Homemade Pizzas

[EliSnow]

So, for Father's Day, I got a pizza stone that can be used on the grill or in my oven. One night I made a couple of pies with some stuff I bought at the local grocery store (i.e. pre-made pizza dough, pre-made pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, 2 meatballs, and an onion).

It was alright. The crust was okay, and the sauce was okay. Everything else was pretty good.

So I need to figure out a better option for the dough and the sauce. Any suggestions?

[angrymissy]

I have made it from scratch, and also with premade dough (from trader joes). It never tastes as delicious as from the pizzeria :( Must be their ovens.

[Judge Smails]

We have one of those too. We tried experimenting when we first got it and found that what came out tasting best was white pies. So now we only make white pies on it.

Try some shredded mozerella and ricotta cheese, fresh basil, thinnly sliced tomatoes and drizzle some olive oil on top. Delicious!

EDIT: Oh, I forgot. Sometimes my wife will go to our local pizzeria and buy some of their dough. I don't know how they make it but it really tastes better than the store stuff. I think they charge her like $2.00 for a ball of dough which will make one pie.

[mendyweiss]

A Few Years Ago, I Got Henry Hills' Wiseguy CookBook. He Has A Really good Pizza Dough From "Fat Larry" WHo Ever That Is !!. It's Real Easy To Make AndAlways A Big Hit At Home, Even Mendy Junior Loves It.

[TheMojoPin]

We have one of those too. We tried experimenting when we first got it and found that what came out tasting best was white pies. So now we only make white pies on it.

WHITE PIZZA POWER.

Pizza racist.

[EliSnow]

We have one of those too. We tried experimenting when we first got it and found that what came out tasting best was white pies. So now we only make white pies on it.

Try some shredded mozerella and ricotta cheese, fresh basil, thinnly sliced tomatoes and drizzle some olive oil on top. Delicious!

EDIT: Oh, I forgot. Sometimes my wife will go to our local pizzeria and buy some of their dough. I don't know how they make it but it really tastes better than the store stuff. I think they charge her like $2.00 for a ball of dough which will make one pie.

I'll try adding the olive oil; that sounds great.

One of the local places sells some dough, and other things. I'm hoping that has good crust and sauce.

Mostly, I really want to have good sauce. The sauce we had last time was the least tasty of the whole thing.

[jauble]

So, for Father's Day, I got a pizza stone that can be used on the grill or in my oven. One night I made a couple of pies with some stuff I bought at the local grocery store (i.e. pre-made pizza dough, pre-made pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, 2 meatballs, and an onion).

It was alright. The crust was okay, and the sauce was okay. Everything else was pretty good.

So I need to figure out a better option for the dough and the sauce. Any suggestions?

I'll see what I can get for you on the sauce.

[tileslinger]

Coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil add 3 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tbs crushed red pepper and one med onion minced. Turn on med heat and saute for about 2 min (dont let the garlic burn)

Add one 28 oz can "Tuttorosso Crushed Tomatoes", 5-6 shreaded basil and oragano leaves and one diced tomato (what ever kind).

Simmer on med for an hour untill it gets thicker (or 5-10 min if your in a hurry)

Double the recipe and put it on pasta, chicken parm or meatball subs the next day. Or just drink it.

[EliSnow]

I'll see what I can get for you on the sauce.

Thanks jauble.

Coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil add 3 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tbs crushed red pepper and one med onion minced. Turn on med heat and saute for about 2 min (dont let the garlic burn)

Add one 28 oz can "Tuttorosso Crushed Tomatoes", 5-6 shreaded basil and oragano leaves and one diced tomato (what ever kind).

Simmer on med for an hour untill it gets thicker (or 5-10 min if your in a hurry)

Double the recipe and put it on pasta, chicken parm or meatball subs the next day. Or just drink it.

Will this make one medium sized pizza?

Thanks, I'll try this.

[Chigworthy]

I have made it from scratch, and also with premade dough (from trader joes). It never tastes as delicious as from the pizzeria :( Must be their ovens.

I love Trader Joe's, but that pizza dough is completely for ass. Pizza dough is very easy to make, you just need to commit to the kneading. It should take a good 12-15 minutes of vigorous kneading to get the healthy gluten formation needed for a nice toothy, chewy pizza dough. I kind of look at kneading dough as a little upper body workout.

