too many lou malnati's recipes

[aicfuel]

I have been reading this site for 2 hours trying to find "The" recipe for Lou Malnati's, and all I have discovered is that there are too many "close" recipes and not one that's 100% correct. I saw one recipe titled "2nd try at loowater" and the pictures look right (taste? I don't know) but the process to make the crust seemed to be too much of a hassel. I'm thinking if Lou's makes over 100 pizza's a day then they don't have time to make the dough, proof it, punch it, proof again, then sit in a fridge for 48 hours. I have even looked at the Food Network recipe from Marc Malnati and that's not even correct. In Marc's recipe he never tells you when to add the cornmeal, or the temp of the water when mixing with the yeast... doesn't anyone know someone who works at Lou Malnati's?

From what I know, a Lou's crust is not biscuit like. It is hard/crispy and has a cornmeal taste. If anyone can help or understands where I am comming from then please let me know. Thanks - Brad

[loowaters]

Brad try this:

100% All Purp Flour
45% Water
19% Corn Oil
4% Olive Oil
.75% ADY

My 14" dough ball weighs 746g (442g flour)

Combine the yeast with 110* water in the mixer.  After the yeast is fully dissolved I start adding the flour to my Kitchen Aid mixer until it starts getting pretty stiff then I start adding the oil and the rest of the flour.  Once it's all combined I turn the mixer up to a mid speed (4-5) and let it knead for 45-60 seconds.  I pull the dough out of the mixer bowl to add some oil to wipe around in the bowl for the rise.  Back in goes the dough, swirl it around to coat with the little bit of oil and cover with a tea towel.  In the oven it goes with the light on and a pan of hot water on the rack underneath it.  I punch it down after two hours and let it come back up again for another hour or two (until doubled again).  Then it goes into a ziplock bag in to the fridge overnight.  Pull it out about an hour and a half before I want to make the pie.  I slide it out of the bag and straight to the greased pan patting it out on the bottom as evenly as possible and then go around pinching it up the sides.  That's it.  Cheese it.  Sauce it.  Top it.

If you don't want to let it rise in the fridge, don't.  You gotta let it rise at least twice if you're going for same day dough.  Good luck.

Oh, and one other thing.  Get the thought of cornmeal out of your head if you're trying to do Malnati's.  It's not in there.  While many like cornmeal in their crust, and that's fine (I'll add it from time to time myself), it's not in Lou's.  Check out a list of ingredients on their Lou-to-go packaging and you'll see.

Loo

[Pete-zza]

Brad,

You will also notice that there is no salt either. If you look at the ingredients list for the crust for a Lou's frozen deep-dish pie as shipped to consumers, you will see neither cornmeal (as mentioned by loo) or salt.

Peter

[Musky]

Follow Loowaters' recipe.  I was the "2nd try" post.  I followed Loowater's recipe and I don't think you could tell the differences in the crust if you placed it side by side with a Lou Malnati's.

We once made and ate one on a Friday, then went to Chicago the next day and ate at Malnati's.  I guess it might not be the same recipe, but the result is very, very, very, close.

As for it being a hassle to make the crust, I enjoy the work involved.

Thanks again, Loowaters.

Kevin

[aicfuel]

Thank you all for your help. After I posted this last night I thought to myself, I kind of sounded like a jerk. I just wanted to say that I didn't mean to sound like a jerk, and that I really do appreciate all the time and effort that everyone puts into their recipes. Anyone from Chicago that moved (like myself) knows that it is impossible to find a good pizza, and that's why I started making my own. I wanted to impress my family with a pizza that tasted like Lou's and I was kind of getting frustrated with the different recipes. Thanks Loowater for your recipe. I will give it a try and take pictures if you want to know how it turns out.

One more thing. I know that alot of people have said that the crust should have more of a buttery taste to it, and I was wondering if anyone has tried coating the inside of the pan with butter instead of crisco?

[Musky]

I use butter flavor crisco which I think adds a mild butter taste.  I didn't think Malnati's butter crust was overly buttery and butter Crisco works pretty well imo.

Other than that, it's Loowaters' recipe all the way.

Kevin

[goosen1]

Musky,

If you replace the cornoil with butter you will have almost hit it dead on for the Lous buttercrust. I'm going to make one this weekend and post some pics for you.

Goose

[loowaters]

Musky,

If you replace the cornoil with butter you will have almost hit it dead on for the Lous buttercrust. I'm going to make one this weekend and post some pics for you.

Goose

Goose, do you adjust the water % when you use the butter or do you just swap it out straight up?  I think I remember reading that butter is somewhere around 40% water if not more. 

Loo

[Pete-zza]

I think I remember reading that butter is somewhere around 40% water if not more. 

loo,

Salted butter contains 16% water and unsalted butter contains 18% water. Technically, one may want to make an adjustment to the hydration to compensate for the substitution of butter for oil, but practically the difference may not be large enough to worry about. It would depend on how much of the oil is replaced by butter.

Peter

[loowaters]

loo,

Salted butter contains 16% water and unsalted butter contains 18% water. Technically, one may want to make an adjustment to the hydration to compensate for the substitution of butter for oil, but practically the difference may not be large enough to worry about. It would depend on how much of the oil is replaced by butter.

Peter

Thanks Peter, I couldn't find the info anywhere and just tossed out some crazy number.  I'm now embarrassed and feel shame.

OK, this is the most action this page has seen in two months, let's keep it going.

Loo

[Pete-zza]

loo,

No need to be embarrassed. You have to be a bit on the anal side to know answers to matters like these. 

I knew the water content of butter because I researched the water content of many pizza-related ingredients in connection with the new expanded dough calculating tool. I even posted on the subject at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,5025.msg42589.html#msg42589 (Reply 6).

Thanks for all of your contributions to the forum. There are many members and their families and friends who are enjoying quality deep-dish pizzas as a result.

Peter

[loowaters]

Thanks for picking me up, Peter.  Feelin' good once again.

Loo

[goosen1]

Loo,

What I did is swap it out completely.. I mixed everything like you said but the cornoil... I mixed it for a minute then added the softened butter at the end and mixed it in.. Then right into the fridge. On the other hand, My dough did not seem to sticky or over hydrated at all. Make sure that you don't over mix it. I think the dough comes out more biscuit like, Even more than Lou's. His is becoming more breadlike now days.

Goose

[Randy]

I was looking for a change for the corn oil but I was thinking plain crisco or maybe just some percentage reduction in corn oil, say half butter and half corn oil after reading this thread.  I can't say I am trying for a Lou's match since I have never eaten there but more for the fun of it.

As a side note, of late I have been adding thin slices of bell pepper to the top of a piece of frozen Chicago while it reheats.  Very tasty.  I keep frozen strips of bell pepper in the freezer for just this kind of thing.

Randy

[BTB]

I may be misreading it, but I thought the original reference to the use of the buttery Crisco was for greasing the pan, not adding it in the dough recipe.  When I attempt to make a Malnati's pizza, I use Crisco instead of olive oil in the pan.  Seems to come out better -- at least to my taste buds.  I know, I know.  I've seen the TV shows where Marc Malnati says and shows olive oil in the pan.  Regarding the buttercrust, I've eaten at Malnati's hundreds of times and while I absolutely love their pizzas, I can't say that I particularly like the so-called buttercrust.  After experimenting with ordering it, I now always order the pizza without the buttercrust flavoring.  The "pure" regular crust is the way to go IMO.