Author Topic: How much cheese ? / New pizza pictures (Read 5474 times)

canadianbacon · « **on:** February 19, 2006, 02:48:28 PM »

Hi guys,

on Friday night I made a 16" pizza, and was wondering at the time how much cheese that you all
would suggest putting on such a sized pizza ?

I bought a 1 kilo package of good cheese at Costco Friday night ( 1 kg = 2.2 lbs )

I decided I wanted to get 3 pizzas @ 16" out of that package, so grated off approx 1/3 of the cheese into
a bowl while it was on my digital scale.

So I put on 334 grams ( 334 gram = 11.78 ounces )

Anyway what is the norm for a 16 oz pizza ? I'm not sure, but I think I should have put more than
I did.

Here are all the images I took Friday night also here:
http://www.detroitgrillking.com//frosty/pizza-feb-17/

vitoduke · « **Reply #1 on:** February 19, 2006, 03:05:14 PM »

I usually use about 8 oz. of sliced cheese on an 18 inch pie.

joe · « **Reply #2 on:** February 19, 2006, 03:16:05 PM »

very nice looking pizza. bet it taste just as good as it looks.
I've been following the Burke Portion Guide (it's on this site somewhere), and have had pretty good results so far. for a 16 inch it list 7.25, 10.5, and 14.0 for cheese (light, medium, and heavy). i always tend to put too much cheese on, but since following the guide, i think there is a better blend of flavors. i read it on here some where that less is more. made a believer out of me.

joe

canadianbacon · « **Reply #3 on:** February 19, 2006, 03:36:00 PM »

Hi guys, thanks for the info.

I just made another pizza ( just now ) it came out of the oven about 3:26 pm or so, so about 4 mins
ago.

This dough was made on Friday afternoon, so it's just shy of a 48 hour ferment.

Anyway the dough looked lovely, and was easy to handle.

I used another 331 grams of cheese on this, so on the "heavy" side, however it looks a bit
thicker today because I didn't put the sauce all the way to the edges as I usually do.

Most of the places around me up here in Canada go very heavy on the cheese, it's a good 1/4" and is very good,
I guess good for your money, but I do remember going to Wildwood back in the early 90s, and walking on the boardwalk - the cheese they put on their pizzas was terrible, you would think they put a total of 1 oz on them.... the cheese as so thin and so sparse, that you could see the sauce in places. I guess though at 50 cents a slice, you couldn't complain and these guys are doing quantity and not quality ( geez they must sell 1,000 slices in 2 hours ) - not sure if any of you have been to Wildwood, but in the summer it's a haven for Canadians.

I'll post some pix of this pizza that came out - geez it looks good

On the cheese, I was going go go with more, meaning I was going to take this $10 block and split it
into 2 portions, but then I thought this was just going a pig, and now I see I can easily make 3 pie @ 16" and
the cheese is pretty good.

This one today, I put white onion, green pepper, and pepporoni.

Back in a bit with some new pix

Mark

Pete-zza · « **Reply #4 on:** February 19, 2006, 03:47:20 PM »

Here is a link to the Burke portion guide that Joe mentioned: http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/RightToppings.pdf. The pertinent pages are 22 and 23. Note, however, that there is an error in the pepperoni portions on page 23. The amounts should be in pieces (slices), not ounces.

Peter

canadianbacon · « **Reply #5 on:** February 19, 2006, 04:09:14 PM »

Hi Peter,

ok thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

That's a great table, I think I'm going to print that out and put it on the inside of one of my
kitchen cupboard doors.

Mark

canadianbacon · « **Reply #6 on:** February 19, 2006, 04:19:48 PM »

Here are some new images taken not long ago.

I will have to say that I think the dough was not at its best, 48 hours or almost is just a bit long
for the recipe I used.

Anyway not bad though, the pizza got eaten up quickly

see all the images here:
http://www.detroitgrillking.com/frosty/pizza-feb-19/

P.S. : I'm getting better ..... I didn't cheat at all with the rolling pin on either of these 2 pizzas, so I
am quite proud of that, I am also getting better at using my hand ( knuckles) to stretch the dough.

TIP: which works for me, - on Friday night I had the dough up in the air and it was starting to stretch too much
and was almost getting out of control ( i.e. it would rip I am sure ) so what I did was let some of the dough
rest down on the countertop as I was stretching it with my knuckles ! ... I guess you could think of it as a
doing sit-ups with your knees on the ground - much easier to do, but you are still trying to use proper technique.

