Pizzeria Luigi in San Diego, CA

[PizzaEater101]

I don't know if I  ever ate luigi's but I did eat a lot of pizza in sd in the early 70s. My saying I made a Luigi was meant to be a pizza from this link. Let's say it is a great pizza for a home oven. Patrick

Nothing wrong with that. I just was not sure if you had pizza at Luigi because you are from Modesto and although Modesto is no where near SD, it is within the same state so I thought maybe you had been on vacation in SD and had some pizza at Luigi.  I'm glad that I started a discussion on Luigi because there is a lot of interest in it and many of the fine members here have helped in reverse engineering this great pizza pie.  I'm glad that people who never had this pizza pie have been able to try to make it at home and enjoy it.  I never had a Boardwalk pizza but thanks to Norma's discussion on this type of Mack Boardwalk Pie I was able to try to make one.  I say try because I think I messed up on it.  In the near future I'll try to make another one and maybe one day I'll be back East and get to try a real Mack pie and compare to how I made one at home out here in LA.

Thanks for your input and interest on this subject Patrick.

[Essen1]

James,

I'll take another stab at Luigi's pies in the coming weeks. I have to refine one other formula, albeit on a smaller scale, but I'd like to get Luigi's down. Even if it's just for myself.

Thanks a bunch for all the work you've done on this and in this thread! 

[patnx2]

Tonights results for "Luigi'. One 24 hour and one 48. Both were very good but 48 hour was by far the better tasting crust. Both my wife and sister both said as good as anything they tasted since NY when we used to eat .15 cent slices. Both bakes were under 7 min with about 1.5 min, broiler. Thanks again to all for the help in getting me home. Patrick

[PizzaEater101]

James,

I'll take another stab at Luigi's pies in the coming weeks. I have to refine one other formula, albeit on a smaller scale, but I'd like to get Luigi's down. Even if it's just for myself.

Thanks a bunch for all the work you've done on this and in this thread! 

Mike, thanks for all the work you have done on this thread too! We are all learning from each other.  I forgot if you ever made it to Luigi?  I know you are in Northern California so driving to Luigi in San Diego might be an 8 hour drive so it might not be something easily done and flying would cost a lot of money and staying in the hotel.  Now if you were to go to San Diego on vacation of course you'd go to Luigi. 

Once you refine the formula please post your formula and your results.  I as well as others will be interested in how it turns out. 


Thanks!

[PizzaEater101]

Tonights results for "Luigi'. One 24 hour and one 48. Both were very good but 48 hour was by far the better tasting crust. Both my wife and sister both said as good as anything they tasted since NY when we used to eat .15 cent slices. Both bakes were under 7 min with about 1.5 min, broiler. Thanks again to all for the help in getting me home. Patrick

patnx2, that's great it turned out great. Next time you make some pizza post some pics if you will. We'd love to see the results. 

What formulation for the dough and sauce did you use?  What was your oven setup? 


Thanks

[patnx2]

I have an old xp windows and have trouble with posting pics. The pies I made were @65% hydration,power flour,yeast .55%  and two percent sugar and salt.I made 14 inch pizzas hand opened. Mixed in KA for 5 min and balled after thirty min. Into frig for 48 hours and 3 hours out at room temp before opening. Topped with 6n1 sauce out of can,wm-moss  (precious brand) and Italian sausage with sauteed mushrooms.
Baked in 550 oven, pre heated for one hour with stone 6 inch's from gas broiler. Used broiler for 1 to 2 mins. 7 min. bake.  Patrick

[PizzaEater101]

I have an old xp windows and have trouble with posting pics. The pies I made were @65% hydration,power flour,yeast .55%  and two percent sugar and salt.I made 14 inch pizzas hand opened. Mixed in KA for 5 min and balled after thirty min. Into frig for 48 hours and 3 hours out at room temp before opening. Topped with 6n1 sauce out of can,wm-moss  (precious brand) and Italian sausage with sauteed mushrooms.
Baked in 550 oven, pre heated for one hour with stone 6 inch's from gas broiler. Used broiler for 1 to 2 mins. 7 min. bake.  Patrick

No worries, no pics.  I'm glad you had great results and thanks for posting your formulation for the dough and the sauce as well as the baking process.  I just got a new computer, now have Win 7 and a more powerful computer but for 9 years I was on XP on a slow computer.  I was able to post pics but most things were just too slow.  So I know where you are coming from.  Thanks for the info on your pie.

[PizzaEater101]

The pictures of the pizzas that I posted are of the meat lovers on the right and the left I thought was called the Crime Stopper but I read somewhere that might be called the white pizza.  It has marinara, meatballs, and ricotta cheese.  I should have been paying attention more to when I was eating it but I loved it so much my mind was not paying attention as much as my taste buds.  Can some one tell from the pic, do you think the sauce and the ricotta were placed on after the pizza was baked?  Maybe there is a layer of mozz that was baked on then after they put ricotta on and the sauce?  I mean the ricotta doesn't look like it really was baked but I might be wrong because I never worked with ricotta before and the sauce also didn't seem baked.


