Trying to duplicate Buffalo, NY style pizza

[Kreetak]

Hello guys,

I tried this recipe but was a completly disaster 
Probably because I didn't calculate very well the ingredients, because I tried to do 2 balls for 12". And I worked with grams and I repleaced the ADY by cake yeast. Plus the dough was in CF about 3 days. So... you can imagine.

Can someone lend me a hand? PLEASE  I want to try again!
Thank you :_)

[bosco]

I am following and learning as much as I can here with this recipe!!!

Thanks for all of the great tips so far

[Falls4Life]

This is what I have settled on and it is modeled after an episode of DDD when they went to western new york.  The basic recipe on here really doesn't change much and I don't believe that it is the biggest factor in creating this type of pizza.  I have done this recipe numerous times with different pans, stones, steal, and temperatures and it comes out different every time.  My suggestion is to lock in on a recipe and then play with your oven to find your sweet spot. 

https://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/pizza-pork-and-paprikash-0135987

25 oz King Arthur Bread Flour
15 oz warm water (60%) - You can probably go up to 65% and it will still work well.  I just think 60% is easier to handle (less sticky)
1.5 oz Veg Shortening (6%) - You can use oil here instead of shortening.  Just be aware that oil will hydrate your dough a bit more and I wouldn't go to 65% water. 
.5 oz Salt (2%)
.5 oz Sugar (2%)
1 packet Active Dry Yeast (~1 TBS) - I use active dry and it is dissolved in the water before adding.  You can substitute instant dry yeast here.

Get a scale for sure.  Don't trust any recipe that has cups as the measurement.  With weight you can tailor the amount as needed.  This usually gives me 2 solid 20 oz to 22 oz dough balls that I can get to 2 half trays of pizza out of. 

I mix all this for about 5 - 10 minutes until everything is fully mixed.  I let it rise in the bowl for about an hour or hour and a half before i ball it up.  I make the dough balls and place it in the fridge for 1 to 3 days.  Make sure you let the dough come back to room temp before you try to use it. 

I am currently using an aluminum baking sheet with baking steel on the oven racks.  I have baking steel on the bottom rack and on the rack above i have a large baking stone.  I let these 2 come to 500 degrees for about an hour before i put any pizzas in.  This method gives a faux commercial oven setting (minus the higher temps) and i have been getting great results. 

[Falls4Life]

This is what I have settled on and it is modeled after an episode of DDD when they went to western new york.  The basic recipe on here really doesn't change much and I don't believe that it is the biggest factor in creating this type of pizza.  I have done this recipe numerous times with different pans, stones, steal, and temperatures and it comes out different every time.  My suggestion is to lock in on a recipe and then play with your oven to find your sweet spot. 

https://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/pizza-pork-and-paprikash-0135987

25 oz King Arthur Bread Flour
15 oz warm water (60%) - You can probably go up to 65% and it will still work well.  I just think 60% is easier to handle (less sticky)
1.5 oz Veg Shortening (6%) - You can use oil here instead of shortening.  Just be aware that oil will hydrate your dough a bit more and I wouldn't go to 65% water. 
.5 oz Salt (2%)
.5 oz Sugar (2%)
1 packet Active Dry Yeast (~1 TBS) - I use active dry and it is dissolved in the water before adding.  You can substitute instant dry yeast here.

Get a scale for sure.  Don't trust any recipe that has cups as the measurement.  With weight you can tailor the amount as needed.  This usually gives me 2 solid 20 oz to 22 oz dough balls that I can get to 2 half trays of pizza out of. 

I mix all this for about 5 - 10 minutes until everything is fully mixed.  I let it rise in the bowl for about an hour or hour and a half before i ball it up.  I make the dough balls and place it in the fridge for 1 to 3 days.  Make sure you let the dough come back to room temp before you try to use it. 