Anyway perhaps this is cheating, but if any of you are trying to stretch your dough and it seems like it's getting out of
control, and it may break on ya, just bring your arms down so part of the dough just rests on the work surface, this really takes a lot of the weight off the dough but you can still turn and stretch the dough. A great little technique
I thought of on the fly, and it works quite well. The dough was pretty large when I did this, - almost 16" big and for me
that's very large to work with...

anyway great fun ! and always a learning experience

Mark

chiguy · « **Reply #7 on:** February 19, 2006, 10:35:17 PM »

Hey CanadianBacon,
Those are some good looking pie's, i have to say you have really improved you're pizza making skills. It is not tht surprising judging by some of you're bread pics i have seen. It was just a matter of time until you're pizza caught up.
You always have a cold beer in the background, it sure would be nice to have a friend like
you. Chiguy

Perk · « **Reply #8 on:** February 20, 2006, 08:57:59 AM »

for me, if you are in business, then using formula's is a must since you would need to be uniformed in your pizza making
and pricing. But for me the home pizza maker, I can say I never really measured out toppings. I just know that over doing it is not always good. You want to be able to taste your individual toppings.

Plus I always use a mixture of 3-5 different types of cheeses so I would be banging my head against the wall trying to measure out the amount of Mozzerella, Muenster, Provalone, Fontina I use.
One of these days I will get a scale and find out how much I use and I'm probably in the range of what is the normal recommended portions.

by the way nice pizza's Mark!

canadianbacon · « **Reply #9 on:** February 20, 2006, 09:04:22 AM »

Hi Chiguy,

thanks for the nice comments

I am trying my best. I see nwo that I don't need that darn rolling pin,
which for me is a big step in the right direction.

Oh by the way, that dough I made in both those pizzas above was made with Canada Dry brand gingerale. Canada Dry
is "la creme de la creme" of gingerale in Canada ( the cream of the crop )

All the pizza joints around here use gingerale. I was at a resturaunt supply store 2 weeks ago and bumped into a guy
buying a pizza oven, and we started chatting, and I said, oh you guys use 7-up or something in your dough, and he said, no we use gingerale ! " ... which then reminded me I had found other confirmation on this on another pizza board, and I heard
this years ago ( maybe 20 years ago or so ) in a pizza place.

Mark

Quote from: chiguy on February 19, 2006, 10:35:17 PM

Hey CanadianBacon,
Those are some good looking pie's, i have to say you have really improved you're pizza making skills. It is not tht surprising judging by some of you're bread pics i have seen. It was just a matter of time until you're pizza caught up.
You always have a cold beer in the background, it sure would be nice to have a friend like
you. Chiguy

canadianbacon · « **Reply #10 on:** February 20, 2006, 09:12:24 AM »

Hi Perk, thanks

it's the same with me, I never have measured my ingredients in the past, there's really no reason
to measure out green pepper, or pepporoni, but I can see in the business, it's a must ( for pepporoni anyway ),
you could have a heavy handed helper loading on tons of it, and if that goes on all day, that can really add up.

I decided to measure the cheese for the first time in my pizza making, and the reason for that was I wanted to make
sure I got 3 pizzas out of the block.

Thinking about it now, I should have / could have just cut the darn block up with a knife and done it by eye, would would
have been a little easier, I may do this next time... maybe just use a ruler. As long as I have approx 3 equal pieces of cheese, then I know each one will be the same.

It's amazing, - you can go out and order a pizza, and not worry that the pizza is $15.99 for a large, buy it, eat it,
and never think about the money, but when you head over to Costco, you actually stand there in front of their freezer
and debate on what cheese you want.... "hmm should I go for the expensive cheese at $9.99 for the 2.2 lb block ? or should I cheap out and buy the 2.2 lb block at $7.99 " hahaha. It makes me laugh sometimes, but that's what I do.

Maybe it's not just me, but when buying stuff in the store, where I have the last word, I always debate on what I want,
and what I really want to spend. Anyway in this case I went for the better cheese.

However - I did go for the block instead of the shredded bag, as the shredded bag ( same weight ) was $1 more,
so I thought I would do the grating myself and save a whole buck

Mark

Quote from: Perk on February 20, 2006, 08:57:59 AM

for me, if you are in business, then using formula's is a must since you would need to be uniformed in your pizza making
and pricing. But for me the home pizza maker, I can say I never really measured out toppings. I just know that over doing it is not always good. You want to be able to taste your individual toppings.

