Hits: This one crisped up better than the first, probably because I transferred it to a pre-heated pizza stone after a few minutes (easier said than done). Also, pesto is just delicious on a pizza.
Misses: The T.J.’s Canadian bacon turned out to be a thicker cut than you normally want on a pizza, but it still tasted great. After awkwardly transferring the pizza from a metal pan to the pre-heated pizza stone, I accidentally turned my oven off for the remaining baking time. That made the pizza crust a little on the chewy side.
Next, I’m going to try making my own dough using my Kitchen Aid mixer. Oh, and I think I need a metal pizza peel.
02/13/08 edit:
Other things I’ve gleaned from the web recently:
- Place pizza on lowest rack in oven.
- Go easy on the sauce… less is more.
- Don’t cover the entire pizza with cheese… always make sure you can see through to the bottom so you don’t create a seal.
- Use bread flour (King Arthur’s Sir Lancelot is preferred by some) instead of all-purpose flour
- Heat up your pizza stone for about an hour before baking pizza.
- If you’re rolling out your pizza, don’t flatten the edges.
- A little sugar or honey helps activate your yeast.
I also discovered lots of interesting pizza video tutorials on the web. Some are funny, some are strange, some are slick productions, some are homespun, some are awful, and some are very instructive. Most of them will make you hungry.
In the slick and instructive category, you have Tyler Florence.
Tyler Florence Making Pizza Dough
Tyler Florence Making Mushroom Pizza
Looks awesome! And I keep forgetting to tell you how much I love the title of your blog (and Sacratomato!) Guaranteed to make even a snow-exhausted Nova Scotian chuckle, ever time I visit!
Lovely pizza! Making pizza dough is really easy: I’ve recently learned how to do it and I thought it would be complicated, and it’s not. Especially with the Kitchen Aid. You don’t need the pizza peel if you sprinkle a little corn meal on the hot stone. It will help slide the crust right off.
I can’t wait to make pizza this summer with all home grown ingredients. A perfect answer to what to do with all of those tomatoes!
Thanks, Jodi. Yes, Sacramento does have quite the tomato growing history. Some like the nickname, some don’t. I obviously do. 😉
Sassy gardener, I’m looking forward to breaking in the Kitchen Aid… finally.
Ok, next question: What is THE BEST tomato for making pizza sauce? Roma?
What’s your fave tomato for slicing on a pizza? Opinionated opinions welcome!
Btw, just came across this mouthwatering video pizza tutorial from TV chef Tyler Florence. If you weren’t tempted to make your own pizza before, you will be after watching this: Wild Mushroom Pizza
Pesto on pizza. I have to try that.
Pesto on pizza is very good. Did you go for the creamy pesto or straight up? Is that pinapple on the one side of the pizza?
Sean
Straight up pesto. Yes, there’s pineapple on part of the pizza. The pineapple was segregated from the rest of the toppings because my son doesn’t believe in pineapple on pizza. The kid eats frog legs but won’t go near a Hawaiian pizza? Go figure.
Can’t wait to try fresh mozzarella, feta, goat cheese, etc.
My fave pesto pizza topping is sundried tomatoes. Delicious.
Good for you! It looks great! I made pizza for the kids today with the Kitchen-Aid…it really is doable for anyone (as long as you watch the water temp for the yeast) I’d take a photo but they ate it all!
Homemade pizza is a big favorite around our house. I have 3 pizza suggestions-
1. Use fresh mozzerella. It tastes and melts so much better than the rubbery kind.
2. A peel makes getting the pizza on (and off) a stone much easier. Cost Plus has some inexpensive wooden ones. Just dust it with cornmeal before you put on the dough and the dough won’t stick.
3. For really terrific crust, cook the pizza on the barbecue. Just set your pizza stone right on the BBQ grate and let it heat up 20 minutes or so before sliding the pizza on. It makes a really crisp crust, and it allows us to eat pizza a lot in the summer when I don’t want to heat up the house with my old oven.
I got hooked on making my own pizza when I found out our grocery store sells pizza dough from a local bakery. I should try making dough again now that I’ve got a stand mixer, but I’m terrible with doughs and pastry crusts and bread in general. For sauce, I have tons of frozen pesto from last year (got a little overly ambitious with the basil and grew what felt like a commercial amount). Thanks for posting the tips and weblinks!
Oooh, you’re pizza looks so yummy! I got a cheapie pizza stone that came with a wooden peel and it works great.
I’ve also been making fresh mozzarella (it only takes about an hour) and it’s soooo good on pizza. I like that I can add as much salt to the cheese as I want…
BTW, have you tried frog leg pizza for your son