Author Topic: Tommy's Pizza (now Pizza L'oven) circa 1960's Exeter PA (NEPA) redo! (Read 39876 times)

sourdough girl · « **Reply #100 on:** February 15, 2009, 08:35:37 PM »

Quote from: TronCarter on February 15, 2009, 08:12:24 PM

SD,

I'm wondering where the big jump in IDY came from. It seems that it is 7.2g now where the original recipe of this size is less that 1g.

Thanks for catching the error, TronCarter...

It was my evil keyboard that typed in 3% instead of .3 percent! Might have to replace this dang keyboard if it keeps making errors like that!

I have edited the post above to reflect the CORRECT amount of IDY.

~sd

zalicious · « **Reply #101 on:** March 24, 2009, 01:59:37 AM »

Another rendition of sourdough girls pie. I used a bit less oil in the pan.

sourdough girl · « **Reply #102 on:** March 24, 2009, 09:29:29 PM »

zalicious!

That looks DELICIOUS!! Good job!

I'm gonna have to make a Tommy's for dinner tomorrow night and play with the new cheeses I bought at Trader Joe's.... see if they get even closer to what I remember... especially with using lard in the dough and to grease the pan.

Thanks for posting! Glad to see the recipe is one you like to make more than once!

~sd

JConk007 · « **Reply #103 on:** March 25, 2009, 09:06:02 AM »

Lish,
Wow I thought I ate a lot of Pizza but your are a pizza making machine! Those sausage chunk are the real deal!
I have been meaning to try this one from SD girl. Looks wonderful!! I like the thicker crust but I have a hard time selling it to the rest of my household Guess i can enjoy the leftovers myself

oh whats your sauce on this one?
Thanks
JC

zalicious · « **Reply #104 on:** March 25, 2009, 12:05:17 PM »

Quote from: JConk007 on March 25, 2009, 09:06:02 AM

Lish,
Wow I thought I ate a lot of Pizza but your are a pizza making machine!

oh whats your sauce on this one?
Thanks
JC

Actually, the pictures I've been posting have been made from Nov thru now. I generally make 1-2 pizzas per week.

The sausage was good. I partially cooked it in a pan, then threw in the onion & green pepper to fry up a bit, & pick up some of the flavor.

The sauce for my Sicilians is:
28 oz can of the Pastenes Kitchen Ready
1 3/8t oregano
3/4t bl pepper (canned)
1/2t salt
3/4t garlic powder
sugar to taste, 1/8-1/2t
Here is where I play a bit: I use 1/4t anise or fennel or mint. If I use the anise or fennel I grind it with my mortar & pestle.

pcampbell · « **Reply #105 on:** March 25, 2010, 03:22:52 PM »

Quote from: sourdough girl on October 30, 2007, 09:11:12 PM

Patrick and Tim,
Thanks for the kind words! My method:

Pulled the dough from the fridge ~1.5 hours before bake time
Used a very dark rectangular pan, interior dimensions 14.5 X 9.5
Poured 2 T classico olive oil in the pan (hence the "fried crust" which is NOT oily, just crisp and light)
Gently worked the dough into a rectangular shape by stretching with oiled hands, placed it in the pan and let rest for ~5 min to relax.
Repeated above two more times until it filled the pan. Some oil will get on the top of the crust and that's OK
Put on the sauce (forgot to measure, probably ~1 cup, enough to cover but crust should still show through) which was an equal mix of Cento crushed non-DOP and Pomi, which comes in the shelf-stable box, along with ~ 2 T Amore tomato paste in the tube, ~1/4 c finely chopped white onion and ~1 t Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Sauce was uncooked
Put on the cheese, equal mix of coarsely grated Precious whole milk mozz, smoked Prov (don't know the brand, bought a chunk from the service deli) and imported fontina
Put into preheated oven (550^o for an hour with stones on lowest rack and third rack from the bottom... my oven has 5 slots for 3 racks, so they are closer together)
Put the pizza on the bottom stone, which puts second stone about 3" above the surface of the pizza
Baked for 5-6 min until edges of crust were starting to brown and so was cheese

If I've forgotten any points or you have any other questions, I'll be happy to fill in the blanks!
~sd

I know this is forever old and SD girl is MIA but maybe someone else can chime in. For a typical pizza of this style would you use 493g or 986 g of dough for a 14.5x9.5 pan? I remember trying 493g and having a hard time stretching it out.

Pete-zza · « **Reply #106 on:** March 25, 2010, 03:42:22 PM »

Patrick,

My recollection is that the thickness factor that sourdough girl used is 0.12. On that basis, the amount of dough you would need for a 14.5" x 9.5" pan is 14.5 x 9.5 x 0.12 x 28.35 = 468.26 grams. That number will go up a bit if you use a bowl residue compensation.

Peter

TronCarter · « **Reply #107 on:** March 25, 2010, 03:54:05 PM »

I use a slightly larger thickness factor and for a 14.5 x 9.5 I use 18.5 oz (525gm) of dough. Good luck, and post your results!

Tron

pcampbell · « **Reply #108 on:** March 26, 2010, 12:43:58 PM »

I am not sure what my problem is but we had like 560grams and I still cannot stretch it to the edge. I can take that doughball and stretch it to 18" circle no problem but it didn't want to stray stretched out in the pan!

