Poor Pizza Newb Needs Advice

[uniformsquare]

I am pretty poor like eating rice, beans, onions, and potatoes everyday. Any general tips on making pizzas in poverty?

I don't have a stone, peel, or kitchen scale.

Can you flip over a thick cast iron and use that as a makeshift stone?

What digital kitchen scale do you guys recommend for pretty cheap? Until I get one is there a way to convert weights to volume?

Is there any particular types of pizza that are cheaper to make than others?

How do you folks keep your ingredient costs down?

Sorry about all the questions, the more I read here the more questions I have jajajaja.

[TXCraig1]

Yes, you can use a cast iron pan. Search for it here and you will find lots of positing on doing just that.

I use this scale: http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-AMW-2000-Digital-Jewelry/dp/B000OIRSSU/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1329508687&sr=8-11
It's pretty inexpensive and works well.

There are lots of ingredient conversions on line. Someone will probably post one. There are also lots of recipes here based on volume. What sort of pizza do you want to make? Check out those boards and the "Pizza Recipes" link on the main page. Neapolitan is probably the one to steer away from for now.

Pizza without cheese is the least expensive... I only half joke about this. I eat a lot of plain tomato pies - just crust, tomato sauce, some olive oil, and maybe a little oregano and garlic slices - not so much because it is very inexpensive, but rather because it tastes good and is pretty low fat and relatively healthy.

Personally, I don't worry about ingredient prices, but I know where you're coming from. I lived on beans and ramen noodles for a period of my life too. You don't need top quality ingredients to make a great pie. Store brand flour, inexpensive whole peeled tomatoes, part-skim cheese (buy in blocks not shredded) can all make great pies with some TLC. Vegetables make a great topping and cost a lot less than most meat toppings. Pepperoni is not terribly expensive, you don't need a lot of it on a pie to have great flavor, and it keeps for a long time, so you don't need to use it all right away.

Stick with it and you'll come up with something you like and on your budget in no time.

Craig

[gfgman]

Be on the lookout for cheese sales.  I use Sorrento block cheese, which is somewhat expensive, but there are times during the year where it is on sale, and it is the cheapest thing on the shelf.  I also find that I can sometimes get larger blocks at warehouse club for a much better price per pound.

[uniformsquare]

Thanks dude. I like popular pizza chains like PJ and Little Cesars mostly, but I want to make about every other style just to try it.

[dmcavanagh]

No scale, no problem. Start with a ratio of 3:1. Three cups of flour, one cup of water. That will get you damn close to a very useable dough, from there you can make adjustments as needed.

[Pete-zza]

uniformsquare,

If you like Papa John's pizzas, you might take a look at the Papa John's clone thread at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,6758.0.html. Some of the recipes in that thread are given by both weight and volume measurements, and hand kneading is discussed as one of the ways of making the dough. One of the nice things about the PJ clone pizzas from the standpoint of keeping costs down is that you can use a simple, inexpensive pizza screen. See, for example, http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/Product_119991. If you are near a restaurant supply store and can pick up a 14" screen you will be well on your way. You will also save on shipping costs. One of the most popular PJ clone recipes is the one at Reply 20 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,6758.msg59217.html#msg59217. That would be a pretty good place to start in my opinion.

I agree with the others about the benefits of a digital scale and how to keep food costs down.

Peter

[moose13]

I would think home made pizza is actually pretty cheap already.
Bag of AP or bread flour $3.50  makes 6-8 pizzas? Tomatoes for sauce $1.50 per pie?
toppings are cheap, pepperoni, sausage and veggies. Really not much cost per pie. What a buck?
Cheese has to be the biggest cost. I can get Kroger pizza cheese 2lbs. for $8.00 and will make about 4 pizzas?

This is all a guess, but pretty close. I think i can make a Ny style at home with regular store bought ingredients for $3.50 - $4.00 ??
A friend asked me this not long ago, but never figured it out. Does this sound close?
I just recently bought a scale, i measured by volume for months and did just fine.
There are people who use unglazed quarry tiles for pizza stones. Very cheap, just make sure you get the right ones.

Of course when i use fresh mozz, and higher quality toppings it will be more.

[TXCraig1]

Bag of AP or bread flour $3.50  makes 6-8 pizzas?

You must make some BIG pizzas. 

CL

[moose13]

You must make some BIG pizzas.  

CL

You are right, must be more like 12 pizzas?
20 cups per. 5lbs. about 5 cups per batch makes 3 pizzas.
20/5=4x3=12 or something like that

Forgive me i am not on a real tight budget, so i never really thought about it. Or tried to figure it out. Just tell the wife when i need more

[Chicago Bob]

You must make some BIG pizzas. 

CL

Can of Walmart Classico tomato's $ 1.28...28 ounce.

And VERY saucy ones too !!   

[moose13]

Looks like i have become that guy who doesn't have a clue what anything costs as i rarely do the shopping.

What would you guys think a 12" NY with pepperoni and mushroom would cost?

