Let's talk about pizza

[bassie]

DOR said:For me, it's always in the sauce. I can go so many ways with toppings, but if the sauce ain't great. Not bothering with it.







Yup. I'm not a fan of a loaded pizza either. Definitely a fan of less-is-more pizza - let that thing breathe!





Suace-free is righteous as well:





Brush the dough with garlic olive oil, cover with thin tomato or eggplant slices and in the oven - grate with Parmesan and top with fresh arugula before serving.





Tapenade base and in the oven - once out, top with Italian tuna, drizzle with


olive oil and lemon juice, chopped parsley.





Brush with olive oil, garlic, anchovy paste mixture, top with rapini and artichoke hearts and into the oven

 

[DJ_Enki]

LaserWolf said:Our pizza stones have changed our lives.







I kinda chuckled when my wife put one on our wedding registry. But somebody bought it for us, and we started using it, and man, do I love that thing.





b/w





California pizza is lousy. Don't believe anybody who says otherwise.

 

[maru]

Me and my family make pizzas at home nearly every week. We live close to a pizza place called the cheeseboard which makes amazing vegetarian pizzas and we often try to replicate them with pretty good results. They change their pizza every day. You can check them out here: http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/pizza





One of my favorite things is to put fresh arugula and shaved Parmesan tossed with lemon vinaigrette on top of the cooked pizza. Usually I do a mushroom trio pizza when I do this but prosciutto is also a good combo. Kale, chard with lemon zest on top is also good. You can add some sausage if you need meat.





So many delicious options.

 

[DOR]

Frank saidOR said:Fresh mozzarella




You know that the stuff made from processed cows milk that's being sold as "mozzarella" in the US has more in common with silicone rubber than with mozzarella, right? If it's not made from water buffalo milk it's not real mozzarella.




No worries. My city has a really prominent Italian population which doesn't let things pass half assed. Even the giant chain supermarket in my hood takes their cheese pretty serious. Everything from their Mozzarella di Bufala to the cheaper Fior di latte.





Even our chain Italian restaurants import their tomatoes from the Campania region and their flour is Caputo 00.





And I wouldn't put too much into Fior di latte (Cow's milk). That shit is used all over Italy as well. It's not just a North American thing.





But yes. Any place worth it will use buffalo milk.

 

[sneakyp]

- Speck is awesome on pizza





- So is thinly sliced fresh hot chili peppers





- Pizza stone is necessary for making at home





- Frank Pepe's in New Haven makes great pizza. The white clam is good, but the sausage and oven roasted red pepper sets the bar.

 

[Frank]

DOR said:Frank saidOR said:Fresh mozzarella




You know that the stuff made from processed cows milk that's being sold as "mozzarella" in the US has more in common with silicone rubber than with mozzarella, right? If it's not made from water buffalo milk it's not real mozzarella.




No worries. My city has a really prominent Italian population which doesn't let things pass half assed. Even the giant chain supermarket in my hood takes their cheese pretty serious. Everything from their Mozzarella di Bufala to the cheaper Fior di latte.





Even our chain Italian restaurants import their tomatoes from the Campania region and their flour is Caputo 00.





And I wouldn't put too much into Fior di latte (Cow's milk). That shit is used all over Italy as well. It's not just a North American thing.





But yes. Any place worth it will use buffalo milk.




Cow's milk mozzarella can be ok on a sandwich but on pizza it's kindof nasty. And yes, a lot of the mozzarella sold in Italy and most of what's sold in the rest of Europe is cow's milk as well. In Guinea there was a crazy French lady who made camembert out of milk powder... ehhh...

 

[acclimation]

i worked at a pizza place for years... I would get so bored with all the stuff we would make there so I would make my own pies and jazz them up. I highly recommend prosciutto, cream cheese and peperoncini peppers, it sounds weird but it great. My personal favorite though is a garlic oil base with mozz cheese, tomatoes, feta, basil, red onions, chicken marinated in red wine vin. and if you're daring toss some bacon on that shit.


