PICS - Pizza Pizza - FEC Style

That looks great!!! What temp did you cook it at?

Max temp, 424*. I let it heat the stone for 2 hrs before I cooked the pizza. I used corn meal on the pizza peal as the "ball bearings" to slide it off onto the stone. I did not par bake the crust. It was raw dough onto the stone.

It was a combo pizza.... homemade tomato sauce, pepperoni, Italian sausage, canadian bacon, onions, bell pepper, black and green olives, mushrooms, and mozarella with parmesean and fresh basil after I removed it from the cooker.

That looks deelish. I like the corn meal with it. Nice job. Great toppings.

Where do you register to be an Old Fart?

i got all the forms right here do you have any warts or moles? that would help things along .

Do BBQ'rs drink a shot on the morning of a competition? No problem!

looks good ,we'll have to wait till mike wakes up to see if youre in . oh one more question do you now or have you ever made repairs to your eyeglasses with bandaids silver tape or bailing wire ?
this is a extra points question .

I'd never want to answer for John, but he's got extra points from me for traveling around with DrBBQ, that could age a fella rather quick...LOL!

Just one question what type of wood (pellets)?

Mike your pizza looks great. Just from an economic point of view, how many lbs. of pellets did it take between start (pre-heat) to end result? Perhaps consider cooking 4+ and freezing a couple to maximize pellet usage.

CS Hickory.

Max, I am just figuring out the cook so pellet consumption is not a consideration now. I did bake two with this cook.

quote:

Originally posted by RibDog:
Where do you register to be an Old Fart?

No need to register John, you're grandfathered in...

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinOkie:

quote:

Originally posted by RibDog:
Where do you register to be an Old Fart?

No need to register John, you're grandfathered in...

LOL, I thought you became an honorary member at 50 ('bout the time they start sending those AARP membership forms out) and automatically become a REGISTERED member at 55.............

Looks Great! How long did it take to bake. That think of a stone, you could have probally turned the FEC off after preheating it and still had enough mass left to cook the pizza.

Do you have to do soapstone or would a piece of granite work as well. Most granite shops have the sink cut outs for a pretty good price

Mike, I'm not sure if soapstone or granite would handle the temps right.

I stick with a pizza stone or get some real fire bricks.

maybe someone will know if those others will work, but I don't remember hearing of someone using them with success.

soapstone yes granite no it might could blow a chunk off

Awhile back, I was researching pizza stones, fire bricks, and quarry tiles for home made pizza, and a friend of mine suggested steel. I had a fabricator cut a 1/4" sheet to fit my oven, then cleaned and seasoned it well. The pizzas cook beautifully with perfect crusts every time. I liked the results so much that I had a second piece cut to fit my gas grill. The cost of each piece was around $25.

steel is good but thick so it wont warp anything that could have a air pocket in it is bad

do you get a rusty problem with steel ?

quote:

Originally posted by JC123:
steel is good but thick so it wont warp anything that could have a air pocket in it is bad

do you get a rusty problem with steel ?

Not sure I understand your first comment. No rust problems at all. I clean the sheets with a damp cloth after each use, then apply a very thin coat of oil.

sorry i meant that the steel should be thick enough that it itself does not warp .

quote:

Originally posted by JC123:
sorry i meant that the steel should be thick enough that it itself does not warp .

Now I understand. My friend suggested 1/4", but I originally thought 1/2", if not thicker would be better. The fabricator said 1/4" would be fine for this type of use so I went with it. I guess they were both right as I've had no issues with warping.

Chaplain Bill - It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to cook depending on how thick your toppings are. The soapstone acts like a big heat sink, it takes a while to heat up and then to cool down. I don't think the oven would stay hot enough to cook the top if you shut it down.

Mister Mike - Soapstone YES, Granite a BIG NO - The granite can spall and leave bits of stone in your product.

Smokin' - Soapstone is used in some high end outdoor pizza ovens. All Clad sells a "pizza stone" that is a Stainless holder with a Soaptsone insert. The problem is that it is a little small, the stone is too thin to hold heat and more expensive than my custom cut piece. A lot of granite places have scrap Soaptsone that you could get for a decent price. Probably cheaper than a piece of steel someone mentioned.

If folks are interested I can post my recipe for pizza dough and really decent homemade sauce.

Mike4258:

Please post your recipe for the dough and sauce.

