Author Topic: Trying to duplicate Buffalo, NY style pizza (Read 74328 times)

shmigga · « **on:** March 12, 2014, 05:18:31 PM »

I recently relocated to Atlanta and have been really missing good pizza. All they have down here are chains and NY style pizzerias. Many people may know of Buffalo for their Chicken Wings, but their Pizza is also just as good. I have attached some images of pizza from different Buffalo, NY area pizzerias. Below are where these beautiful pizza's came from.

Pasquale's:
Picasso's
Blasdel Pizza
Bocce Pizza
Great Lakes Pizza

It may be hard to tell from the pictures, but a typical Buffalo style pizza is 17-18" for a large and around .5-.6 inches thick. It's not as thin as NY style and not as thick as a Sicilian pizza. From what I've gathered so far, Buffalo pizzeria's typically use Sorrento 100% whole milk mozzarella cheese and either Margherita or Ezzo Supreme Special Pepperoni. If you look at the Ezzo website, you will see that the Supreme Special pepperoni was specifically made for Buffalo. http://ezzo.com/products.html My local grocery stores carry Sorrento branded cheeses but I have not been able to find Margherita pepperoni and Ezzo products are not sold in retail stores. I've contacted Ezzo about trying to get some of their pepperoni and it doesn't sound like I am going to be able to.

What I mostly need help with is the dough. I have tried a few recipes on here and they turned out okay. I think my best bet might be to try and modify Jerry Mac's dough recipe to make my pizza thicker. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, that would be very helpful!

Thanks,
Chris

scupbucket · « **Reply #1 on:** March 13, 2014, 10:56:53 PM »

Hi Chris,

Don't have an exact recipe (I'm still trying to get remotely close to a NY style pie) but maybe I can help describe the Buffalo style pizza so that a few others might jump in and take over. I'm in East Aurora... just 5 minutes up the hill from the EA Pasquale's, one of my all-time favorites so your pic was making me drool all over the place. Being a Cleveland native, I was blown away by pizza in Buffalo. There's been a lot of great choices over the last 10 years...

I've had all but Great Lakes... I also dig Capelli's, Casa de Pizza, Del Aureos, Joey V's etc. It's like pizza heaven here! HEAVY on the cheese.

What I've noticed is that a lot of these style pizzas have the thickness you describe but also a very chewy sweet crust - great oven spring but a more dense crust. Maybe they're using more sugar and a ton more oil? Almost like a cross between a NY style and pan pizza. The crusts are quite brown but not burnt in any way and it looks as though they're first baked in a pan and then decked too because of the almost molded looking bottom crust. All the best to you down South... friggin freezing and buried to our armpits again in snow up here. Pizza helps.

Scup

Craigbec · « **Reply #2 on:** March 24, 2014, 06:45:11 PM »

I think this is what they serve for breakfast in Heaven.

shmigga · « **Reply #3 on:** March 24, 2014, 10:06:10 PM »

Scup,

Thanks for the help trying to explain what Buffalo pizza is like. Now that I think about it, yes Buffalo style pizzas are heavy on the cheese. You are also correct when you say that the pizzas are typically baked in a pan then decked for the last few minutes. If you watch the following youtube video of Pizza Junction on Diners Drive-ins, and Dives, you will get a good idea of how most Buffalo pizzerias bake their pizza.

I heard that the winter has been pretty bad up there this year. I guess I picked a good time to move! I still miss the Pizza and Wings...and of course Time Hortons!

Chris

scupbucket · « **Reply #4 on:** March 25, 2014, 11:01:01 AM »

*sigh* I miss PJ's. Such good pizza and those pies were STACKED! My gf is from NT so when she saw this she almost cried… it was that good!

