Awesome thin crust!

[BTB]

The pizzas turned out really well and everyone (7 people) enjoyed them tremendously.  No clear cut winner among the 3, but a very slight higher number of "raves" about the 9" deep dish described above.  Unfortunately, I didn't snap a picture of the finished 9" deep dish or the 14" thin crust (wish I had), but here is one of the 12" loowater's deep dish (45% hydration) which is one of my favorite recipes and also turned out great.  In further exploring the Buzz formulation, I think I will lower the amount of oil in the formulation (as well as just using one kind of oil) and try doing  it next time without sifting the flour.  But, all in all, it's going to be hard to improve on this.  But when you're hooked on this pizzamaking thing, it's hard not to try to "do it better."

[BTB]

Following up on the success of the pizza I made that was similar to Buzz' awesome thin crust that I indicated in reply #16 above, I again tried another version of that pizza last week with great success also.  I made a 14" pizza using my dark, anodized nonperforated cutter pan from pizzatools.com (which again I swear by) only this time using King Arthur AP flour, which I did not sift (unlike the Harvest King that I did sift).  The formulation I used was changed slightly as follows:
 
Flour (100%):  212.62 g  |  7.5 oz | 0.47 lbs
Water (57%):  121.19 g  |  4.27 oz | 0.27 lbs
ADY (1.25%):  2.66 g | 0.09 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.7 tsp | 0.23 tbsp
Salt (1.5%):  3.19 g | 0.11 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.57 tsp | 0.19 tbsp
Olive Oil (6%):  12.76 g | 0.45 oz | 0.03 lbs | 2.83 tsp | 0.94 tbsp
Corn Oil (20%):  42.52 g | 1.5 oz | 0.09 lbs | 9.45 tsp | 3.15 tbsp
Sugar (2%):  4.25 g | 0.15 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.07 tsp | 0.36 tbsp
Butter/Margarine (.75%):  1.59 g | 0.06 oz | 0 lbs | 0.34 tsp | 0.11 tbsp
Total (188.5%): 400.79 g | 14.14 oz | 0.88 lbs | TF = 0.08
 
Again I put a 15" size in the calculation tool for a 14" pizza so I didn't need to provide for any bowl residue.  I again just used a "dab" of softened butter and spread it out over the mixture so that it would be incorporated well into the dough without too much kneading.  The process I followed was similar to that I previously followed, which included withholding 1/2 cup of the flour for 30 minutes while the dough set or rested.  Pictured below is the wet dough resting before adding the extra 1/2 cup of flour, then the dough ball after adding the half cup of flour.  The dough ball was placed in a ziplock bag and rested on the counter for 6 hours.  I didn't refrigerate it this time as I made the pizza the same day, which is the first time I've ever done that.

[BTB]

After the 6 hour rise on the counter, I rolled out the dough very easily to a 15" diameter, rolled it onto my wooden rolling pin, and then rolled it off onto my cutter pan.  In rolling or wrapping it onto the rolling pin, it worked like a charm.  Then I cut off the excess dough and docked the skin (picture below), pre-baked it for around 4 to 5 minutes at 450 degrees F on lowest oven rack, then sauced the pizza with 6 in 1 sauce with a bunch of additives, which includes honey as previously mentioned (second picture below), then dressed it with toppings and cheese (third picture below).  The small half slices of pepperoni on the top and bottom of the pizza mark the half of the pizza to which I added pepperoni (which I briefly microwaved to degrease prior to putting it on).

[BTB]

I then baked this pizza on the bottom oven rack at the same temperature for around 9 to 10 minutes until nicely browned.  After plopping the pizza out onto the cutting board, I used the "Chesdan Style" of cutting the pizza into strips rather than squares.  This was a style that a former great Chicago pizzeria, Chesdan's, used to follow before it left Chicago after 60 years in business (may it RIP).  The pizza again was excellent.  Very tasty and crispy, but a tad less crispy than the first time that I did this version, which may be a result of the change in the type of flour (KAAP vs. Harvest King). But either way, it was very, very good.  I think I have a slight preference for the Harvest King flour and for sifting it, but I'll need to experiment some more to verify that (oh, my diet).  I forgot to mention, also, that I also used a little cornmeal on the cutter pan under the skin, which is the first time that I had ever done that in making a pizza.  Pictures of the final product are below.

[BTB]

My adult son liked this pizza so much that I had to quickly roll out the excess scrap dough that I had left over and quickly made an individual sized pizza for him as he was "hungry for more!"

[Pete-zza]

BTB,

Another great job. You are getting good at this, and with all the good information, photos and instructions you provided, anyone should be able to try the recipe, even if they don't have a cutter pan.

The way you cut the pizza is the same way that is used at DeLorenzo's and perhaps other New Jersey pizza places.

