Author Topic: My First Cracker!! (Read 2307 times)

JJP · « **on:** August 15, 2011, 09:14:50 PM »

Ohh Pizza !!!! What a great dough and how incredibly easy !!! This was fantastic and sooo easy ! Granted I made some small errors that I know can be corrected but holly smokes, to be so close to perfection after the first try ... ?? Seriously! http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1311.msg11794.html#msg11794
I went out and bought the scale but goofed up and added 1/2 oz too much water... I think that may have been the issue! Short of that it was AWSOME.... I have paid for worse pizza by far....

I cannot wait to do the next one! Mods & site junkies, thanks so much for the info here! My pics will get better as I will quit using my phone to take pics but will use my "real" camera when the pie is worthy! not there yet!!
WONDERFUL SITE!!!!!!!!

JJP · « **Reply #1 on:** August 15, 2011, 09:21:54 PM »

Prepped & Ready

JJP · « **Reply #2 on:** August 15, 2011, 09:25:07 PM »

DONE and the house smelled GREAT!

Mick.Chicago · « **Reply #3 on:** August 16, 2011, 08:45:30 AM »

Looks good, pic looks fine! The toppings remind me of the 'Lou' at Lou Malnatis.

Steve · « **Reply #4 on:** August 16, 2011, 11:58:11 AM »

Looks great!!

Mad_Ernie · « **Reply #5 on:** August 16, 2011, 12:09:16 PM »

That looks awesome! Made me drool just looking at it and reading your post.

JConk007 · « **Reply #6 on:** August 16, 2011, 12:49:15 PM »

Nailed it Congrats!!
John

JJP · « **Reply #7 on:** August 18, 2011, 07:49:19 PM »

Thanks all! That pizza rocked, cannot wait to do it again!

ThatsAmore · « **Reply #8 on:** August 21, 2011, 09:09:53 PM »

I can't wait for this heat to subside, as there is no way I'm firing up my oven. Looks great !!!

BBH · « **Reply #9 on:** August 24, 2011, 01:52:26 PM »

How crisp did you get it? I have not been able to get the crusts crisp when using any pan. The only way I found which works for me is to cook directly on stone @ 525. No less heat. How crisp was the center and how long did it stay crisp for...color looks excellent.

JJP · « **Reply #10 on:** August 24, 2011, 04:42:13 PM »

It was perfect as far as the crispness was concerned. I stuck to the instructions and just waited till the edge looked crispy! Too dang easy!

chickenparm · « **Reply #11 on:** August 24, 2011, 05:20:58 PM »

Looks GREAT! I need to try making one of those soon.Kinda bored with the NY style all the time.

JJP · « **Reply #12 on:** August 24, 2011, 07:44:53 PM »

Thanks Chick! Its sooo easy it can make anybody look good!

BBh... hey I was thinking about a few things.... did you follow the instructions to to the "t" or did you just wing it? The other thing was you need to make sure that you PAr-Bake the crust to keep it from being doughy! That may have been an issue but please let us know so we can help you out!

JJP · « **Reply #13 on:** August 24, 2011, 08:03:26 PM »

BBH I owe this next one to you!! In an effort to improve on my first try and to help you out I whipped another out for dinner tonight! Heres what I did different from the first time.
I used the scale again and stuck to the weights to the nut! NO deviations!!!
The dough came out just like the "cornmeal" mix as described. There was just enough moisture to wad up the dough into a ball... BUT.... it was a bit of a pain to roll into a slab for the pan.
No real issue as it finaly gave in to my efforts. A little more water would have helped the rolling but would have comprimised the final product and taken away from the texture of the baked crust.
Threw it on the trusty pan and cut off the excess... and threw it into the oven at 500 for 4 mins.... Looked at it at 3 mins and saw BUBBLES..... NOOOOOOOO I was doing so well!!
... Oh yea... Dont be a goof and forget to Dock the dough... DOH!!!! Removed it and did a quick fork assault to the bubbles and dough...threw it back in for another 60 seconds to finish the pre-bake and pulled it out!
WHEW... disaster averted... Little bit bit of burns to the hands but One more beer and who cares right?
Prepped the pie and threw it back in the oven.

Clean up the kitchen and dont tell the wife I tosted my paws .... Done and time to pull out the Pie!!!

OHHHH Glory AGAIN! Wow, just a simple pizza that comes out sooo well.

Oh, I have to say that this also was the first time I used Fresh Basil..... Oh My God.... that alone transforms a so so piza into something special.... god help me that was good!

Once again bow to the 1000+ posters on the board... thanks for the help & information!!!

JJP · « **Reply #14 on:** August 24, 2011, 08:10:56 PM »

Prepped and ready for the oven !

JJP · « **Reply #15 on:** August 24, 2011, 08:14:58 PM »

Out of the Oven.... The crust is just getting black at the tips..time to pull and it will still bake a little after you pull it out.

JJP · « **Reply #16 on:** August 24, 2011, 08:21:18 PM »

Another great slice but poor picture... Wow what a difference some fresh herbs make....So awsome!

chickenparm · « **Reply #17 on:** August 24, 2011, 10:05:15 PM »

Loving them pies!

BBH · « **Reply #18 on:** August 25, 2011, 11:45:40 AM »

Looks excellent! My issue was accomplishing the same but w/o par bake. The water ratios in the mix are at approx 40% which is where I'm at and that seems to make the best cracker thus far. I have been able to achieve the cracker w/o par bake but only on stone, never a pan for me anyway. In order to make that happen, 40% is it, any less and the dough is too difficult to deal with. Also, I had to change the way sauce is applied. It cannot go directly on the crust (which with par bake you can), instead, thin cheese layer on dough, meats, then sauce applied in "blobs" via a sauce bottle, then veggies. A drastically different way for me to make pizza but the end result was excellent. Go cracker! to bad many places don't make it.

Your pizza looks great and really like the slightly rolled up edge and color is perfect.

Pete-zza · « **Reply #19 on:** August 25, 2011, 12:36:36 PM »

Quote from: BBH on August 25, 2011, 11:45:40 AM

My issue was accomplishing the same but w/o par bake. The water ratios in the mix are at approx 40% which is where I'm at and that seems to make the best cracker thus far. I have been able to achieve the cracker w/o par bake but only on stone, never a pan for me anyway. In order to make that happen, 40% is it, any less and the dough is too difficult to deal with. Also, I had to change the way sauce is applied. It cannot go directly on the crust (which with par bake you can), instead, thin cheese layer on dough, meats, then sauce applied in "blobs" via a sauce bottle, then veggies. A drastically different way for me to make pizza but the end result was excellent. Go cracker! to bad many places don't make it.

BBH,

Out of curiosity, what kinds of problems have you been experiencing when using a hydration value below 40%?

Peter