Post
by MoodyMac » Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:23 pm
For home pizzas I find that 300 C (570F) is good. That's usually the upper limit of a domestic oven. Cooks in around 10 minutes. I never bother with stones or anything as a stone really needs to be preheated and sliding a pizza onto a small stone is a recipe for disaster, but some people swear by them. Just a regular metal oven tray is fine. A little trial and error to see the best position for the rack might be needed. I would lean towards higher than lower though, unless your oven has a top element as well.
If you can't be bothered cooking your own sauce, a jar of tomato pasta sauce does the trick. Sliced cheese is better than grated, less surface area means it takes longer before it starts browning. Nothing worse than the cheese crisping up before the base. I also put most of my toppings on top of the cheese. Other wise moisture gets trapped under the cheese layer, makes a soggy mess, looks unattractive, and the cheese and toppings can end up sliding off the crust.
You don't need the best equipment to make a good home pizza. I've cooked them in woks, in griddle pans, on bbqs, domestic ovens, and stone baking ovens. There are so many styles of pizza in the world....just play around with it.
Pizza dough also makes pretty good pita breads,and you can use it to make a simple loaf of bread.
The longer you leave it to rest (as in 3 -5 days, not hours) in a cold place, the yeast slowly gobbles up sugar in the dough, and it becomes more heat resistant and gets a better flavour.
Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it... well, he gets it. I don't like it any more than you men.