Author Topic: Chicago Thin - a labor of love (Read 196003 times)

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #120 on:** April 28, 2012, 07:24:14 PM »

Another hit BTB......great looking Chicago thin !!

Bob

BTB · « **Reply #121 on:** April 29, 2012, 11:19:25 AM »

Thanks, Bob. I know you are a true Chicago pizza lover like me.

BTW, I've been using one of Sargento's new shredded cheeses for thin crust pizzas recently. Most of the available shredded pizza cheese is low moisture, part skimmed (which is pretty good), but Sargento recently came out with their new "Artisan Blends" and one of them was shredded Whole Milk Mozzarella. I've been really happy with it and will again use it for as long as it may be available. It is very flavorful and tasty for a Mozzarella, which is not known to be that flavorful. Publix had it on a "buy one get one free" sale last week.

Besides mozzarella, I like to do a blend with some other cheeses from time to time, like the little bit of cheddar I did with Garvey's pizza here. Or I often add a little shredded Provolone or even the hard to find Scamorza, which is really good. One pizza enthusiast believes Scamorza to be the best pizza cheese out there. See http://blog.jakeparrillo.com/2011/03/scamorza-cheese-best-pizza-cheese.html#!/2011/03/scamorza-cheese-best-pizza-cheese.html . My local Italian deli here in Florida (Mazzaro's at http://www.mazzarosmarket.com/InsideOurStore/CheeseRoom/tabid/77/Default.aspx) makes their Scamorza in house, but it, too, is not cheap. It really is a great tasting cheese to use on pizzas, at least in some part. Many pizzerias on the southside of Chicago, it's south suburbs, and in the Calumet region especially used Scamorza cheese on their pizzas. Check it out.

On pizza No. 2 above, I remembered to put some pinches of Parmigiano-Reggiano prior to baking, but forgot to do so for pizza No. 1. But adding it on afterwards before eating the pizza still made for a very tasty pizza.

I'm keeping Garvey's great recipe on my "bucket list" as I plan to do some more development with it.

--BTB

mykall · « **Reply #122 on:** April 29, 2012, 08:40:23 PM »

Not too good but hey I'll get better. I at least know what the factory's sauce tasted like or at least minus the marjoram. I didn't have any so I subbed in more Italian seasoning which has marjoram in it.
Despite how this looks it actually tasted pretty good. I must admit I was not totally faithful to the recipe as I used about 222g of KABF and made up the difference with AP. The reason was that that bag has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time and I also wanted a little more snap crackety in my dough.

mykall · « **Reply #123 on:** April 29, 2012, 08:42:41 PM »

I cooked this right on the stone at the bottom of the oven, no pan.

mykall · « **Reply #124 on:** April 29, 2012, 08:45:21 PM »

Gotta' love the triangles!

Garvey · « **Reply #125 on:** April 29, 2012, 09:30:07 PM »

mykall:

Quote

"Despite how this looks..."?

Whatchu talkin' about--it looks delicious. I'd eat that any day of the week. Nice going.

pythonic · « **Reply #126 on:** April 29, 2012, 11:51:22 PM »

BTB,

Great looking pizza there. I noticed your blurb about the sargento mozzarella. When I first started my pizza making adventures I was using that. Have you tried the Borden whole milk mozzarella yet? I find it tastes even better.

BTB · « **Reply #127 on:** April 30, 2012, 07:27:57 AM »

mykall, that's a great looking pizza. Very nice job. When I return to my summer home where I have an electric oven with visible heating elements, I'll have to bring along my pizza stone and use it on a low rack along with my cutter pan.

Nate, I don't recall seeing Borden's cheese at the grocery stores. I'll be on the lookout for it and try some. Thanks for the tip. I go in cycles on ingredients and right now I prefer the Whole Milk Mozzarella (but not fresh). And while I added some sharp cheddar in the above pizzas, another great option is to add instead some white, mild (not sharp) Vermont or Canadian cheddar, which I sometimes have problems finding except in the specialty deli's, altho I think Fresh Market has it.

This pizzamaking can be so rewarding and fun when we freely trade our thoughts, ideas and opinions on all of this.

--BTB

mykall · « **Reply #128 on:** April 30, 2012, 10:08:18 AM »

I was actually very disappointed in two of my grocery stores this weekend in that the selection of cheese was not what I've remembered in the past. I could not find that square of Poll-O or Sorrento whole milk or any whole milk for that matter. Farm Fresh usually carries these but this weekend there was none. I've never seen that version of Sargento that BTB posted but I'll be sure next time to look more carefully. I used Kraft Italian 5 cheese mix on this pie but honestly I would not use it again. I also mixed in a little cheddar. I'm also going to go back to the workshop and reformulate the sauce closer to what I remember from my Chi-pies from the burbs.

dwighttsharpe · « **Reply #129 on:** April 30, 2012, 02:10:15 PM »

Garvey, after rolling out, is your dough docked/pricked?

Thanks.

