fine tuning your home pizza
There is much satisfaction in being able to produce the pizzas we have enjoyed at our favorite pizzerias in our own kitchen. That’s the goal isn’t it? Most of us will end up with a slightly hybrid pie (not a 100% duplicate) either by choice or for the simple reason that we just can’t quite get it right. Perhaps we take a little bit from 3 or 4 pizzerias that we favor (as in my case). Nevertheless, after making pies at home time and time again and steadily improving and perfecting our process, a very real phenomena emerges. We realize that our pizza truly deserves a spot on the same level as the pizza we consider to be the gold standard.
Some of you, myself included, have worked in pizzerias and have acquired certain useful skills (stretching dough, sliding a pie into the oven etc).However, those skills are only a portion of what’s required to produce top good pies at home. One issue is of course the oven ( which may be the most important ). In “ turn your home oven into an awesome pizza oven” July 10, 2024, I describe my adaptation to duplicate a commercial pizza oven. This is not a unique approach and many pizza makers utilize this method, while others will choose a different approach. Fine tuning our pizzamaking will only go so far if we don’t have an oven in which to make everything come together.
A more simple issue is the use of pizza peels. There are easier ways to deliver a pizza into an oven than by sliding it from a peel, but these options will probably fall short in providing the crust we aspire to. A pie baked on a pizza screen or in a round pan is fine. I see screens as something used with conveyor ovens (Dominos). Pans are convenient (less equipment needed, simple etc.) for certain types of pizza ( Detroit square pizza, etc.) but will not produce the charred crust of a traditional pie baked directly on the deck.
I learned to construct the pie directly on the wood peel and then slide the pie off the wood into the oven, then retrieve the pie with the thinner metal peel. That’s what I still do. Sliding a pie off a peel is not hard to do, but some practice is necessary, especially with a regular home oven. On a home oven equipped with a steel or stone deck you’ll find the deck height lower or higher (wall oven) then normal and your target area (the steel or stone) smaller. Practice, you will be rewarded with a fine looking traditional pizza.
Bench flour is the flour used to enable opening and stretching the dough that’s ready for baking. This dough can be sticky and difficult to work with unless some flour is used. Plain flour is probably the most used bench flour and the least costly. Semolina flour is ground less finely than regular flour and does not get absorbed into your dough more than what the dough needs.
Semolina adds some texture, color and a slight crispness to your crust. Excess flour is kept to a minimum. Some pizza makers will mix semolina with their regular flour. I prefer to use 100% semolina as my bench flour. If you haven’t already done so, try using semolina as your bench flour and notice the difference.
Prepping the peel is an interesting subject often overlooked.I have applied flour, cornmeal and semolina flour to the wood peel before placing the stretched pie and applied air under the pie (after it was made) just before sliding the pie into the oven.
Note on the air: I would set the pie on the opened door of the pizza oven, lift an edge of the pie slightly up and and give a good blow of air that gets under the pie and enables the pie to separate from the peel as you slide the pizza into the hot oven.This all happens in seconds and it works. With air there is practically no mess, therefore no need for much oven cleanout. Not a very popular technique because it has a longer learning curve, adds nothing to texture or taste. Is better suited for low hydration dough and is a turn off to some watching customers.
Flouring the peel with plain flour before placing the stretched dough is my least favorite method. It adds nothing to the bottom crust and I feel it has a negative visual appeal. Semolina will give some texture and color. Years ago I got hooked on finely ground cornmeal to dust my wood peel. It surpaces semolina for texture, color and taste. However, it will create more of a mess. For me it’s not a big deal. I have a brush/scraper attached to a short pole, and after my third pizza, I will quickly brush (2 – 3 seconds) out the cornmeal from the baking steel. I will use the metal peel as a dustpan and now I’m ready for the next pie. There probably are dedicated oven brushes with short handles or you could cut down a full size pizza oven brush. I happened to have all the material in my garage so I just made one. Zuppardi’s Apizza in West Haven, Ct. has been using cornmeal, I believe, since 1934. They have a powerful Shop-Vac, sitting next to the deck oven, with an aluminum tube attachment that they use periodically to vacuum out the unused cornmeal from the oven. The pizza at Zuppardi’s Apizza is among the best in the country. (90 years in business and going strong). Give cornmeal a try someday, you might like it.