Over the last 2 weeks I’ve been taking a break from NYC style pie attempts to try and replicate some local joints after seeing your pics. I’ve come up with something close to Capelli’s but I’m still trying to get the chewy crust texture. For the recipe below, maybe try and drop hydration to 60%. The last few attempts have tasted great but not as dense as I’d like… much too springy. Plus the TF might be just a tad too thick. Try .11 instead of .12. I’m also using a screen in conjunction with steel… I’ll give an oiled pan a shot and maybe deck the pie for a minute or so…

I have a pic of my most recent attempt in reply #509 here: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=26286.500

Flour (100%):    1220 g | 43.03 oz | 2.69 lbs All Trumps
Water (62%):    756.4 g | 26.68 oz | 1.67 lbs
IDY (.2%):    2.44 g | 0.09 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.81 tsp | 0.27 tbsp
Salt (2%):    24.4 g | 0.86 oz | 0.05 lbs | 7.18 tsp | 2.39 tbsp
Oil (2%):    24.4 g | 0.86 oz | 0.05 lbs | 5.42 tsp | 1.81 tbsp
Sugar (2%):    24.4 g | 0.86 oz | 0.05 lbs | 6.12 tsp | 2.04 tbsp
Total (168.2%):   2052.04 g | 72.38 oz | 4.52 lbs | TF = 0.12
Single Ball:   684.01 g | 24.13 oz | 1.51 lbs

I did 48 hour cold ferments but it seemed like the dough was ready to bake after 24... if you ever try this out, let me know what you think and if I'm even remotely in the ballpark with this.

Still snowing here but it’s been a bit warmer so everybody’s out wearing t-shirts in 40 degree weather. Heat wave I tell ya…

sachmo · « **Reply #5 on:** April 01, 2014, 02:37:00 PM »

Quote from: shmigga on March 12, 2014, 05:18:31 PM

I recently relocated to Atlanta and have been really missing good pizza. All they have down here are chains and NY style pizzerias. Many people may know of Buffalo for their Chicken Wings, but their Pizza is also just as good. I have attached some images of pizza from different Buffalo, NY area pizzerias. Below are where these beautiful pizza's came from.

Pasquale's:
Picasso's
Blasdel Pizza
Bocce Pizza
Great Lakes Pizza

It may be hard to tell from the pictures, but a typical Buffalo style pizza is 17-18" for a large and around .5-.6 inches thick. It's not as thin as NY style and not as thick as a Sicilian pizza. From what I've gathered so far, Buffalo pizzeria's typically use Sorrento 100% whole milk mozzarella cheese and either Margherita or Ezzo Supreme Special Pepperoni. If you look at the Ezzo website, you will see that the Supreme Special pepperoni was specifically made for Buffalo. http://ezzo.com/products.html My local grocery stores carry Sorrento branded cheeses but I have not been able to find Margherita pepperoni and Ezzo products are not sold in retail stores. I've contacted Ezzo about trying to get some of their pepperoni and it doesn't sound like I am going to be able to.

What I mostly need help with is the dough. I have tried a few recipes on here and they turned out okay. I think my best bet might be to try and modify Jerry Mac's dough recipe to make my pizza thicker. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, that would be very helpful!

Thanks,
Chris

I also live in the Buffalo area and I also would like a recipe close to Bocce,Picasso,Imperial or Blasdell, That is why I came to this site looking for that type of dough. If anyone find something close please post. I've also had Pizza Junction and that was good also.I heard it opened back up under a different name will post if I find out the new name

shmigga · « **Reply #6 on:** September 22, 2014, 10:37:14 AM »

Here is my latest attempt. It turned out pretty good but the dough was a little too thick. I used the dough recipe posted at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=11031.0. I made a triple batch and cut it in half to make one 16" pizza. The dough was probably enough for an 18". I created my own sauce using San Marzano tomatoes and used Margherita brand pepperoni and Sorrento whole milk mozzarella cheese. It probably would have been perfect if I used a little less dough.

shmigga · « **Reply #7 on:** September 22, 2014, 10:38:20 AM »

Forgot to mention, I preheated the oven to 500 degrees. Cooked the pizza on a pan for 11 minutes, then on the stone for 3 minutes. This is typically how its done in Buffalo.

norma427 · « **Reply #8 on:** September 22, 2014, 09:06:56 PM »

shmigga,

Your pizza looks very good!