Thanks

[PizzaEater101]

Given the numbers Peter has set forth in above's post I came up with a scaled down first version (25lb bag), using IDY instead of ADY, for a 17" Luigi clone with a hydration of 62%.

If there are any errors in it, please point them out.

25 lb bag clone / 2 x 17" pizza

Flour (100%): Water (62%): IDY (0.56437%): Salt (1.984%): Sugar (.22928%): Total (164.77765%): Single Ball:

552.48 g  |  19.49 oz | 1.22 lbs 342.53 g  |  12.08 oz | 0.76 lbs 3.12 g | 0.11 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.04 tsp | 0.35 tbsp 10.96 g | 0.39 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.96 tsp | 0.65 tbsp 1.27 g | 0.04 oz | 0 lbs | 0.32 tsp | 0.11 tbsp 910.36 g | 32.11 oz | 2.01 lbs | TF = 0.070736 455.18 g | 16.06 oz | 1 lbs

32 lb bag clone / 2 x 17" pizza

Flour (100%): Water (62%): IDY (0.44092%): Salt (1.5501%): Sugar (0.17912%): Total (164.17014%): Single Ball:

554.52 g  |  19.56 oz | 1.22 lbs 343.8 g  |  12.13 oz | 0.76 lbs 2.44 g | 0.09 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.81 tsp | 0.27 tbsp 8.6 g | 0.3 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.54 tsp | 0.51 tbsp 0.99 g | 0.04 oz | 0 lbs | 0.25 tsp | 0.08 tbsp 910.36 g | 32.11 oz | 2.01 lbs | TF = 0.070736 455.18 g | 16.06 oz | 1 lbs

50 lb bag clone / 2 x 17" pizza

Flour (100%): Water (62%): IDY (0.35412%): Salt (0.9921%): Sugar (0.11464%): Total (163.46086%): Single Ball:

556.93 g  |  19.64 oz | 1.23 lbs 345.29 g  |  12.18 oz | 0.76 lbs 1.97 g | 0.07 oz | 0 lbs | 0.65 tsp | 0.22 tbsp 5.53 g | 0.19 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.99 tsp | 0.33 tbsp 0.64 g | 0.02 oz | 0 lbs | 0.16 tsp | 0.05 tbsp 910.36 g | 32.11 oz | 2.01 lbs | TF = 0.070736 455.18 g | 16.06 oz | 1 lbs

All three formulas are without bowl residue compensation.

I know this is an old topic but I wanted to say that I used the formula 1 but upted the hydration from 62% to 63%. I really liked it a lot. I think I'll stick to this. I never tried it with 62% and probably just as good but I did like how 63% came out and I'll stick with it.

[Essen1]

Dude,

You are the only one who can actually nail it since you had the pizza a few times.

I have a feeling that with all the dissecting, reverse-engineering and all, it's a straight up simple formula. Especially if they have to do it on a daily basis.

Water, yeast, sugar, salt and flour.

Mixed, balled and rested maybe overnight or for only a few hours. Power flour is used and I think that's the key. We don't know much about this flour but two exceptional places here in SF use it and both said to achieve a light crust with this particular flour is the water temp. I don't know why, but that's what they told me.

I haven't made a pizza in a few months but will definitely take another stab at it because Luigi's looks promising. But so does Marcello's in SF.

Good stuff.  

[PizzaEater101]

Hi Mike, we are both up pretty late tonight I see.

Here is a couple of shots of the pie. I'm not so great at shaping so it's not as nice looking as Luigi and not as big too. This is about 14 to 15 inch.

[PizzaEater101]

Dude,

You are the only one who can actually nail it since you had the pizza a few times.

I have a feeling that with all the dissecting, reverse-engineering and all, it's a straight up simple formula. Especially if they have to do it on a daily basis.

Water, yeast, sugar, salt and flour.

Mixed, balled and rested maybe overnight or for only a few hours. Power flour is used and I think that's the key. We don't know much about this flour but two exceptional places here in SF use it and both said to achieve a light crust with this particular flour is the water temp. I don't know why, but that's what they told me.

I haven't made a pizza in a few months but will definitely take another stab at it because Luigi's looks promising. But so does Marcello's in SF.

Good stuff.  

I think if I was able to shape it right and bake it right I think I could tell if it's the same as Luigi. If I was to get all variables right. It's a good pizza nevertheless.

What water temp are we talking about Mike?

I do know I love working with this Power Flour. It really is easy to work with.

[Essen1]

PE101,

Water temp is around 60-65°F.

[PizzaEater101]

PE101,

Water temp is around 60-65°F.

Thanks Mike. That's really important. I just use cold water but not sure the temp. Next time I am going to test it with a thermometer.

