NJ Boardwalk Pizza

[norma427]

This is Norma's dough from the market that we used to make the Macks pie. It's over a week old at this point. This is also the same cheese(10 oz.) and sauce(7.4 oz.)we used. This is baked in my home oven at 550 for 8 minutes. I should have gotten the sauce a bit closer to the edge, I think. That might have kept the edge a little flatter like I've been told it's supposed to be.
 As for the flavor, it's delicious, but It's not the same as it was on Tuesday at the market. Huh, I wonder why.

Steve,

Your Mack's clone looks delicious.    I am surprised the dough lasted that long without  being frozen.  I am glad you remember how much sauce and cheese was used.  I forgot to write the amount down after you first weighed out the ingredients. 

Don't you also want to go for a real Mack's pie to compare if the tastes are the same?    Did you also twirl the pie in the air?

It also looks like you got that gooey and greasy pie.

One more dough ball to go that is frozen and then we will see if we should change the formula in any way.

Norma

[Pete-zza]

Steve,

In your case, how old was the dough? Also, what size pizza did you make?

At Reply 159 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,9068.msg97457.html#msg97457, Norma said that you used a total of 18 ounces of cheddar cheese (9 oz. + 9 oz.) and 14 1/2 ounces (or maybe less) of Gangi sauce for the pizza baked on Tuesday. However, in your last post, you said 10 ounces of cheese and 7.4 ounces of sauce. Is the discrepancy because of different pizza sizes?

Peter

[sear]

wheres the drool icon ? 

[ERASMO]

Just talked to another local distributor-  Master Foods.  They said there most popular cheddar for pizza operators that use all cheddar is made by Masonville.  I did a search and not alot of info.  He told me the white cheddar is $1.79 per pound for 40 pound block.

Anyone heard of this brand?

[norma427]

Just talked to another local distributor-  Master Foods.  They said there most popular cheddar for pizza operators that use all cheddar is made by Masonville.  I did a search and not alot of info.  He told me the white cheddar is $1.79 per pound for 40 pound block.

Anyone heard of this brand?

ERASMO,

What kind of white cheddar is the Masonville?  When I tried the mild and sharp, their wasn't much difference in the taste of the cheese when we tasted it cold, but on the finished pie, there was a noticeable difference in Steve's and my opinions.  The sharp white cheddar did taste a lot like Mack's.

Norma

[norma427]

Steve,

In your case, how old was the dough? Also, what size pizza did you make?

At Reply 159 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,9068.msg97457.html#msg97457, Norma said that you used a total of 18 ounces of cheddar cheese (9 oz. + 9 oz.) and 14 1/2 ounces (or maybe less) of Gangi sauce for the pizza baked on Tuesday. However, in your last post, you said 10 ounces of cheese and 7.4 ounces of sauce. Is the discrepancy because of different pizza sizes

Peter

Peter,

I am also wondering about this, because we had weighed out the cheese and they were (9 oz. + 9 oz.).  We didn't use all the cheese, but I couldn't remember how much we used, because then I forgot to write it down.  It seemed like we used more than 10 ounces, but I could be wrong.  See if Steve remembers.

We will make sure we measure any remaining ingredients accurately this coming week.

Norma

[Pete-zza]

Norma,

There is no magic number of the amount of cheese to use on a pizza but a typical 16" or 18" pizza even with a heavy hand with the cheese is unlikely to use more than a pound, according to the Burke portion guide at http://www.burkecorp.com/images/stories/pdfs/guides/Pizza%20Toppings%20Guide.pdf. Also, when I looked at the video at

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs4h5Gr_GKc" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs4h5Gr_GKc</a>

, I did not get the impression that there was an overabundance of cheese. If you to make it to Mack's, you may get a chance to watch the cheese and sauce application steps to get a better feel for quantities. Also, if you weigh a typical baked cheese pizza, that will at least give us a base number to modify and work from. Measuring the diameter may also give us another data point.

Peter

[norma427]

Peter,

I could usually judge how much cheese is put on a pizza, but do weigh it for my regular pizzas.  When I grated this State Brand white sharp cheddar, with the Pelican Head, it is stiffer than the mozzarella and seems to come out coarser when it is finished being grated.  This then makes it hard to be able to judge by looks, how much cheese is used.  We used the white sharp cheddar right out of the deli case.  Maybe this week we can try letting it warm up.  When watching the Mack’s video, it looks like the cheddar is soft.

When am able to get to Mack’s is there anything else I need to take along, except the camera, a tape measure and a scale?  I do have a good Cannon camera, but am not sure if I need that.  I hope I can get some good pictures. 

Norma

[Pete-zza]

When am able to get to Mack’s is there anything else I need to take along, except the camera, a tape measure and a scale?

Norma,

A long fake wig and dark sunglasses.

Will you be eating the pizza at Mack's, so that you can watch the show, or will you be taking the pizza out? Weighing a just baked pizza can be tricky.

Peter

[norma427]

Norma,

A long fake wig and dark sunglasses.

Will you be eating the pizza at Mack's, so that you can watch the show, or will you be taking the pizza out? Weighing a just baked pizza can be tricky.

Peter

LOL, the fake wig and dark sunglasses were a good one.    We would probably eat more than one whole pie.  If I get there, what is the point of going if I don't try both places and enjoy the shore.  Probably one back to where we are staying and also some hot. Probably will take the cooler, so I also can bring some home.

Norma

[Pete-zza]

Probably will take the cooler, so I also can bring some home.

Norma,

Maybe they will sell you one of their dough balls to put in your cooler to take back home with you. If so, you might want a dough ball from their cooler.

Peter

[norma427]

Norma,

Maybe they will sell you one of their dough balls to put in your cooler to take back home with you. If so, you might want a dough ball from their cooler.