Plus I always use a mixture of 3-5 different types of cheeses so I would be banging my head against the wall trying to measure out the amount of Mozzerella, Muenster, Provalone, Fontina I use.
One of these days I will get a scale and find out how much I use and I'm probably in the range of what is the normal recommended portions.

by the way nice pizza's Mark!

Perk · « **Reply #11 on:** February 20, 2006, 09:27:45 AM »

Quote from: canadianbacon on February 20, 2006, 09:12:24 AM

It's amazing, - you can go out and order a pizza, and not worry that the pizza is $15.99 for a large, buy it, eat it,
and never think about the money, but when you head over to Costco, you actually stand there in front of their freezer
and debate on what cheese you want.... "hmm should I go for the expensive cheese at $9.99 for the 2.2 lb block ? or should I cheap out and buy the 2.2 lb block at $7.99 " hahaha. It makes me laugh sometimes, but that's what I do.

Maybe it's not just me, but when buying stuff in the store, where I have the last word, I always debate on what I want,
and what I really want to spend. Anyway in this case I went for the better cheese.

However - I did go for the block instead of the shredded bag, as the shredded bag ( same weight ) was $1 more,
so I thought I would do the grating myself and save a whole buck

Mark

That my friend is so true and really funny because I do the same thing.
But the next thing I need to do is, get the cheap cheese and expensive cheese and taste them side by side.
Because I can say, since I've never done it, how do I really know the expensive stuff is better?

canadianbacon · « **Reply #12 on:** February 20, 2006, 09:36:14 AM »

well, that's true, and you got a point, with that said,
I'm going to post a question, but going to start a new thread, as I think it's a good question
and want more people to see it..... it's about the moisture content in cheese, and what
is needed ....

Mark

Quote from: Perk on February 20, 2006, 09:27:45 AM

That my friend is so true and really funny because I do the same thing.
But the next thing I need to do is, get the cheap cheese and expensive cheese and taste them side by side.
Because I can say, since I've never done it, how do I really know the expensive stuff is better?

chiguy · « **Reply #13 on:** February 20, 2006, 10:01:59 PM »

Hey Canbacon,
I have had Canada Dry ginger ale, we have it down here as well. Do you have any idea at what percent ginger ale is used in the dough?? What is the obsession with ginger ale in the dough?? Chiguy

canadianbacon · « **Reply #14 on:** February 20, 2006, 10:41:00 PM »

Hi Chiguy,

I don't know what specific recipe they use ( I really wish they did ), but the ginger ale is used at 100% of the
liquid ( instead of water )

I don't know what it is, but the shoppes around here all use it, and this has been the way forever....

I wish I had better info for you but I don't $:-\$

Try it one day though if you have some kicking around, and see how you like it....

Mark

Quote from: chiguy on February 20, 2006, 10:01:59 PM

Hey Canbacon,
I have had Canada Dry ginger ale, we have it down here as well. Do you have any idea at what percent ginger ale is used in the dough?? What is the obsession with ginger ale in the dough?? Chiguy

Lydia · « **Reply #15 on:** February 21, 2006, 11:07:19 PM »

I have various recipes for biscuits and pancakes calling for ginger ale. The texture is lighter.

PizzaPolice · « **Reply #16 on:** February 24, 2006, 01:50:55 PM »

Next batch, Ginger Ale. I have to know. You folks mentioned semolina some time a go and I had to try it. It was only about 1/8 of the flour, but wow! The texture was much smoother than usual. It stretches and spins out faster. I use it for peel grease and notice less burning in the oven.
So I'll try ginger ale.

lilpizzaplace_ohio · « **Reply #17 on:** February 27, 2006, 11:47:44 PM »

Hi everyone! Im new...

Let me start by saying canadian...you've made me hungry! Very nice pies !

I work at a pizzeria in Ohio, and we use the top notch ingredients...Money is not an a real issue when we order our things..its actually my family's business..However, I've been saying for awhile now we use entirely too much cheese, everyone loves it though, no complaints, however we could use half the amount and still get the great taste! Im not all about profit, but cutting back on cheese would definately help the bill...for our 16 inch I believe we put about 20oz of cheese I believe..maybe more. When we originally opened we realized i belive 8oz was the correct amout for a 16 inch...we are about 2 to 3 times that.... so Im wondering if we cut back will ppl notice, or care? Its also funny that nobody EVER orders extra cheese....haha

canadianbacon · « **Reply #18 on:** February 28, 2006, 10:16:24 AM »

Hi lilpizzaplace_ohio

Thanks for the kind works. I'm slowly getting better.