Peter

[BTB]

I made another one of this style pizza the other day . . . I've dubbed it the Buzz Awesome Thin Crust, altho I may have strayed somewhat from Buzz' intent.  I return to this style as it has been one of the most successful for me and my pizza eating fans rate it highly.  I made a 14" pizza using my anodized non-perforated cutter pan from pizzatools.com and used Harvest King flour, which I sifted before use.  The formulation, using the expanded dough formulation tool, was as follows:

Flour (100%):  213.75 g  |  7.54 oz | 0.47 lbs
Water (56%):  119.7 g  |  4.22 oz | 0.26 lbs
ADY (1.25%):  2.67 g | 0.09 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.71 tsp | 0.24 tbsp
Salt (1.5%):  3.21 g | 0.11 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.57 tsp | 0.19 tbsp
Olive Oil (4%):  8.55 g | 0.3 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.9 tsp | 0.63 tbsp
Corn Oil (4%):  8.55 g | 0.3 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.9 tsp | 0.63 tbsp
Canola Oil (18%):  38.48 g | 1.36 oz | 0.08 lbs | 8.47 tsp | 2.82 tbsp
Sugar (2%):  4.28 g | 0.15 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.07 tsp | 0.36 tbsp
Butter/Margarine (.75%):  1.6 g | 0.06 oz | 0 lbs | 0.34 tsp | 0.11 tbsp
Total (187.5%): 400.79 g | 14.14 oz | 0.88 lbs | TF = 0.08

I put a 15" size in the calculation tool for a 14" pizza so I didn't need to provide for any bowl residue.  I again added just a "dab" of real softened butter and dropped little pieces of it throughout the mixture so that it would be incorporated well into the dough without too much kneading.  The process was similar to that I previously followed, which included withholding 1/2 cup of the flour for 30 minutes while the dough set or rested. The dough ball was placed in a ziplock bag, allowed to rise for 2 hours on the counter, then refrigerated for about 24 hours prior to use.  The last time I made this style pizza I didn't refrigerate the dough ball as I used it the same day.  But the result is much better refrigerating the dough ball for at least 24 hours I've found.  The skin was par-baked for about 4 minutes.

The pizza turned out excellent.  It is one of the tastiest and crispiest pizzas that I've made, despite it have a 56% hydration.  It has become one of my "old reliable" pizza types.  Just took one picture of it before baking.                                         --BTB

[holdem]

Anyone tried this using the 1 tsp. of oil for the cracker crust?

[eric22]

fantastic post.
 
  

[buzz]

I'm really glad everyone is enjoying this crust, because IMHO the results are superior (and we've all labored so hard here to make great pizza at home!). Lately I've been experimenting with this same crust and less oil, and find that I've been enjoying it quite a bit (especially with the combination of Pastene tomatoes!). I tried a starter/poolish and found the result to have an "airy", artisanal bread quality to it which I didn't like so much. So I tried @2 tsp (not TBS) Carapelli extra light olive, mixed the 1.25 (I'm now using a bit less flour with the same hydration and it works out better) cups dough (less .50 cup flour) in the bread machine for about a minute and 30 seconds, then let it sit for half an hour. Then I turned the machine back on and let it cycle to knead, put the pan back in and let the dough knead for 7 minutes. At about the 4-minute mark I add the remaining. 50 cup flour, then turned it off at the end of the 7 minutes and let it sit for an additional 15 minutes. Then I oiled the ball and let it rise for 4 hours in a warm oven.

Since this is for a thin crust, I usually roll it out with a rolling pin and dock it with a fork before par-baking it, but this time I didn't dock it, since at my favorite pizzeria they just sheet the dough and don't dock it. I found this to be superior because it cooked up with cracker-like voids around the edges (Instead of the edges being too hard and crisp, which is what I get with docking).

Really excellent stuff! I'm going to try a combination of part-skin and whole milk Sorrento cheese and see what that does.

BTB--

Your initial dough after the 30-minute autolyse looks pretty much like mine, except that mine is a bit soupier due to the lesser amount of flour I'm using now. I think the reduction of .25 cup flour really makes a difference--give it a try!

[BTB]

Welcome back, Obi-Wan.  We would all love to learn more of your techniques and ideas, of which I think you have many.  May the Pizza Force be with you.                                    --BTB

[buzz]

You crack me up--lol!

Unfortunately, these days I have little free pizza-making time anymore!

[buzz]

Here's another version you might want to try (with both oil levels). I wasn't crazy about it, but it's worth the experiment to see if you like it. I did a 1-minute mix (bread machine), let it autolyse, etc. Then I kneaded the dough for about 3 minutes, adding the rest of the flour halfway through. The result is more biscuit-like, akin to Chicago deep dish style.