I have loved all your pizza posts. This week I baked two pies from your NY style yeast recipe. You gave me the rationalization to buy stuff -- a super peel, a steel, and some high protein flour. Oh and I found the perfect round containers for fridge time. (I don't do that much take-out). Overall I had good results -- making my way to Carnegie Hall: lots of practice. But each one is a little better than the last. I have learned some lessons (use the bottom oven and not the top so gravity is easier.) Be patient -- my oven at 500 degrees needs 12 minutes for golden brown crust and the broiler is counter productive. I may try 550 degrees for the next pie. I had given up on home pizza -- never had the results I wanted. I am closer but not there yet. But I think I can get there. This is fun!
I’m interested in the virtual classes! If I were to choose something, I’d say technique. The world of bread techniques is quite small, with some techniques being super obscure and hard to find on your own. Some examples are the rubaud technique and the wheat berry soaker technique. I didn’t even know yudane (a supposedly superior tangzhong) existed until recently. What I’m saying is that you can easily find techniques in other facets of making food easily but not as much as bread.
I would be very much interested in classes as well, and I agree with Jax in that lessons on technique would be wonderful. I'm also interested in lessons on incorporating more whole grains into my loaves. I recently started reading Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads book and, as somewhat of a newbie to bread making, I'm finding it a little intimidating (understatement). Thank you so much for all the pizza goodness. It has been WONDERFUL! I've got two dough babies in the fridge, ready for pizza night tonight!
First time I made thin crust pizza successfully out of 4 tries! The shaping went better than expected. I did the knuckle trick successfully, but I did it super cautiously, only doing a few seconds at a time. Next time, I’ll put more confidence in it. I did an unscientific taste test of Polly-o cheese vs. Calabro cheese and liked Polly-o better for the more prominent flavor, more moisture, and a slight tang. I did some calculations with circles and area and landed on 1/3 cup of sauce, 80g mozz, and 10g parm. The super peel took a couple of attempts as I have trauma from being burnt, and it wouldn’t move. I got it in, and it’s so easy! I didn’t flip halfway through, but next time I will. My oven is just built different and is hotter on the left, rather than front or back. The left part had black bubbles of cheese, while the right was white. Next time I’ll try convection to see the more even heat eliminates the need to rotate.
Also, I realized I’ve been doing the round takeout trick the whole time. I like square containers for coil folds (i know, it’s a little extra), but I didn’t like preshaping a square into a circle, so I got a 5 inch 2 quart round cambro for specifically the bulk fermentation after the coil folds! Easy to preshape and measure progress with the straight sides!
I'd love to partake in virtual classes! I think it would really fun to take a class on bread basics 101 or something, focusing on types of bread, basic baking techniques, etc. Or something even more basic, like pro kitchen baking tips for home bakers, etc.
Thanks for the Xenotees link! Bought a couple but a lot of their stuff is sold out :(
I have loved all your pizza posts. This week I baked two pies from your NY style yeast recipe. You gave me the rationalization to buy stuff -- a super peel, a steel, and some high protein flour. Oh and I found the perfect round containers for fridge time. (I don't do that much take-out). Overall I had good results -- making my way to Carnegie Hall: lots of practice. But each one is a little better than the last. I have learned some lessons (use the bottom oven and not the top so gravity is easier.) Be patient -- my oven at 500 degrees needs 12 minutes for golden brown crust and the broiler is counter productive. I may try 550 degrees for the next pie. I had given up on home pizza -- never had the results I wanted. I am closer but not there yet. But I think I can get there. This is fun!
I've really enjoyed Pizzember. Thanks for the many great articles and tips.
Thanks for all you pizza 🍕 info! Do you have any info on where to find the “cup and char” style pepperoni?!
I’m interested in the virtual classes! If I were to choose something, I’d say technique. The world of bread techniques is quite small, with some techniques being super obscure and hard to find on your own. Some examples are the rubaud technique and the wheat berry soaker technique. I didn’t even know yudane (a supposedly superior tangzhong) existed until recently. What I’m saying is that you can easily find techniques in other facets of making food easily but not as much as bread.
I would be very much interested in classes as well, and I agree with Jax in that lessons on technique would be wonderful. I'm also interested in lessons on incorporating more whole grains into my loaves. I recently started reading Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads book and, as somewhat of a newbie to bread making, I'm finding it a little intimidating (understatement). Thank you so much for all the pizza goodness. It has been WONDERFUL! I've got two dough babies in the fridge, ready for pizza night tonight!
First time I made thin crust pizza successfully out of 4 tries! The shaping went better than expected. I did the knuckle trick successfully, but I did it super cautiously, only doing a few seconds at a time. Next time, I’ll put more confidence in it. I did an unscientific taste test of Polly-o cheese vs. Calabro cheese and liked Polly-o better for the more prominent flavor, more moisture, and a slight tang. I did some calculations with circles and area and landed on 1/3 cup of sauce, 80g mozz, and 10g parm. The super peel took a couple of attempts as I have trauma from being burnt, and it wouldn’t move. I got it in, and it’s so easy! I didn’t flip halfway through, but next time I will. My oven is just built different and is hotter on the left, rather than front or back. The left part had black bubbles of cheese, while the right was white. Next time I’ll try convection to see the more even heat eliminates the need to rotate.
Also, I realized I’ve been doing the round takeout trick the whole time. I like square containers for coil folds (i know, it’s a little extra), but I didn’t like preshaping a square into a circle, so I got a 5 inch 2 quart round cambro for specifically the bulk fermentation after the coil folds! Easy to preshape and measure progress with the straight sides!
I'd love to partake in virtual classes! I think it would really fun to take a class on bread basics 101 or something, focusing on types of bread, basic baking techniques, etc. Or something even more basic, like pro kitchen baking tips for home bakers, etc.