Introduction

[cassb]

Hi pizza lovers!  I am new to this board.  I've been (trying to) making pizza for many years, but finally got serious a couple years ago when I found a web site that had some good detailed instructions on the dough:  (I posted a link here, but it won't let me.  Just search the web for "Jeff Varasano pizza".

Using his technique, I have vastly improved my pizza dough to the point where I can usually make a crust that's just as good as a pizzeria - crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle.  I found that the autolyse step and the wet-kneading of the batter before adding the final flour make the biggest difference.

I found your site today just looking on the web for what my "Spring Patent Flour" was that I'm using.  I found out that it's not the best for breads or pizza, is what I found.  :-)  What I really want is the All Trumps flour, or even the Caputo 00 flour - but I really don't want to pay for shipping 50lb bags of it.  I wonder if there's a local source for that in my Rochester, NY area?

Another thing I would like to improve on is the sauce.  I usually use Wegmans spaghetti sauce because it's quick and easy.  But a really great sauce it's not.  A spicy, tomatoey homemade sauce is what I want to try.  I would welcome any help with that too.

Thanks!
Bryan

[Jackie Tran]

Welcome Bryan, I think many on this forum started out with JV's recipe and technique.  If you google NY pizza, it's high on the list. 

Another member pointed me to www.pennmac.com for pizza ingredients.  You can caputo flour in the 5lb bags but their shipping cost is high.  You have to order a lot of stuff to make it worthwhile.  I ended up buying 6-7 of the big cans of tomato products I've been wanting to try.  The secret to any good sauce is a good tomato base.  Pennmac carries the most popular ones.   

When you can, post up some pics of your pizzas for us to see.   

[cassb]

Welcome Bryan, I think many on this forum started out with JV's recipe and technique.  If you google NY pizza, it's high on the list. 

Another member pointed me to wwwpennmaccom for pizza ingredients.  You can caputo flour in the 5lb bags but their shipping cost is high.  You have to order a lot of stuff to make it worthwhile.  I ended up buying 6-7 of the big cans of tomato products I've been wanting to try.  The secret to any good sauce is a good tomato base.  Pennmac carries the most popular ones.   

When you can, post up some pics of your pizzas for us to see.   

OK, thanks Tranman.  I just ate the last slices of what I had at lunch today.  But I make pizza once a week, so I'll take a pic for you this week.   I can only get my oven up to 550F though, so I don't get the char that makes Jeff's pizza better.  But I do have a sourdough culture going for my "poolish" as he calls it.

I just got off the phone from my local bakery supplier and found out that they do have 'high gluten' flour.  I must have made a mistake last time I was in there and picked up the Spring Patent flour, which is not as high in protein.  Oh well... they sell me 50lb bags for about $30, so when I run out of this bag, I'll get the good stuff.  I just add some gluten to this flour and it turns out pretty good for breads and for pizza.

I can get San Marzano canned tomatoes at Wegmans here as well, but they are way expensive - like about $4 or so for a 20oz can.  I've been using just some generic crushed tomatoes, but like I said -- I don't have a good recipe for the sauce yet anyway.

I noticed that many of you grow your own herbs.  I have quite a garden and a composting bin too.  I wonder if I could grow the San Marzanos myself?

Thanks!
Bryan

[Matthew]

I wonder if I could grow the San Marzanos myself?

Thanks!
Bryan

You definitely can but they won't be the same.  What gives the tomatoes their unique flavor is that they are grown in Campania in volcanic soil from Mount Vesuvius.

Matt

[Mick.Chicago]

You definitely can but they won't be the same.  What gives the tomatoes their unique flavor is that they are grown in Campania in volcanic soil from Mount Vesuvius.

Matt

I guess that's the next step then!  I wonder if that Hawaiian ash compares...hmmmmm 


Welcome to the forum, Bryan! 

P.S

You're not the Messiah, you're a very naughty boy.

[Matthew]

You're not the Messiah, you're a very naughty boy.

 

[Jackie Tran]

Bryan, if you have a broiler in the home oven you can get higher temps by putting your stone near it. 800-900 is possible. Do a search for "broiler" and have a read.

Also having that char is mostly for looks. If you are happy with your pizza that's all that matters but having goals and challenging yourself is fun though.

