PIZZA THREAD

[budbudbud]

Everyone likes pizza.

 

[SD_haze]

My go-to place since I was a kid:

I'll have to try this Sicilian Thing though..

 

[crawdad]

make ya some taco pizza, this recipe works out pretty well.

here's mine (from the "virtual banquet thread") :

 

[Smoke1ForMe]

Has anyone had Pieology? My gf picked it up for me the other day and I have to say it was pretty damn good, it's like a Chipotle but for pizza.

 

[Caligula]

My go-to place since I was a kid:

I'll have to try this Sicilian Thing though..

LOL my buddy and I get into debates about which of those 2 places are better. You know my stance.

 

[Magic9]

Best thin pizza in town.

 

[RUDE BOY]

OMG that looks fricking Amazing !

 

[Caligula]

Your olive distribution is killing my OCD.

 

[aesthyrian]

Here's my one tip for amazing pizza: BURN THAT PIE!

The best deep dish pizza in Chicago is from a place called Pequads pizza, forgot about lou's, gino's, and all that commercial crap that is a poor excuse for 'za.

Here's an example of Pequad's perfectly burning their pie's. Man that caramelized crust is the best. I love a pizza place that I never have to tell them to cook it "well done" or even "extra well done" as I have to do ask for at some more timid pizza places.

Fuck, now I'm starving.

 

[Crohnie]

I'm a bit embarrassed as a native Chicagoan never to have heard of Pequad's. Thanks for the tip. When I was going to grad school in New Haven CT, I experienced some great pizza. People would come from NYC to New Haven just to get pizza. Lots of Italians in Connecticut...

 

[KidFated.]

I was sittin at work in my vehicle having some fun with my hammer. Decided I'd go inside and make myself some 'za..

gotta rock FC right?

Had to add some more..


In tha oven, and waiting..

pinkies and thumbs..

 

[Hexi]

Gotta be italian tomatoes, pref San Marzano
Gotta have fresh Moz, some even draw the line at Buffalo milk only
Crust has to be springy
Gotta be high heat and on stone. No wire racks, no cornmeal on the bottom etc...

 

[Caligula]

San Marzanos are awesome. NO acidity.

 

[SD_haze]

Gotta be italian tomatoes, pref San Marzano
Gotta have fresh Moz, some even draw the line at Buffalo milk only
Crust has to be springy
Gotta be high heat and on stone. No wire racks, no cornmeal on the bottom etc...

Definitely love this type of pizza. Don't forget the fresh basil!


Buttt I also love this pizza.

Greatest. Pizza. Ever. From the smallest hole in the wall joint. As it should be.

I don't care where you live. Hitchhike and give random strangers BJs to get there if you have to. Pictures do NO justice to ANYTHING.

http://www.sicilianthingpizza.com/

Decided to try this place out, was only 5 miles from me.
I tried the thick sicilian, although the round thin might have been a better comparison to Bronx.

It was mighty tasty!
The crispy buttery crust was awesomeness, whereas bronx crust is a chewy tasteless meh-stick.
The sauce was certainly something special. Wish there was more of it though.
Toppings were a little lacking in potency, just because of how thick the crust is. I added lots of hot pepper flakes to compensate.

People were definitely real friendly. Typical Northpark scene

50/50 of Pepperoni+Mushroom and Sausage+Banana Peppers - around $19

Picture doesnt show how friggen thick this beast is. 1-2 pieces would make a lot of people stuffed.
I did a major pre-vape baking so I ate about 4. Still tons of leftovers.

 

[Caligula]

Bhahaha... indeed thats a beast! You should try the thin though. Add much a I love the Sicilian style I keep getting the thin... especially the Nino Espinosa

 

[SD_haze]

Bhahaha... indeed thats a beast! You should try the thin though. Add much a I love the Sicilian style I keep getting the thin... especially the Nino Espinosa

Yar think I might try the Barack-Oli Ricotta on thin

 

[IamtheWiz]

Hey guys... I am the Wiz and Im new here and I love me some pizza. I wanted to share a couple of home-made recipes I usually cook up...

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Crust

• Whatever kind you like - I usually use those thin Boboli crusts you can find at the store.

