Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

[SpringJim]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

sorry

I never named names

[thomasz]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

I think I will solve this problem soon.

[wlockhart]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

One of the biggest mistakes that I ever made when first trying to make a pizza was to use "sugar" in the pizza sauce to sweeten the sauce. I later discovered that sugar is a "browning agent" that accelerates the browning process. Of course that means that some of the toppings don't get fully cooked.

Now instead of using sugar I'm using Parmesan cheese. It sweetens the sauce but doesn't have the browning affect that sugar tends to have.

Of course I've eaten to many of these things so now I need to go on a diet!

[tombomb]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

couple weeks ago my son, baker, slid his own pie in before opening. i fired the oven and had it so hot when it hit the floor poof up in flames.

[Balthazar]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

What about using pizza trays? At least it will slide off the peel easily and once slightly set you can remove the tray and finish the pizza cooking on the hearth bricks?
I haven't tried it yet, but thought I would this weekend. I have family over and can't afford any embarrassing moments.

[dmun]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

What about using pizza trays?

Getting it off the pizza pan at those temperatures will create worse problems than anything you can do with a peel. Besides, why build a brick oven if you don't cook on brick?

[tombomb]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

about my sons flaming pie, s,,t happens this is how we learn.. agreed use the floor, less is more. chicken on a spit thats fun. pans are not good idea where as they are usually alum, good for home maybe but never in my oven it melts around 1200 and rubs off on floor , ick

[Balthazar]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Getting it off the pizza pan at those temperatures will create worse problems than anything you can do with a peel. Besides, why build a brick oven if you don't cook on brick?

I agree with you, but as I mentioned, I can't afford any "stuff-ups" this weekend. Recently, the first round of pizzas slid off the peel just fine. Second time was fine. Third time was a ****ing disaster!

Can I just cook the pizzas on the tray so I remove the sliding off problem from the equation? I promise I'll only do it this weekend.

[james]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Step back from the pizza tray! Please don't use a tray. :-)

Just keep practicing using enough flour on your pizza peel. Cooking pizza directly on the floor is the only way to go. It's the best part.

What type of peel are you using, and what are you using to keep your pizzas from sticking?
James

[Balthazar]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Step back from the pizza tray! Please don't use a tray. :-)

Just keep practicing using enough flour on your pizza peel. Cooking pizza directly on the floor is the only way to go. It's the best part.

What type of peel are you using, and what are you using to keep your pizzas from sticking?
James

I'm using a wooden peel to prepare on. Perhaps I just didn't use enough flour? Plus, I think I let them sit on the peel a little too long before I slid them off. As I said a few posts up, the first few times I cooked pizzas they slid off without a problem. It's just that I have quite a few people over this weekend and I just thought that preparing several pizzas on trays might make things a little easier?

[egalecki]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

They probably were on the peel too long. And since your trouble got worse as you went, I'd say that the peel got a bit damp from the dough too. Try using both sides of the peel, alternating, and use more flour too. Keep shaking the peel every now and then as you build your pie to keep it loose. And, if you are taking a long time to make your pie, you're probably putting too much on it!

[dmun]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

After each pizza, scrape off any dripped pizza sauce with the edge of a knife, re-dust the peel, rubbing your release agent (I use rice flour) into the wood peel, work fast, keep the pizza moving. An occasional disaster is part of the process, and part of the fun.

[james]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Any sauce spilled over the edge of the pizza and onto the peel will definitely make the next pizza stick. Keep your peel clean and dry and flour it before every pizza.
James

[Balthazar]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Thanks guys. From what you've been saying I think this is what I did wrong:

1. Worked too slowly. On the peel too long. Got to keep it moving.
2. Didn't flour the peel enough.
3. Too many ingredients.

I have to buy myself a good shaker so that I can dispense the flour evenly over the peel.

[texassourdough]

Re: Common Mistakes, Pizza Disasters

Hi Balthazar!

I got the kind of shaker they use in pizza resaurants for crushed red pepper and keep coarse semolina in it. Between pizza adventures I simply cut a piece of saran or plastic wrap, remove the lid, put the plastic over the jar, and screw the lid back on. While the holes are bigger than they need to be, they don't clog and they distribute the semolina pretty uniformly. And I never have pizzas stick - even when really wet - on a wood peel. (But speed is important!!)

Cost of the shaker was $2-3 US as I recall.

Another interesting trick is to simply shape the dough in flour - an approach sometimes used by even very good pizzaiolas (as opposed to tossing or simply stretching by hand). Take a sheet pan or jelly roll pan and put in a cup or so of flour. Flatten the dough ball as much as you want and then plop it on the dough and use your finger tips to further flatten and spread the dough into a circle. When you get it the size you want, shake off the excess flour and put it on the peel. You will probably find your pizzas will be much more consistent in shape than simply stretching by hand. And while the flour does give a slightly different flavor, it solves most of the wet dough issues. You may not want to do it every time, but it can save you if you have really wet, difficult dough and don't have the experience to deal with it.

Good Luck!
Jay