Making Pizza at Home/Homemade Pizza

[beans]

Okay. There has been much about that flatbread creation on eG. White pizza. Red sauce. Stones. Crust. (did I miss an important sub-component topic?)

Somehow combining, but keeping all of the above sort of aside, what do you make at home? Traditional? Adventurous?

I'm sort of starting this as possibly as a longer time line of sorts with "blogs." My family is trying to operate a small pizza joint, successfully, that does more. Choosy about the dough, sauce recipe, cheeses, etc. They've been at it since the end of January and have learned much. I am in awe of my father's instant understanding of how bread bakes and how to create the optimal crisp, chewiness and toppings for a good pie.

Today, I learned of a new, interesting combo -- the chardonnay/shallot/butter sauce with thin fennel, yellow squash and zucchini slices topped with feshly cracked pepper and additional minced shallot. The cheese for this is brie, rind on. Wow. I honestly didn't think this would work, but it was actually a customer request that is gaining popularity. We had a small for lunch and it was quite delicious.

Any one else with some pizza experimentation with good or bad results?

[GordonCooks]

I do mostly traditional but the weirdest combos ever to come from “my” pizza stone are

Sushi pizza – cover dough with combo of butter, wasabi, soy, sesame oil, and cover with seared tuna slices after cooking

Moo-Shu pizza – cover with soy, butter, sesame oil, hoisin, Chinese cabbage, bamboo shoots and scrambled egg – cover with cooked pork or chicken

Chicken wing pie – cooked thigh meat over mozz, some crumbled maytag blue, and a drizzle of wing sauce – a late night fave!

Arugala, pancetta, and buffalo milk mozz, Gourmet mushroom pies with capicola, Bolognese pie, etc

My normal marguerite is getting a drizzle of aged balsamic and a mound of micro-greens at the end.

PS – I’m not discussing my Chicago style Thanksgiving pie – a highly lauded creation which I will never admit to making.

[phaelon56]

MYy toppings that stray from traditional are hardly earth shattering but have generally been very good. Thsese include:

• Caramelized onions
  
• Thin sliced cured chorizo (sauteed and blotted first to reduce oil)
  
• Sprinkling of asiago, fontina or other pronounced flavor cheeses
  
• Roasted red peppers
  
• Sprinkling of dried herbes de Provence instead of dried Italian herb mix
  

I find that going light on sauce, easing up on the mozzarella and adding a bit of the aformentioned other cheeses mkaes for a lighter pizza that stays in the traditional vein but is more flavorful.

One of the best non-traditional pizza I've ever had was at Fez under Time Cafe in NY. It's a bar food menu (Fez is a music club) and the crust was only fair but the flavor combination was startlingly good.

Sauteed red onion, sauteed maple smoked bacon chunks, walnuts, sliced tart green apples and gorgonzola cheese. I was a bit skeptical but it was lisated as the "signature pizza" on their menu and for justifiable reasons.

[beans]

PS – I’m not discussing my Chicago style Thanksgiving pie – a highly lauded creation which I will never admit to making.

[rcaffelle]

Last weekend I grilled pizzas using the (grilled) dough recipe from Reinhart's American Pie.

Topping was spanish rice, black beans, cheddar cheese, and shredded chicken breast which had been mixed with Frank's Red Hot. A drizzling of sour cream finished it off. This weekend I will be again grilling the pizzas (I oven bake only in cool months). For toppings this weekend I've got a sliced potato, rosemary, crumbled bacon with a cheese to be determined for one pie, and CPK's hoisin chicken (basically) for the other. Pizza is so far and away my favorite dish there really isn't a second place. Think of Secretariat 30 years ago at the Belmont.

rich

Edited June 18, 2004 by rcaffelle (log)

[NulloModo]

I was once inspired by a late night TMNT marathon into trying out the ultimate blend of sweet and savory in the form of a pizza: The Marshmallow Pie.

Take a standard issue crust, red sauce, mozerella cheese pizza, cook it almost all the way, and empty a bag of marshmallows on top then toss it back in until they brown and get all gooey.

It sounds dreadful, but tastes wonderful, everyone who was with me absolutely loved it.

[dano1]

this brings back some pizza slangin memories ;). usually a look at the walkin starts me off on a tangent. Pizza bianco are something a lot of folks don't see; top with dressed arugula, shaved reggiano, truffle oil, prociutto, etc.. I've topped pizza with duck, salmon(smoked and fresh), shredded beef or pork, chicken, shrimp, lobster and so on. Various cheeses give you an artisanal quality-brie you mentioned, goat, feta(not melting but will give you a hit when you bite into it), asiago, bleu. Any type of roast or grilled veg will appeal to the vegetarian crowd-squash blossoms would be interesting.

another twist is to work your dough into a flatbread and grill or bake until just set but pliable. Use for wraps or rolloups-probably sell well in the atkins era now. Calzones are always a classic.

Just about anything goes-of course it may not appeal to traditionalists but if it sells, becomes a signature dish, etc then thats what counts at the bottom line.

hth, danny

[Episure]

I've done shredded Tandoori Chicken and Chicken Tikkas. Topped with mozzarella cheese of course.