I am currently using an aluminum baking sheet with baking steel on the oven racks.  I have baking steel on the bottom rack and on the rack above i have a large baking stone.  I let these 2 come to 500 degrees for about an hour before i put any pizzas in.  This method gives a faux commercial oven setting (minus the higher temps) and i have been getting great results.

I need to clarify one measurement here.  I have it listed as TBS but it is actually a teaspoon.  For my recipe I typically use 1% active dry yeast.  For my batches that use over 20 oz of flour I use 1 packet of yeast (.25 oz).  In my experience 1 tbs is usually .1 oz so use 2 tsp for 20oz of flour and 3 tsp for 30, etc. 

[pepapi]

Hey guys, I gave this one a shot on my Blackstone at floor temps between 500-560 or so.

I had to redo the numbers and here's what I came up with for 2 16" pizzas:

Bread flour, 100, 890g
Warm water, 59, 525g
Ady, 0.5, 4.45g
Salt, 2, 17.8
Oil, 3, 26.7g (had no shortening so subbed in oil)
Sugar, 2, 17.8g
Total, 1482g
Ball, 741g each

Used workflow of mix, bowl, cover with wet cloth and rise for 45 and then fridge for 24 hrs.

The balls were too big so I stretched to a out 18" and cut off the excess to give me a 16".  As per instructions I sauced and cheeses to edge.  Cooked for 10 on pan and then directly ok floor of Blackstone for 1 min.

Results were quite awesome, I think the flatness of no rim due to snipping it off and sauce/cheese to edge just made an excellent pizza!

Next time I'll make the sauce for it and use just mozza as I had to go cheddar and mozzarella due to running out.

[Falls4Life]

Hey guys, I gave this one a shot on my Blackstone at floor temps between 500-560 or so.

I had to redo the numbers and here's what I came up with for 2 16" pizzas:

Bread flour, 100, 890g
Warm water, 59, 525g
Ady, 0.5, 4.45g
Salt, 2, 17.8
Oil, 3, 26.7g (had no shortening so subbed in oil)
Sugar, 2, 17.8g
Total, 1482g
Ball, 741g each

Used workflow of mix, bowl, cover with wet cloth and rise for 45 and then fridge for 24 hrs.

The balls were too big so I stretched to a out 18" and cut off the excess to give me a 16".  As per instructions I sauced and cheeses to edge.  Cooked for 10 on pan and then directly ok floor of Blackstone for 1 min.

Results were quite awesome, I think the flatness of no rim due to snipping it off and sauce/cheese to edge just made an excellent pizza!

Next time I'll make the sauce for it and use just mozza as I had to go cheddar and mozzarella due to running out.

The cheese looks to be the one thing killing that pizza.  If you are using pre shredded bag grocery store cheese, definitely steer clear of that.  It has so many things added to it and all it really does is burn instead of melting.  Nice work though!

[HansB]

It has so many things added to it and all it really does is burn instead of melting. 

I think the pizza and cheese look fine. I've used pre shredded in a pinch.

Kraft Mozz:

[pepapi]

No shredded for me on that pizza but like I said I ran out of mozza so threw some cheddar on there. 

[Ogwoodfire]

For those of you who haven’t seen this thread this is what your looking for. Many have used it with great success. I can assure you this is very consistent with what the better pizzerias in Buffal are doing. https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=42106.0

[shmigga]

For those of you who haven’t seen this thread this is what your looking for. Many have used it with great success. I can assure you this is very consistent with what the better pizzerias in Buffal are doing. https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=42106.0

Nice but I've already posted a few recipes in this thread that I started many years ago.

[shmigga]

Decided to update this thread with a few pictures of one of my latest bakes.  The first pics are of a 17" pie and the second 2 pics are from a 16" pie. 

