Some footage of squares being made at DiFara

[pizzablogger]

I am no video whiz and my damned Flip HD is super shaky, but here is some footage of Dom making both Squares and Circles at DiFara. You can see the square (Sicilian) is par-baked with some sauce on top to mitigate center bubbling/bloating as many of us are doing at home.

He also pours a hefty amount of EVOO under the crust before topping and finishing the square. Intriguing is the use of a different sauce for the square, which he takes out of the cooler and puts back into it when done with the squares, while the sauce for the regular pie stays on the counter. I'll have to ask next time I am in there with more time what the difference is. Listen to that damned olive oil hiss in the pan!

For what it's worth, here is the amateur footage I took:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XynVVH1ZPZo" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XynVVH1ZPZo</a>

I've never done a Sicilian in a higher temperature oven, but am doing so soon. --K

[hotsawce]

Forget DiFara... I'm still waiting to try your recipe....if you don't get it going soon I'm going to make the foray into sicilian pies. 

[scott123]

Is it me or does the crust on the round pie look a little... anemic?

Edit: my video player appears to have mangled the colors on the screenshot.  Watch the last few seconds of the video for a truer representation.

[pizzablogger]

As far as the color....the back table at DiFara is something of a photo/video graveyard. The overhead fan causing a light-shadow staccato over the pizza and those sea green walls reflecting in the metal pizza serving trays make for some seriously green-blueish cast to just about any photo/video taken back there.

Regardless of the color, the crust does look a little anemic....good choice of words Scott. To start, the two round pies I had would have benefited from more time in the oven....a little undercooked. Add in DeMarco's preference for a 2-3 hour quick rise for his dough and it adds up to anything but a great pizza crust. His pizza crusts are normal in every sense of the word. If he didn't have those old school higher temperature deck ovens (about 750°F) to crisp and char the bottom of the dough, it would be worse.

Everyone is familiar with the powerful combination of high quality cheeses DeMarco uses (fior-di-latte, bufala and grana padano), and it is an excellent combo, but to me the unsung hero is the sauce. The DiFara sauce is delicious. It's the only pizza I have ever eaten that I consider very good even though the crust is middle of the road.

If Dom were to make a really good dough the pizza would be very much over the top, but when people stand on-line for 2 hours to get a slice, I guess why bother? The square slice at DiFara is the better choice IMO--K

[brayshaw]

pizzablogger, do you know what goes into a difara sauce? I have heard a few people say its amazing so I am wondering if anyone knows his recipe..

Paul

[scott r]

that crust looks under fermented to me

[Matthew]

I am no video whiz and my damned Flip HD is super shaky, but here is some footage of Dom making both Squares and Circles at DiFara. You can see the square (Sicilian) is par-baked with some sauce on top to mitigate center bubbling/bloating as many of us are doing at home.

He also pours a hefty amount of EVOO under the crust before topping and finishing the square. Intriguing is the use of a different sauce for the square, which he takes out of the cooler and puts back into it when done with the squares, while the sauce for the regular pie stays on the counter. I'll have to ask next time I am in there with more time what the difference is. Listen to that damned olive oil hiss in the pan!

For what it's worth, here is the amateur footage I took:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XynVVH1ZPZo

I've never done a Sicilian in a higher temperature oven, but am doing so soon. --K

Great Footage, it's always fun watching Dom at work.  Did he par bake the Sicilian with or without sauce?

Matt

[pizzablogger]

Matthew.....with sauce

[Matthew]

Matthew.....with sauce

Thanks alot, that's what I thought.

Matt

[pcampbell]

Are you sure the ovens are 750...  ?  How long does a regular "circle" pie take to bake there?

My guess would have been like 575-600 F  but I have never been there and not timed it.

[Pete-zza]

I have read temperatures attributed to Dom's ovens that seemed high to me although I understand that his oven runs hotter than most gas ovens. At Reply 2 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,6597.msg56612/topicseen.html#msg56612, scott r estimated 650 degrees F.

Peter

[Matthew]

Since Brooklyn is a little far for me I decided to try to recreate it.  Not as greasy as Dom's, but overall very good.

[Pete-zza]

Matt,

That's a beauty.

Did you cook the sauce?

Peter

[Matthew]

Matt,

That's a beauty.

Did you cook the sauce?

Peter

Thanks very much Peter,

The sauce was uncooked passata that I seasoned with fresh basil, oregano, EVOO, & salt & pepper.

Matt

[Pete-zza]

Matt,

I asked about cooking the sauce because the Sicilian sauce that Dom uses is apparently the only cooked sauce that he uses. His son told me that one time when I happened to pass through the kitchen area on my way to the restroom. The sauce was cooking on the stove and Dom's son said it was the Sicilian sauce.

Peter

[Matthew]

Matt,

I asked about cooking the sauce because the Sicilian sauce that Dom uses is apparently the only cooked sauce that he uses. His son told me that one time when I happened to pass through the kitchen area on my way to the restroom. The sauce was cooking on the stove and Dom's son said it was the Sicilian sauce.

Peter

Ahh...I wasn't aware of that, thanks for letting me know.  Next time around I'll use cooked sauce & compare the two.

Matt

[brayshaw]

Do any of you have an idea of what goes into the Difara regular pizza sauce? I am guessing San Marzanos/salt/evoo....basil? anything else that you guys know of?

Paul

[Pete-zza]

Paul,

I and several other members have written extensively on the Dom DeMarco DiFara pizzas in the reverse engineering thread at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,504.0.html. However, I believe the last time I wrote comprehensively on the subject in one place is over at the PMQ Think Tank at http://thinktank.pmq.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=190&p=1222&hilit=#p982. As noted there, and also at the reverse engineering thread referenced above, Dom uses Vantia DOP tomatoes for his regular sauce. In the video that pizzablogger posted, you can even see the Vantia cans lined up behind the space where Dom makes his pizzas.

I think it is important to keep in mind that Dom does on occasion switch products. From what I recall, he did this with the 00 flour and with the hard cheeses and some of the herbs. I don't know exactly what he is using now except that he seems to have stuck with the Vantia tomatoes for many years.

Peter

[brayshaw]

Thanks for the reply Peter, what other ingredients do you think go into his sauce? salt etc..
I am just very curious about his sauce because I have heard a lot of people say how amazing it is.

Paul

[Pete-zza]

Paul,

Everything I know about Dom's sauce is described in the reverse engineering thread and in the PMQ post referenced in my last post.

Peter