[Bicycle Lee]

I was once inspired by a late night TMNT marathon into trying out the ultimate blend of sweet and savory in the form of a pizza: The Marshmallow Pie.

Take a standard issue crust, red sauce, mozerella cheese pizza, cook it almost all the way, and empty a bag of marshmallows on top then toss it back in until they brown and get all gooey.

It sounds dreadful, but tastes wonderful, everyone who was with me absolutely loved it.

sounds like one of those nights where it's just you and the bong.

I'm not dissing you...cuz I've been there...

[phaelon56]

I just had lunch with a coworker who described some "Buffalo Wing Pizza" that he tried last week - insists that it's great.

Brush the pizza crust with the hot sauce/butter mixture and then spread small chunks of sauteed, roasted or grilled chicken on top. Add cheese, bake and serve. I think it might actually taste good with a light sprinkling of gorgonzola or bleu cheese instead of mozzarella but I have yet to try it.

[NulloModo]

I just had lunch with a coworker who described some "Buffalo Wing Pizza" that he tried last week - insists that it's great.

Brush the pizza crust with the hot sauce/butter mixture and then spread small chunks of sauteed, roasted or grilled chicken on top. Add cheese, bake and serve. I think it might actually taste good with a light sprinkling of gorgonzola or bleu cheese instead of mozzarella but I have yet to try it.

It does. This was one of the most popular pizzas on campus while I went to the U of D.

[chefdg]

I'm surprised there are not more responses to this thread.

Grilled pizza is the best, try spreading the dough with pesto (after it has been lightly grilled on each side) and top it with fresh slices of tomato, cheese (sharp) grilled peppers (roasted on the grill, peeled and seeded, sliced) and grilled onions (what ever is in season) and topped with more cheese (rich). The credit for this excellent creation goes to a chef I worked for in Cruso N.C.

[JAZ]

At the risk of sounding boring, I have to say that almost all the "fusion pizza" ideas leave me cold. I've tried a couple styles of California Pizza Kitchen pizzas (Thai chicken and something else I've chosen to forget), and both tasted wrong to me. I guess my feeling is that if you want Buffalo wings (or tandoori chicken, or sushi) eat Buffalo wings (or tandoori, or sushi).

The marshmallow thing makes my teeth ache just thinking about it.

[rcaffelle]

I find the "fusion pizzas" are better served by the grilled pizza. Sure, if I want pepperoni or mushroom pizza and lots of cheese, in the oven on a stone gives me the result I'm looking for. When I'm grilling pizzas I feel much more inspired to build a meal on this wonderful grilled flatbread. It doesn't seem like sausage and mozzarella is the best approach to grilled flatbread for me.

rich

[beans]

I've tried a couple styles of California Pizza Kitchen pizzas (Thai chicken and something else I've chosen to forget), and both tasted wrong to me.

I *love* the CPK Thai Chicken pizza. I made it a couple weeks ago from their cookbook. I baked up two of them and gave the one to our favourite exotic spice/seasoning/sauces vendor at Westside Market and it has been a regular standing weekly order from her.

[sassybat]

there's a pizza chain here in san diego called pat & oscar's that have a couple good pizzas. my favorite is the "san diego" pizza, with feta, red onion, avocado, and pesto.

[LaurieB]

Beans,

Where's your folks place? I'd love to try it.

Laurie

[DutchMuse]

What's the BEST way to cook pizza at home? I have a pan from Williams-Sonoma that has holes in the bottom, and a friend (who made an amazing pizza) recommended putting it in an UNHEATED oven in the bottom, then heating the oven. But...better/other recommendations for pizza at home? I want to make a great pizza.

[NulloModo]

From my understanding, the best pizza comes from a pizza stone, pizza directly on the stone, and a blazingly irresponsibly hot oven.

[EdS]

What's the BEST way to cook pizza at home? I have a pan from Williams-Sonoma that has holes in the bottom, and a friend (who made an amazing pizza) recommended putting it in an UNHEATED oven in the bottom, then heating the oven. But...better/other recommendations for pizza at home? I want to make a great pizza.

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You might enjoy this thread.

[daves]

Agree with NulloModo: on a stone in a very hot oven. Too hot to responsibly do it indoors. I know someone who build one of these in his backyard.

I didn't go that far, but I do make pizza and bread in my kamado bbq. I use a double layer stone to keep the top one at ambient instead of fire temperature. I run up the temp to 750 or so with oak lump, and let the heat soak through the ceramic. I then run a damp cloth over the top stone to cool it a bit before sliding the pizza onto it. Minutes later the pizza is done.

We've done bread, pita, and lots of pizza like this.

[Daniel]

The pizza dough i make is made with semolina and all purpose flour. My question is has anyone tried the pizza dough recipe on todd english's web site.. I saw him make it on Martha Stewart not too long ago and it looked excellent.

[rlibkind]

You can get a good backyard gas grill up to 600 degrees.

[chefdg]

DiGerano.

[scott123]

It all depends on what you define as great pizza. Great pizza comes in a myriad number of forms and everyone has their favorite. I could write a book on New York Style Vulcan oven pizza, but if that doesn't float your boat, I'd be wasting my time.

Describe your favorite pizza and we'll go from there.