Made a couple of outstanding pizzas tonight :-) Thought I'd share a few tips....

[Kenny202]

Been making pizzas at home for years and was never happy with mainly the base and the sauce. tried lots of different things. Just by luck stumbled onto a couple of recipes for both tonight. The sauce is really flavorful and just like a good restaurant pizza. The crust is super easy to make and a thin crispy crust. I did the pizzas on the very bottom shelf of my oven turned up and preheated to full (230 deg c). Took roughly 10-15 minutes but keep an eye on it. When you see the outside of the pizza start to brown and cheese get golden lift it up a bit and make sure browned underneath. I have always put pizzas a bit higher in the oven thinking the topping needed to cook but this method worked just fine. Actually gave the base more time to brown and the heat of the oven browned the toppings perfectly. I use top and bottom elements together.

 

Normally I make tomato sauce using a blender, and then cooking it in a pot for a bit. I saw a you tube video where an Italian guy said by blending the tomatoes it minces all the seeds up detracting from the flavor and making it bitter. he also advised against pre cooking it. Just squish the tomatoes up by hand and mix it all up with a spoon. Put whatever toppings you like on top. I always put sauce, cheese, then toppings. 

 

It's the first pizza I have made at home I would compare to a really good pizza restaurant ????

 

Base…

¾ cup warm water

½ teasp sugar

1 teasp yeast

2 cup bread flour

1 teasp salt

Splash olive oil

 

Tomato sauce….

1 tin tomatoes (drained partially)

½ small can tomato paste

2 x cloves crushed garlic

2 x teaspoons salt or more / less to taste

Pepper to taste

Desert spoon Basil and oregano

 

Base method

Mix yeast and sugar in warm water. Stir and let foam about 10 mins. Add water / yeast mixture and all other ingredients to bowl (or stand mixer) and knead until smooth and shiny. If mixture on the wet side, add a bit add flour and continue kneading. Should be able to handle the dough without sticking to your fingers. Cut in half, makes too very large pizza. Roll out super thin and lay on your pizza tray after coating the tray with light film of olive oil 

 

Tomato sauce method

In a large bowl squash tinned tomatoes by hand (careful they can squirt like a bargirl! 5555)

Add other ingredients and combine

Make sure it is a semi thick consistency, and it's ok to have plenty of small lumps in it

Edited May 21, 2022 by Kenny202

[steven100]

I'm hungry already .....   well done  !

[ProbPossConf]

What kind of cheese?

[Kenny202]

12 minutes ago, ProbPossConf said:

What kind of cheese?

Just Mozarella from Makro. Actually meant to sprinkle a bit of parmesan over the top 

[FritsSikkink]

Bought better looking ones at Lineman

[Lucky Bones]

Thats not a pizza. That is a bloodbath.

[Gottfrid]

3 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Bought better looking ones at Lineman

No, you didn´t! Lineman do not sell pizzas. They deliver finished products from A to B. I think you bought them from a restaurant.
 

3 hours ago, Lucky Bones said:

Thats not a pizza. That is a bloodbath.

No, it´s not! If you do not consider tomato based pizza sauce to be blood, that will say. Whatever you think or believe, facts will state you are wrong.

[nikmar]

my son , trying to be an aspiring chef, made a pizza sauce recently, he used anchovies and threw in a little chilli powder to "make it interesting"

 

[ezzra]

I have been trying the easy peasy Jamie Oliver 15 min. pizza here:

https://www.jamieoliver.com/videos/speedy-sausage-pizza/

[bbko]

Looks tasty, I'll sometimes make pizza at home, but mainly is just using Makro's premade pizza bread and topped with packaged pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, olives. 

 

I'll give the homemade dough and sauce a try, thanks for sharing.

[Mutt Daeng]

11 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

Been making pizzas at home for years and was never happy with mainly the base and the sauce. tried lots of different things. Just by luck stumbled onto a couple of recipes for both tonight. The sauce is really flavorful and just like a good restaurant pizza. The crust is super easy to make and a thin crispy crust. I did the pizzas on the very bottom shelf of my oven turned up and preheated to full (230 deg c). Took roughly 10-15 minutes but keep an eye on it. When you see the outside of the pizza start to brown and cheese get golden lift it up a bit and make sure browned underneath. I have always put pizzas a bit higher in the oven thinking the topping needed to cook but this method worked just fine. Actually gave the base more time to brown and the heat of the oven browned the toppings perfectly. I use top and bottom elements together.

