Most important?

[Xabia Jim]

Which of these is most important to you in terms of making an excellent pizza?

Dome Temperature
Hearth Temperature
Overall Oven Temperature
Fire Flames Licking over the Dome
Retained Heat Oven, no fire
Dough Recipe
Toppings
Other

[Xabia Jim]

Re: Most important?

Multiple choice poll, you can pick more than one....

[vincent]

Re: Most important?

Since i don't have my oven built; I'll refrain from voting. However i think you left one thing out Jim. A love for cooking

[Xabia Jim]

Re: Most important?

Vincent, I think that's the ingredient that get's you through those other pizzas that are uncooked on the bottom or charcoal burnt offerings.....you need those to compare to the good ones!


...like fishermen say... the only thing better than fishing is catching fish....

....for the WFO cook it's probably ....the only thing better than the cookin' is having good friends enjoy your wares with you...

[james]

Re: Most important?

If you have great dough, and the oven is 500?F, you're toast. If you have so-so dough, and a perfectly tuned 800?F dome and 800?F hearth, you can make a pretty darn good pizza. :-)

I have a friend who has had one of ovens for years, and still uses Trader Joe's dough. :-)

James

[Dutchoven]

Re: Most important?

I wholeheartedly concur...when I voted I went in that order...dome temp, hearth temp and then dough...same goes for bread baking...IMHO...there is something about the atmosphere in a WFO that is impossible to create elsewhere...I had an old acquaintance who owned first a small bakery with a WF brick oven and then later he expanded to a very large operation and had to lose the WFO...he said his bread and rolls were NEVER the same again...great oven, right temp equals great pizza and bread!
Best
Dutch

If you have great dough, and the oven is 500?F, you're toast. If you have so-so dough, and a perfectly tuned 800?F dome and 800?F hearth, you can make a pretty darn good pizza. :-)

I have a friend who has had one of ovens for years, and still uses Trader Joe's dough. :-)

James

[Xabia Jim]

Re: Most important?

We used that trader joes dough last year ... did it on a small gas BBQ grill ... it was actually pretty good pizza when camping ...some day I'll post pics!

[vincent]

Re: Most important?

I agree Jim. Good food, good drink and good friends make for a good life.

[asudavew]

Re: Most important?

Overall temps!

Just my opinion, but!

Low dome temps...and high floor temps= burnt bottom

High dome temps and .. low floor temps= underdone bottom & burnt top!

Experience with the oven, is the key to good cooking !

And hot chicks are important too!!!!!

[RTflorida]

Re: Most important?

I will second the hot chicks

RT

[Acoma]

Re: Most important?

I went with retained heat. Even though it states no fire, we still throw a log in. If our goal is saturated heat for multiple pizzzas then I go with the retained (saturated) concerns. We heat the oven for 2 hours for a reason, correct?

[beammeup]

Re: Most important?

For me its the hearth temp is the most important as I can control the dome temp quite easily by adding wood or kindling. As time goes on the hearth temp drops and the bottom of my pizza's start getting lighter. Those are the ones the neighbours usually get. Still yummy though! The flour is also up there. Then cheese, olive oil, tomato's, then toppings. I put a stock of Italian basil into a cup of water a few months ago now its a full grown bush. What a difference fresh basil makes on a pizza

[Xabia Jim]

Re: Most important?

Hearth and Dough around the first turn....neck and neck

[Thirties]

Re: Most important?

I chose "toppings" because I believe the dough and baking are absolute requirements to get right -- if they are not done properly, you have no pizza. In other words, they are the elemental ingredients and procedures for all pies.

Obviously, if the dough and baking are awful, you may as well smear tomato sauce on an English muffin and call it a pizza. That is no more pizza than a poorly made dough or improperly baked pie. So I'm assuming here, that one has mastered the process of dough making and oven baking.

After that, it's all about toppings -- specifically, all about using minimal toppings. That is what a pizza pie is. You can ruin a great dough/baking with poor toppings, but all the wonderful toppings in the world will not make a good pie from poor dough/oven technique.

[John Fahle]

Re: Most important?

Personally, I think Boboli for the dough. Top it with a little Ragu Genuine Italian Pizza Sauce, some Kraft American Cheese, and Oscar Meyer bologna slices (much cheaper than pepperoni, and you really can't taste the difference), and that's a pizza pie! Microwave on high for five minutes. Mangia!