Norma

shmigga · « **Reply #9 on:** January 09, 2015, 04:08:59 PM »

Quote from: norma427 on September 22, 2014, 09:06:56 PM

shmigga,

Your pizza looks very good!

Norma

Thank you!

shmigga · « **Reply #10 on:** January 09, 2015, 04:40:04 PM »

Here are some pics from my latest attempt...

So far this is my best pie yet. I would say that it is very close to something that you would find in Buffalo. I have been doing some research, and have determined that Buffalo area pizzerias use a high gluten flour. As of today, I have only tried to duplicate a pie using King Arthur Bread Flour. I have some All Trumps on order and I am going to give that a shot. The KABF gave the crust more of a bread like texture. The pizzas sold in Buffalo are thicker, but they are fluffy and the crust seems very flexible if that makes any sense.

I've found the following video about Mister Pizza. It's kind of a strange video, but gives you an idea of what the dough is supposed to look like.

I have been using Margherita pepperoni, but I have also determined that there is a special type of Margherita pepperoni that is supposed to cup and crisp (like Ezzo SS). Unfortunately, the only place that I know of that carries this pepperoni is Latina Foods (http://www.latinafoodservice.com/). For those that don't know, Latina Foods is a local food supply company in Buffalo.

In case anyone wants to know, here is the procedure that I used to make this pizza:

1.) Used the dough recipe found here: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,11031.msg108177.html#msg108177

This makes one ball for 16" Pie

Flour (100%): 424.57 g | 14.98 oz | 0.94 lbs (KABF)
Water (58%): 246.25 g | 8.69 oz | 0.54 lbs
ADY (0.4%): 1.7 g | 0.06 oz | 0 lbs | 0.45 tsp | 0.15 tbsp
Salt (1.50%): 6.37 g | 0.22 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.87 tsp | 0.62 tbsp
Vegetable (Soybean) Oil (7.3%): 30.99 g | 1.09 oz | 0.07 lbs | 6.82 tsp | 2.27 tbsp
Sugar (4.2%): 17.83 g | 0.63 oz | 0.04 lbs | 4.47 tsp | 1.49 tbsp
Total (171.4%): 727.71 g | 25.67 oz | 1.6 lbs | TF = 0.1452556

2.) Let the dough rise in the fridge for 2 days
3.) Took the dough out of the fridge and let it sit for an hour. Spread the dough out on a Crisco greased 16" pan and let it sit for another 45 mins. While this was going on, I preheated my oven to 525 degrees (for about an hour).
4.) Placed the toppings on the dough (sauce, parmesan cheese, 100% whole milk sorrento cheese, Margherita pepperoni).
5.) Lowered the oven temp to 500 degrees and cooked the pizza for 14 minutes.
6.) Removed the pizza from the pan and placed it directly on the stone for 1 minute.
7.) Ate the pizza

Hope this helps everyone!

shmigga · « **Reply #11 on:** January 09, 2015, 04:45:06 PM »

In case anyone needs a reminder, I'm trying to make something similar to this...

From Johnny's Pizza (http://www.johnnyspizzeria.net/)

shmigga · « **Reply #12 on:** January 10, 2015, 11:00:29 AM »

Quote from: scupbucket on March 25, 2014, 11:01:01 AM

*sigh* I miss PJ's. Such good pizza and those pies were STACKED! My gf is from NT so when she saw this she almost cried… it was that good!

