Pizza, I finally get it

[Anonymous]

Yes, I agree with you, OP. Finding really good pizza is a challenge. It's best to make your own. The best pizza I ever had was in a small Parisian restaurant, go figure!

[Anonymous]

I don't think you actually like pizza. You probably made a weird flatbread, and you like that. I don't think you magically made an amazing pizza that is better than anything at a pizza restaurant in your regular oven the first time you tried, sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am from NY. Pizza is basically my religion, behind Judaism if not right next to it. I grew up folding a paper towel into quarters and blotting my slice to get the oil off. And we were never a pepperoni family at all. It was never soggy.

Now I live far from NY, and make my own pizza using naan from Trader Joe's. It's good in a different way.

Pp. please post your naan puzza recipe and any tips. Would love to try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really? I have made homemade pizza a lot of times and I just found it kind of blah. I mean it's ok but by no means did I think it was the greatest. This is likely due to my mediocre baking skills and ingredients. I guess it was a step up from frozen pizza though so there is that.

Me too. I've made my own dough forever but anything will mess up the rise. Getting your crust to taste good is an art. Sauce is fairly easy but cooking the whole thing so it isnt soggy isn't always obvious. Like I said, Ive made many a pizza from scratch but there are many pizza places who have pies that taste better than mine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really? I have made homemade pizza a lot of times and I just found it kind of blah. I mean it's ok but by no means did I think it was the greatest. This is likely due to my mediocre baking skills and ingredients. I guess it was a step up from frozen pizza though so there is that.

The reason most at-home pizza is blah is due to a couple of things - cooking the pie in a too cold oven in a pan and not being aggressive enough with seasoning. I grew up in a pizzeria. I have a couple of tricks for upping your at-home pizza game:
- Dough - Give your dough a slow rise. Most at-home recipes use a lot of yeast for a quick 1-2 hour rise. I use ~ 1/4 tsp of yeast to ~4 cups of flour. The dough also needs a good bit of salt! This makes enough dough for 2 14-15 inch pizzas. Let the dough rise overnight in the fridge.
- Sauce - if you want a Neapolitan-style pie, then high quality tomatoes a bit of garlic and salt is all you want. For NY-style, you want a nicely seasoned sauce - tomato, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, basil.
- Baking - for Neapolitan you want a screaming hot oven (700 degrees+) a stone, hard to do in a regular home oven, but doable on a ceramic Kamado-style grill. For NY, you want a hot oven and a stone, 500-600 degrees. I put the dough on a piece of parchment to make transfer to the stone easier and less messy than using a peel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really? I have made homemade pizza a lot of times and I just found it kind of blah. I mean it's ok but by no means did I think it was the greatest. This is likely due to my mediocre baking skills and ingredients. I guess it was a step up from frozen pizza though so there is that.

Agree completely!! I’ve made every type of homemade pizza dough, everything except buy those special ovens, and homemade pizza is almost comically underwhelming. So you put some sauce and cheese on some dough and it was a revelation? Slow 👏🏼 indeed.
Give me a blistered pie from Two Amy’s, Pizzeria Inferno, or a great Italian pizza from
Napoli and now we’re talking.
Never been a fan of NY style pizza, literally dont know what the fuss is about. I’m glad it’s some of yours’ religion but Things that make you go hm.
Also: LEDOS PIZZA IS MY GUILTY PLEASURE I ADORE It!!

If you don't like NY pizza, but do like Ledo (no s) pizza, (i) you really don't like pizza, and (ii) there may be something wrong with your taste buds.

I leave you with this:

https://www.cc.com/video/8o83j9/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-tower-record

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really? I have made homemade pizza a lot of times and I just found it kind of blah. I mean it's ok but by no means did I think it was the greatest. This is likely due to my mediocre baking skills and ingredients. I guess it was a step up from frozen pizza though so there is that.

The reason most at-home pizza is blah is due to a couple of things - cooking the pie in a too cold oven in a pan and not being aggressive enough with seasoning. I grew up in a pizzeria. I have a couple of tricks for upping your at-home pizza game:
- Dough - Give your dough a slow rise. Most at-home recipes use a lot of yeast for a quick 1-2 hour rise. I use ~ 1/4 tsp of yeast to ~4 cups of flour. The dough also needs a good bit of salt! This makes enough dough for 2 14-15 inch pizzas. Let the dough rise overnight in the fridge.
- Sauce - if you want a Neapolitan-style pie, then high quality tomatoes a bit of garlic and salt is all you want. For NY-style, you want a nicely seasoned sauce - tomato, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, basil.
- Baking - for Neapolitan you want a screaming hot oven (700 degrees+) a stone, hard to do in a regular home oven, but doable on a ceramic Kamado-style grill. For NY, you want a hot oven and a stone, 500-600 degrees. I put the dough on a piece of parchment to make transfer to the stone easier and less messy than using a peel.

Blind baking the crust for about 4-5 minutes before putting the sauce and toppings on also helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really? I have made homemade pizza a lot of times and I just found it kind of blah. I mean it's ok but by no means did I think it was the greatest. This is likely due to my mediocre baking skills and ingredients. I guess it was a step up from frozen pizza though so there is that.

Me too. I've made my own dough forever but anything will mess up the rise. Getting your crust to taste good is an art. Sauce is fairly easy but cooking the whole thing so it isnt soggy isn't always obvious. Like I said, Ive made many a pizza from scratch but there are many pizza places who have pies that taste better than mine.

Me three. I find OP's post confusing and dubious. Clearly real pizza isn't in her/his DNA.

[Anonymous]

OP probably meant homemade is better than Hungry Howie’s, Costco, Little Caesar’s, etc.

[Anonymous]

trader joes has frozen pizza dough

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really? I have made homemade pizza a lot of times and I just found it kind of blah. I mean it's ok but by no means did I think it was the greatest. This is likely due to my mediocre baking skills and ingredients. I guess it was a step up from frozen pizza though so there is that.

Agree completely!! I’ve made every type of homemade pizza dough, everything except buy those special ovens, and homemade pizza is almost comically underwhelming. So you put some sauce and cheese on some dough and it was a revelation? Slow 👏🏼 indeed.
Give me a blistered pie from Two Amy’s, Pizzeria Inferno, or a great Italian pizza from
Napoli and now we’re talking.
Never been a fan of NY style pizza, literally dont know what the fuss is about. I’m glad it’s some of yours’ religion but Things that make you go hm.
Also: LEDOS PIZZA IS MY GUILTY PLEASURE I ADORE It!!

If you don't like NY pizza, but do like Ledo (no s) pizza, (i) you really don't like pizza, and (ii) there may be something wrong with your taste buds.

I leave you with this:

https://www.cc.com/video/8o83j9/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-tower-record

+1000 You lost me at Ledo’s

[Anonymous]

I’ve never had Ledo, what’s wrong with it?

[Anonymous]

There's a place out here in the ex-urbs where you can get a decent NY slice...my DH is from Northern NJ and he loves it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you actually like pizza. You probably made a weird flatbread, and you like that. I don't think you magically made an amazing pizza that is better than anything at a pizza restaurant in your regular oven the first time you tried, sorry.

That would be my guess, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never had Ledo, what’s wrong with it?

NP who dislikes Ledo’s. The sauce is straight sugar, which is why I dislike it. It basically overpowers the other flavors.