How To Make The Perfect Pizza

[JohnBKKK]

Hi,

after the numerous topics about pizza making and since we were making pizza today for a catering job, I have photographed some of the production from start to finish.

The following link will take you to our website and you'll find the link there straight to our recipe site

Visit My Website

I have deleted and re-posted this after one pizza shop chap started flaming us ... we do not own or run a pizza shop.. this post was simply made as a service intended to assist people in making their own pizza at home -

[PadThaiGuy]

A red hot oven is a must.

Flour, yeast, water, salt, cold pressed olive oil, italian tomato sauce, basil, mozzarella, mushrooms, shallots, italian parsley, reggiano parmesan, salt&pepper.

[JohnBKKK]

Hi PadThai,

yep, the oven must be really hot - as far as the topping is concerned, I figure its up to individual taste - this can range from simple tomatoe and mozarella with shreded basil and olive oil to elaborate seafood to smoked salmon oysters and kaviar - I personally love Parmesano Regiano but there are alot of people who don't so I leave it up to each to add it after - another reason is that parmesan, because its quite dry will burn quickly in the really hot oven

In Italy, a lot of Pizza's are made very simply with just tomatoe, shredded Basil and mozarella and after they come out of the oven, Parma Ham or Salami is added ...

My main emphasys here was on the dough ... you can vary the topping as long as you don't overdo it, but unlike in cooking, there are fixed ingredients/weights/proportions required for the dough -

Did you make the one shown? looks good

John

[happygirl]

Hi,

after the numerous topics about pizza making and since we were making pizza today for a catering job, I have photographed some of the production from start to finish.

The following link will take you to our website and you'll find the link there straight to our recipe site

Visit My Website

I have deleted and re-posted this after one pizza shop chap started flaming us ... we do not own or run a pizza shop.. this post was simply made as a service intended to assist people in making their own pizza at home -

Hi JohnBKK, would you care to donate a couple of recipes to a friend of mine who is compiling a global recipe book in order to raise money to build a school in Yasothon ? Please put the origin of the recipe so that it can be placed in the correct section of the book. All recipes, tried and tested only, will be included in the book

Much appreciated.

Happy girl

[rumrunner]

John,

What flour are you using/can obtain in BKK for the crust? Last year I was told by the owner of Bangkok Pizza, closed now I think, that good flour was the most difficult for him to source for a good crust.

When I make Pizza at home I make the sauce out of whole italian plum tomatoes which I crush by hand, add some basil, olive oil and a bit of salt, fresh ground pepper and a touch of sugar. I then top with mozzerella and a sprinkling of parmesan. Can canned italian whole plum tomatoes be purchased in BKK?

I have also nade one with ricotta cheese in place of mozzerella that is delicious. If I cam get ripe fresh tomatoes I will cover the dought with thinly sliced tomatoes, proscuitto and some parmesan.

Thanks for your pictorial

Edited May 11, 2008 by rumrunner

[JohnBKKK]

Hi JohnBKK, would you care to donate a couple of recipes to a friend of mine who is compiling a global recipe book in order to raise money to build a school in Yasothon ? Please put the origin of the recipe so that it can be placed in the correct section of the book. All recipes, tried and tested only, will be included in the book

Much appreciated.

Happy girl

sure, take the one for Pizza and the following, one of my favorite dishes I remember my mum making when I was a child

Roulades - French / German - for 2

have your butcher cut 2 large but thin pieces of either Beef shank or Top Round - place them on a butchers block cover with cling film and pound with a mallet until very thin - remove the film and spread an even, thin layer of Dijon mustard over the meat - sprinkle with course sea salt and a generous portion of freshly ground course black pepper - sauté' 2 roughly sliced onions until well caramelized spread over the meat and cover this with very thinly sliced smoked Bacon - now roll up the meat, tucking the side in to close them - you now have longish rolls or sausage shapes - use a toothpick to hold close.

In a deep, oven proof pan heat some Olive oil and when hot place the "Roulades" into the oil - sear on high heat on all sides - reduce heat and add 2 each finely cubed carrots onions celery and 4 rashers of smoked Bacon (with any bacon, the dry cured version is always better) - once the vegetables have caramelized add 1 1/2 cups of good beef stock.

With a cup of flower and some water make a simple, firm bread dough - roll into a long thin sausage shape and place around the rim of the pan - now push the lid on, making sure of a tight seal - place the pan in the oven, pre-heated to 180C - leave there for 2 hours - remove and cut away the "bread" -be careful when opening the lid because very hot steam may cause scolding.