Here is the formula for 16":

Flour (100%):    382.49 g  |  13.49 oz | 0.84 lbs
Water (55%):    210.37 g  |  7.42 oz | 0.46 lbs
IDY (.63%):    2.41 g | 0.08 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.8 tsp | 0.27 tbsp
Salt (2%):    7.65 g | 0.27 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.37 tsp | 0.46 tbsp
Olive Oil (.5%):    1.91 g | 0.07 oz | 0 lbs | 0.42 tsp | 0.14 tbsp
Vegetable (Soybean) Oil (3.8%):    14.53 g | 0.51 oz | 0.03 lbs | 3.2 tsp | 1.07 tbsp
Sugar (2%):    7.65 g | 0.27 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.92 tsp | 0.64 tbsp
Total (163.93%):   627.01 g | 22.12 oz | 1.38 lbs | TF = 0.11

After a recent trip up to Buffalo, I've decided to do a little more experimentation in order to try and achieve a Pasquale's like pizza.  Something is telling me that they don't use 100% mozzarella cheese but more than likely a blend.  I made a few pizzas where I used about 75% mozzarella and around 25% mild white cheddar and I thought the flavor was really good although the pizza was greasy.  I later determined that the grease was mostly due to the pepperoni ( just picked up a fresh 12.5 lb bag of margherita cup and char).  I would bet that some of the pizzerias in Buffalo that have more of a unique flavor use some sort of cheese blend.  I know that Bocce clearly states that they use 100 % Sorrento/Galbini mozzarella if that's what you're looking for.

I'll update this thread if I make any progress.

[aSliceofHeaven]

What was your mixing process and baking temperature, and cook time?  Thanks

Decided to update this thread with a few pictures of one of my latest bakes.  The first pics are of a 17" pie and the second 2 pics are from a 16" pie. 

Here is the formula for 16":

Flour (100%):    382.49 g  |  13.49 oz | 0.84 lbs
Water (55%):    210.37 g  |  7.42 oz | 0.46 lbs
IDY (.63%):    2.41 g | 0.08 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.8 tsp | 0.27 tbsp
Salt (2%):    7.65 g | 0.27 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.37 tsp | 0.46 tbsp
Olive Oil (.5%):    1.91 g | 0.07 oz | 0 lbs | 0.42 tsp | 0.14 tbsp
Vegetable (Soybean) Oil (3.8%):    14.53 g | 0.51 oz | 0.03 lbs | 3.2 tsp | 1.07 tbsp
Sugar (2%):    7.65 g | 0.27 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.92 tsp | 0.64 tbsp
Total (163.93%):   627.01 g | 22.12 oz | 1.38 lbs | TF = 0.11

After a recent trip up to Buffalo, I've decided to do a little more experimentation in order to try and achieve a Pasquale's like pizza.  Something is telling me that they don't use 100% mozzarella cheese but more than likely a blend.  I made a few pizzas where I used about 75% mozzarella and around 25% mild white cheddar and I thought the flavor was really good although the pizza was greasy.  I later determined that the grease was mostly due to the pepperoni ( just picked up a fresh 12.5 lb bag of margherita cup and char).  I would bet that some of the pizzerias in Buffalo that have more of a unique flavor use some sort of cheese blend.  I know that Bocce clearly states that they use 100 % Sorrento/Galbini mozzarella if that's what you're looking for.

I'll update this thread if I make any progress.

[shmigga]

For mixing, I put all of the ingredients in the bowl and mixed on the lowest speed for about 8 minutes.  After it's done, I oiled the ball and put it in the fridge overnight.

For baking, preheat the oven and stone to 495 degrees.  Cover the pan with shortening then a little bit of olive oil.  Cook the pizza for about 12 minutes then remove from pan and place directly on stone for 30-45 seconds.  In this case, the dough was still cold from being in the fridge.

Hope that helps.

[aSliceofHeaven]

Thanks so much! 

For mixing, I put all of the ingredients in the bowl and mixed on the lowest speed for about 8 minutes.  After it's done, I oiled the ball and put it in the fridge overnight.

For baking, preheat the oven and stone to 495 degrees.  Cover the pan with shortening then a little bit of olive oil.  Cook the pizza for about 12 minutes then remove from pan and place directly on stone for 30-45 seconds.  In this case, the dough was still cold from being in the fridge.

