The perfect PIZZA! (Cooking tips)

[MisterLove]

its also how you cook the PIZZA!

I like using a pizza stone. http://www.belk.com/AST/Main/Belk_Primar...7AodOXgAUw

i love pizza!!!

Same question, Baby: why do you prefer the pizza stone?

[MisterLove]

I love a pesto base sauce with sausage and mushrooms and olives for toppings...

Good tip on the dough.....definitely will try the garlic next time

I just bought some pesto sauce (not sure if it's right for pizza, though) and sausages.

I sure hope this works or I will kick your pretty ass.

[ck86]

I never tried one.

I always use a non-stick pizza baking pan that has holes in the bottom, so that the pizza is evenly cooked. And because it is non-stick, it's always extremely easy to remove the pizza.

What's the difference between a baking pan and a pizza stone?

The pan with the holes work pretty well. But the hot stone means that dough cooks faster so it gives a crisper finish to the outside yet with a slightly chewy texture if you get what I mean (now my mind has wandered over to chewy and crispy cookies)....

[MisterLove]

Ok bitches, you really have to try this one.

The magic word: RICOTA.

Ricota cheese and pizza are a match made in heaven. Instead of your regular pizza sauce, you can just spread ricota.

I just tried this combination and it was wonderful: ricota + bacon, artichokes and black olives. Simple and brilliant!

[Hardheaded1]

OK, several things.
[MENTION=21440]StingRay[/MENTION]
Your bit about frozen bread loaf dough rolled out is dead on. I have a friend's recipe for Stromboli, and it likewise uses the frozen dough, except it is not for pizza. After rolling it in to a rectangle, you paint it with olive oil, dust it with some Good Seasons or Hidden Valley dry Italian dressing mix (think garlic, sale, herbs), and then line it with meat (pastrami, or ham, or Canadian bacon, or pepperoni, or hamburger, or sausage), cheese of your choice, peppers, onions, whatever, and then seal it by folding it over.

Oh, I forgot. You're only lining half the top with ingredients so you can fold it over. Crimp the edges, paint the top with olive oil, dust a little more herbs, and bake in a hot oven. SOOOOO good.
[MENTION=18428]MisterLove[/MENTION]
I like your OP, but it waxes closer to focaccia, not that it is a problem. Yum!

Great thread.

[StingRay]

I forgot to say I even do them bigger on the smoker/grill. They turn out better than in the oven since I can get the heat up higher and the air circulates. It takes 8 minutes for each that way and the thin crust is perfect everytime.

[Hardheaded1]

[MENTION=21440]StingRay[/MENTION]

That is an excellent comment. I have seen pizza cooked on the grill before on cooking shows, and wasn't sure it was good, so your endorsement means a lot.

For those of you with a cautious hand or some timidity at using grills, do not think meat as you approach this, as you'll be tempted to not have the grill hot enough. Think brick oven and the intense heat that makes pizza work so well in those pizzerias and remember to watch it like a broiler, as thin is not very forgiving. It's worth your close attention.

[LJay]

Has anybody tried adding thermal mass to the oven, like bricks, tiles, or a baking steel? I just read an article on Slate about oven roasting vegetables and it has me thinking about oven heat in general. Also, connected to nothing in particular, I am wondering what it is like to use an Aga.

[StingRay]

[MENTION=21440]StingRay[/MENTION]

That is an excellent comment. I have seen pizza cooked on the grill before on cooking shows, and wasn't sure it was good, so your endorsement means a lot.

For those of you with a cautious hand or some timidity at using grills, do not think meat as you approach this, as you'll be tempted to not have the grill hot enough. Think brick oven and the intense heat that makes pizza work so well in those pizzerias and remember to watch it like a broiler, as thin is not very forgiving. It's worth your close attention.

I should have told you my smoker grill has a fire box off to on side so none of the food in it is over flames. See the picture below. Below the grill for the food is a rack made of rebar to hold rocks that hold the heat for hours once they've been heated. To do pizzas I heat it up an hour before putting one in. Most of the other meats I cook I do pretty much the same way except at lower heat. Cooking this way doesn't use all that much wood since the rocks hold the heat. And theres no sense in setting up to do just a few steaks or burgers when you can throw on two or three other things to smoke at the same time. Its a real good way to be able to cook big meals without a lot of trouble or mess. Any fat that drips on the rocks is turned into instant smoke. To clean out the fire box when its full of ashes I spray them with water to keep them from flying in the wind and save them for neighbors to use in their gardens.

[Hardheaded1]

That is indeed the quintessential smoker. I have seen many back in Arkansas where I was raised.

Thanks for clarifying for those lurkers reading this good how-to.