Author Topic: Re: Pizza Town Clone (Read 6046 times)

JConk007 · « **Reply #20 on:** April 13, 2012, 10:03:47 PM »

didnt fit close up bottom, and notivce chau how the chease if it get layered you get a good dose but thereare allways spots somewhere left with little or no chees . Hope this helps!
Um let me know if you are in need of further voulunteer work !

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #21 on:** April 13, 2012, 10:07:35 PM »

Quote from: David Deas on April 13, 2012, 07:46:45 PM

That's really a great job cloning, Chau.

Thanks David!

John, thank you so much for the additional photos, info on reheating, and for going the extra mile and eating 3 slices so we can have more pictures and a better understanding of Pizza Town's awesome pizza. What a trooper you are!

Hey is that pepper I see on the top of the slices?

Kidding aside, these may just look like any other slices of cheese pizzas and maybe they are but something magically delicious happens with the reheated slices. That crisp it adds is so addicting. John you aren't kidding about the brother being heavy handed with the oregano, I can see it from here! The 3rd slice looks the best! Wish I was there to share with you, we probably could have eaten a whole pie no problem.

John that last picture you posted is a really great one! Why? for those who don't understand how a proper crust should look (IMO), look again! I told Scott123 this before we even started the tour. It should CRACK when it's folded - this is what I am always after. See those beautiful cracks in the bottom crust? That tells you a lot about the proper texture and mouth feel you get when you bite into it. Same kind of cracks you see on the shell of a good loaf of country bread. But this crispy crackly crust must give way to the teeth easily and should not be hard enough to cut the roof of your mouth as you eat your pizza. It should be a light crispy crackly texture. It should be airy crispy crackly. This is proper NY pizza!!! or better yet Jersey Pizza!!!

Chau

Essen1 · « **Reply #22 on:** April 13, 2012, 10:23:34 PM »

Chau,

That's very impressive!

Your clone looks almost like the real ones. I've never had PT's but from what I've heard they are very good.

Great job, buddy. Looking forward to your final work on this.

parallei · « **Reply #23 on:** April 13, 2012, 11:56:02 PM »

Quote

I think it looks better than Pizza Town!

+1

JConk007 · « **Reply #24 on:** April 14, 2012, 12:01:30 AM »

No not pepper . I think they use a pinch of corm meal for the peel and the tray this came off of was a mess I noted that also when he took the slice from the tray may have been used a time or 2 prior with 0 wiping when they heat a pie whole they just take the pan over and slide it in then drag the whole thing on to the pan again . So I think it residual burnt cormeal you (and I ) are sseing> The crack is from the hot reheat. Many NY slices just cant do that ! evenm after heat its a drooper these do stand up ! But fresh out of the oen again they are not llike this I will have to go back (bummmer) and wait to grab a freshy no reheat so you can see the distinct difference.
still great Job Chau !!
JOhn

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #25 on:** April 14, 2012, 01:25:58 AM »

Thank you Mike and Paul.

John, I didn't think it was actually pepper. I thought it might be burnt cornmeal, but couldn't see how they we're getting it on there. I hear you about the cracking. Okay, maybe I'm just biased towards it. I got carried away there and was talking like a "crack" addict. Would love to see more pics next time you go back.

Cheers

Bob1 · « **Reply #26 on:** April 14, 2012, 06:14:47 AM »

Nice job Chau,
I am interested in the mix. At what point did you add the shortening? I assume it was crisco vegetable.

Thanks,

Bob

norma427 · « **Reply #27 on:** April 14, 2012, 08:22:37 AM »

Chau,

Great job in your cloning Pizza Town's pizza!

Norma

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #28 on:** April 14, 2012, 08:32:24 AM »

Thanks Bob and Norma.

Bob1, I drizzle in the melted shortening after 1 min of mixing. I used 3% on this latest batch. Yes it was a generic vegetable shortening. Any brand will do.

Also don't forget the semolina on the peel.

Please do post up your pictures if you try to clone Pizza Town's pizza as well.

Thanks,
Chau

PizzaSean · « **Reply #29 on:** April 18, 2012, 03:06:14 AM »

Quote from: Jackie Tran on April 13, 2012, 10:07:35 PM

This is proper NY pizza!!! or better yet Jersey Pizza!!!

Chau

Love that part, Chau! Amen again and again!

When I was little, my dad brought home Pizza Town on his way home from work and it was always quite enjoyable, but it took until the last couple of years for me to reunite with my long lost friend! What a slice... so glad to see it getting credit where credit's due.

And it's gotta be mentioned they stay open late hours every night and then til 1 or 2 am on Fri/Sat... why can't we have more of this??? Happier global population guaranteed.

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #30 on:** April 30, 2012, 10:52:33 PM »

Sean, those of you who grew up on this stuff are pretty lucky. I've only started eating real pizza in my late 30's! But better late than never.

Tonight's effort yield almost identical results in the crust from what I can remember of my one trip there. For as many fans of this place, I'm surprise we don't have more discussion on this topic.

Anywho, here they are... I'll post up a link a bake video later when I get it uploaded.

Here are tonight's pies from the WFO.

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #31 on:** April 30, 2012, 10:56:22 PM »

pizza pics

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #32 on:** April 30, 2012, 11:05:34 PM »

more pics

scott123 · « **Reply #33 on:** April 30, 2012, 11:19:17 PM »

Those undercrusts are all works of art.

