Author Topic: Greek pizza (Read 72415 times)

getchai · « **Reply #440 on:** May 15, 2012, 06:01:21 PM »

I love this thread! I live in Massachusetts and my favorite style of pizza is the "Greek" kind.

dmcavanagh · « **Reply #441 on:** May 16, 2012, 10:12:07 AM »

Norma

I love your little mascot standing on top of your dough container. Where did you find him?

norma427 · « **Reply #442 on:** May 16, 2012, 10:27:59 AM »

Quote from: dmcavanagh on May 16, 2012, 10:12:07 AM

Norma

I love your little mascot standing on top of your dough container. Where did you find him?

Dave,

Larry (zaman) bought him and other Pulcinellas back from Italy. Larry sent him to me. I also love him!

Norma

dmcavanagh · « **Reply #443 on:** May 16, 2012, 05:28:58 PM »

I have searched everywhere on the web and have not been able to find anything similar to that.

norma427 · « **Reply #444 on:** May 16, 2012, 08:13:55 PM »

Quote from: dmcavanagh on May 16, 2012, 05:28:58 PM

I have searched everywhere on the web and have not been able to find anything similar to that.

Dave,

I feel your pain.

Before Larry went to Italy I searched ebay and everywhere on the web for a Pulcinella and I couldn't find any either except in Italy. I don't know if anyone every sells them on ebay from time to time though.

Norma

thezaman · « **Reply #445 on:** June 11, 2012, 08:45:15 AM »

i anyone wants pulcinellas i may be able to get more. pm interest

getchai · « **Reply #446 on:** June 12, 2012, 04:41:10 PM »

I just had a great pizza! My anodized aluminum pans arrived a few days ago and I was finally able to use them.

I seasoned the pan with some vegetable oil at 350 for a while, then 400. I forgot to put the pan upside down so it pooled a little in the middle. I then seasoned it again with some shortening at 400. It worked out great.

The dough only had about two hours to rise. I put a light coat of oil in before placing the dough in the pan. I first rolled it out flat with a rolling pin and then placed it in the pan. I intended to go to the edges with everything. I accidentally made it too thin with a large crust.

The tomato sauce is homemade from scratch. I used a recipe I found in another pizza book. I can throw it together if anyone is interested. The cheese is mozzarella cheese with a generous sprinkle of shredded white cheddar on top. To prevent cheese from burning early I always spray the set pizza (cheese and all) with a PAM equivalent (mine is canola oil based). It never burns anymore and cooks great.

Dough recipe, made using KASL flour. Produces 2 balls at 9in:
Flour (100%):    199.43 g | 7.03 oz | 0.44 lbs
Water (55%):    109.69 g | 3.87 oz | 0.24 lbs
ADY (.35%):    0.69 g | 0.02 oz | 0 lbs | 0.18 tsp | 0.06 tbsp
Salt (2%):      3.99 g | 0.14 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.83 tsp | 0.28 tbsp
Vegetable (Soybean) Oil (3%):    5.98 g | 0.21 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.32 tsp | 0.44 tbsp
Sugar (2%):    3.99 g | 0.14 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1 tsp | 0.33 tbsp
Total (162.35%):   323.77 g | 11.42 oz | 0.71 lbs | TF = 0.08976
Single Ball:   161.89 g | 5.71 oz | 0.36 lbs

norma427 · « **Reply #447 on:** June 21, 2012, 07:07:02 PM »

This post is just to show how thick a Greek style pizza can get from overproofing the dough (while proofing in a steel pan). I use my regular Lehmann dough balls at market for Greek style pizzas and was busy and this one really proofed in the pan. The resulting TF was higher from the ambient room temperature and the longer proof. The bake could have been a little longer for the bottom crust to brown better.

Norma

CDNpielover · « **Reply #448 on:** June 21, 2012, 08:35:50 PM »

Norma,

How thick would you say the rim was? From what I can tell, that looks very similar to many of the pies that we call "Greek" here in Calgary. I think it looks delicious! I have made several greek pies using as couple of dough formulations in this thread, with a 2-hour-ish rise, and most of my pies seemed to have a much smaller rim than many of the ones you get here in Calgary (although I have been carrying the sauce and cheese to the top like the "bar style," as I understand it). Yours does look very good though, I'm not sure the overproofing is such a bad thing! ...Or is it???

norma427 · « **Reply #449 on:** June 21, 2012, 10:13:26 PM »

Quote from: CDNpielover on June 21, 2012, 08:35:50 PM

Norma,

How thick would you say the rim was? From what I can tell, that looks very similar to many of the pies that we call "Greek" here in Calgary. I think it looks delicious! I have made several greek pies using as couple of dough formulations in this thread, with a 2-hour-ish rise, and most of my pies seemed to have a much smaller rim than many of the ones you get here in Calgary (although I have been carrying the sauce and cheese to the top like the "bar style," as I understand it). Yours does look very good though, I'm not sure the overproofing is such a bad thing! ...Or is it???

CDNpielover,

I really don’t what the TF was on the Greek pizza. It might have been about .13 or about there. I didn’t know the Greek pies in Calgary were that high.

That is interesting to hear. I used a regular Lehmann dough ball weight of about 575 grams and my TF was a little over 0.10% for a regular NY style pizza. I just use the same dough balls for my Lehmann dough pizzas that I also use for the Greek style. Since Peter said that could be done in this thread, that is what I have been doing. I could make separate size dough balls out of the Lehmann dough, (one for the Greek style and one for the NY style) but this way which ever way I might need to use them they are available. The size steel pan I used was 12”. I know most the formulations on this thread do call for a lower TF.

