12 hours ago, Chris Hennes said:First, obviously the size is a problem. I think the whole pies are around 20", so the center-to-crust ratio is basically just unachievable in a home oven.
This is a very astute observation. It's why, when it was first released, my heart sank when I heard about the 14"x16" dimension of the Baking Steel, and it's why my heart still sinks when I hear about folks purchasing steels that size today. When it comes to pizza, size absolutely matters. This is why I always tell folks to source the largest square steel (or aluminum) plates that their oven can handle- touching the back wall and almost touching the front door. If someone has a lip on the back of shelf that robs some space, I tell them to source square tubing to lift the plate above the lip. Every fraction of an inch matters.
I can't tell you how many people I've dealt with who are skeptical about their ovens being able to accommodate 17" plates, only to eventually figure out that they just barely fit. At least domestic ovens. European ovens are an entirely different story.
A 17" NY pie isn't a 21" pie, but, it's still very respectable. Beyond stepping up to a larger plate, you can also get a bit creative in the way you slice the pie:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Pizza/comments/g5rlwo/i_call_it_the_dad_slice_happens_on_the_last_pie/
12 hours ago, Chris Hennes said:That said, my house smells frigging fantastic right now, because I've got that NY-style sauce on the stove, and it's awesome.
NY style sauce is never cooked. It dulls the bright fresh flavor of the canned tomatoes. Cooked sauce is occasionally a thing in NY (Lucali and L&B are two examples), but never at NY style pizzerias, so if Joe's is your target, you may want to consider using the tomatoes straight from the can.