Came out pretty nicely. Crunchy and crispy. My wife really loves the change up. Didn't have any OO, just EVOO. Would like to try regular OO next time. Also takes more like 10 minutes for us to bake in the Williams Sonoma 14.5x9.5 pan on the preheated stone.

TronCarter · « **Reply #109 on:** March 26, 2010, 06:17:18 PM »

I don't know exactly which recipe you are following, but I cold ferment my dough in the refrigerator and it makes it much easier to press out into a square or rectangle and have it keep its shape. I also store my dough in square containers, which makes it easier to push out into the desired shape. So, on a lightly floured counter I push out the cold dough into a rectangle that is a little larger than the pan. I oil the pan, then put the dough in and let it overlap the sides a bit. I then "pull it back" a bit to make it fit the pan, that way it doesn't want to pull back from the corners. I then cover it with foil and let it rise for a few hours.

Give the OO a try. It should smooth out the subtle taste a bit. EVOO burns at a lower temperature than OO, that is why it is used.

10 minutes sounds about right to me. Actually, I go for 6 minutes with a foil cover (cooking the bottom and not the top) and then remove the foil and go for another 10 minutes. I like mine really crispy though, so that might be a little long for some people. This is just what I have figured out for my oven, with it's supposed 550F setting, and for my liking. The only real way to do it is trial and error. Keep in mind that even bad pizza... is still pretty good!

Please post some pictures, I would love to see what your results are.

Tron

steel_baker · « **Reply #110 on:** April 10, 2010, 04:25:26 AM »

I have been making this style pizza (as originated by Victory Pig) for a while now. I've learned many lessons and here are some tips on getting an authentic product:

1. Olive oil may taste good but the smoke point is too low for the high oven temps involved. Peanut oil is the way to go here because it has a high smoke point. Peanut oil is what Tommy's & other VP imitators use. VP uses cottonseed oil. I always use at least 1/4 cup of oil in my pans.

2. The pan is extremely important. I did all of my experimenting using a cast iron skillet because it has the same browning properties as the blue steel pans used by VP & imitators. For full trays, I use rectangular blue steel pans from Paderno World Cuisine. They come in a variety of sizes and once seasoned, will easily brown the crust just like the restaurants.

Not to brag but I've worked on reverse engineering this pizza for at least 30 years. I now have it close enough that people to whom I serve it and given the recipe to are amazed at how original it is. I guess it's just been on obsession for me. Here's a pic of my product:

steel_baker · « **Reply #111 on:** May 08, 2010, 11:35:26 AM »

Made a tray of white pizza w/ broccoli & garlic last evening. I pattern my pizza after Victory Pig (one of the originators of the style in that area), same style as Tommy's. A 67% hydration dough, some garlic oil, rough chopped broccoli (florets only) and my usual cheese blend, baked in blue steel pans with lots of peanut oil. Very tasty!

steel_baker

mmarston · « **Reply #112 on:** May 08, 2010, 04:31:43 PM »

Steel Baker

Your pizza looks great!
Could you provide your recipe and technique?

Michael

Grilled Pizza · « **Reply #113 on:** June 28, 2010, 11:58:46 PM »

I made a pizza today for some people at work based upon a lot in the forum and Buddy's forum. I used a 67% hydration (thank you Steel) and it turned out great. I always did a 75% before, but I think I like the 67% better. Here are some pics below. I need to work on the thickness and balance of cheese/sauce.

Grilled

steel_baker · « **Reply #114 on:** June 29, 2010, 07:18:20 AM »

This pizza looks great!

steel_baker

steel_baker · « **Reply #115 on:** August 22, 2010, 02:25:08 PM »

If anyone is interested, I now have a source for the real deal in pizza pans, blue steel pans just like Victory Pig and the other bakers of this style use. They are 16 gauge blue steel, are 2" deep, and come in 8x10, 10x14, and 12x17.

steel_baker

Jose L. Piedra · « **Reply #116 on:** September 30, 2010, 05:56:20 PM »

Quote from: sourdough girl on February 14, 2009, 05:38:08 PM

I have been doing some research on lard and have found, like many foods, the pendulum is now swinging back in favor of lard. Apparently, Rick Bayless is one of its more vocal proponents.

I've used schmalz (i.e. pan drippings from bacon) @ approx. 5.5-6% in my Sicilian doughs with good results, although it isn't really an improvement on olive oil IMO or noticeably different in any respect.

-JLP

aks801 · « **Reply #117 on:** October 02, 2010, 08:18:37 PM »

Quote from: steel_baker on August 22, 2010, 02:25:08 PM

If anyone is interested, I now have a source for the real deal in pizza pans, blue steel pans just like Victory Pig and the other bakers of this style use. They are 16 gauge blue steel, are 2" deep, and come in 8x10, 10x14, and 12x17.

steel_baker

Very interested!!! Want to know.

steel_baker · « **Reply #118 on:** October 02, 2010, 08:30:17 PM »

Here is the link to the manufacturer:

http://www.paprod.com/pans.html

The blue steel pans are about 2/3 of the way down the page.

steel_baker

steel_baker · « **Reply #119 on:** October 17, 2010, 10:05:58 PM »

Here is the first bake in the PA Products 2" deep blue steel pans. Came out great. I made a broccoli & garlic tray (along with some of my regular pizza sauce & cheese). I dropped some extra cheese along the sides ala Buddy's Detroit style so you can see the browned cheese around the edges. I was very pleased with the results, as were my guests.

steel_baker