Garvey · « **Reply #130 on:** April 30, 2012, 02:46:32 PM »

dwighttsharpe,

No need to dock it. I have experimented with docking but this recipe is not designed with docking in mind.

Cheers,
Garvey

dwighttsharpe · « **Reply #131 on:** April 30, 2012, 03:08:49 PM »

Quote from: Garvey on April 30, 2012, 02:46:32 PM

dwighttsharpe,

No need to dock it. I have experimented with docking but this recipe is not designed with docking in mind.

Cheers,
Garvey

Thanks.

mykall · « **Reply #132 on:** April 30, 2012, 06:57:42 PM »

Quote from: Garvey on April 30, 2012, 02:46:32 PM

dwighttsharpe,

No need to dock it. I have experimented with docking but this recipe is not designed with docking in mind.

Cheers,
Garvey

FWIW I didn't dock mine either.

BTB · « **Reply #133 on:** April 30, 2012, 07:45:44 PM »

mykall, interesting pantry of tomato supplies. Among my favorites is the 6 in 1's, of course. Trader Joe's is known to have some great products, too. Enrico's pizza sauce (pic below) is the best pre-made pizza sauce on the market IMHO and the only one that I will use. I think I've tried them all, but dislike all except that one brand. A relatively "mild" but very tasty sauce that one can spice up as they like.

At my local Publix store this afternoon, saw some of the cheeses you mentioned.

--BTB

mykall · « **Reply #134 on:** April 30, 2012, 09:21:44 PM »

Quote from: BTB on April 30, 2012, 07:45:44 PM

Enrico's pizza sauce (pic below) is the best pre-made pizza sauce on the market IMHO and the only one that I will use. I think I've tried them all, but dislike all except that one brand. A relatively "mild" but very tasty sauce that one can spice up as they like.

At my local Publix store this afternoon, saw some of the cheeses you mentioned.

--BTB

BTB,

Thanks for reminding me about the Enrico's. You're not the only person who likes it so I'm going to shoot for some on the way home from work tomorrow. I was able to pick up a square of the Sorrento tonight at Harris Teeter-I had no luck with any whole milk yesterday and I used to see Polly-O squares all the time. I guess it's only when you're looking for something that it's hard to find. Also I did see your Artisan Sargento and they had 5 varieties but no mozzi. I'll try again tomorrow at a different store.

BTB · « **Reply #135 on:** May 01, 2012, 09:20:43 AM »

I only saw the Artisan Sargento Whole Milk shredded mozzarella for the first time about two weeks ago, so I think it is pretty new and the stores may just be starting to put them into inventory. It's not too bad to shred up some Polly-O or Sorrento, tho. I've previous tried some of the other Artisan Sargento cheeses and am very favorably impressed with them.

Encourage you to try the Enrico's for thin crust sauce and add some things to reflect your likes and tastes. I've generally used 6 in 1's undrained but spiced up a bit for thin crusts -- and I still think 6 in 1 is great -- but right now I'm on an Enrico's kick and think its excellent. (I know I'll get a "boo" or two from many out there, but different strokes . . . ) LOL

--BTB

mykall · « **Reply #136 on:** May 05, 2012, 04:39:54 PM »

Found it BTB. Knew I'd seen it somewhere and Fresh Market was the place. I also found a house brand of whole milk shredded in the package I'm going to give a try. Never know...sometimes house brands surprise you.

CDNpielover · « **Reply #137 on:** May 05, 2012, 05:01:40 PM »

I always shred my own cheese. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in cellulose, which adversely affects the texture of the melted cheese.

mykall · « **Reply #138 on:** May 05, 2012, 07:34:10 PM »

Quote from: CDNpielover on May 05, 2012, 05:01:40 PM

I always shred my own cheese. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in cellulose, which adversely affects the texture of the melted cheese.

That I did *not* know. However IIRC I have used some pre-shredded that were actually better than a block I shredded myself. This
also makes me wonder if the Artisans from Sargento have cellulose since they're supposed to be "high end".

CDNpielover · « **Reply #139 on:** May 05, 2012, 07:38:06 PM »

all pre-shredded cheeses are coated with cellulose, as it prevents sticking. if they didn't add that, the cheese would just form into big messy clump of cheese.

with respect to sargento artisan blends, here is what they say on their website (http://www.sargento.com/our-company/faq/):

"Q: Ingredients listed on the shredded cheese packages include powdered cellulose, calcium carbonate and potato starch. What are those?

A: Powdered cellulose is a white, odorless, tasteless, totally natural powder made from cellulose, a naturally occurring component of most plants. It won’t absorb moisture because of its fibrous, non-gel structure. When added to shredded cheese, cellulose prevents the cheese from sticking together. Calcium carbonate and potato starch are also natural ingredients. They pass through your body as any food does. They’re not harmful.

Sargento sprinkles very small amounts of these anti-caking agents on all varieties of our shredded cheeses, which helps ensure our cheese is easier for consumers to use."