Paul, here's sort of a bare bones budget for an aspiring home pizza maker
Digital scale $20
Infrared Thermometer (ebay) $20
1" x 18" x 18" Cordierite Kiln shelf $50 (shipped)
Wood Peel $20
Flat Cookie sheet $10
Clear round plastic food containers $6
Bottled yeast (walmart) $4
All Trumps Flour 50# $16
Here's the upgrade
Digital scale (more features) $50
Probe thermometer $10
High temp IR thermometer (should you ever own a WFO) $80
Bosch Universal Plus mixer $400
1/2" x 18" x 18" steel plate ~$150
Wood Peel $20
Good Metal Peel $100
Pyrex 7 Cup round glass storage containers (2) $15
Proofing pans (2) $20
Bottled yeast (walmart) $4
All Trumps Flour 50# $16
It seems, to me, that the people who do oven tricks don't do them every week. Some tricks are easier than others, and, if you're electrically inclined, you can wire a switch into the thermostat circuit, but, generally speaking, the $150 for steel plate will remove the need for modding and most likely save you quite a bit of work. That's the only upgrade that I really recommend.
If you're going the cordierite/oven mod route, you're going to need an IR thermometer, but if you get the steel plate, you could get the IR thermometer later on. You'll still want one eventually, though. I don't use a probe thermometer, as I knead by hand (very little friction/heat generation) and use room temp water (checking the house thermostat before I start). I also use recipes that require very little kneading. If you get the bosch (stay away from Kitchenaid), you'll want a probe thermometer for measuring the final temp of the dough. There's $20-ish metal peels, but they're really clunky. I'm currently using a cookie sheet myself until I find a decently priced non-clunky peel. Finding clear plastic round food containers that are large and wide enough (ideally about 8" wide and 3" tall) is no easy task. I ended up suffering through square containers (really hard to form the dough) until I graduated to real proofing pans. The 7 cup pyrex containers are a little small for 16" NY style doughs, but they give you an excellent view of the underside for determining proper fermentation.
Shipping is very expensive on the stones. If you can find a local ceramics supplier, you might be able to trim the kiln shelf price to $30 and, if you can find a metal supplier, you might get the steel plate for $100.
Sauce recipes can be a bit of a secret, but, as far as everything else goes, commercial pizza making is pretty much an open book. It's a little difficult for beginners to get their head around, but great pizza isn't about finding the 'perfect' recipe. Great pizza is, imo,
65% oven setup (primarily the right stone)
8% professional flour (bromated)
7% understanding fermentation/yeast (through practice)
7% motor skills/forming/launching (again, through practice)
5% understanding gluten (not overkneading/not underkneading)
4% getting the right thickness factor
4% everything else (recipe, sauce etc.)
As far as procuring the ingredients goes, your local supermarket should have everything other than the flour. To obtain real pizzeria flour (All Trumps is a popular choice), you'll need to go a distributor. Some distributors will sell to the public (cash and carry), some will only sell to restaurants and some will have minimum orders. I would try all of these and see if they'll sell you a single 50# bag of flour:
Restaurant Depot
Dallas, TX
2151 Irving Blvd.
Dallas, TX 75207-6503
Phone: 214-760-4840
(ask about a day pass)
Dawn Food Products, Inc.
Distribution Center
3353 Miller Park South #100
Garland, TX 75042
Phone: 972-485-8004
800-442-9713
Roma Foods
5225 Investment Drive
Dallas, TX 75236
800-433-8148
Oh, and everything I've said relates to thin crust NY style (and Californian, which is really just NY with funky toppings). For Chicago and thick crust, you'll need pans, but that's not my area.
