Generic Chicago Thin Crust

[android]

arg.. i just spend a ton of time writing a big reply and 1 of my pictures was too large so it erased the whole thing!!

anyway, long story short, i tried this dough formulation with a few modifications (just upped the corn oil and added some butter):

Flour (100%):       500.35 g  |  17.65 oz | 1.1 lbs (ALL PURPOSE)
Water (50%):       250.17 g  |  8.82 oz | 0.55 lbs
IDY (.75%):       3.75 g | 0.13 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.25 tsp | 0.42 tbsp
Salt (1.25%):       6.25 g | 0.22 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.3 tsp | 0.43 tbsp
Corn Oil (5%):    25.02 g | 0.88 oz | 0.06 lbs | 5.56 tsp | 1.85 tbsp
Butter (3%):       14.73 g | 0.52 oz | 0.03 lbs | 3.11 tsp | 1.04 tbsp  
Total (160%):      785.55 g | 27.71 oz | 1.73 lbs | TF = 0.09
Single Ball:      392.77 g | 13.85 oz | 0.87 lbs

this formulation was for 2 14" doughs. same mixing protocol as the OP, etc. did one dough the first night after a ~3 hr rise with 2 of them in the oven with light on. did the second the next night after sitting in the fridge after the 2 hr oven rise. first pic is the first nights pizza, i thought it was a little tough and too cracker like. it was baked on the preheated stone (500F for 1 hr) for about 15 minutes, it just didn't want to brown thoroughly. the second night, i cooked the pizza on one of my 14" chicago pizza pans that are available at bed, bath, and beyond. the pan was on the stone for about 10-12 minutes.

second night's dough was much better after the fridge rise overnight. much more like the thin crust dough i was looking for. a little more chewy, yet crispy and slightly burnt on the edges.

first pic is the first pizza, second the next night's. and yes folks, that is canadian bacon and homemade sauerkraut on half of the second night's pizza... if you haven't tried it, do, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[vr6Dad]

I used the above dough recipe for tonight's pizzas. I'll do them again, but next time try the overnight refrigerator rise. One of the two doughs didn't want to brown up, but the second one worked fine.

I used thawed frozen Roma tomatoes from my summer garden harvest for the sauce, and some store brand cheese with Boar's Head pepperoni and ham as toppings.

[Jackitup]

arg.. i just spend a ton of time writing a big reply and 1 of my pictures was too large so it erased the whole thing!!

Hehehe.....don't that just fry yer potaters??? Laughing with you and at you...been there
Jon

PS....got in the habit of right clicking and copy before I hit send.....MOST of the time anyway.....

[danjm16]

Made the recipe from loowaters, at the very start of this thread. First attempt at thin crust. Just a few comments. Used dough calculator to make 2 12" pizzas. I mixed in food processor adding 1/2 the flour than 1/4 more then the rest. Worked great. Worked it on table for about a minute then it went right into the fridge overnight. Took the dough out about 3 hours before cook time and divided it, then let it rest on counter. Found the dough very easy to work with. Used the sauce recipe at the beginning of thread and put a smidge too much cinnamon in. Did not dock the dough and cooked directly on stone at 525 for 10 minutes. It came out really nice but did not get browning on crust bottom. Will attempt on metal pan next time. Also used very top rack. Questions if I use a pan do I need to use stone? What rack position works best? I use an electric oven with an oven thermometer so temps are pretty reliable. Thanks!

[CDNpielover]

Try moving your stone to the bottom rack...  you'll get higher stone temps there, which will help give you a crispier crust.

[Garvey]

CDNpielover is spot on about using the stone in a different location.  I do a two stone method--one high and one low--and shuttle between the two as needed.  Up high, the top cooks faster.  Down low, the bottom cooks faster. 

I typically start low and finish high, but it depends on what I'm making.

Here is the science behind it and a full explanation:
http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/02/which-oven-rack-should-i-put-my-pizza-stone-on.html

[danjm16]

Thanks for the suggestions. I liked the article. Excellent point in there about temperature vs. energy.

[mrmojo1]

i love this recipe loo gave! it is still my favorite. my only modification has been a touch of sugar.....it produces exactly what i want from a chcago thin crust we would order in the burbs!  so i finally broke down out here in Idaho having no good pizza and bought a pizza oven.  i didnt think it could get better tasting but the thin crust is phenomenal....its takes on a sweetness from the wood i think....i dont know.  the same recipe ive used for 3 yrs now came out even better.  curing this oven was a project indeed. 40hrs of fire. anyhow its cured.  the weather was raining so much the last 2 mos it just sat there killing me.  anyhow. this is my 4th chicago thin crust ive done in the oven.  they were all awesome, the crust has a slight crunch and a sweetness.  i now also make my own sweet italian sausage, but these are the best pizzas ive ever made, and my pizza eaters agree!  thanks so much Loo and everyone who has offered so much support and knowledge!!

-=terry

[norma427]

Terry,

Your Chicago thin crust pizza from your WFO sure looks delicious!  Great looking WFO too.

Norma

[Garvey]

Terry:

That pizza looks amazing!  Could you please tell me more about how you cook Chicago thin in a WFO?  I really want a WFO but have been hesitant, thinking it was only good for Neo pizzas cooked at 1400 Kelvin for 7.36 seconds apiece.   

