Iron Chef WAYCT - What Are You Cooking Today
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Pizza where I live is either great and from a really posh place, or shitty. There's nothing in the middle. That's why I learned how to make great pizza at home. When were in NY in October, we found an awesome place on the way to the SE party. I still dream about that pizza
Glad to hear that there's good pizza near you. I like having the option to buy a pizza when I'm not in the mood to cook. -
Getting the crust right is the bane of my pizza making. If I could get that right, I'd be a happy man.
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Need a recipe Chris?
Although, the crust is a very personal thing. We all look for different qualities in a crust. My recipe yields a crispy outside, chewy middle, and not too chewy that you're wearing your jaw out. Also, I think how you bake it matters too. Are you using a stone? What temp?
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crispy outside, chewy middle, and not too chewy that you're wearing your jaw out.
Exactly what I'm looking for. Mine always comes out more bread like- soft and only slightly chewy. Not bad, just not what I want in a pizza.
I use a stone and cook at 500°, the hottest my oven will go. I considered building a brick oven in the back yard when we were renovating the house, but decided we didn't have space for one, nor did I really want to actually build one.
Your recipe would be appreciated, Zach. Any useful tips you'd like to share would be good, too.
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No problem. Happy to help.
First of all, I preheat my oven with stone for an hour at 500F.
4 1/2 cups unbleached high-gluten flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 3/4 cups waterPut all of the ingredients into a stand mixer, and mix on low for 10 minutes. You may need to add a little more water to achieve the right texture for the dough. The dough should be soft, sticky, but not wet. If it's sticking to your hands to the point where you need to scrape your fingers to get the dough off, it's too wet. It should just be a little tacky.
Lightly oil a pan and place the ball of dough on the pan. Lightly oil the top of the dough, and wrap with plastic. Let the dough proof for an hour or so, or until doubled in size. Knead the dough and divide. If you like a thinner crust (neapolitan style) divide the ball into three pieces. If you like a thicker crust, divide in half. Form the dough into nice round balls, and repeat the oiling process from before. If you like, you can stick the dough in a plastic bag overnight, and form it up into a ball to proof again the next day. I've found that this night of rest in the fridge yields amazing results, but I'm often too lazy to do this for my first batch. But almost always end up with leftovers, so they ultimately get this treatment.
Once you've proofed your dough for the second time, it's ready to stretch. Prepare a flat pan generously with cornmeal to put the stretched dough on when finished. Place dough ball on a generously floured surface to coat with flour. Stretch by hand until you've reached the size and crust you're looking for. I like to do this near a light source so I can look through the dough, and make sure that I'm stretching it evenly by seeing how the light shines through the dough. Does that make sense? Once the dough is done, place it on the prepared pan. The cornmeal will help it slide off of the pan onto the stone. Assemble your pizza and slide onto the stone for 9-10 minutes.
Any questions?
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Thanks for the recipe. I'll have to give it a try. Mine is actually similar- a bit more yeast, a bit less flour, plus some olive oil. It's especially frustrating, since dough should be simple. Oh well, it's not inedible, so the experimentation is still good.
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Deer Steaks (maitre'd butter sauce)
Mixed Greens
Skillet Corn(Deer recipe from a 1940s edition of joy of cooking)
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(Deer recipe from a 1940s edition of joy of cooking)
Great, but when I saw the title started "The Joy of…", I got seriously interested.....
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Great, but when I saw the title started "The Joy of…", I got seriously interested.....
What do you do with deer?
Never mind, I don't think I want to know…
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By the way, Joe, you ever read The Scavenger's Guide To Haute Cuisine? Pretty interesting book on hunting/cooking game/culinary history. Seems like it might be your vibe.
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No, but I'd love too. Thanks for the heads up. I've read Hunt Gather Cook, by Hank Shaw. Really loved that book.
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I think I would not- they're basically possum in a shell. Around here, they end up squashed on the road with about the same frequency, too.
I might feel weird about eating the "Official Small Mammal Of Texas", too. Though I don't feel that way about eating the "Official Large Mammal Of Texas", the longhorn steer, so maybe not.