Over the last 2 weeks I’ve been taking a break from NYC style pie attempts to try and replicate some local joints after seeing your pics. I’ve come up with something close to Capelli’s but I’m still trying to get the chewy crust texture. For the recipe below, maybe try and drop hydration to 60%. The last few attempts have tasted great but not as dense as I’d like… much too springy. Plus the TF might be just a tad too thick. Try .11 instead of .12. I’m also using a screen in conjunction with steel… I’ll give an oiled pan a shot and maybe deck the pie for a minute or so…

I have a pic of my most recent attempt in reply #509 here: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=26286.500

Flour (100%):    1220 g | 43.03 oz | 2.69 lbs All Trumps
Water (62%):    756.4 g | 26.68 oz | 1.67 lbs
IDY (.2%):    2.44 g | 0.09 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.81 tsp | 0.27 tbsp
Salt (2%):    24.4 g | 0.86 oz | 0.05 lbs | 7.18 tsp | 2.39 tbsp
Oil (2%):    24.4 g | 0.86 oz | 0.05 lbs | 5.42 tsp | 1.81 tbsp
Sugar (2%):    24.4 g | 0.86 oz | 0.05 lbs | 6.12 tsp | 2.04 tbsp
Total (168.2%):   2052.04 g | 72.38 oz | 4.52 lbs | TF = 0.12
Single Ball:   684.01 g | 24.13 oz | 1.51 lbs

I did 48 hour cold ferments but it seemed like the dough was ready to bake after 24... if you ever try this out, let me know what you think and if I'm even remotely in the ballpark with this.

Still snowing here but it’s been a bit warmer so everybody’s out wearing t-shirts in 40 degree weather. Heat wave I tell ya…

Scup,

Does your recipe make two 16" balls? I ask because I've noticed that you are using more than twice as much flour as I am.

Thanks,
Chris

shmigga · « **Reply #13 on:** February 08, 2015, 10:02:36 PM »

I thought I finally had this figured out until disaster struck. I recently purchased some all trumps flour and have been using the recipe I posted above with no change (other than the flour). The first two pics below are of two different pies that I made that came out pretty much perfect. The crust was very similar to a pizza you would get in Buffalo. The last 4 pizzas that I made all suffered from an issue where the dough under the toppings didn't rise and cook properly while in the oven. You can kind of see this in the third pic. Basically it was just mush under the cheese. I have no idea what happened as I used the same recipes and cooked the pizzas the exact same way. Does anyone have any thoughts as to why this would happen? The only thing that I can think of is that I tried to make a more defined crust. BTW the crust was excellent (4th pic)...it's just too bad the pizza was really inedible.

vtsteve · « **Reply #14 on:** February 08, 2015, 11:42:45 PM »

I think you just used up all the heat that was stored in your stone on the first two pizzas... there wasn't enough energy left to cook the remaining pies. Do you have an IR thermometer? You may need to let the stone recharge every couple of pies. If you really need to bang out 6 pies in quick succession, try a layer of firebrick instead, and a 2-3 hour preheat.

shmigga · « **Reply #15 on:** February 09, 2015, 09:53:01 AM »

Sorry I should have been more clear in my post. The first two successful pizzas were cooked on two different days in two different ovens. Three of the unsuccessful pies were cooked on one day in the same oven and the last unsuccessful pie was cooked on a different day in a different oven. Sorry if this is confusing. The pizza is only cooked on the stone for the last 30-60 seconds just to brown up the bottom of the pie. The first 12-14 minutes its cooked on the pan.

vtsteve · « **Reply #16 on:** February 09, 2015, 10:03:47 AM »

Doing a road show? Do you have an IR - you should, esp. if you're visiting unfamiliar ovens. Are you using the same pans all the time? A bright, shiny pan will won't absorb as much heat as a dull/seasoned pan.

shmigga · « **Reply #17 on:** February 09, 2015, 12:30:48 PM »

Unfortunately the three failed pizzas were on super bowl Sunday. Yes I have an ir thermometer. The stone temp is usually around 435 when the pies go in. I have used the same exact pan for both the good and bad pizzas. Thanks.

shmigga · « **Reply #18 on:** February 09, 2015, 12:34:47 PM »

Here is some other info...I used a lower oven rack on two of the four failed pizzas. For the other two, the rack was in the middle which is where it was for the two successful pies. I thought using the lower rack was causing this the dough not to cook properly so I moved it up.

vtsteve · « **Reply #19 on:** February 09, 2015, 02:00:31 PM »

Your stone is 435 after an hour of preheat at 525 (or 500)? This is in the 'good' oven?