Sauce

• 1/4 cup Buffalo sauce of your liking
• 4 tbs Ortega taco sauce or Salsa
• 2 - 4 tbs Garlic Tabasco (or other garlic hot sauce)
• 2 Cloves Garlic finely chopped

Lots of cheese

• I usually go with some fresh shredded cheddar-jack - anywhere between 1 and 2 cups - I like a lot of cheese.
• A little bit of crumbled blue cheese for the top
• Ive also made this with whatever shredded cheese I had in the fridge and it turned out amazing regardless

Marinated Chicken

• I usually use about 1/4 cup of the sauce above mixed with 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• Stick 4-6 chicken tenders in a zip-loc and let that shit soak in for a couple of hours

Veggies

• Diced red onions optional
• I went crazy once and added celery... wasn't particularly good

Step by step:

1. Make your sauce first - make it in a container you can put in the fridge to reuse in a couple of hours
2. When ready to start cooking grill or broil the chicken
3. If having veggies and you want them grilled, go ahead and do that now too
4. While chicken (and veggies) are cooking start saucing up the crust
5. Layer half of your cheese - not the blue yet though
6. Chicken is done - dice or shred it and add the desired amount to your pizza. I usually have way to much chicken. So Ill store some for tacos the next day.
7. Add your veggies
8. Add the rest of your cheese and your blue
9. Stick that shit in the oven and cook it according to your crusts cooking instructions.
10. I usually go 375 for about 14-16 minutes. Just keep an eye on it and pull it out when the crust is how you like it.

I usually roll this out with some ranch and it is the cats meow!


Mexican Pollo Pizza
This is very similar to the Buffalo pizza above with a few changes
Crust

• Whatever kind you like - I usually use those thin Boboli crusts you can find at the store.

Sauce

• 1/4 cup Salsa
• 1/4 Ortega taco sauce
• 2 - 4 tbs Garlic Tabasco (or other garlic hot sauce)
• 2 Cloves Garlic finely chopped

Lots of cheese - Have fun with it...

• I love Queso Chihuahua cheese. It is a white cheese I can usually find at most grocery stores
• Otherwise I just go with any taco or cheddar-jack cheese
• Ive also made this with jalapeño flavored cheese I found at the deli, that was awesome

Marinated Chicken

• I usually use about 1/4 cup of the sauce above mixed with 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• Stick 4-6 chicken tenders in a zip-loc and let that shit soak in for a couple of hours

Veggies - optional

• Diced red or white onions
• Diced Green, red and yellow pepper if you want a Chicken Fajita pizza and heartburn
• Chopped Green Onion
• Any veggies you may like in your Mexican food

Step by step:

1. Make your sauce first - make it in a container you can put in the fridge to reuse in a couple of hours
2. When ready to start cooking grill or broil the chicken
3. If having veggies and you want them grilled, go ahead and do that now too
4. While chicken (and veggies) are cooking start saucing up the crust
5. Layer half of your cheese
6. Chicken is done - dice or shred it and add the desired amount to your pizza. I usually have way to much chicken. So Ill store some for tacos the next day.
7. Add your veggies
8. Add the rest of your cheese
9. Stick that shit in the oven and cook it according to your crusts cooking instructions.
10. I usually go 375 for about 14-16 minutes. Just keep an eye on it and pull it out when the crust is how you like it.

I love having this with some avocado, pico or salsa and some sour cream on the side. I also usually have some Cotija cheese on top. Cotija is kinda like Parmesan.

Anyway, please let me know if you guys take the time to make one of these, I would really love to hear what you guys think.


EDIT - I just noticed @aesthyrian post about Pequads! I FUCKING LOVE that place. I used to go there all the time when I was closer to the North Side. Oh my God I almost forgot about that place.

(Mods, I hope this edit was ok. I read the rules so I think I avoided the dreaded back-to-back posts)

 

[Aimless Ryan]

Y'all really want to know about pizza? Start here.

I'm not just trying to pitch my own video here. Rather, I made my pizza videos largely to share what's in my head in case my head stops existing. I know my shit, and I don't omit any of the secrets it took me a decade or two of obsession to figure out (not be taught).

You know who doesn't know their shit? Every celebrity chef, every celebrity baker, almost every chef, and almost every baker. Because neither cheffing nor baking is the same thing as pizzamaking. Proof is in the pizza they produce. (Alton Brown's pizza doesn't even look good.) I don't go around trying to make anyone think I know anything about cheffing or baking. Because I'm a pizza guy, not a chef or a baker. (I'll gladly tell you anything I may have done wrong in my videos, too, and I welcome all criticism.)

My NY style video isn't really meant for beginners, but it's significantly better than any other pizza-instruction video I have seen. Also, it should still be very useful to beginners. The only thing I think may be difficult for beginners is making a pizza this big. So don't. Instead of using 21 oz of dough to make an 18" pizza, use 13 or 14 oz of dough and make a 14" pizza.

People who actually possess considerable pizzamaking skills mostly have no interest in sharing their knowledge or secrets. And for some reason, most knowledgeable pizzamakers don't tell you how they make the pizza that pays their bills. I have no reason not to share my secrets, aside from my disability making it difficult to make more videos.

I have other videos, too, which can be found on my "channel." Hopefully there will be more. Until then, if anyone cares to know what I have to say, I'd love to help out.

Here's how I made the dough:

Even though I know very little about Detroit style, this video is by far my most popular pizza video. Also, I suspect I came pretty close to replicating Detroit style. I just don't know because I've never had Detroit style.

Hope you enjoy.