Damn i'm hungry now.

 

[Jonny_Paycheck]

Damn, you guys fancy. I make one every week, it's a great vehicle to get vegetables in the mouth of the youngster. I keep it kinda orthodox tho...





Spinach w red onions + feta


sausage (crumbled, not sliced) and olives (kalamata)


Spinach, onions + prosciutto (did this last two weeks)


I've tried mushrooms with good effect, kale less so.


With a real simple basic margherita if you don't have fresh basil, I've used parsley to good effect.





One time I used (organic, no additives) shredded mozz instead of the fresh handspan stuff I normally get and it melted real weird, lots of oil and stuff. And this was the healthy brand. So I don't use pre-shredded if I can help it.





I use store-bought dough (cause ain't nobody got time for that) but good local stuff, I find the key is to get it all the way to room temp, pull and pull and pull again, roll flat and bunch at the edge, then a good amount of salt, pepper, olive oil, crushed garlic, and Parmesan direct on the crust and let it sit awhile before dressing it. Bomb





Pizza stone is crucial. I use cornmeal and parchment paper too. No sticking issues

 

[Nabozo]

- Arugula and parma ham (with parmesan)


- 4 seasons (4 sides: artichoke, ham, pepperoni, ham)


- vegetariana (eggplant, zucchini, pepperoni, garlic, whatever)


- margherita (good mozzarella, maybe fresh tomato and basil)


- onion, black olives, mozzarella


- sausage, chili


- gorgonzola, mushroom, capers, anything


- this essentially goes on forever

 

[Electrode]

The stone is a must. Even though I'm an Italophile, I haven't eaten much pizza lately with the exception of a local Big Mama's & Papas (I read that the place got a lot of product placement during the recent Oscars, which means it's creme de la creme, I guess) a couple of years ago while witnessing a team eating competition. One of those guys made Guinness, supposedly.

 

[batmon]

Do yall home ovens get above 500?

 

[Jonny_Paycheck]

I go to 500 but that's it. Works fine enough for me.





You could use the broiler, or I've heard of people using "self-clean" but that scares me.

 

[day]

Jonny_Paycheck said:


I've heard of people using "self-clean" but that scares me.




That's been the main reason I haven't tried this at home. Is a pizza stone really all it takes?





I've been lurking here for the last year. Mostly people making em at home http://www.reddit.com/r/Pizza





This thread is making me wanna go out and buy a stone not now but right now.

 

[Jimster]

2 words:





Goats Cheese.





Perchance a little piquant for some palates, but Pizza Express do a great one.

Padana Leggera





Goats cheese, spinach, red & caramelised onions, garlic oil

Tell me what you fancy from here:





http://www.pizzaexpress.com/our-food/our-restaurant-menu/mains/

 

[dukeofdelridge]

"Let's talk about pizza" is a hott opener.

 

[willie_fugal]

day said:





I've been lurking here for the last year. Mostly people making em at home http://www.reddit.com/r/Pizza










PIZZA FRIES?!?

 

[LaserWolf]

Again, I love our stones. They live in the oven, if I'm going to warm some pita, or reheat some cornbread, I just throw it on the stone.





Cooks Illustrated (America's Test Kitchen) recommends pre-heating stones for an hour. An hour! I never do that.





Our oven will go over 500o, but it freaks Nancy out. If I am not there to lobby for 500o it gets done at 450o. But still good.





Like Jonny said, there are lots of fancy schmanzy recipes here. All good I am sure.


But just using what ever is fresh, or what ever is on hand will also make a good pizza.





We do the dough in the bread machine for ease.

 

[tripledouble]

use ciliegine (the lil balls) of mozzarella so that it melts and spreads but doesnt burn and dry out on the pie

 

[bassie]

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[bassie]

Smoked scarmoza is my absolute favourite pizza cheese