no corn meal - substitute?

[fretman124]

Making pizza in about an hour.  My first one!.  However, I have no corn meal and the nearest store is 20 min away.  What can I sub with?

[widespreadpizza]

regular flour or semolina flour

[Pete-zza]

fretman124,

You might take a look at Reply 43 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,2223.msg20656/topicseen.html#msg20656 for some possible alternatives to cornmeal as a release agent. You can also use parchment paper.

Peter

[anton-luigi]

Funny,  early in my pizzamaking I was using cornmeal as a release agent as well,  I was out one night,  and my solution was to put a handful of my corn chips into my coffee grinder,  presto! instant cornmeal. 

[petef]

Funny,  early in my pizzamaking I was using cornmeal as a release agent as well,  I was out one night,  and my solution was to put a handful of my corn chips into my coffee grinder,  presto! instant cornmeal. 

Good idea! Here's another idea..

In an emergency, I imagine we could toast a slice of bread and then rub it onto a metal strainer basket to produce a fine crumb that could be used in piece of the cornmeal as a release agent.

---pete---

[AimlessRyan]

Leave the dough ball uncovered until it forms a bit of a dry crust (30-60 minutes). The top of the dough ball will become the bottom of the pizza skin. If you do this, you may not even need to put flour on the peel, plus your pizza will be crispier. I've seen this done all over the place in New York, and I've done it this way myself for a long time. To me it makes things really easy, but it also it makes my pizza taste better.

[Bob1]

Funny,  early in my pizzamaking I was using cornmeal as a release agent as well,  I was out one night,  and my solution was to put a handful of my corn chips into my coffee grinder,  presto! instant cornmeal. 

I have done the same with rice.  Rice flour works very well.