Pizza

I seldom order pizza to go.  Some aren't worth ordering and the better stuff has gotten oddly expensive.  I think that is because the pizza places decided they had a captive customer base during the Covid pandemic.  Some kept their prices and reduced the quality, and some places kept the quality and raised their prices.

I've also bought some frozen ones and some are "OK" but having a pizza stone, I'm helping them out considerably.  Plus I tend to add more toppings.

So I go through cycles where I make my own.  It's not really THAT hard.  You need some equipment though.  I have a pizza stone, a paddle, a bread machine, and a roller pin.  And you need toppings of course.  Well, gee, who DOESN'T have pepperoni and shredded Italian cheeses sitting in the fridge?  LOL!  And I do always have green peppers, mushrooms and a can of crushed tomatoes around (I make spaghetti about once a week).

But I'm not really talented at rolling out dough in a nice circle, and crimping the edges to raise them a bit never works well for me.  And you've seen that tossed the dough in the air to spread it out?  Fugetaboutit!

OK, so I decided to make a pizza Saturday.  It came out of the bread machine "dough cycle" so wet and sticky it was more like I had dough gloves on than a ball of manageable dough.  As a former friend used to say about anything that went wrong "ITS NOT MY FAULT".  But, of course it was.  The dough didn't mix itself...

After slowly scraping the dough off my hands and getting most of it onto the sticky-ball (there is a lot of "ME" in this pizza), and washing my hands free of the rest, I started adding flour and folding several times.  I let it sit in the fridge overnight for gluten-development and rising.  Be aware that doing that also makes the dough a bit sticky again, so when I turned it out onto my silicon mat, I had to add more flour.

But it was OK for rolling out then, but I had a couple of rips in it that didn't want to hold together when pinched and it wasn't uniformly flat.

So I had an idea (and this is actually the point of the post, I suppose).  I have various pans.  A couple of nonstick, a couple stainless steel, and a surprising number of cast iron pans.  The cast iron pans are well seasoned over the years and nearly non-stick.  Most are standard-shaped skillets ranging from 4-12", one is a 10" wok, and one is a 10" griddle with 3/8" raised sides. 

That was when I had a Grand Idea!  First, the griddle was perfect for flattening the pizza dough uniformly while it re-rose from the warmth of the house.  I set it on the rolled-out dough and let it sit for 30 minutes.  Voila', when I lifted it the rips were healed and it was flat.

And the 2nd part was also good.  The barely raised edge of the griddle would also provide a sufficiently-raised edge to the pizza crust!  But I wasn't sure about constructing the pizza on a heated pan.  

Normally, I construct the pizza on the paddle with corn meal sprinkled on the paddle for sliding it onto the pre-heated 500F pizza stone.  But the griddle had to be 500 and set on the cooktop for constructing the pizza this time.  (I set it in the oven at the start)   I was worried I would touch the hot griddle.

But the whole idea was an experiment, so I tried it.  Granted, experiments CAN be painful or fatal (this one was not; I was VERY careful.

I had all the ingredients lined up in bowls on the counter.  Then when the oven said 500 I waited 15 minutes (air heats faster than cast iron).  Took the 500 griddle out of the oven wearing both an oven mitt and folded washcloths (wet) and set it on the cooktop.

Lifted the crust from the silicon mat easily and set it on the griddle (perfectly centered and with the edges "just" to the top of the griddle lip), quickly brushed some olive oil on the crust, spooned some of my reduced tomato sauce on, spread around self-sliced pepperoni evenly, sprinkled onion/pepper/mushrooms, added more tomato sauce (I like that), and sprinkled shredded Italian cheese mix all over it.

And got it back into the oven ASAP.  About 2 minutes I think.  The usual time I need to cook a pizza on the pizza stone is 15 minutes and a crisp but chewy crust.  It took 20 minutes this way.  

But it was WAY worth it.  OK, many people like their pizzas some different ways.  Some like "thin&crispy", some like "chewy".  Some like a crust with a topping or two, some like a lot.  

