My previous attempts at homemade pizza dough didn't turn out good at all. The bottom was never crispy enough, and the toppings made the top soggy. Boboli was a reasonable alternative, but it's not real pizza. So i was on the lookout for a better way.
Here's what came out of the oven tonight.
The secret is the pizza stone. i can't emphasize enough how essential this kitchen item is. Stick it in the oven first and preheat that bastard up to 500°, then sprinkle some cornmeal on it and slide the pizza on top. Then turn the heat down to 425° and cook for 18 minutes.
That's mozarella, sun-dried tomato, pepperoni, mushroom, pineapple and crushed red pepper.
1
I haven't eaten anything (or anyone) all day. Now I'm hungry.
Great pizza, A.
Kevin
Posted by: Kevin Kim at May 08, 2005 01:34 AM (1PcL3)
2
A moment on the lips; forever on the hips.
Posted by: shelly at May 08, 2005 04:03 AM (pO1tP)
3
I made calzones last night. My first attempt a couple of weeks ago were too thick with the dough, but last night they were very very good.
Posted by: Ted at May 08, 2005 06:09 AM (+OVgL)
4
Mmmmmm...fantastico.
With one exception: you Californians and your taste for pineapple on pizza, which CPK spread to the rest of the country, is one thing I will NEVER understand.
Posted by: Dave J at May 08, 2005 06:43 AM (CYpG7)
5
looks sooo good, I'am a cajun and i was wondering if anyone of you ever taseted a crawfish, shrimp, and andouille sausage pizza? Its great.
Posted by: Kyle at May 08, 2005 07:25 AM (7Re84)
6
Ahhhh, beautiful! Subtract the crushed red pepper and add jalapeños and that's my standard pie and a vision of pizza perfection. Pizza stones are indeed the way to go -- I own two so I don't have to split my dough recipe. I also do a whole wheat crust and a cornmeal crust, which adds a really nice crunch when you want it. Do you go sauceless, or have you found a good sauce? That's the one thing I still haven't found a satisfactory recipe for that doesn't take all day to make. What's your solution?
Posted by: Todd at May 08, 2005 07:34 AM (rywVr)
7
God knows, there is the satisfaction of creation, but isn't there someone within delivery distance who can do this at a reasonable economy of scale?
Kyle, if we could get andouille in California, we'd be eating gumbo.
Finally, a suggestion, Annie, why don't you get together with Todd? You both seem to be channeling your sexual frustrations into food. Me? I've been cleaning house all weekend.
Posted by: Casca at May 08, 2005 08:11 AM (qBTBH)
8
Try making the dough in a bread machine, it comes out great. ;-)
Posted by: JD at May 08, 2005 08:25 AM (J+Gcr)
9
I'm glad I ate before I saw those pictures. I'd have to make a pizza right away otherwise, and it looks like I'm better off waitng until I get my own pizza stone. Thanks for posting the results, you've convinced me that I need one.
Posted by: Trevor at May 08, 2005 09:16 AM (COhUH)
10
I'm still trying to figure out how I got through law school without even one pizza stone.
Clearly it is about to become a standard utensil for entering first year law students.
Posted by: shelly at May 09, 2005 05:56 AM (pO1tP)
11
"Perfetto"
Pineapple on pizza?
Posted by: Mark at May 09, 2005 01:35 PM (Vg0tt)
12
Yeah, what Kyle said. You can keep your pineapple. Load that thing up with crawfish and shrimp. Now THAT's a pizza. Dang. Now I'm hungry for Pizza Shak... Opelousas, Louisiana. Where it's at.
Of course, now that I live in New York, it's my duty to make some sort of assinine comment about Chicago pizza not being the real thing and California pizza being ... well, kind of like a kindergarten kid's drawing.
But I won't do that. Pie is pie. We can like them all, right?
Posted by: ken at May 09, 2005 01:57 PM (xD5ND)
13
mmmmm. I have yet to get a stone, myself, and I've been meaning to for years! The best I've come up with is baking the pizza on a flat metal sheet for about 5 minutes until it's firm enough to be slid directly on the rack for the next 5-10 minutes at 475-500 degrees. It's not bad, but it's not great either.
And my usual toppings are pepperoni (the 1 1/2 inch diameter ones, not the big flat pre-sliced jobbers) and sliced cherry peppers. Yowsah!
Posted by: Tuning Spork at May 09, 2005 06:42 PM (GLq2P)
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Todd, how's about sharing your crust recipe? I make mine in the bread machine, and I'm interested in the cornmeal version.
Posted by: Ted at May 10, 2005 03:40 AM (blNMI)
15
I've got one of those stones too, and I love it dearly, but holy cow is that ever a good looking pie. Better than anything I've made I think.
I've had a version of the above-described Cajun pie. There's a chain out here (in NC) that makes it. "The Original Italian Pie" is the name of the place. It was pretty good, but I think there is more potential in those toppings than was captured by the one I've had.
Posted by: Christiana Ellis at May 10, 2005 05:36 AM (vHnJp)
16
Wow. That pizza looks awesome. And now I think I need a pizza stone immediately.
(For the record, pineapple has been one of my favorite pizza toppings ever since I was a kid growing up in Colorado. Yum. I actually had some last night.)
Posted by: lorie at May 10, 2005 06:17 AM (PPPwU)
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Three years in New Orleans (just sooooooo conducive to serious law school study, of course), so definitely add my endorsement to cajun pizza. And to the hilarious genius of Louisiana English: e.g., everywhere else in the world it's marinara sauce, but there it's "red gravy."
Posted by: Dave J at May 10, 2005 08:09 AM (kLLbt)
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I remember when my friend Sid came back from college in Ohio. He couldn't stop ranting about the weird toppings out there. Ham, tuna, candy corn, you name it.
Posted by: Tuning Spork at May 10, 2005 09:04 PM (5Q/QD)
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