If you're traveling to New York and you check yelp.com for suggestions of activities in which to participate while you're here, the number 1 tour they suggest you take is Scott's Pizza Tour, led by Pizza Enthusiast, Scott Wiener. Along with knowing all the important pizza landmarks and best places in the city to get a slice, Scott knows just about everything about the art of pizza production, and I honest to God mean EVERYTHING!
Watch Scott in the video below and you'll understand why we had to have him on the show. He's truly hilarious and a wealth of information. In today's episode, he teaches us how to turn our trusty rental oven into a brick oven pizza machine by recreating the effects of a $50 pizza stone for just $7!
We're so thankful to Scott for making pizza with us and we know all you pizza lovers will be too!
INGREDIENTS
-1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
-1 lb fresh mozzarella
-1 large bunch Basil
-Olive oil
-Parmesan cheese
Dough (adapted from www.pizzaschool.com):
-21 oz all purpose flour
-14.3 oz water
-0.5 oz salt
-0.25 oz yeast
***You need 14 unglazed ceramic tiles for this recipe
PROCEDURE
night before:
-Mix dough ingredients and let rest for 30 minutes. Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes, then place it in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a wash-cloth and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours. When done rising, split dough into 4 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and set in airtight container in refrigerator overnight. Remove 2 hours before baking.
day of:
-Rinse and dry tiles.
-Set top oven rack on top oven rung. Set bottom rack about 6 inches below. Place 6 tiles upside-down in the middle of the top rack - it'll form a big rectangle. Set 4 tiles on bottom rack so they form a square. On either side of the oven, place 2 tiles so they're at a diagonal facing inward. You've now made your pizza stone!
-Turn oven to 500 degrees and give it about an hour to get hot.
-Fill a bowl with tepid water and lightly wash Basil leaves. Blot them on a paper towel.
-Slice about 10 slices of Mozzarella very thin and blot them with a paper towel to get rid of moisture.
-flour the back of a plate or cookie sheet and use it as a base to stretch out your dough.
-Place cheese on dough then add a few spoonfuls of tomato. Grate a little Parmesan cheese on top.
-To move the pizza to the oven: slide the pizza into the oven on top of the 4 tiles on the bottom rack. Bake pizza about 15 minutes or until it's golden and bubbly.
-Garnish pizza with ripped up basil and olive oil.
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Also, coat the pan with olive oil and then dust with cornflour gives the crust more flavor and keeps it from sticking.
Plan 2. Turn on your bbq. Get it hot. make your dough. put dough on cornmealed or floured paddle.
Oil top of pizza, oil grill. Put oil side down dough on BBQ. Yes, right on the grate. Oil top side. Flip after a couple min. depending on bbq heat. You have to play with it. 2 more min. remove and load pizza. Put back on bbq to finish cooking. Enjoy.
Yes, it does work. Make the dough thin. Not too hot on the bbq. or it burns.
(i usually double this recipe)
get 3/4 cup warm and put in
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt or just salt
then sprinkle on a package of yeast... equals a tablespoon
let stand ten min... it gets all fluffy and foamy so you know it's working
then mix in 1 tablespoon of pure olive oil... then 2 cups flour.
mix, knead for 5 to 10 min
then let stand in fridge for 18 hours or so (in a covered bowl... preferable metal)... it rises. then you got delish pizza dough
time to make is really not that long and it's fun
then just make a pizza... not hard. sauce, cheese, sprinkle whatever on it and toppings... i don't do any tiles in oven.
i like to brush the crust with olive oil... and sprinkle sesame seeds on the crust as well.
it seems easy to me but i'm Italian... grew up with pizza... in fact it's my middle name :-)
Save time and buy dough from Trader Joe's for $1.49, sauce for $2.49, and low fat mozz.
Now throw on everything from your fridge or cabinets that can qualify as a topping: peppers, onions, olives, chicken, tortellinis, sliced roasted potatoes, anchovies, garlic, bbq sauce, basil, whatever your flavor. Viola. Pizza.
Make your own sauce too.. just buy a can of san marzano tomatoes, add some sea salt and a bit of thyme or rosemary to it.. keep it simple but delicious.
Why would you put low fat mozz on a pizza? You need to have more than just mozz on a pizza to give it some real depth of flavor to it.. like adding some Parm or even cheeses like Manchego or something that has a strong taste to it but works well with a neutral cheese like Mozz.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/09/hacker-free-neapolitan-pizza-for-a-home-kitchen-recipe.html