[PizzaEater101]

scott123,



ADY to use, taking into account the fact that the ADY is not rehydrated optimally when using room temperature water.


Peter

Tried to find out the answer to this at the Pizza Making Forum but didn't find the answer. I'm back on a Luigi kick so wondering what temp is best for ADY re-hydration. Thanks.

[Chicago Bob]

Tried to find out the answer to this at the Pizza Making Forum but didn't find the answer. I'm back on a Luigi kick so wondering what temp is best for ADY re-hydration. Thanks.

Most hot water heaters are factory set at 115 degrees...the "hot" tap water from your kitchen faucet works well for "blooming" ady yeast. If you feel this is a necessary step...

btw, blooming/proofing and simply dissolving ady are 2 different things...unless you suspect that your ady might be too old/out of date, there is no need to "proof" it (note:you will get faster proofing results by adding small amount of sugar to your 'lil proofing dish/bowl that is between 105-125degrees water temp) but this is all unnecessary really...you can dilute/hydrate ady in ANY temp. water you like and then add to your recipe if you don't want to simply add it dry into your dry mix.

[PizzaEater101]

Most hot water heaters are factory set at 115 degrees...the "hot" tap water from your kitchen faucet works well for "blooming" ady yeast. If you feel this is a necessary step...

btw, blooming/proofing and simply dissolving ady are 2 different things...unless you suspect that your ady might be too old/out of date, there is no need to "proof" it (note:you will get faster proofing results by adding small amount of sugar to your 'lil proofing dish/bowl that is between 105-125degrees water temp) but this is all unnecessary really...you can dilute/hydrate ady in ANY temp. water you like and then add to your recipe if you don't want to simply add it dry into your dry mix.

Bob thanks for the info. I use IDY because when I learned how to make pizza from scratch I learned it by watching "Good Eats", Alton Brown's show. He suggested the use of IDY so I stuck with it. I learned so much more about pizza making the past few years from being at this forum though but Alton Brown got me started in it.

So you can hydrate ADY at any temp but I'll stick to IDY since I've been with it so long but I was just curious.  Mike (Essen) says for Power Flour the water should be between 60-65 F and I think IDY does well in that. But if I could use ADY at any temp then that would work at that temp too.

Even though IDY is made so you can add it to dry product, i.e, flour and ADY in water, I still just throw the IDY in the water and mix it up. I used to leave it in the dry stuff and then add the water but now just put in the water.

I wonder if the finished product taste different if you use ADY instead of IDY? Anyone know?


Thanks

[Chicago Bob]

Bob thanks for the info. I use IDY because when I learned how to make pizza from scratch I learned it by watching "Good Eats", Alton Brown's show. He suggested the use of IDY so I stuck with it. I learned so much more about pizza making the past few years from being at this forum though but Alton Brown got me started in it.

So you can hydrate ADY at any temp but I'll stick to IDY since I've been with it so long but I was just curious.  Mike (Essen) says for Power Flour the water should be between 60-65 F and I think IDY does well in that. But if I could use ADY at any temp then that would work at that temp too.

Even though IDY is made so you can add it to dry product, i.e, flour and ADY in water, I still just throw the IDY in the water and mix it up. I used to leave it in the dry stuff and then add the water but now just put in the water.

I wonder if the finished product taste different if you use ADY instead of IDY? Anyone know?


Thanks

Good deal...the water temp member Essen is talking about is a guide to achieving a "final dough temp." that he is looking for in his particular dough/application..

[Pete-zza]

So you can hydrate ADY at any temp but I'll stick to IDY since I've been with it so long but I was just curious.  Mike (Essen) says for Power Flour the water should be between 60-65 F and I think IDY does well in that. But if I could use ADY at any temp then that would work at that temp too.

The recommended way of rehydrating ADY is to use a portion of the formula water equal to about four to five times the weight of the ADY at a temperature of about 105 degrees F for about 10 minutes. The rehydrated ADY can then be added to the rest of the formula water. It is the temperature of the remaining formula water that is established to achieve the desired finished dough temperature.

I wonder if the finished product taste different if you use ADY instead of IDY? Anyone know?

For the amount of ADY that you would be using, I doubt that you could detect a difference. Tom Lehmann and the AIB have run tests using the different forms of yeast for otherwise identical doughs and found that they could not detect a difference in the finished product. However, if you use a lot of ADY, you might detect a yeasty flavor because ADY contains more dead cells than IDY used at a comparable rate.

Peter

[PizzaEater101]

Good deal...the water temp member Essen is talking about is a guide to achieving a "final dough temp." that he is looking for in his particular dough/application..

The water temp that I made my dough with was 64 F but not sure about the final dough temp. I'll have to check it when I finish kneading it. I am making some now but letting it rest before I knead it for five minutes. I'm sure the temp will be higher once it's done but when it's in the fridge it should be about that when it cold ferments. Thanks buddy.