About to make my first pizza in over a year

[Pizzalogy]

I can't believe how much about pizza making that I had learned here that I had forgotten during my hiatus. I essentially gave up on making pizza after realizing that I could not successfully duplicate the NY style pizza I enjoy in my home oven. Soon after that, I found a pizzeria here in Michigan which makes a pretty good NY style pie, at least much better than any of my attempts. So I started just ordering my pizza there and not baking at home.

Recently however, I have fallen on difficult times. I lost my job and my health problems have made it difficult for me to find a new job. I no longer have the money to spend $14.00 on a pizza on a regular bases. So now I am excited to get back into making pizza at home, only with much lowered expectations. This way I can buy the ingredients with my food stamp card and eat pizza without affecting my supply of cash. I also have a new oven and more powerful broiler to play with. Anyway, I just want to thank everyone here who helped me years ago when I was new to pizza making, especially Jackie Tran and PeteZZa.

[Pizzaboyo]

My story's very similar Pizzalogy, health issues knocked me for six, times got hard and I needed a hobby to keep me going. I always liked cooking and realized I could make way better (cheaper) pizzas at home and now 5 years down the line I still can't do it  BUT man I loved every minute of the journey.Good health and good cooking to you 

[pythonic]

Welcome back and we wish you luck.  Post pics if you can.

Nate

[Chicago Bob]

Good luck Peter...I really hope your new more powerful oven gets you where you want to be. Also, hope your health comes back to you man...best wishes. 

Bob

[PizzaJerk]

Your desire to succeed is evident and you will do so. Perhaps this hobby may turn into a real passion and the job may be the only thing you can see yourself doing..making pizza. The Lord has a mysterious way of bringing the greater good out of a tough situation. Keep your head up.

Best of luck to you,
Anthony

[mkevenson]

Peter, I wasn't here when you left but glad that you are back. Sorry to hear about your tough times. Hopefully your pizza making skills will eventually meet your expectations.
Take care and keep baking them pies!
 
Mark

[Tannerwooden]

Sorry to hear about the tough times. Looking for a job, or too sick to work? Any prospects? I know a LOT of folks in your situation. Times are tough out there.

I'll pray for you.

Tanner

[Pizzalogy]

I am looking for a job and well enough to work part time as long as the job is not too difficult. Thanks for your prayers. One of the things I have done since not working, is taken the time to read the Bible all the way from Genesis to where I am now halfway through the book of revelation. I did skip through some of the more boring parts though of the Old Testament though, like all the directions for rituals and specifications for building of the temple.

I didn't take any pics but my first couple of pizzas have come out great and are really good considering how cheap they are. I King Arthur Bread Flour and for the cheese I used a blend of Kraft Mozzarella and Meijer Brand Provolone along with some Parmasian Regggiano grated on top, which I find really adds flavor to the cheese. I put my pizza stone directly in the broiler and cook the pizza only a  few inches below the broiler flame. It bakes in 3-5 minutes and I would say these last couple pizzas i've made are better than 90% of the pizzas I made in my old oven.

[Pizzalogy]

Another thing I realized is that due to changes in my eating habits, I no longer  can eat a whole pizza in one sitting like I used now. These days I prefer to have just a couple slices at a time. This means that when I do order a pizza, I am eating most of it on the second or third day day. Because pizza is never as good when it's not fresh, my homemade pizza stacks up really well when compared to leftover pizza from even a very above average pizzeria. Because of this, I can finally say that I am pretty satisfied with my homemade pizza and it's all thanks to what I've learned on this website. If any newbies want tips on my methods for making a not great, but good homemade NY style pie, feel free to ask me. I can at least share some insights of what I've found makes a difference and what doesn't make that much of a difference, when it comes to trying to improve your pizza.

[Tannerwooden]

All the way through the bible...ambitious. I got it on audio. Makes it easier to get through all that ritual stuff.

Where are you at? What kind of stuff are you looking for? I probably can't help, but I would love to if I could.

[Jackie Tran]

Welcome back pizzalogy.  Glad I could help.

[tdub154420]

I can't believe how much about pizza making that I had learned here that I had forgotten during my hiatus.

I stopped making pizza for a year and I became an absolute pizza idiot.  First time back I decided I wanted to try a few Lehman recipes and I measured them all out by volume.  I forgot that there was even a difference between baking percentage's of volume and weight.  That's not me being a pizza idiot, that was me just being a flat out idiot.  So I made these pizzas by volume and came out with abomination after abomination and had no idea what was going on.  It was like I mixed up a fire extinguisher with a flame thrower.  Needless to say I think I'm still recovering from my massive loss of knowledge during my year hiatus.