I'm not sure if this has been discussed, but I think your crumb is too tender. Too 'short'. At least, for it to be a perfect replica. What you've achieved, though is most likely superior.

I've mentioned this before, but I think it's important, that, as people try to reverse engineer famous places like Luigi's and Pizza Town, it's good to keep in mind that these pizzas are far from perfect and that many of the members here can do better- and for these people to duplicate these pizzas perfectly would be a step backwards for them.

You're baking these at 610? Are you still in the 3-4 minute realm? 610 seems really low for firebrick. I'm guessing your hearth is probably made up of some kind of FB refractory, right? If you're doing 3-4 minute bakes at 610, then the FB hearth has to be more conductive than your typical firebrick.

Edit: Btw, you wanna a little pizza with that oregano?

That's probably 10 times the amount of oregano I use. In that instance you are being quite authentic- at least on a 'Bruce' pie.

Edit2: Is it me or are you making more NY pies than Neapolitan lately?

You've both tasted and made quite a few Neapolitan pizzas and you've tasted and made (many times) authentic NY slices. Be honest, while I'm sure you enjoy both, don't you like these slices just a tiny bit better?

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #34 on:** May 01, 2012, 12:01:37 AM »

Scott, just the man I wanted to hear from. Glad to see you posting again. Were you physically ill recently?

If so, then I'm glad you are doing better.

I'm glad you see what I see with the undercrust. That's why I posted those. It has taken me a very long time to achieve this type of undercrust. I have been working on it even before I tried Pizza Town's pizza.

About the bake time. Their bake times seem to vary quite a bit. I have read of bake times from 4 minutes on up. When I was there with you, I ask the man making pizza (not sure if it was Bruce or someone else) about their bake times and he said 7 minutes. I have been pondering that 7 minutes for awhile now, and I am concluding that the bake time averages around 5 minutes with a min and a half to 2 minutes on the reheat to equal 7 minutes. But I also understand that they don't always reheat whole pies as John C. and Frank have told me. So a straight 6-7minute bake isn't really out of the question.

Now I know you love a 4 minute bake, but when we talk of bake times, we have to take lots of other factors into consideration. Namely the type of flour, hydration, use of oil, and how the dough is made. Believe it or not that all affects bake times. A 4 minute bake time using 2 different doughs will yield 2 distinctly different crusts.

For my specific dough, I did a bake Saturday night at 700F + in the 3-4 minute realm and I wasn't happy with the crust even though it browned up nicely. It was too soft for me. Of course today's bake wasn't with the exact same dough either since I had already made some adjustments to the formula. For tonight's bake I was really shooting for a 5-6 minute bake with and without a 1 minute reheat.

So for this dough formulation, it really seem to benefit from a 5-6 minute bake, thus the 600F-ish temps. I think PT is baking around 650F-ish right?

Tenderness - From memory PT's crumb, at least on the 2 slices I ate that one time, is slightly more tender than mine. I suspect that my methods and mix times are really close to theirs, and the difference lies almost solely in their specific flour. I had no one to video the way the dough opened tonight, but it was nearly identical to the video you posted of one of the sisters opening the dough. It stretched out thin, fairly easily, evenly, and beautifully.

I'm not sure if that is refractory FB or just plain FB in my wfo. If I had to guest, it is probably refractory FB. They come in 24x24" slabs and are almost 2" thick IIRC. I'll have to look it up to be sure.

Oregano - how did I know that someone would say something. Yes, I actually slipped and put too much, but it's Mexican oregano and not that strong. I put much less on other pies, but this was the only one that I took a picture of the sauced pie, so it got posted.

I'm still doing both styles back to back. I ran out of time last night and didn't make any NP dough for tonight.

I did bake on Saturday and did do some NP dessert pies. TBH, my NP needs much work. It's not an easy style to do to my satisfaction. I'm still experimenting with that style and not fully satisfied just yet.

At their peak both are excellent and just completely different pies, but if I had to choose between the two as my last meal, I'd probably reach for my NY pie.

Chau

Lance · « **Reply #35 on:** May 01, 2012, 12:51:45 AM »

those are some nice pie's are you still using the shortening in them.
Lance

chickenparm · « **Reply #36 on:** May 01, 2012, 01:03:10 AM »

Hey Chau,

Friggen awesome looking pies! You can blow them all away if you went into Business!

I will write ya more soon,I'm still experimenting/dialing in that new stone..my pies,the cheese is bubbling and crust is charring on the bottom that by 4 minutes,the bottom is about to burn.The crust rises but stays white on the rim but charred on the bottom.I could get more finish done to the rim and cheese with the broiler mod,but that is nearly overkill,unless I want a brown,crispy rim and cheese.

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #37 on:** May 01, 2012, 06:39:34 AM »

Thanks guys. Lance...Yes, shortening in my NY pies.

Bill, that is a really nice thing to say. Looking forward to your results on the new stone.

Chau

dellavecchia · « **Reply #38 on:** May 01, 2012, 03:17:12 PM »

Chau - I am drooling over here. Excellent bake! I so want to try this.

John

buceriasdon · « **Reply #39 on:** May 01, 2012, 03:50:57 PM »

Great looking pies Chau. One comment though. I've been cutting way back on my oregano sprinkling, way back. Mexican oregano btw isn't true oregano and the stuff I get in the markets here is super strong. Maybe the stuff you get is "cut" with something else

Don

Author Topic: Re: Pizza Town Clone (Read 6046 times)

parallei

buceriasdon