What temp, how long, etc.?  Would love to hear the whole story and protocol, if you have time.

Cheers,
Garvey

[mrmojo1]

sure Garvey!  I had been using the regular kitchen oven for years and I would preheat the stone at 550 for an hour. I was sure nervous that the WFO wouldn't match the performance.  so,  the WFO can surely reach temps 800 and above, but I make a decent fire and I look for a dome temp of 600-700 and a floor temp of 600-700. it takes about an hour to fire this oven. usually the temp is higher for the 1st pizza.  it only took 7 mins to cook my 1st.  and it's very interactive I am turning it and moving every minute or so to keep it even and rotate the hot side that faces the fire. so mostly by crispness of the bottom and the color of the cheese I can tell when it's done. after the 1st pizza I throw another log on while I make the 2nd.  the floor temp on the 2nd was about 600 and it took about 10mins. to cook.  depending on the size of your fire, amount of wood you're burning, and whether you have live flame or just embers you can get and maintain quite a range of temps.   I have to say i have been really pleased. although getting this oven set up and cured was quite an intense process...it weighs about 600lbs and moving it and getting it on the stand was an engineering feat. but the pizzas have been delicious.  another thing about this oven is that it can be fired in about an hour so you can legitimately make wood fired pizza during the work week!

[Garvey]

Wow--thanks for the writeup--that is awesome.  What kind of WFO did you get?  Now that I've seen your handiwork, this is back on my radar for my home.  Thanks!

[mrmojo1]

I believe it is the forno bravo primavera60. I liked it because if we ever move from this house I can take It with us.  http://www.fornobravo.com/ they have a bigger one the primavera70.   the60 is big enough to cook a 12inch no prob.  they also sell kits and other style ovens.  I have been pretty happy with their service.

[Garvey]

Thanks!  Time to start socking away my nickels... 

[mrmojo1]

sure Garvey!  I had been using the regular kitchen oven for years and I would preheat the stone at 550 for an hour. I was sure nervous that the WFO wouldn't match the performance.  so,  the WFO can surely reach temps 800 and above, but I make a decent fire and I look for a dome temp of 600-700 and a floor temp of 600-700. it takes about an hour to fire this oven. usually the temp is higher for the 1st pizza.  it only took 7 mins to cook my 1st.  and it's very interactive I am turning it and moving every minute or so to keep it even and rotate the hot side that faces the fire. so mostly by crispness of the bottom and the color of the cheese I can tell when it's done. after the 1st pizza I throw another log on while I make the 2nd.  the floor temp on the 2nd was about 600 and it took about 10mins. to cook.  depending on the size of your fire, amount of wood you're burning, and whether you have live flame or just embers you can get and maintain quite a range of temps.   I have to say i have been really pleased. although getting this oven set up and cured was quite an intense process...it weighs about 600lbs and moving it and getting it on the stand was an engineering feat. but the pizzas have been delicious.  another thing about this oven is that it can be fired in about an hour so you can legitimately make wood fired pizza during the work week!

update on the wfo process and chicago thin crust pizzas.  1st i read my old post up there and i just want to apologize if i sounded arrogant or anything, i read it now and oh!!! i shouldnt have used so many superlatives, i was really excited after cooking that 4th pizza in the wfo, so i was way over the top. and when i say it was awesome, thats soley my opinion!  im sure i would have some harder critics here!!  and deservedly so!   so i have used it about once a week, and its changed quite a bit.  the instructions stated it would change over time.  well it holds heat a lot longer now.  i need to learn to make smaller fires and spread embers sooner to get the 700 floor temp i want to start at.  ill start it up and add a log, and by an hour its at 900!  i then need it to cool.....takes about another hour! to get the dome to 850 and the floor to sub 800.   so i want to correct that at this point, it isnt the quickest weeknight pizza youll make!  but doable!  i think with smaller starting fires and getting better at fire and subsequently heat management ill be able to not spike to 900+ degrees, and not have to wait for the oven to cool so long.  the flavor of the crust is still a definite plus.  now using the sheeter to laminate it is again  a whole new process.  i need a poker to manage crust bubbles so now that bubble managemen(i eben dock) becomes as interactive as the rotation of the pizza for even cooking.   at about the 2 hr mark after i started the fire, i cant cook, and admittedly the floor is hot, 800 but the heat comes off quick on the 1st rotation of the pizza and gets to 600+ as im turning the pizza.  i still try to cook about 10 mins for the raw sausage to cook fully.  so sometimes i have to move it a bit from the fire.  anyhow its a lot of fun, but still a major work in progress!!! 

[mrmojo1]

a couple pics

[pulykamell]

Whoa. Wood fired Vito & Nick's style pizza. Where's the "LOVEE!!!" button.

I only just came across this thread. It's interesting to see that my (independent) version of the V&N's formulation, as extrapolated from the DDD segment, is pretty similar:

100% Ceresota unbleached flour
1.5% salt
.5% IDY
13% milk
50% water

Looks like everyone got pretty similar info from that video.

[mrmojo1]

a couple pics

don't know why the pics rotated and skewed?  they were correct when I 1st posted them? sorry!