If the 12-15 is too much, it's no prob to stop halfway through, cover the dough with plastic, and rest for 5 minutes. This actually seems to result in better dough in my experience. The dough will pass the "window-pane" test when ready. This just means that you can take a small piece of the dough and stretch it out to the point where it is almost transparent, and doesn't snap. But you really have to get into the kneading. I do it on a counter so my back doesn't bitch. If someone was directly behind me when I'm kneading dough, they would think I was railing something doggy-style, what with all the grunting and hip thrusting. Didn't someone fuck dough around here? Maybe it was at the pizza joint I worked at.

[flipper21]

I've been doing a lot of pizzas on the grill lately. I usually buy a ball of dough from the local joint, but in a pinch the local supermarket carries "fresh" dough. I use a can of regular tomato sauce and spice it up myself. Here's one I made recently; mozzarella, pecorino romano, olives & pepperoncini:

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u215/plruffo/BBQSource/Pizza62708/OnTheGrill.jpg

I preheat the stone with the burners below it then turn them off, only leaving the one adjacent and the rotisserie burner above. Works like a charm.

[TooLowBrow]

sometimes its ok just to have a pizza english muffin
http://lh4.ggpht.com/kjpyndo/Rn1KCE0yWqI/AAAAAAAAAd8/VBrQeKi4dTM/IMG_3361.jpg?imgmax=512

[TheMojoPin]

I've been doing a lot of pizzas on the grill lately. I usually buy a ball of dough from the local joint, but in a pinch the local supermarket carries "fresh" dough. I use a can of regular tomato sauce and spice it up myself. Here's one I made recently; mozzarella, pecorino romano, olives & pepperoncini:

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u215/plruffo/BBQSource/Pizza62708/OnTheGrill.jpg

I preheat the stone with the burners below it then turn them off, only leaving the one adjacent and the rotisserie burner above. Works like a charm.

Wow.

I've never had any homemade pizza that wasn't at least really underwhelming, but that looks amazing.

[DiabloSammich]

I'm not afraid of trying to make all my own stuff, but when it comes to the dough, find a local pizzeria you like and trust, and ask them if they will sell you their dough. Usually for a couple of bucks I'll walk out of there with a piece of dough that will do a very large pizza, and it is always perfect.

I've tried the premade from various stores, and it's just not the same. The secret is in the Greek sweat.

[hunnerbun]

Dough is pretty easy if you have a bread machine or a Kitchen Aid mixer. They will do all the hard work/kneading for you. Then you just divide into the size dough balls you want, roll them up and let them rise.
The size of the balls is the secret. Its also trial and error to find out how big they need to be in relation to the thickness or thinness of the crust. I prefer a thin crust, lots of sauce and light on everything else.
I have been wanting to get one of those pizza stones too, now I think i will pick one up the next time I am in the city.




EDIT: I can see the new mod quote now.....:unsure::thumbdown:

[ahhdurr]

EDIT: Oh, I forgot. Sometimes my wife will go to our local pizzeria and buy some of their dough. I don't know how they make it but it really tastes better than the store stuff. I think they charge her like $2.00 for a ball of dough which will make one pie.

Great tip - never heard of that.

[Bossanova]

Just pay a guinea to come to your house and make the dough. DUH

[DiabloSammich]

Just pay a guinea to come to your house and make the dough. DUH



No dice.

Did that about three months ago, still gotta keep the windows open in the house to air this fucker out.


My crib smells like garlic and Sinatra.

[Bossanova]

No dice.

Did that about three months ago, still gotta keep the windows open in the house to air this fucker out.


My crib smells like garlic and Sinatra.

GROSS! Are the walls slimy from when his dego back bumped into it?

[DiabloSammich]

GROSS! Are the walls slimy from when his dego back bumped into it?


I can't tell, cause when I saw him in his almost-white guinea tee, I stabbed both my eyes out.

On a positve note, his sister banged all my nieghbors.

[Bossanova]

I can't tell, cause when I saw him in his almost-white guinea tee, I stabbed both my eyes out.

On a positve note, his sister banged all my nieghbors.

HAHA! Was she the infamous Washington DC Wop Whore? i have heard alot about her.