[Don K]

If you want to go real cheap, you can skip the scale. I never used to measure anything except yeast until I wanted to know what my hydration percentage was. I would just add my final flour gradually until the dough looked and felt about right. Once you get the hang of it you can be pretty consistent. As for salt and sugar, I usually just pour some in my hand until it looks about right. IMO, pizza making as more of an art than a science.

For bulk ingredients, you can also go with a cheap scale like this: http://amzn.com/B004Q79GP8. It measures in .1oz (2.8g) increments, but a few grams of flour or water either way isn't going to make much difference. You can use volume measurements for salt, sugar, and yeast. I have one of these scales that I use to weigh small parcels and it seems to be very accurate.

[Chicago Bob]

Looks like i have become that guy who doesn't have a clue what anything costs as i rarely do the shopping.

What would you guys think a 12" NY with pepperoni and mushroom would cost?

Well now ya know those mushrooms can get kinda pricey......12" ?...I'd say bout 2 bucks. But we're not talk'in Grande here, right?!!   

You're a good sport moose13, thanks!   

Bob

[moose13]

Well now ya know those mushrooms can get kinda pricey......12" ?...I'd say bout 2 bucks. But we're not talk'in Grande here, right?!!  

You're a good sport moose13, thanks!  

Bob

Grande? No, not one of those 6 pizzas per bag of flour types.  Those suckers are HUGE!

hahaha, i guess i AM that guy and probably should not post on the cost of things , my bad  LOL!

[pizzaneer]

I'm not quite poor, but the money is not directed towards food in my house.  When we have extra, we do things that we haven't been able to do, like home maitenance, car maitenance, etc.    We've learned to cut way back on essential costs by buying used, going to flea markets, bartering with friends, you name it.   One HUGE difference was cutting back on the cost of food by 70%.  How? We shop at ALDI.  If you're lucky enough to have one near you, give them a try.  Frequently, it's not name brand stuff, but really, what difference does it make?  Their fresh mozz is great, flour and IDY yeast is fine - and I'm lucky enough to have an organic farm next door that will give me all the plum tomatos and veggies I want for free in return for some of my work (artist).

Good Luck to you!
 

[IndyRob]

Thanks dude. I like popular pizza chains like PJ and Little Cesars mostly, but I want to make about every other style just to try it.

That's a good attitude to have.  I started out with specific styles that I wanted to master, but years later wondered why I would have wanted to recreate some of them.

The best money saving tip I have, if you can manage it, is 'bulk'.  A 5lb bag of flour seems to be about $3-$5/lb.  For less than $10 you can find a 25lb sack (in the midwest we have GFS, a food service company open to the public).  And in addition to Pizza, you can make pasta with some eggs (which are astoundingly cheap if you consider their overall culinary value).

I also buy 5lb bags of grated Mozzarella/Provolone blend, for just over $2/lb (it varies a bit with the market).  That's about half of what you'll pay in the supermarket.

Mushrooms in a big #15(?) can seems to be a big savings as well (my math on this is incomplete, however).  Open it up and portion it into ziplock sandwich bags for the freezer and you'll get many, many bags for around $8/$9 (as opposed to $1 for little 4oz cans).

But if you do find a place like GFS, don't jump at everything as though you're saving with everything you buy.  The raw materials are generally good buys, but the prepared stuff has nothing over supermarket brands.

If you're willing to think of yourself as a yeast gardener, and are willing to commit some time on a consistant basis, one packet of yeast can last you the rest of your life.  You just need to keep a levain/starter going.

Canned tomato products (plain sauce, paste, etc) can be very cheap.  A 75 cent can of plain sauce can be transformed into a $3 jar of sauce with some seasoning.

[censored]

"In 16th century Naples a Galette flatbread was referred to as a pizza. A dish of the poor people, it was sold in the street and was not considered a kitchen recipe for a long time."

Poor is pizzas roots! Seriously, the ingredients are really cheap when you think about it. Also, if you have a Trader Joes near by, their pizza sauce is only $1.99 and it goes a LONG way and is VERY good. Also, if you have a Costco membership, their pizza blend isn't bad at all. I think it runs 12 bucks for a 5lb bag. You can start by baking on a cookie sheet or in a cake pan, and if you really want a scale, this one is under $20 http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Kitchen-11-Pound-0-1-Ounce/dp/B001S0ZJUM/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1330574957&sr=8-28. It is the one I use, but it doesn't do 10ths of a gram, so I have to round as I see fit, but you will find recipes on her like the Jerry Mac and some of Pete's that have conversions for cups, tbs, etc. I know that $5 pizza at Little Caesars is tempting, but making your own is so much more worth it, and it gives you a hobby too. That's how I got into it, I needed a hobby, and what better hobby than this? 

Edit: Forgot to mention one thing. A lot of people use unglazed quarry tile for a pizza stone. Apparently you can get these for around a buck at Lowes or Home Depot. You will need a way to get the pizza on the stone though, and I saw a pizza peel very cheap at World Market. The cheap peels will be very grainy, so make sure to take some sand paper to it first and you should be all good after that.