Another Semolina Thread

[La Sera]

I made a test using Semolina and BTB's recipe.

This had sliced block Mozzarella, a lot of spinach, sausage, pepperoni, olives, my usual pizza sauce thickened up, oregano and Parmesan on top. I used a standard, high protein bread flour and 20% Caputo Semolina.
These photos aren't very good - I used my iPad camera, so there was no exposure adjustment for the lighting. The cheese was a very bright white in contrast to the green and red.

I lived in the NW Chicago suburbs for a few years in the early 1980's, and this was pretty nostalgic - it came close to the taste of a Gino's East pizza back then. I loved the flavor, but I'm not sure it will work here yet. I'm going to substitute seafood for the meat and try both on the menu and see what happens. No one has ever seen anything like this before, but the staff loved it. Sometimes they're just being polite, though...

I have to come up with a different name. "Chicago Pizza" won't register here - Chicago is equated with Al Capone and gangsters, and that doesn't work... Plus, there's a chain called Chicago Pizza here, but they don't sell Chicago pizza.

The recipe is good, but every oven is different. Longer and lower heat worked better for me. I intentionally made the top of the crust rough. I don't want it to look like it came from a factory - I'm going for that rough, home-made look.

[Chicago Bob]

That crust looks excellent La Sera. Perhaps it was the lighting , as you mentioned, but I have to say that the sauce on top of that pie looks very lifeless and really unappealing. Almost paste like and a dull dead color.
You know I respect your work and I think you could promote this pizza there...it actually could turn out to be a big sleeper for you.

Funny about the Al Capone thing...folks here always asked me about that when I moved down here 22 yrs. ago. The legend lives on. 

Bob

[dellavecchia]

Great looking deep dish - you really got it "deep". How did you like the taste of the crust with 20% semola? I also love the ragged edge.

John

[La Sera]

Yeah, you're right. It doesn't look appealing at all. The lighting was flat and made the sauce look like a dark swamp. It was bright red and glistening in real life.

I really liked the flavor of the crust. It was light and flaky with a biscuit-like flavor. The top was a little crunchy, but not hard, and the bottom matched the cheese and toppings well.

[Pete-zza]

La Sera,

Nice job. I know that you were having problems getting corn oil at a reasonable price in Japan, so I am curious to know what oil you ended up using for the latest deep-dish pie. Also, I'd be curious to know how the Japanese take to such a pizza?

Peter

[La Sera]

I did end up using corn oil. It's expensive, but worth it. Every iteration I tried without it didn't work.

I tried using Caputo Pizzeria (my usual flour) mixed with Semolina, but I preferred the regular bread flour. I think Caputo has a distinctive flavor and I prefer this to be something different.

I'm interested to see the reaction, too! Everyone who tried this loved it and was fascinated by it. They wanted to know what to call it and called it a quiche, which would be fighting words in Chicago . . .

The seafood version will be more popular, I'm sure. That's fine. All product has to be localized. I'll probably start selling them the first of June. I'll let you know how things are after a few months.

[Pete-zza]

The seafood version will be more popular, I'm sure. That's fine. All product has to be localized. I'll probably start selling them the first of June. I'll let you know how things are after a few months.

La Sera,

One of our members made a seafood deep-dish pizza that used shrimp, imitation crab, prosciutto, mozzarella and topped with clarified garlic butter. You can see photos starting at Reply 3 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,9304.msg80505.html#msg80505. The layering of the toppings is described in Reply 18 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,9304.msg80866.html#msg80866. I'm sure there are many possible variations where you are in Japan with local seafood but the concept appears to be a viable one.

Peter

[La Sera]

Thanks for those links!
I do like the look and idea of a non-tomato base seafood one.
I might cook up one with cheese, shrimp, squid and scallops, topped with a white sauce, then some garlic, black pepper and pesto drizzled on top.

Hmmm . . . That may work!

I may freeze these uncooked in an aluminum pan and sell them on the internet here, too.
Customers can pop them in their own oven at their own convenience.

[Garvey]

Everyone who tried this loved it and was fascinated by it. They wanted to know what to call it...

"Casserole" will suffice.   

[BTB]

Very nice job, LaSera.  I love that rough, jagged, "moonscape" pizza crust edge.  It surprisingly does soooo much for texture, flavoring and delights to the taste buds.  Great work.  You need to work on the tomato sauce, of course, which you know about.  Can you find some good "crushed tomatoes" and do NOT drain too much (if at all).  I don't know for a fact, but it looks like those on your pizza were drained too much (and thus baked up very dry).  Depending on types and brands, I advocate little to no draining.  Too much draining leads to a dryer and less tasty product.  But it may be just the affects of the camera.

But it looks like you hit a home run with that crust, however.  Your pictures make it look very, very appealing.  And to my foreign friends, all would not object at all to my labeling this as "Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza."  As a matter of fact, I would bet it would enhance the marketability of the pizza product a lot.  As you've seen on this website, Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza has a lot of interest and appeal across the globe, so I would not hide the style description.  Looking forward to reading about and seeing your future successes.

                                                                                                                      --BTB                       

[vcb]

Just some minor adjusments to exposure, etc., can make a world of difference. 

Yeah, you're right. It doesn't look appealing at all. The lighting was flat and made the sauce look like a dark swamp. It was bright red and glistening in real life.

I really liked the flavor of the crust. It was light and flaky with a biscuit-like flavor. The top was a little crunchy, but not hard, and the bottom matched the cheese and toppings well.

[La Sera]

Photoshop does wonders!

As I said, I thickened up my regular pizza sauce for this. It was easy to do since I made this just before closing time the other night. I'll definitely try simple crushed Italian tomatoes from the stock we use to make sauce.

It was very easy to get out of the pan. I just swirled it around and kind of threw it upwards at an angle onto a table. I have to make it a little shorter to get it into a box!

[Chicago Bob]

Photoshop does wonders!

As I said, I thickened up my regular pizza sauce for this. It was easy to do since I made this just before closing time the other night. I'll definitely try simple crushed Italian tomatoes from the stock we use to make sauce.

It was very easy to get out of the pan. I just swirled it around and kind of threw it upwards at an angle onto a table. I have to make it a little shorter to get it into a box!

Perfect explanation to a question often asked on this site!