 

Normally I make tomato sauce using a blender, and then cooking it in a pot for a bit. I saw a you tube video where an Italian guy said by blending the tomatoes it minces all the seeds up detracting from the flavor and making it bitter. he also advised against pre cooking it. Just squish the tomatoes up by hand and mix it all up with a spoon. Put whatever toppings you like on top. I always put sauce, cheese, then toppings. 

 

It's the first pizza I have made at home I would compare to a really good pizza restaurant ????

 

Base…

¾ cup warm water

½ teasp sugar

1 teasp yeast

2 cup bread flour

1 teasp salt

Splash olive oil

 

Tomato sauce….

1 tin tomatoes (drained partially)

½ small can tomato paste

2 x cloves crushed garlic

2 x teaspoons salt or more / less to taste

Pepper to taste

Desert spoon Basil and oregano

 

Base method

Mix yeast and sugar in warm water. Stir and let foam about 10 mins. Add water / yeast mixture and all other ingredients to bowl (or stand mixer) and knead until smooth and shiny. If mixture on the wet side, add a bit add flour and continue kneading. Should be able to handle the dough without sticking to your fingers. Cut in half, makes too very large pizza. Roll out super thin and lay on your pizza tray after coating the tray with light film of olive oil 

 

Tomato sauce method

In a large bowl squash tinned tomatoes by hand (careful they can squirt like a bargirl! 5555)

Add other ingredients and combine

Make sure it is a semi thick consistency, and it's ok to have plenty of small lumps in it

They look great. Well done @Kenny202

[Kenny202]

6 minutes ago, nikmar said:

my son , trying to be an aspiring chef, made a pizza sauce recently, he used anchovies and threw in a little chilli powder to "make it interesting"

 

Chilli powder for sure. Italians eat chillis too ???? 

 

I use fish sauce in most of my Italian tomato sauces in the absence of anchovies..(pizza, spaghetti etc) Really really good with tomatoes rounds out the flavor so well

[pagallim]

I too make my own pizza's from scratch including the base and the sauce.   I like a puttanesca sauce which a really rich flavour.   The addition of chopped black olives, capers, and a tin of achovies is great.   The anchovies melt down in the sauce so no salt needs to be added.   I use tinned plum tomatoes also, squeezed by hand.   A deseeded red chilli finely chopped adds a bit of bite.   I use a sprinkling of semolina when rolling out the dough and on the pizza pan.

 

 

[pagallim]

Digging out the photos of recent pizza's that I've made, came across this Chicago style deep pan pizza.   For this, the cheese (and in this case green pepper, mushroom and salami) goes on 

 

[Kenny202]

46 minutes ago, pagallim said:

I too make my own pizza's from scratch including the base and the sauce.   I like a puttanesca sauce which a really rich flavour.   The addition of chopped black olives, capers, and a tin of achovies is great.   The anchovies melt down in the sauce so no salt needs to be added.   I use tinned plum tomatoes also, squeezed by hand.   A deseeded red chilli finely chopped adds a bit of bite.   I use a sprinkling of semolina when rolling out the dough and on the pizza pan.

 

 

Man that looks good ????

[LarrySR]

The granite shop cut me a piece of shiny black granite that I use as a pizza stone. 

Takes at least 30 - 45 minutes to get it hot enough to brown the crust nicely.

 

[Gottfrid]

1 hour ago, Kenny202 said:

Chilli powder for sure. Italians eat chillis too ???? 

 

I use fish sauce in most of my Italian tomato sauces in the absence of anchovies..(pizza, spaghetti etc) Really really good with tomatoes rounds out the flavor so well

Sounds great! Here we just have to take what we can find. Me, as a person that have owned restaurants and worked as a chef in them, I say you have done a great job with small resources. The pizzas above look great.

[Kenny202]

19 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Sounds great! Here we just have to take what we can find. Me, as a person that have owned restaurants and worked as a chef in them, I say you have done a great job with small resources. The pizzas above look great.

Probably a bit too much topping but thanks ???? I thinks that's often why when we cook stuff at home not the same as the restaurant. We go overboard on the ingredients where a restaurant is much more sparing...and often less is more

[pagallim]

53 minutes ago, LarrySR said:

The granite shop cut me a piece of shiny black granite that I use as a pizza stone. 

Takes at least 30 - 45 minutes to get it hot enough to brown the crust nicely.

 

I use a couple of 12 inch pizza pans, and very occasionally a 16 inch version.   Sprinkling semolia on them before adding the dough helps to stop sticking.

 

 

[LarrySR]

38 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

Probably a bit too much topping but thanks ???? I thinks that's often why when we cook stuff at home not the same as the restaurant. We go overboard on the ingredients where a restaurant is much more sparing...and often less is more

Most chefs I know will order a margarita pizza. Tasting the essence of a pizza..., the bread, the sauce and  cheese. 