I tried to make what *I* like.  And it worked out GREAT!

So, finally a picture...

A simple salad goes well with pizza, as does a standard Zinfandel wine.  I cut the pizza into 6 parts; ate 3.  The others are in the freezer to be re-heated in a hot covered pan in a few days.

Answer Mode "On"

1.  Planted the Fall veggie garden.

Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, pak choy, brussels sprouts for "cole" crops, carrots, radishes, beets, leeks, corn, beets, cukes, spinach.

2.  Got new checks.
Hurray, I can spend money the old-fashioned way again!

3.  Attached trailer ball on riding mower.
Cavebear's First Law Of Applied Geometry:  If you can bend it enough, it will fit.  Cavebear's First Law Of Physics:  The bigger the bench vise, the more you can bend stuff.

4.  Bought new car.
New checks burned a hole in my pocket.  Actually, it was a race to see if the checks would arrive before the dealer incentives ran out.  I deliver the check today after the towing hitch is installed and they drive the car here.  More about the new car tomorrow.  But it looks like this.  I like green.

5.  Figured out new edging better than that plastic crap.
Randomly-cut pressure treated wood 6-12" high, connected with stiff zinc-coated wire attached throgh screw-eyes at the top and bottom.  I'll show pictures when I do it.  I was going to do stackable concrete blocks but the neighbor beat me to it and I don't copy.
6.  Got non-subscription 2019 MS Office for Mac. 
MS demanded an annual subscription on $69.95 per year, but I found a site that sells it for $99 no renewal cost or expiration.  I'll be good for 10 years with that.
7.  Made a pizza from scratch.
Bread machine has a "dough" setting.  But their recipe sucks.  I used a 20 year old one taped to the inside of a cabinet.  But I screwed it up royally this time and had to add water during the process.  Amazingly, it came out perfect.  I won't ever be able to duplicate it.  On the other hand, I know what dough should feel like.  I make a loaf of bread* every couple of weeks.  Pizza dough can be a bit thinner for easy rolling.

I have a pizza stone, that helps.  And a paddle.  I usually simmer crushed canned tomato until it is thick.  Spread some thinly on the dough, add sliced pepperoni (or hot italian sausage), green peppers, mushrooms, and onion.  More sauce, then add provelone slices and bagged "italian" shredded cheese.  Not too much cheese.  Baked on the pre-heated pizza stone at 500F about 10 minutes...

I can't understand why my pizza (with a tossed salad) isn't considered the healthiest food on earth.

* Use beer instead of water, and add a heaping tablespoon of oregano, crushed garlic, and onion flakes and friends will BEG you to bring bread to the party...

Pizza

OK, I have a bread machine.  So that's basic to me.

Use bread machine to make dough.  Let sit in covered oiled bowl overnight in the fridge.

Slice up peperoni stick, green pepper, mushrooms, and onion to taste.  Set them all on a late an M/V them 1 full minute.

Preheat oven to 500F

Open can of crushed tomatoes and simmer til thick.  Or use jarred spaghetti sauce.

When oven is at temp, sprinkle flour on clean flat surface and drop dough on it.  Sprinkle a little flour on top.  Mangle dough until it is "handleable".  Flatten it by hand or rolling pin until it is thin.  Turn the dough over several times in that process.

When you can pick up the dough, curl up the edges by hand, wipe some olive oil on the dough, and transfer it to a pizza paddle sprinkled well with cornmeal (for sliding later).


 On the pizza paddle, spread tomato sauce, add toppings, and cheese if desired.

Slide pizza onto cooking surface (pizza stone, baking tray, whatever).

At 12 minutes, lift a corner of the crust to look for toasting marks.  If none, leave for 3 minutes.

Use pizza paddle and something to keep the pizza from being pushed off the baking surface to lift it out of oven.

Set on LARGE cutting board to rest 3 minutes.  Cheese needs to set, and crust rest.

Cut with biggest knife (those round pizza cutters never work).

Voila'!