Hope that helps.

[matermark]

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.

I would divide the time like 70:30 or 75:25... The pan acts like an insulator until it reaches oven temp...if it does reach temp.

You're more like 93:7 pan:stone...

[shmigga]

I would divide the time like 70:30 or 75:25... The pan acts like an insulator until it reaches oven temp...if it does reach temp.

You're more like 93:7 pan:stone...

I appreciate your response, but you are responding to a post that is nearly 5 years old.  I've figured out all my issues by now.  The problem back then was that I had let the dough over risen.  A Buffalo style pie is cooked on the pan for all but the last 30 seconds of the process.

Thanks again for your input!

[matermark]

That's just your opinion.  Personally, I'm going for the Pasquale's look/taste as I don't care for Bocce/Imperial that much.  It's not going to "look" right if you don't have access to the correct pepperoni.

I'm Buffalo born & bred, still here, over 55 years. No offense intended. I wasn't referring to the pepperoni but mostly the thickness. Many looked even thicker than PH pan pizzas. Some corniciones looked thicker than leather steering wheels on Olds Bravadas or my S10 ZR2...

Also, many Buffalo pizzerias went sauce to the edge, C&P within 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the edge. I can't say what the N. Bailey or Amherst Bocce's did/do, I've only been to the S. Buffalo and French Rd (CheektaVegas) locations. Sorry, can't help you with Pasquale's, only had it from the Derby location once or twice ~25-30 years ago, the one near Steve's Pig & Ox Roast on Rt. 5...

[matermark]

I appreciate your response, but you are responding to a post that is nearly 5 years old.  I've figured out all my issues by now.  The problem back then was that I had let the dough over risen.  A Buffalo style pie is cooked on the pan for all but the last 30 seconds of the process.

Thanks again for your input!

hey, glad you got your problems figured out. Oh, 5 years doesn't mean much to a Buffalonian! Besides, others are still looking them over. And as for stone time, none of the pizzerias I've ever worked at or had friends work at ever removed them from the pans for less than a few minutes, and my neighborhood's had about a dozen places in a 5 to 7 block radius--many more places than that over the years.

[shmigga]

I'm Buffalo born & bred, still here, over 55 years. No offense intended. I wasn't referring to the pepperoni but mostly the thickness. Many looked even thicker than PH pan pizzas. Some corniciones looked thicker than leather steering wheels on Olds Bravadas or my S10 ZR2...

Also, many Buffalo pizzerias went sauce to the edge, C&P within 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the edge. I can't say what the N. Bailey or Amherst Bocce's did/do, I've only been to the S. Buffalo and French Rd (CheektaVegas) locations. Sorry, can't help you with Pasquale's, only had it from the Derby location once or twice ~25-30 years ago, the one near Steve's Pig & Ox Roast on Rt. 5...

No problem.  I can only think maybe two or three pizzerias out of the many I've been to that take their sauce and cheese to the edge.  That would be Bocce, Imerpial, and Leonardi's.  Can't think of many others that do that.  I don't know people think this is a Buffalo style thing when 3 out of the 400-500 pizzeria's in Buffalo do it.

I've watched many Buffalo pizzerias make pizza in person and on youtube, and none of them put the pizza's on the deck for longer than 30 seconds.  I've never done it (never found a need to) but I think it will burn and get too crispy if you do that.  Wouldn't hurt to try though.

[aSliceofHeaven]

Hey, for the cheese are you using Sorrento (Galbani) whole milk?  Thanks again

For mixing, I put all of the ingredients in the bowl and mixed on the lowest speed for about 8 minutes.  After it's done, I oiled the ball and put it in the fridge overnight.

For baking, preheat the oven and stone to 495 degrees.  Cover the pan with shortening then a little bit of olive oil.  Cook the pizza for about 12 minutes then remove from pan and place directly on stone for 30-45 seconds.  In this case, the dough was still cold from being in the fridge.

Hope that helps.