Dough proofing is important. That simple time spent on the counter at room temperature before balling and cold fermentation is crucial. Some pizza makers will use more yeast than necessary to compensate for time.I don’t feel that is a quality way to go. When I first started making pizza dough and later bread dough, the golden rule was to never use more yeast than you need to get the job done correctly. Given enough time yeast will naturally multiply and do what it is supposed to do.
The irony, in using a very short proof, is that it still can produce a good pizza and will lull you into the false notion that your dough is as good as it’s going to get. Also the thought that days in the fridge solves all the problems is a false notion. My fridge is factory set at 37° F. At that temperature the fridge performs best. A mere 5° less and you’re at the freezing point. Yeast does very little in that cold environment. I expect some rise when initially putting the dough in the fridge because the dough is still at room temperature. However, after that I expect the dough to just develop flavor very slowly and nothing more. Your pizza dough has to be given a good start in life before putting it in the fridge.(see “pizza dough” August 21, 2024). Adjust your yeast amount and try giving your pizza dough a longer proofing time ( I aim for 2 hours). The difference will be a lighter and more airy dough that is readily noticeable.
Most of the rest of the post deals with the times your pizzas appear to have too much oil on the surface. Pizza is no different than any other food product that tastes fantastic. It has fat as an ingredient. We have all cooked bacon for example and are aware of the fat that will be rendered. However, when we remove the bacon from the fat after cooking, we are left with good looking bacon strips. When bacon or any meat with a significant fat content is cooked with a pizza, the rendered fat is going to stay with the pie. Most of us love the flavor that fat gives to our food/pizza but we may be opposed to looking at the excess on top of our pie. Personally when I view a pizza that looks too antiseptic and perfect I feel something is wrong with it.
We all have to be aware of the amount and kind of toppings we use on our pizzas. More is not always better. I will pre-cook Italian sausage and bacon on a sheet pan in the oven at ½ to ¾ done to remove excess fat. Pepperoni is cured meat and is ready to eat. However, all pepperoni is not created equal. Most brands, I have tried, leave too much grease and lack flavor. Boars Head is my favorite, with good flavor and a minimum of grease and shrinkage. A single layer of pepperoni is sufficent.
My pizza dough contains no oil as does my tomato sauce and that means less oil overall. Additionally, I see no need to top a pizza with oil when your meat toppings already have enough fat. Certain pizzas that have no cheese or contain just pecorino romano (grated cheese) will benefit from an addition of olive oil. However, do our well topped American style pizzas with our whole milk mozzarella really benefit from added oil? I suppose a rule of thumb would be to use extra oil sparingly and only when it adds value ( veggie pies,tomato pie, white clam pie etc.).
High moisture vegetables theoretically contain no fat,but they do possess an abundance of water that aids the flow of grease and can make your pie soggy and give the appearance of looking greasy. Removing most of the water from certain vegetables before baking will help (see prepping mushrooms, onions and peppers August 26,2024).
All mozzarella contains a combination of fat and water. This combination of fat and water along with oven temperature and baking time will determine how much oil is released. Baking your pizza hot and fast and using low moisture mozzarella will help. Don’t overdo the amount of mootz ( I use about 5 oz. of low moisture whole milk on a 12 to 13 inch pie) and always go for quality mozzarella. All mootz is not manufactured in the same way.. Even when brand’s show the same fat percentage they can have very different melting characteristics.
I have used part skim and part whole milk blends of mozzarella and find very little difference, if any in oiliness, but a big difference in flavor. Whole milk mozzarella has much better flavor and texture than skim milk mootz ( “pizza cheese Part 1” 7/16/24). Buy good mozzarella and keep fine tuning your pies and eventually you’ll have the pizza you desire.
thank you for taking the time to read this post
better pizzamaking
Jimmy
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