That said, a dollop of mascarpone cheese here and there, some prosciutto and a drizzle cold pressed olive oil is real nice.

Edited May 22, 2022 by LarrySR

[Denim]

14 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

2 cup bread flour

I tried using bread flour but the resultant dough was too elastic.

 

Not yet tried with all purpose.

[KhunLA]

Done more than a few pizzas at home.  Both in the cast iron & a pizza pan.

 

Good results, and also like a little cheyenne in the sauce.  Usually use parmesan, mozzarella & wee bit of cheddar cheese.

 

[Lucky Bones]

3 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

No, you didn´t! Lineman do not sell pizzas. They deliver finished products from A to B. I think you bought them from a restaurant.
 

No, it´s not! If you do not consider tomato based pizza sauce to be blood, that will say. Whatever you think or believe, facts will state you are wrong.

Hey. Lets not get angry over pizza.

[Kenny202]

27 minutes ago, Denim said:

I tried using bread flour but the resultant dough was too elastic.

 

Not yet tried with all purpose.

All purpose will have a cakey texture. Maybe to some peoples liking

[Kenny202]

22 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Done more than a few pizzas at home.  Both in the cast iron & a pizza pan.

 

Good results, and also like a little cheyenne in the sauce.  Usually use parmesan, mozzarella & wee bit of cheddar cheese.

 

I think you mean Cayenne? (pepper). Damn I just remembered I bought some Tabasco last week and forgot to use it ????

[Gottfrid]

9 minutes ago, Lucky Bones said:

Hey. Lets not get angry over pizza.

Sure, I agree. Let´s also agree on that it´s stupid to fold such childish and disrespectful comments like you did to the OP.

[Kenny202]

3 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Sure, I agree. Let´s also agree on that it´s stupid to fold such childish and disrespectful comments like you did to the OP.

I just ignore em now and move on. Like annoying children sitting at the kiddies table trying to get attention and interrupting the adults. If you see any of the farang Facebook buy and sell groups there are a bunch of guys seem to make a hobby out of randomly attacking every person who advertises something for sale. It is truly shameful. I am in a lot of Thai buy and sell groups also and never seen it once. 

[Gottfrid]

1 hour ago, Kenny202 said:

Probably a bit too much topping but thanks ???? I thinks that's often why when we cook stuff at home not the same as the restaurant. We go overboard on the ingredients where a restaurant is much more sparing...and often less is more

That soo true. Even I, nowadays, go overboard with ingredients when cooking at home. ???? Even as I know I shouldn´t, but sometimes it´s just too good.

[FritsSikkink]

3 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

No, you didn´t! Lineman do not sell pizzas. They deliver finished products from A to B. I think you bought them from a restaurant.

Lineman has a supermarket too.

[dingdongrb]

 

Base method

Mix yeast and sugar in warm water. Stir and let foam about 10 mins. Add water / yeast mixture and all other ingredients to bowl (or stand mixer) and knead until smooth and shiny. If mixture on the wet side, add a bit add flour and continue kneading. Should be able to handle the dough without sticking to your fingers. Cut in half, makes too very large pizza. Roll out super thin and lay on your pizza tray after coating the tray with light film of olive oil 

 

You don't cover your base and allow it to rise for a period of time before making the pizza? 

 

I have been making pizzas at home for many years and have tried several base recipes before settling for a favorite. My favorite is one that I place (round ball of processed dough) in an oil lined glass bowl, cover top with cling wrap, and refrigerate for at least 24 hrs. Then it is removed from the refrigerator and allowed to rise for a few hours before placing onto the pizza pan. 

 

NOTES:

• If made correctly the base will spread out using just gravity instead of rolling it out.
• I add both garlic salt and oregano to the base before kneading
• I prefer to hand knead the dough. It only takes about 10 minutes or so.
• I use corn meal instead of semolina

Also instead of trying to make a homemade sauce I just use Prego canned spaghetti sauce. It tastes great and allows the pizza making to occur quicker. I prefer the tomato, basil, and garlic flavored one.

 

I find that folks tend to smother too much sauce on their pizzas which causes them to be soggy. Use the sauce sparingly. I can say the same for cheese.

 

A few of my favorite toppings are (of course, not all at once):

• Bell peppers
• Onions
• Italian salami
• Black olives (sliced)
• Pineapple
• Pepperoni
• Jalapenos
• Mozzarella cheese (of course)
• Parmesan cheese

....and if found, these are the best: