Hi folks,sorry it took so long.Been having trouble with the web browsers but it seems to have fixed itself.
I have to say the pie I made more or less fell into place,came together very well or better than I had anticipated.
However,to share what I did and learned,the main key was the Thickness factor and bake time/temp of the oven.The reason I chose not to use sugar or oil,I wanted to try to keep this pie very
SIMPLE using nothing but the basics,to see how the pie would turn out without them.(mainly the color of the rim and cooking rise)
See,for a long time,I kept overcooking the pies,I made them too well done,but hey,I love it that way!
But I was not always getting the texture,soft chew, or results, that reminded me of typical good slice shops that were everywhere when I was a kid/teen.This isn't my best pie by any means,but it hit home to what I was trying to make and was often hit and miss.
I also wanted to see if baking at 4 minutes,using NO broiler,would still cook the pie in 4 minutes.It did,I was so happy to see no doughy gumline or undercooked dough anywhere.It was just right.I did make a common mistake in the past,thinking if the crust was not brown enough,or golden brown,it was not finished,and would taste like it was under cooked.
This was NOT the case.Even being light in color,the pie was done,and that 4 minute bake time was perfect for the cheese melting as well.I have noticed anything after 5 minutes,the cheese on my pies would break down alot more.The pictures show it best.
It is possible that a pie with a thicker bottom would not be done this soon and have a gumline.So what happens is the cheese is breaking down before the crust is even done cooking.This has happened to me a few times in the past.
Forget the color of the rim for a bit,when making a NY style pie,focus on the TF and bake time,try to keep it under 5 minutes,if you can get your ovens to around 600.Keep in mind,when you take a pie out a little early,its still going to cook while it cools off.Slice shops always take the pies out a bit early so they can reheat them.The pie does not have to be golden brown either to taste good either.
Its really up to you how you prefer your pies.I prefer mine more well done,but as for this experiment,It played out well for me.I have a good feeling I can duplicate this everytime now.
I will say again,the bottom did not have enough char.I need a steel plate or a larger stone,as Scott keeps pointing out.The bottom was missing the full bake/crisp a stone bake gives ya.My oven is around 15 years old,A whirlpool super capacity electric oven,number 465.It can hold 18 inch screens with ease.Its old but works very well.It heats up very fast and can get as hot as 620+ F with the knobs turn past 550 at times.
I do need a new pizza cutter though...have you noticed the uneven,bad cut in the slices? The rivet holding the blade is worn,so the darn thing wobbles sideways when slicing.
I'm going to write a little more about the dough and sauce making in a few.I forgot to focus on that and I'm rambling too much here.Don't want to make this a novel. Sorry it took so long to write back and thank you all for the nice words and comments.
