Cacio el Pepe Pizza

[gamblersruin]

Wasn't sure which sub forum this would make most sense on as it's a little unusual. I saw this on a youtube video and really wanted to try it out. I'd not seen Stefano Callegari before, but I love Cacio el Pepe

So I didn't follow a recipe, but a quick google shows one here; https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/cacio-e-pepe-pizza

My version used a 430g dough ball, which I make to a 'American' style on a 13 inch base.
It ended up cooking for about 4 minutes on my pizza steel in a 300C/570f oven

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Mix, knead for 7m and then form and store for 12-72hours in fridge
Strong Flour / 100% (263g)
Water / 63% (166g)
IDY Yeast / 0.2% (0.53g)
Salt / 1.53% (4g)
Olive Oil / 0.95% (2.5g)
I used 3 x ice cubes and the next time I cook I'll use crushed ice as it ended up cooking a little uneven. The topping was 80G pecorino and plenty of black pepper which I put on as soon as it came out of the oven. I then cut, drizzled on some extra virgin olive oil and served.

It's a really tasty and light feeling pizza and the 'hot water' from the ice really does melt the cheese and give you that creamy feel as though you're eating a well made bowl of pasta.

If you didn't have pecorino then you could use parmesan or your hard cheese of choice.

[jsaras]

It’s become my wife’s favorite pizza.  I don’t do the ice cube thing though.  I use a 50/50-ish mix of whole milk low moisture mozz and pecorino.  The one with the sausage is a 60-second Neapolitan and the othet was a 3-minute bake with a NY dough

[foreplease]

I am thinking of tryimg this with some crushed ice and some frozen butter.

[ButteredPizza]

Would there be any point adding a little (tri)sodium citrate to the pool of water to make the cheese extra gooey?

[gamblersruin]

Would there be any point adding a little (tri)sodium citrate to the pool of water to make the cheese extra gooey?

I've got some and in experimenting with it, I'm not sure whether it'd react properly given the short cooking time / amount of contact the cheese and liquid has.

[The Pontificator]

This type of pizza has been a family favorite for decades.

I first saw this in one of the Ciao Italia cookbooks (Mary Ann Esposito). Her version (adapted from what her grandmother used to make) is made "grandma style" in a sheet pan. If there is no Pecorino or Parm in the house it's just olive oil, black pepper and kosher salt.

The ice cube thing has me a bit confused. What's the purpose of this? ETA: disregard I just read about it in the Food and Wine recipe link.

[PizzAmateur]

Would freezing shredded cheese before topping come close to the same thing?

Or is the extra water the real "trick"?

[jkb]

If there is no Pecorino or Parm in the house...

   

[gamblersruin]

Would freezing shredded cheese before topping come close to the same thing?

Or is the extra water the real "trick"?

The ice means you end up with a sort of soupy creamyness to the thing - I think frozen cheese would be nice, but you wouldn't get those layers of texture.

[TXCraig1]

You could try frozen whole milk.

[john_k]

So many cool pizzas to make!

That YouTube video was very nice also.