Peter

Peter,

Sounds like a great plan, if they are willing to sell me a dough ball. 

Thanks for the idea,

Norma

[Ev]

Steve,

In your case, how old was the dough? Also, what size pizza did you make?

At Reply 159 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,9068.msg97457.html#msg97457, Norma said that you used a total of 18 ounces of cheddar cheese (9 oz. + 9 oz.) and 14 1/2 ounces (or maybe less) of Gangi sauce for the pizza baked on Tuesday. However, in your last post, you said 10 ounces of cheese and 7.4 ounces of sauce. Is the discrepancy because of different pizza sizes?

Peter

The dough I used was 9 days in my possession. I'm not sure how old it was when I got it. Norma would know that.
 I made a 16 inch pie with that dough. It was IMO over fermented and over extensible. Had I tried to toss it, it would likely have flown in all directions! lol
 Today, I used 10 oz. of cheese and 7.4 oz. of sauce. On Tuesday we started out with 9+9 and 14.5 but we did not use all of either one. I think most of the discrepancy can be attributed to lack of note taking and memory.  ???Like Norma said, we were interrupted a couple times by those pesky customers. 
 If I had to guess, I'd say we used somewhere around 10 oz. of sauce and 14 oz. of cheeses, combined. That still sounds like a lot of cheese though.

[ERASMO]

On the topic of the cheese.  I called back master foods because I forgot to ask if the white cheddar they stock was sharp or mild and they told me quite matter of factly "Its mild cheddar, It is used for pizzas" 

[Pete-zza]

The dough I used was 9 days in my possession. I'm not sure how old it was when I got it. Norma would know that.

Steve,

That is why I asked the question. I thought that the dough might have overfermented and left too little residual sugar to show up in the color of the finished crust. I can also see how the crust must have been very tasty with all the fermentation byproducts.

Peter

[norma427]

I'm not sure how old it was when I got it. Norma would know that.
I think most of the discrepancy can be attributed to lack of note taking and memory.  ???Like Norma said, we were interrupted a couple times by those pesky customers. 

On the topic of the cheese.  I called back master foods because I forgot to ask if the white cheddar they stock was sharp or mild and they told me quite matter of factly "Its mild cheddar, It is used for pizzas" 

ERASMO,

Thanks for checking on the cheese.  This thread is getting too crazy.  You need to calm us down.  When I called Foremost Farms this morning they, too only had one kind of cheddar.  Hope we finally get this cheese thing straightened out. 

Thanks,

Norma

Steve,

The dough was 1 day old when I gave it to you.  LOL, you are as crazy as I am..those customers and washing dishes can get in the way of our experiments.  Do you think we will get it right this week?  

At least we have fun when we work.  All the other standholders are crazy, too.    You just add more to the craziness.  

Norma

[norma427]

Well, you guys, I went to Dollar Tree tonight while shopping for other things.  I found this great incognito blond long hair with sparkles, big sunglasses and a special agent badge.  This thread is partly about "Those Wildwood Days and O Those Wildwood Nights where Mack's is located", so I thought I would dress up to be able to investigate. 

Norma

[jasonm2674]

Norma,

Thank you for taking on this long and very tough project. 

I have been waiting years, literally, to find something like their pizza.   

I have had a connection with these shops in the area and I can add this.  They have a full crew of people who make the dough off site.  I cannot say how long it ferments.  There is actually a location, near on of the stores, that is actually under the boardwalk where they make the dough ahead of time.   

I don't know what process results in this as well, but the crust also doesn't have a "bready" look to it when cooked.  It has always reminded me of a pastry type dough where it might actually be folded and rolled out repeatedly to get that layered cracker edge to it.  I can 100% say that their crust will bubble, they have forks around the ovens they use to pop them down.

The ovens are also typically at 550 from everything I can remember and they had stone shelves.  The metal shelves are hot rolled steel about 1/8" thick and are cured with veg oil.

[norma427]

jasonm2674,

I also wondered for many years, how to make a pie like Mack’s.  I don’t mind trying this out and doing the experimenting.  It then just helps me to understand what different kinds of pizzas are like and also more about pizza dough. 

I want to thank you for telling us about how they make there dough off-site.  I had wondered how they made this much dough, when they sell so many pies in one day at both locations.  I knew their shops weren’t really big, especially the one at Wildwood Crest. 

I don’t know, but I think the way they open the crust has something to do with the way the rim looks.  Since you said their crust do bubble, and they use bubble poppers, maybe they aren’t letting their dough get up to temperature before opening the skins.  It’s just another thought, but I don’t know. 

Your knowledge of the oven temperature and stones on the ovens is helpful, too.  I remember when they used to use deck ovens, years ago and still their pies were the same. 

I hope we can recreate this pie by going step by step.  When I made the Mack’s clone Tuesday, it sure tasted like Mack’s pizza to me, but I will have to wait until I taste a real Mack’s pie to see if this is true.

We all appreciate your help, 

Norma

[norma427]

I searched some more about Wildwood and see they did some Boardwalk reconstruction in 2008.  This video can give an idea how much space would be under Mack’s pizza.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6IUgk4ykNg" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6IUgk4ykNg</a>

This video was taken in the winter near the raging waters water park, which is near to Mack’s on the middle of the boardwalk.  I almost broke my arm when I went there.  I always went on their rides when I was visiting Wildwood.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbBYozMItKk" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbBYozMItKk</a>

This is another persons trip going to Wildwood and what it is like.  When I was still a child, this place was very exciting to me.  Always looking for memories.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL-vMq604Es" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL-vMq604Es</a>

Just another feel what Wildwood is like, if other people were never there or experienced Wildwood and Mack’s pizza,

Norma