Making pizza

[An Officer]

I've never tried my own homemade pizza, I think I will sometime this week, you guys are making me salivate... I have to purchase a rolling pin first!

There's an Italian place nearby which whips out 12 inch pizzas of any kind for £4 (with my favourite thin Neapolitan style base), so going to the effort of buying the ingredients and making my own just isn't attractive by comparison. I used to get my pizza's from Pizza Express, but they are just not as good in quality and pricing. I'm finding it pays to stay away from the chains.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

I'll sometime make one with flat bread topped with BBQ sauce Chicken, Bacon, Mozzerella and a bit of cheddar cheeze

 

[Jadzia]

I've never tried my own homemade pizza, I think I will sometime this week, you guys are making me salivate... I have to purchase a rolling pin first!

You don't need a rolling pin. I never use mine with bread. The dough is quite elastic once kneaded, and it's easier just to flatten it out by stretching it by hand, and then tidy up the shape once it's on the baking sheet.

 

[An Officer]

I'm not sure if I'm dexterous enough for that. I would like it to roughly resemble a circle you see, and have a very thin base... could I really do that with my fingers? Perhaps you need to be experienced with bread-making for that... which I'm not, unfortunately!

 

[DanTheGrey]

Actually it's not that hard. For one thing working the dough with your hands is a great way of getting rid of some frustration I find that with the pan that I use, I put the dough in the centre and just spread out, spinning the pan a quarter turn and just keep pushing out until I've completed the initial push. Then I use my palms and fingers to 'even out' the layer of dough.

As for thick/thin crust, hard for me to comment since I'm a thick crust (have to be able to structurally support the toppings ) person. For thin, I'd just keep pushing from the center out to the edge.

Pizza dough is about the only 'bread' that I make.

 

[An Officer]

Ah, that seems clearer. I would probably cook the dough a little first, so that it stiffens just a tad, before putting the toppings on. I wouldn't expect cheese, olives, etc to need as much cooking... I would probably go for something simple first, like a Margherita with olives, fresh basil, and oregano. Gosh, I'm, so hungry again... I've already had 3 full meals.

 

[DanTheGrey]

You knead the dough until it's springy, but firm. I find that there's no need to cook it any more than the other ingredients. I just let it set in the pan for 5 or so minutes as I gather up the last of the ingredients/spices that I need.

For cooking time I usually just do 425F/215C for 15 - 17 minutes on the middle rack. Sometimes with a 1 minute on broil if the cheese hasn't begun to brown.

 

[An Officer]

^ You're making it sound so simple! I'll let you know how my attempt went.

 

[Jadzia]

First thing, water temperature for the mix should be warm-hot, but not steaming. What I do is mix 50% boiling, 50% cold tap water, and that's just right. If you measure out the water volume accurately as suggested on the mix, it usually is just right, but be cautious that you don't add too much water to the flour. The dough should be as soft as possible without being sticky. If it is sticky, roll the dough in a little more flour, but it will become less sticky as it is kneaded.

On getting it to rise, leave the dough in a bowel with a towel covering it so it doesn't get a dry crust on it. It should be left for 30-45 minutes ideally.

What I tend to do if I'm hungry and want it quick is to stick the dough in the microwave for 3 minutes on the lowest setting (keep warm) which warms it enough for quick rising in half the time. Just don't let it cook in there!

Then clean up the flour mess and prepare the ingredients for the topping while it's rising.

Good luck.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

I get PH but it's all crap imo.

Pizza hasn't been real pizza for me for the last 40 years. Nothing today imo, compares with the way pizza was made when I was a kid. It was just crust, sauce, cheese*, the option of pepperoni, with ice cold pitchers of soda and/or beer.

*The cheese would stretch a mile when you bit it. God I miss that.

No kidding. When I was young, the exotic alternate topping was "canadian bacon" and really far out people got anchovies.

Later when we was po' folk, we'd use the Chef Boyardee pizza mixes...had to doctor them up to feed five people.

I've made pizza dough from scratch. It was pretty good, but there's not enough hours in the day to take the time to make homemade pizza.

 

[An Officer]

First thing, water temperature for the mix should be warm-hot, but not steaming. What I do is mix 50% boiling, 50% cold tap water, and that's just right. If you measure out the water volume accurately as suggested on the mix, it usually is just right, but be cautious that you don't add too much water to the flour. The dough should be as soft as possible without being sticky. If it is sticky, roll the dough in a little more flour, but it will become less sticky as it is kneaded.

On getting it to rise, leave the dough in a bowel with a towel covering it so it doesn't get a dry crust on it. It should be left for 30-45 minutes ideally.

What I tend to do if I'm hungry and want it quick is to stick the dough in the microwave for 3 minutes on the lowest setting (keep warm) which warms it enough for quick rising in half the time. Just don't let it cook in there!

Then clean up the flour mess and prepare the ingredients for the topping while it's rising.

Good luck.

Kewl. Thanks!

 

[Samurai8472]

I discovered Tombstone's

This is why you fail.

Papa Johns or bust

I like the added sweet taste they put in

I first tasted pineapple pizza in Canada with surprise Canadian bacon when I was 8 and it was really good! Also breakfast pizza is good too.

Eggs, ham and chicken!

 

[M'Sharak]

I was waiting for someone to put an English spin on the toppings, but I never would have predicted baked beans as a topping.

They use haggis as a pizza topping in some parts of the UK (Scotland ). Personally such misuse of such a noble beastie as a haggis on something like a pizza is nothing short of sacrilege, but that's just me.