You can also make nearlypolitan pies using AP or pastry flour. I have even made it with BF and the taste is often not noticeably different than using caputo. It's mostly in the dough handling technique.   So don't worry if you don't have caputo flour. Just practice using AP flour until you get it. Having caputo won't make up for lack of technique.

[Jackie Tran]

+1. Made me chuckle but it was over my head.

[cassb]

I believe that was a Python inside joke from Life of Brian?  ;-)

[cassb]

Bryan, if you have a broiler in the home oven you can get higher temps by putting your stone near it. 800-900 is possible. Do a search for "broiler" and have a read.

Also having that char is mostly for looks. If you are happy with your pizza that's all that matters but having goals and challenging yourself is fun though.

You can also make nearlypolitan pies using AP or pastry flour. I have even made it with BF and the taste is often not noticeably different than using caputo. It's mostly in the dough handling technique.   So don't worry if you don't have caputo flour. Just practice using AP flour until you get it. Having caputo won't make up for lack of technique.

Oh... hm.  Well maybe it's not neapolitan style that I'm after then?  Because if I used AP or pastry flour (which I do have on hand), then I don't think the dough would pass the 'window test', would it?  Would it still stretch out when handled, or just make a lot of holes?  I like the stretchy dough!   haha

I can even 'toss' the dough to get it round.   The kids are usually impressed by that anyway. 

[scott123]

THAT wasn't five minutes!

[Mick.Chicago]

I believe that was a Python inside joke from Life of Brian?  ;-)

Indeed 

[Bill/SFNM]

Because if I used AP or pastry flour (which I do have on hand), then I don't think the dough would pass the 'window test', would it? 

The window-pane test is a convenient, if arbitrary, measure of gluten development. There are many styles of pizza dough, but for the particular style I like (soft, puffy crust), the dough will be over-kneaded by the time it window-panes.

[Jackie Tran]

Oh... hm.  Well maybe it's not neapolitan style that I'm after then?  Because if I used AP or pastry flour (which I do have on hand), then I don't think the dough would pass the 'window test', would it?  Would it still stretch out when handled, or just make a lot of holes?  I like the stretchy dough!   haha

I can even 'toss' the dough to get it round.   The kids are usually impressed by that anyway. 

I haven't yet tried to windowpane a dough for nearlypolitan pizza.  Next time I make one, I'll give it a try to see what happens. 

[don3627]

Welcome Bryan, I am originally from Rochester & truly miss the convenience of Wegmans down here in Florida. Have you tried Olindo's on Lyell avenue for Pizza supplies? They cater to restaurants and used to have a nice variety of "leftovers" which they sell to the public at reasonable prices.
Don

[cassb]

Welcome Bryan, I am originally from Rochester & truly miss the convenience of Wegmans down here in Florida. Have you tried Olindo's on Lyell avenue for Pizza supplies? They cater to restaurants and used to have a nice variety of "leftovers" which they sell to the public at reasonable prices.
Don

Olindo's... OK, I'll have to look that up and give them a try, thanks!  The place I've been going to is called Tadco, or Niblack, foods on Jefferson Rd., by Palmers and Lori's.  They have a web site called ingredientwarehouse and sell decent baking stuff.

Thanks!

[don3627]

Ive lived in Florida for 7 years, so I haven't been to Olindo's in quite some time, but it used to be a great place for all sorts of fun stuff related to pizza baking. I hope it hasn't changed. best of luck!!

[cassb]

Ive lived in Florida for 7 years, so I haven't been to Olindo's in quite some time, but it used to be a great place for all sorts of fun stuff related to pizza baking. I hope it hasn't changed. best of luck!!

I found at Wegmans this weekend that they sell a couple different "San Marzano" cans of tomatoes.  There's a 28 oz. store-brand one, a Cento brand (in a big (3 lb?) yellow can!) and a 28 oz. Flora one.  I picked up the Wegmans brand can to try out.  It was 3.99.  The Flora brand was 4.39 and the Cento was 7.99.  They all said that the tomatoes were from the Sarnese-Nocerino area, whatever that means.  I'll let you know if they taste OK, although I don't know what I'm looking for in taste. 

I made some excellent crust on Friday last week -- chewy and crunchy.  I had added a Tbl. extra gluten and a tsp. of malt.  Then I also let it autolyze for about 40 mins before starting up the breadmaker on its dough cycle.

Bryan