Thanks

Pizza Dough:

1 TBS Dry yeast
2 cups warm water
2 tsp Salt
4 1/2- 5 cups bread flour
3 TBS Olive Oil
tsp sugar for yeast

You can make this in a Food Processor or by hand. Disolve yeast in 1/2 cup of your water and and sugar and 1/2 cup of flour to make sponge. Let your yeast sponge mix become frothy to proof. Dump sponge into processor and add rest of warm water. Make sure water is less than 120* or it will kill yeast. add 4 cups of your flour and mix. Add additinal flour as necessary and ONLY if necessary to make a ball. The dough needs to be made in the morning for use that night as it needs to rest at least 6 hours, 8 hrs is better. Divide in half and put into large zip lock bags or a small clean garbage bag and let sit on counter. Punch down a couple times in the first 2 hrs. and let rest. This recipe will make 2 humongus pizzas or 3-4 smaller or a BUNCH of calzones. When you are ready GENTLY stretch dough into rough circle with additional flour to keep from sticking (I stay GENTLY, because if you over work it will become like a rubber band and you will have to let it rest again). This dough will keep a day or so, so any left over can be used the next day. I use corn meal as "ball bearings" on the pizza peal so it will slide off onto the stone.

Basic Pizza Sauce:

1 35 oz can San Marzano Italian Plum Tomatoes
2 TBSP EVOO
2 TBSP Fresh chopped/minice garlic
1/2 - 1 tsp dry oregano (to taste)
1/2 - 1 tsp dry marjoram (to taste)
1/2 - 1 tsp dry or a little more fresh Basil
Salt to taste.

Take one 35 oz can of whole peeled San Marzano Italian Plum tomatoes and crush by hand. Heat 3-4 TBSP EVOO and saute 2 TBSP fresh chopped garlic until fragrant. Add your Tomatoes and spices and cook on a low simmer for about 20 - 30 minutes until slightly thickened. This will make as many pizzas as the dough above will make and you will probably have some left over.

When making pizzas, brush a little EEVO on top of the dough before adding your sauce. This keeps the dough from getting soggy from the sauce. A good trick is to take your mozzarella (regular NOT fresh) and cut into large cubes and process in your food processor, this makes adding the cheese VERY easy and it will not clump as it would if it was shredded. Add your favorite toppings (not too much) top with cheese, bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove and let cool on rack NOT on a board or it will get soggy. Add fresh parmesean right after removing from oven and maybe a little fresh basil cool until cheese sets, slice and enjoy.

Granite works. Takes time to warm.

Mike4258 - Thanks for taking the time to post your pizza recipe. My basic sauce recipe pretty much duplicates your ingredients and process except I start the by sauteing a minced medium white onion. I also add 1 tbs sugar to the spices and on occasion, 1/2 tbs red pepper flakes. From time to time, I "secretly" melt a couple diced anchovy filets when sauteing the onions. It's funny that my family likes this pizza sauce best, but profess to hate anchovies.

Also, fresh mozzarella is the only mozzarella we have ever used so it's our "regular" mozzarella. I've may have had some other form of mozzarella in the past, but I'm drawing a blank and don't know what your referring to. And, what difference does it make?

Thanks

a few anchovy filets is a secret ingredient not many peoples know about . they make the flavor more deep and if you can taste them you used too much . same goes for a dash worstchestishire sauce .

Really appreciate the rectpe,

Thanks, it will be made soon!

My wife hates anchovies. She doesn't like the little "hairs" that stick out from the filets, which, as we know, are really little bones. She does like the taste in Caeser Salad, however.

Nice recipe. A couple of observations from one who has made all the mistakes making pizza. I use your basic dough, but do it by feel and add water or flour as needed to get the consistency right. I like my dough just dry enough to handle, pretty sticky. You can use olive oil on your hands if needed. You can also oil your spatula. Over kneeding will make your dough tough. After you let it rise, you can cut it into pieces and freeze in Ziplock bags. I usually make enough for four pizzas and save three. Spray the inside of the bags with oil so you can get it out easier. Let it thaw for several hours before rolling out. I find that if my dough sticks to the work surface or the pizza peel after topping it you are dead, so use enouhg flour or corn meal so that it slides. I use a silicone matt it works great. Nonstick Pastry Mat(SKU #312716) and a pizza peel: EXO Super Peel Pizza Peel. Both are great tools. I preheat my stone to about 400. If I get it hotter the crust finishes before the toppings are done. Lastly the more toppings you use the longer you need to cook the pizza especially toppings that contain water or oil or your dough will be soggy. Hope this helps.

quote:

Originally posted by dls:
Also, fresh mozzarella is the only mozzarella we have ever used so it's our "regular" mozzarella. I've may have had some other form of mozzarella in the past, but I'm drawing a blank and don't know what your referring to. And, what difference does it make?

Thanks

What I am talking about is block mozzarella as opposed to fresh mozzarella, mozzarella fresca or mozzarella di bufala that usually comes in a ball. The "fresh" mozarella is softer has more water content and is sometimes sold in liquid. I use both depending on what type of pizza or dish that I am making. Anchovies are great for adding a depth of flavor and as you say just melt into what you are cooking. My wife does not like "hot" dishes, so I add my pepperoncini flakes on my finished pizza .