself.

 

[stoopwallace]

One I've been meaning to try:

Mario Batali's Pizza Dough:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/travel/escapes/17pizza.html?ref=escapes

And a little about his outdoor pizza oven (also meaning to try....)
For Mario Batali, It’s Molto Michigan - New York Times

 

[Orchidflower]

Pizza-making is sort of a hobby this year for me, but I find Boboli and frozen dough by, say, Pillsbury disgusting. **Don't try the Jiffy box brand either (which makes wonderful cornbread) unless you want to make it for shoe leather.

Nope, I found that a cheap $.40 or so bag by Walmart is okay if you don't do homemade. Decent pizza dough that spreads well on a 12" circular pizza pan thinly.
Sargento Mozzarella smoked flavor or mixed with Provolone is best (Sargento is best in general to me).
Contadina brand pizza sauce 4-cheese or regular is best. The other brands were too tart, but Contadina, for us, seems to hit it right on.
And then just put anything I want on it like tomatoes, sweet onions diced or red onions diced, 8 0z. cans of sliced mushrooms from Walmart are like $1 or so and great, etc. etc.
Sometimes we put the sauce, then the cheese, then the toppings and then more cheese...and, if you use about a package and a half of Sargento's (ok, 12 ounces or so) you get a wonderfully rich pizza topping...fattening...but just delicious.
We've gotten so that we prefer to make our own instead of buying as they are so much better, but to each his own.
And, thanks, for the pizza dough recipe, PsychoticChemist, as I'll try it, also.
I have heard there is a good site for pizza dough called: splendid table.org. Haven't tried it yet, tho.

 

[dex]

Definitely agree it is a lot of work, I found it to be a fun joint cooking project though. I assumed that calories were less than pre bought pizza, but you Dex maybe right. Although, things that I put on like tomatoes, garlic, onions, mushrooms, and turkey sausages don't have a ton of calories.

Check out the calories in the dough itself - it is pretty high - and when you consider how much you eat of it, it gets up there.

I agree that the fire oven baked pizzas are the best and the calories probably not too bad if you go with a thin crust and simple sauce and a little cheese.

Some frozen pizzas are good it you cook them properly - Digiorgo thin crust spinach and mushrooms - about 1250 cal for 23oz

Of the deliveries - Poppa John's has a good dough. I go to the store and ask for it well done - crispy - light on the cheese, heavy on the sauce. If you don't ask for it well done; you get something that is too soft and limp. I stopped eating it - too many calories 300/slice or about 1800/14"
Calories in Papa John's - Original Crust Pizza with Cheese

 

[Purron]

DH and I really like Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough. I'm gonna try T-Al's recipe sometime too. Pizza is simply one of our favorite foods! I love the leftovers for breakfast the next morning too.

 

[haha]

Check out the calories in the dough itself - it is pretty high - and when you consider how much you eat of it, it gets up there./quote]

The Weight Loss Industry Council funded the development of pizza. By far the easiest and most pleasant way to get fat is to eat pizza.

Ha

 

[freebird5825]

well, not exactly. banana splits with ALL the works is almost as great as PIZZA. i'll let ya know after i make my next batch of homemade vanilla ice cream. LOL
if you're on a diet, unsusbscribe from this thread ASAP.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I think I outdid pizza as a weight gainer when we went out for lunch yesterday. I had shrimp wrapped in bacon, a chili relleno, one beef and one chicken taco, both in freshly deep fried crispy shells just dripping with fat, refried beans and rice.

I didnt exactly make up for it today either. A big bowl of vietnamese Pho just jammed full of thinly sliced, extremely fatty well done brisket. But there were plenty of sliced jalapenos and sriracha to compensate.

 

[freebird5825]

chile rellenos! how i miss those little succulents. there is no real tex mex in my area. waaaaaahhhh!
i have to make it myself.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Eh, this one wasnt the best I've had. I actually had a great one at Chevy's last month. I got my combo plate and noticed about halfway through eating that they forgot the chili relleno and notified the waitress. A few minutes later she came out with one that was about the size of my head. One of the biggest poblano's I've ever seen.

My favorite version is the "en nogata" non deep fried relleno thats stuffed with apples, raisins, seasoned ground potatoes and beef, baked and has a walnut cream sauce with pomegranate seeds sprinkled over it.

Chile en Nogada - Chiles in Walnut Sauce

It sounds way more complicated than it is.

 

[HFWR]

Back in the goodle days, we used to frequent Eduardo's, an Italian place, run by Eduardo, of all people, for lunch away from Megaconglomocorp. The food was excellent [-]as was Eduardo's daughter[/-], especially the strombolis. So, this pizza thread, along with the homemade bread thread, got me hankerin'...

This is my lunch for the next four days. I labored for [-]hours[/-] seconds opening the cans of dough, but otherwise, the filling is ground beef with sauted onions, green bell peppers, yellow squash, minced garlic, and fennel seed. Smear on a dab of sauce, spoon in the filling, top with parmesan, fold, spindle, and mutilate, then bake for about 18 minutes in a 400F oven.

 

[Finance Dave]

We have a Papa Murphy's pizza. You call it in, they make it, you pick it up, but they don't bake it for you. YOu take it home and bake it yourself within a few hours or the yeast doesn't work well.

We usually order with extra sauce, mushrooms, and banana peppers. We sprinkle on some basil and oregano at home for a good taste.

Yummy.

 

[bright eyed]

i tried the premade dough from trader joes but got a thick, dense crust that was not good.

anyone put the dough into your cast iron to cook it pan style? i think i saw on tv, but haven't tried it.

You can have an excellent pizza-ish meal for one by using the frozen naan from trader joe's - i use it for everything! the kids eat it with cheese, popped in the toaster oven and it's like fresh pizza. i make flat bread sandwiches with all kinds of toppings, today was tuna with olive tapenade, topped with cheese - into the toaster oven and it was melty and chewy!

 

[TromboneAl]

That looks great, HaveFunds. I'll have to try that.

Here's my latest pizza. Note pan. Made with sauteed onions, raw onions, sun-dried tomatoes, farmer's market tomatoes, Kalamata olives, green olives, mozzeralla and cheddar cheese, olive oil, Ragu spaghetti sauce.

 

[omni550]

That looks great, HaveFunds. I'll have to try that.

Here's my latest pizza. Note pan. Made with sauteed onions, raw onions, sun-dried tomatoes, farmer's market tomatoes, Kalamata olives, green olives, mozzeralla and cheddar cheese, olive oil, Ragu spaghetti sauce.

Mmmmmm...that looks goooood.

Where did you get the pan? I"ve looked around here for one like that and haven't found one yet.

omni

 

[Midpack]

That looks great, HaveFunds. I'll have to try that.

Here's my latest pizza. Note pan. Made with sauteed onions, raw onions, sun-dried tomatoes, farmer's market tomatoes, Kalamata olives, green olives, mozzeralla and cheddar cheese, olive oil, Ragu spaghetti sauce.

I don't think it's possible to duplicate a true thin crust Neopolitan in a home oven, but that looks mighty tasty...

 

[HFWR]

Good lookin' pie there Al!

 

[TromboneAl]

Where did you get the pan?

I don't remember, sorry. But it does seem to make the pizza dramatically better.

 

[jimnjana]

Try getting pizza dough from your local pizza shop. Not sure if the big chains sell it, but we get it from our local pizza cafe. 4 bucks for enough dough for two medium size pizzas.

Jim