I really don’t think that overproofing is a bad thing when making a Greek style pizza. I really love Greek style pizzas.

I guess it all depends on how thick you like your Greek Style pies. I never really tasted a real Greek style pizza from a pizzeria that makes them, but have been satisfied with the formulations on this thread and the Lehmann dough also. I never really had a “bar style” either.

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #450 on:** July 12, 2012, 08:56:35 AM »

Just a few pictures of the Greek style pizza made every week with the regular Lehmann dough I use for the Greek Style pizza. The edges, or rim, sometimes can get more puffy than it should.

I saw an interesting article in PMQ pizza magazine this month about Greek Style pizzas at pages 40-41 http://www.pmqmag-digital.com/pmqmag/20120607#pg42 What is basically says is that at Baco’s Pizza http://bacospizza.com/ in Enfied, Conn, that the major difference is the Greeks bake their pizzas in pans instead of directly on an oven’s stones. The really traditional Greeks allow the pizzas to proof in pans for at least eight to 12 hrs before cooking. The dough is allowed to rise for 2 to 3 hrs, then they’re sauce and placed in the cooler until they’re ready for toppings or cooking.

I never tried the method of proofing for at leaat eight to 12 hrs., after the first rise. I wonder how that would work out. It also seems like Baco’s Pizza does not use cheddar in their blend for their Greek style pizzas. http://bacospizza.com/Menu.html I also wonder just how many different types of Greek style pizza there are in the New England area.

If the above link doesn’t work for the specific page in PMQ Pizza Magazine, this is the link to the magazine. http://www.pmqmag-digital.com/pmqmag/20120607#pg1

norma427 · « **Reply #451 on:** July 12, 2012, 08:58:19 AM »

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #452 on:** July 12, 2012, 08:58:54 AM »

Norma

Pete-zza · « **Reply #453 on:** July 12, 2012, 10:14:13 AM »

Norma,

If I had to guess, I would say that the proofing that you described and as mentioned in the article refers to cold fermentation, not a proofing at room temperature. I suppose the dough could be made at night, panned, and cold fermented for use the next day, or maybe made early in the morning for later day use. Either method would seem to fit the Baco's Pizza hours (Sunday & Monday 11am-9pm and Tuesday-Saturday 11am-10pm).

Peter

norma427 · « **Reply #454 on:** July 12, 2012, 03:13:39 PM »

Quote from: Pete-zza on July 12, 2012, 10:14:13 AM

Norma,

If I had to guess, I would say that the proofing that you described and as mentioned in the article refers to cold fermentation, not a proofing at room temperature. I suppose the dough could be made at night, panned, and cold fermented for use the next day, or maybe made early in the morning for later day use. Either method would seem to fit the Baco's Pizza hours (Sunday & Monday 11am-9pm and Tuesday-Saturday 11am-10pm).

Peter

Peter,

I must have not understood the article right. I can see it would make more sense to not proof at room temperature and then cold ferment.

Norma

PowerWagonPete · « **Reply #455 on:** July 15, 2012, 08:32:19 AM »

Great thread but if you want real Greek pizza, you've got to go to Greece... LOL

http://www.facebook.com/pages/PJs-Pizza-Kalamata-Greece/171194542922543?v=wall

I had the opportunity back in my Navy days and, in reality, it seems a typical American-style has more of a Greek heritage than Italian.

norma427 · « **Reply #456 on:** August 02, 2012, 12:04:06 AM »

This was just another Greek pizza made with the one day cold fermented Lehmann dough. Fresh stuff from my garden was used to dress this pie.

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #457 on:** August 02, 2012, 12:05:11 AM »

Norma

moberlew · « **Reply #458 on:** August 02, 2012, 09:36:08 AM »

Here's my take on some of the the consistencies of greek pie making that I have seen/done over the years.

Here are some things I have p/u over the years working in greek style pizza places over years in Massachusetts.

Dough: After mixing, dough is left to sit in bowl/covered for 34 min-1.25 hours.
Dough is kneaded and floured until it is able to be balled and placed onto sheet trays and placed into cooler
Dough stays in cooler over night (ideal situation)
Dough is then taken out stretched and rolled, so as to, hang on/cover a good portion of the pan lip
Dough edge is then pinched/pressed to the inside edge of pie pan to form a raised edge (different places have different styles of doing this)
Dough is then covered with sauce. (the a ladle of sauce is spread out thin over the stretched pie dough but does not cover the raised/pinched
pie crust.

Pans: Round pans w/a 1" lip (size doesn't matter. It's what ever size sells in that particular area usually a small and a large but, some places have a
medium size (rare) too.
Pans are never washed! (no, really) they get wiped out w/a towel and re-oiled/greased with a dry oily towel. (if I had a dollar for every pan I
wiped out and oiled, I would be living in Italy)

Cheese: A mozzarella and white cheddar mix. The ratio is 3 to 1. Some places use less (2-1) but the cheddar releases a lot of oil and produces a
product that some customers describe as a greasy pie.

Sauce: Never cooked.
Clean thin sauce w/oregano, basil, garlic powder, pepper, salt and sugar. Some places add paste but, all have varying amounts and
or omissions of certain ingredients.

Ev · « **Reply #459 on:** August 02, 2012, 09:44:23 AM »

Marc O,
Welcome and thanks for your input.
What are the names of the places you worked at in Mass.? Are they still there? Do you make this style at home?