Oh boy, so you work in a pizza joint eh ? ... I guess there's no way you are going to post your dough
recipe here, but I thought I'd ask anyway

As for ingredients, I believe perhaps one of the reasons you are doing so well is that you don't skimp on your ingredients.

I just can't stand a pizza place that skims on cheese, who wants a pie that has such a thin layer of cheese, that you can
hardly see it, or you can see the sauce under it ? ... that just doesn't fly up here, but up where I am in Canada, we only have ONE style of pizza. You will NOT find any difference in any of the independantly owned pizzerias up here, - one place last year I ordered from, had a "Chicago" style pizza on the menu..... so I ordered it.... hahaha, u know what they did ?
they just made a traditional pizza and made the dough thicker, that was it ! .... you get more dough for your money
but there was no difference in the toppings, how they were arranged or what type of vessel it was baked in....

All places here, use gingeral in their dough, and it's considered a main ingredient from what I learned a few weeks ago
while I visited a restuaraunt supply store and bumped into a pizza owner who was looking for a pizza oven.

amost 2 weeks ago I went to a pizza place, and they loaded a LOT of cheese on the pizza, I'm going to guess, over an
1/4" thick, the cheese was 4x the thickness of the dough underneath.... it was cheese heaven :-)

I have images of a pizza from a place near my brother in laws, from a few years ago, this place put so much pepperoni
on their pizzas that it was insane.... dough, sauce, then huge slices of pepperoni, about 4 layers thick, and all over the pizza ( slices were maybe 3" in diameter ) , each bite was pepp and cheese heaven.....

The place however was new, and about a year later, the owners started skimping out on the cheese and pepp, and so we
stopped ordereing there.... sheez, you are talking $38.xx for 2 pizzas ( large ) which ain't cheap.

I should try and dig up those images.... the pizza was amazing....

Anyway I guess the thing that always stays in my mind is this...

* Do you ever hear people complain about a resturaunt giving away too much food ? *

... nope never... hahaha.

, at least not where I live

But boy, when you cheap out on ingredients , word spreads like wild fire.....
when you give people good quality, and quantity they keep coming back.... and word of mouth
is 1000x more powerful than any advertising in many cases.

I bought my smoker ( Weber Smokey Mountain ) in fact in Toronto, from a store called "Word Of Mouth Jacques"
his store got so popular just by word of mouth that he changed the name of it recently. go figure

Mark

Quote from: lilpizzaplace_ohio on February 27, 2006, 11:47:44 PM

Hi everyone! Im new...

Let me start by saying canadian...you've made me hungry! Very nice pies !

I work at a pizzeria in Ohio, and we use the top notch ingredients...Money is not an a real issue when we order our things..its actually my family's business..However, I've been saying for awhile now we use entirely too much cheese, everyone loves it though, no complaints, however we could use half the amount and still get the great taste! Im not all about profit, but cutting back on cheese would definately help the bill...for our 16 inch I believe we put about 20oz of cheese I believe..maybe more. When we originally opened we realized i belive 8oz was the correct amout for a 16 inch...we are about 2 to 3 times that.... so Im wondering if we cut back will ppl notice, or care? Its also funny that nobody EVER orders extra cheese....haha

lilpizzaplace_ohio · « **Reply #19 on:** February 28, 2006, 10:28:58 AM »

Thanks for the info! I think maybe sticking to the amount we use is just fine..actually, there's not a certain amout, we just layer it NICELY! I agree about deciding to cut back on cheese, I don't necessarily want to "skimp" on cheese, trust me, if we lacked a good bit on our cheese, it would still not be skimping..lol, However you're right, people will notice, and people will talk........everyone that comes into the shoppe loves our pizza...and there's a local marathon down a ways that sold pizza, but after we opened, they had to close it.......nobody bought anything from there anymore...people commented that they had a good pizzza, but after awhile their toppings were less, and price became more..we hear that alot about that place......And yes the dough I cannot give out..

.... we worked for MONTHS on that...! Same with the sauce recipe! Only complaint about too much cheese I think is, once it's sat for a number of minutes, the cheese sometimes forms into a thick layer...and IM not real big on that..I guess I shouldnt say a few minutes, more like an hour or so..I believe we also use a smoked provolone cheese, and everyone in our area loves it..it's very good I think, doesn't create a lot of grease, or mess! Tonite at work I'll try and take pics with my camera phone, the real task will be finding out how to post them on here!