Today's sicilian (A pictorial)

[foreplease]

Looks like you had great texture and flavor, Johnny. Glad you are back.

[Johnny the Gent]

Thanks guys!

I’ve been craving a “white pie” for a while now, and thought long and hard about what cheeses would compliment fresh spinach as well as generous dollops of whipped Galbani’s Whole Milk Ricotta. Picked up two of the big tubs for $5 bucks so there’ll be manicotti soon, too.

This dough worked great for the pie, it just seemed proportionate and balanced.

Here’s what I settled on: Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar grated as a base, followed by chopped garlic and a couple tablespoons of EVOO. Then came the bunches of fresh spinach (stacked like little bonfires to allow heat to flow through and provide an escape for moisture🤓). I whipped up some ricotta with whole milk to get a creamy consistency that would withstand a 10-12 minute bake. Dollops between the spinach brushpiles. Out the oven the pie was finished with several more smaller dollops of ricotta, EVOO and hand grated Pecorino Romano.

After my first bite the word “luxurious” formed in my mind. The mouth feel was deluxe, and the cheese blend above and below the creamy/subtle naturally sweet ricotta was pretty amazing.

[jvp123]

Those last two pies look perfect!  Nice to see you posting again! 

[Pizza-Face]

HAHAHA    "bonfire stacked" fresh spinach leaves -that shows real imagination! Looks like it worked a wonder too!

Your pies are beauties! Good camera manipulation. Your not using a cell phone camera are you?

[Johnny the Gent]

Thanks guys!

Pizza Face - pics were taken with my old Iphone. Just got to hold still and “hit the trigger” without moving the phone around🤓.

[Johnny the Gent]

This was a great pie! Upside down style, with hand sliced Boars head pepperoni. Out of the oven, finished with restraint: freshly chopped italian oregano, parmesan & romano, EVOO. Baked in a 12” Lloyds sicilian pan over steel. Formula below.

[jsaras]

When I grow up, I want my pan pizzas to look like yours!

[Johnny the Gent]

jsaras - thanks for the compliment!

Today’s sicilian: essentially same formula as last but scaled the IDY down a bit for a 48 hr cold rise.

Learning lots with the green label All Trumps; trying to work with it and not against it. Almost feels like I’m undermixing but the results are promising and I especially like the ease of stretching/opening to fit the pan.

Boars Head pepperoni sliced thinner than last time - charred like a champ.

Fresh basil and EVOO over the cheese, dollops of sauce, sweet onion and pepperoni.

Finished with a bit of Pecorino Romano, fresh chopped oregano and more EVOO.

This pie had depth and balance. All good!

[Johnny the Gent]

Same dough as previous post- just fermented for an extra day (72h total).

Aldi’s whole milk mozz laid down first, sauced (cored and skinned a Roma tomato, diced it up and added to the sauce), small chunks of Polly-O, a little more sauce and into the oven. Finished with parmesan & romano, basil and EVOO.  Very satisfied with the 12 x 12” Lloyds
Sicilian pan - excellent heat transfer/bottom browning. Been using this one a lot more than the 14 x 14” size Lloyds pan.

[Wario]

Amazing looking pizza's! Never had a Sicilian pizza yet.

Is the device you used for your earlier bakes a lasagna pan? What heat do you bake at?

[9slicePie]

And how long did you bake it for?

[Johnny the Gent]

Amazing looking pizza's! Never had a Sicilian pizza yet.

Is the device you used for your earlier bakes a lasagna pan? What heat do you bake at?

Thanks! Earlier bakes were in an enamelled baking pan - pretty sure the core was aluminium. “Assadeira esmaltada” is what you’d call it in Brazil. It had an gloss black finish and transferred heat to the dough fast.  At that time I baked over a 3/4” Brazilian soapstone and used an electric oven at 550-570 farenheit.

Nowadays for this style of pie baked in a Lloyds pan over NerdChef baking steel, baking temp is usually from 485-525 for 12-14 minutes (direct bake!) with intermittent convection and broiler use . As is the case with ovens, YMMV on bake times.

[Johnny the Gent]

ex·quis·ite

This pie…my oh my. 70% total hydration (68% water, 2% oil). Direct bake (13 minutes) in the Lloyds 12” x 12”. 3 slices have been enjoyed, and this is after the big breakfast and Independence Day lunch. I might have a couple more slices before the day is over. On to the pics:

[Johnny the Gent]

Had a doughball in the fridge for 5 days. In the mood for jalapeño peppers on pizza, so this sicilian would be all about the tasty green pepper.

After each layer of ingredients/toppings, I’d give it a couple healthy swigs of EVOO to meld flavors- esp for the jalapeño juice to infuse throughout the sauce and cheese during the cheese boil.

13 minute direct bake - 12”X12” Lloyds pan over steel - 70% total hydration dough - 485 F with broiler on last 2 min. No long rise in pan - only the time it took for oven to heat up.

Creamy Polly-O in knife cut chunks withstood the bake without burning; not blanketing the peppers with fine grated mozz allows moisture to escape. Cheese boil delayed due to larger mass of cheese chunks. Just a little ham was added, but make no mistake, this pie was all about the jalapeño. Out the oven, I opted to not finish this pie with anything (hard cheeses/herbs/more oil). It just looked succulent as is. Delicious!