Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

[texassourdough]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Good comment, Pizza Man! Making pizza is a lot like fly fishing. No one practices (well, not many) and there are definitely things one can learn from practice without the distraction of other issues...

Jay

[Pizza Man]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

I agree with texassourdough. Work your dough on the countertop. Use your finger tips and keep pushing down on the dough. Hit the dough with the palm of your hand and keep moving the dough around the counter and keep hitting and pushing with your fingers. It will come out fine.

Spend an afternoon practicing. Make a batch of dough and just practice.

Pizza Man

[JoeyVelderrain]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Thanks Jay, I'll try that.

[texassourdough]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Hi Joey!

Make an effort to make it thick in the center. Shape it on the counter/in a sheet pan on flour and, after flattening the ball to a disk - maybe 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick, do the forming ONLY on the outside - leaving the center 3 inches or so untouched. As you finish the dough, the center will stretch and you SHOULD be able to get something more uniform. (There are lots of approaches to finishing - simple stretching over fists, flipping, etc.) It may be you need to drop your hydration to a level you can handle and then work your way back up to the oozy, soft dough that is giving you trouble.

Also...soft wet doughs should be handled VERY little. They will go thin very easily and need a quick, sure finishing touch. (Not held still for three seconds while it droops to the floor (just joking but it feels like it is doing that sometimes)

Good Luck!
Jay

[JoeyVelderrain]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

I am having problems shaping my pizza, the dough ends up being too thin in the middle ...paper thin and still thick around the last two inches. the more i try to spread it the thinner the center gets. i usually just give up and use the roller. i've watched many youtube videos including James' on shaping the pizza, tried to duplicate their hand motions and still can't get it right. I've gotten my dough right and stretchable with very little spring back so i know the problem is me. very frustrating.

[Spunkoid]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Mine was pretty standard, first pizzas went OK. Second time out, the pizza stuck to the peel and flipped as I somewhat aggressively slid it in. Pretty much landed upside down and like the others, I started over. Son in Law had a great laugh though.

[pizzacrazy]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

this way looks nice i m gonna try it very soon

[sudskyfot]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Good post. I appreciate it
Many thanks to ur post. I love it.
Hi there, Would a new one like me be welcome here?
Thanks so much in deed.

[heliman]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Don't use semolina to prevent pizza sticking to peel (it burns very easily). Just use a good dusting of plain four for this purpose. Work quickly and it shouldn't stick!

[karl]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

After some embarrasing failures in transferring the pizza from the plate to the oven floor I realised that, when heating the transfer plate for some 15-20 seconds in the oven before picking up the pizza with it, the tendency for sticking to he transfer plate reduced dramatically. It is probably spots of wet dough that tend to stick, and with a hot plate these spots will "bake" or dry out on the plate and ease the transfer.

Just my 2p worth of learning this week.

karl

[sslandry]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

My last party was small - 10 pizzas and we pre-cooked the dough for a few minutes then built the pizza on the cooked dough and then back in the oven to finish it off. No issues with sticking and they tasted great! I think we will do this from now on. I also found that if you pre-cook the dough the center is just as fluffy as the outside when finished. Using this method you can take your time and there is no stress about the sticking pizza phenomenon.

[james]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Jay -- and cornmeal in whole grain, whole wheat sourdough.
James

[texassourdough]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Hi James!

Sounds like you have a bipolar love/hate relationship with cornmeal. Perhaps you need to find a corny psychologist to help you with your affliction! )

Actually, I hate to admit it, but I suffer the same syndrome. NO, for pizzas and yes for polenta and cornbread!

Ciao down!
Jay

[james]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Let me clarify my previous statement. :-)

I don't like cornmeal used to keep a pizza from sticking, but I like polenta and I like cornmeal in bread.

Whereas high fructose corn is a different story, and I think the jury is still out on corn ethanol.

I hope that clears things up.
James

[carioca]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

I'm on the record as being anti-cornmeal (gritty, burns to easily and I don't like the flavor), and flour, semolina and rice flour are all very good.
James

Last week I made pizza for a visiting semi-Canadian couple using Peter Reinhart's recipe for peppery cracker bread (Crust & Crumb, pp136 ff)) in which he uses 1/3rd cup of polenta. The pizza turned out very nice, but the crackers I made the next day from the remaining dough were acclaimed as the best of this type I'd ever made...

Funny thing is, you don't really notice any polenta in the finished dough, or the baked end result!

Cheers,

LMH