 

[biohacker]

You da man Ryan! Nice work!!! And way to revive this thread! My all time favourite food indeed!

 

[Aimless Ryan]

@vtac guided me here.

 

[biohacker]

Well you're the man, but @vtac is the forum GOD! And he's fucking hilarious to boot!

Can't wait to read this thread and contribute.... you got some skills brotha!

 

[Aimless Ryan]

Do I sound as arrogant to others as I just sounded to myself when I re-read my first post here?

 

[vtac]

Here we go! I've been enjoying some back and forth with @Aimless Ryan talking pizza recently and I'm excited to keep it going here!

To me Pizza is something beautiful in its simplicity. As much as I love toppings, my favorite pies are the ones where (especially) the crust and the sauce stand entirely on their own merits and anything added only subtracts from the harmony. Exceptions sometimes made for cheese. As someone said, pizza's great because even when it's just average it's still relatively satisfying.

Do I sound as arrogant to others as I just sounded to myself when I re-read my first post here?

In our conversations I appreciated that you were quick to point out that I shouldn't take your word as gospel and sometimes you have no idea what you're talking about. Also that you consider yourself an "arrogant prick" when it comes to pizza.

Alton Brown probably doesn't post here so you're safe for now. With that said, let's try not to scare people off from learning about the nuances of building perfect pizzas. It is a rarity to have someone as knowledgeable as yourself openly sharing what they know and I hope we can kindle the passion in others. Who doesn't like pizza? You don't? Then get out!

To begin we should keep in mind that most folks myself included have almost little to no experiencing with pizza making, so let's start with the basics. One of the things I liked about getting into bread making was that recipes used metric and ingredients were weighed out. It's so much easier and more accurate to use a digital scale than measuring cups. Same thing goes for pizza, right?

I dug up some pizza pictures from years ago. Way too many toppings and doing just about everything wrong, but we all have to start somewhere. Sorry Ryan!



And since you were so modest I'll link your incredible pizza blog. This guy knows how to make a pizza, folks. http://ryanspizzablog.blogspot.com/

Well you're the man, but @vtac is the forum GOD! And he's fucking hilarious to boot!

Flattery won't save you from the BANHAMMER. Repent to @Stu for your posting infractions.

 

[biohacker]

You don't sound arrogant Ryan, you are the PIZZA GOD! Like Vtac, I do like my pizza simple, sauce, cheese, and a few others (for me mostly veggie toppings, just preference - i'm not a vegan). My favourite topping is pineapple if I had to choose one. I just don't like the processed meats, but will still pretty much eat and decent za.

Thanks for making me hungry Vtac! I'm just about to make a pizza, but ashamed to admit it is already prepared crust from the grocery store, so for convenience sake tonight, it will be sauce, some quality cheese, pineapple, mushrooms, and peppers! So perfect to hit the spot tonight, as I had a pretty solid goat roti for lunch today.

I'm too afraid to repent to Stu, he's meaner than you!

Can't wait to get more time and read every post in this thread, and then start making some REAL Za's! Love it!

 

[Aimless Ryan]

If I was to go back 20 years (almost to the day), when I started making pizza (total beginner), when there was essentially nothing useful about pizzamaking on the essentially brand new internet, this is what I would want someone to tell me.

Pizzamaking Lesson 1: Get a scale and a stone (or kiln shelf). Forget you ever heard of measuring cups or any other volumetric measurement. A nice wood peel wouldn't hurt, either.

It's probably best to have two scales: a scale that measures in units of 0.01 g, as well as a scale that measures in grams/ounces. (The scale that measures in hundredths probably will not be capable of measuring flour and water, because flour and water measurements will probably be too heavy.)

Stone should be 1/2"-1" (most likely 1/2") thick and at least 16" round or square. I prefer square because it affords a little wiggle room. That is, it's a lot easier to peel a 16" raw pizza onto a 16x16 stone than it is to peel a 16" pizza onto a 16" round stone.

Perfect example of square stone versus round stone: This (what I do in the video) was not easy; especially from a chair. Which is why I kinda celebrate at the end. If I had been using an 18" round stone instead of an 18" x 18" kiln shelf, this would have been insanely difficult. Even with a square stone, it was still very difficult.

Pizzamaking Lesson 2: Bakers' Percentages.

Google the term "bakers' percentages." Even though it's a very simple concept, the internet can explain it a lot more effectively than I can.

Like you guys, I am big on simplicity. Which is a big reason why I only made cheese pizzas in my videos. Simplicity rules. Most people complicate things unnecessarily (usually by thinking more toppings or unique toppings equals better); especially when it comes to pizza. If you do simplicity right, then complexity is much easier, or unnecessary.

For many years my sauce was simple processed/chopped San Marzano tomatoes; partly because I didn't know anything about sauce, and partly because unseasoned San Marzanos make an excellent sauce for many pizza styles. The easiest way to ruin pizza sauce is by cooking it.