[joethebartender]

So I need to figure out a better option for the dough and the sauce. Any suggestions?

The fewer (and drier) the ingredients, the better for pizza at home. I never really add too much sauce of any kind to keep the dough light and crispy.

I make pizza on a stone on top of the charcoal and I use dough from the pizza place.

2 recipes:
1. For the toppings I usually roast some slices of tomato, onion, peppers, and garlic on the open part of the grill while the stone is heating up (it dries them out a little and gives them some smoke flavor). Top the pie with those roasted vegetables (chopped) and some olive oil, a little grated parmesian & fresh basil and then finish it on the stone with the lid closed.

2. My other favorite is to grill thin chicken breast while the stone is heating up...chop it up while it's a little undercooked, spread it out on the dough and drizzle BBQ sauce all over it (not too much). Sprinkle some grated cheddar and slap it on the stone & cover.

This forum is going to hurl me to a new level of fatness beyond obesity.:wallbash:
Now I'm starvin'

[jauble]

Ok here is a basic sauce combo.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 (28 ounce) can roma tomatoes, with juice
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
2 Saute onions until tender. Stir in garlic, and cook for 1 minute.
3 Crush tomatoes into saucepan. Add tomato paste, basil, parsley and oregano. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Some fun things to add to the sauce are sun dried tomatoes if you want more sweet, you can chop them up real fine or put in chunks wither works. If you want a little more spice reconstitute some dried red chilies (for those curious reconstituting is when you pour boiling water over whatever is dried in a bowl and let it sit for 5-7 minutes) chop these up and put them in. Mushrooms and green peppers never hurt either but remember smaller peices are better. If you put any of these ingredients in put them in with step 2. Another thing to remember is brush the dough with olive oil or garlic butter before you put the sauce on. Enjoy and let me know how it turns out if you try it.

[Chigworthy]

Some fun things to add to the sauce are sun dried tomatoes if you want more sweet...

The main component that generally separates common pizza sauce from common marinara is the sweetness. A lot of recipes call for adding sugar, but using sun-dried tomatoes is a great way to get that sweetness without using refined sugar. Good call, jauble.

And +1 to whoever said something about keeping your pizza dry. A lot of pizza amateurs get all hog wild with their pie, loading it up with water-laden sauce and veggies. This gives you a soggy-ass pie. By all means, use all kinds of ingredients, just not too much of them.

[MobCounty]

A quick tip for home Pizza goodness.

Bake the crust a bit before putting on your toppings, this will avoid uncooked center crust and some soggyness.

Home ovens cant compare to the big boys. This tip will help you get around the fact.

[FunkyDrummer]

sometimes its ok just to have a pizza english muffin
http://lh4.ggpht.com/kjpyndo/Rn1KCE0yWqI/AAAAAAAAAd8/VBrQeKi4dTM/IMG_3361.jpg?imgmax=512

Ain't nothing wrong with a Matzo Pizza either...

http://www.froststreet.net/images/matzahpizza.jpg

[joethebartender]

Ain't nothing wrong with a Matzo Pizza either...

http://www.froststreet.net/images/matzahpizza.jpg

you mean cheese and cracker?

[FunkyDrummer]

you mean cheese and cracker?

No! That would look like this...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/57/158778166_6d42027ac7.jpg

[Melissa the Accountant]

If you don't have time to make a sauce from scratch or jazz up plain sauce, you might try Dei Fratelli (http://www.hirzel.com/products_DF.asp?offset=30) brand pizza sauce. We usually take a half can or so for one medium sized pie. It has seeds in it (in case texture is an issue) and it suits my taste pretty well. We also like to use it as a dipping sauce when we make calzones.

[Hottub]

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/1290/dscf2073uw7.jpg


http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/212/dscf2074ih0.jpg

[jauble]

Hottub FTW

They look great budday.

[EddieMoscone]

http://a722.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/110/l_5e2ffcca0a300ab5da3b791836771dd9.jpg

My first attempt using the pizza stone from a month back. Made some red sauce, Mozzarella, roasted some red peppers, basil leaves.

Crust was way to thick, but still it tasted really good. I think I'll be experimenting more once winter rolls around. Having that hot oven on during the summer sucks.