Remove the Roulades from the pan and poor the liquid through a strainer into a saucepan - add a cup of a dry red wine and bring to the boil - reduce slowly until sauce consistency has been achieved - now add a knob of very cold butter fresh, coarsely chopped parsley and salt to taste.

Serve with either freshly boiled Potatoes or Potato Dumplings

The German Version of this dish includes ground pork as well in the filling - make sure to remove the toothpicks before serving!

[JohnBKKK]

John,

What flour are you using/can obtain in BKK for the crust? Last year I was told by the owner of Bangkok Pizza, closed now I think, that good flour was the most difficult for him to source for a good crust.

When I make Pizza at home I make the sauce out of whole italian plum tomatoes which I crush by hand, add some basil, olive oil and a bit of salt, fresh ground pepper and a touch of sugar. I then top with mozzerella and a sprinkling of parmesan. Can canned italian whole plum tomatoes be purchased in BKK?

I have also nade one with ricotta cheese in place of mozzerella that is delicious. If I cam get ripe fresh tomatoes I will cover the dought with thinly sliced tomatoes, proscuitto and some parmesan.

Thanks for your pictorial

Hi,

use a "hard" flour like a bread flower. Both, the flour and the canned Italian plum Tomatoes are available from Villa supermarkets

Instead of proscuitto you could try our smoked bacon .. the result is outstanding - I sometimes when making for my family I use our Canadian Loin bacon .. daughter loves it

John

[Ulysses G.]

John,

What flour are you using/can obtain in BKK for the crust? Last year I was told by the owner of Bangkok Pizza, closed now I think, that good flour was the most difficult for him to source for a good crust.

My buddy who makes some of the best pizzas in Thailand says that it is impossible to get the same flour used to make pizza crusts in the US and that is why the crust in Thailand is never that good. it must be true, because tasty crust is usually what is lacking in pizzas here.

[JohnBKKK]

My buddy who makes some of the best pizzas in Thailand says that it is impossible to get the same flour used to make pizza crusts in the US and that is why the crust in Thailand is never that good. it must be true, because tasty crust is usually what is lacking in pizzas here.

Hi,

Villa has imported flour and a rather good selection - as said before , you need a hard flour with 11.5%-12.5% Gluten and it needs to be sifted well - kneed it for no more than [ b]5 minutes [/b]and not too rough either since that could result in a chewy dough - if you use the method as decribed - push with the ball of your hand into the dough and away from you - than turn 90 degrees and repeat... the result is perfect - there are many many pizza doug recipe's out there, some even add honey to the dough, but I learned this recipe from an old Italian friend of mine in Genova many years ago and have not as yet found a better one.

The way its kneeded is so important that, even though we have a large machine for this, when making Pizza, we make the dough by hand.

Talking about flavor, when using either a real wood oven or a pre heated granite plate to place the pizza onto, will also result in a better flavor. Here is a tip, replace 200G of your hard flour with semolina flour if you are looking for more flavor.

John

[rumrunner]

John,

Totally agrree on the semoline. In the states I always "King Arthur" non bleached flour which produced a excellent flavor bread and pizza crust.

On another note, Hamburg. AT the Villa in my neighborhood they carry fresh ground Thai and NZ?Austrailian. Both look a little lean for a good hamburger which I think should be around 15% fat. Do you have any idea the fat content of Villa hamburg and any comment on the taste ofThai vs NZ/Aust. hamburg from the Villa? I use the term "hamburg" to mean ground beef

Thanks

[JohnBKKK]

John,

Totally agrree on the semoline. In the states I always "King Arthur" non bleached flour which produced a excellent flavor bread and pizza crust.

On another note, Hamburg. AT the Villa in my neighborhood they carry fresh ground Thai and NZ?Austrailian. Both look a little lean for a good hamburger which I think should be around 15% fat. Do you have any idea the fat content of Villa hamburg and any comment on the taste ofThai vs NZ/Aust. hamburg from the Villa? I use the term "hamburg" to mean ground beef

Thanks

Hi,

Villa's local Beef comes from a very good farm and is not bad at all. We buy for example top round from him (wholesale) for Goulash and other stews and bottom round to add to sausages that require beef.

The old boy is always on my case to buy more of his products especially beef and now we buy virtually all our Beef from Villa but our Pork we still buy from Macro.

As for Hamburgers, I would even go a bit further than you, the same as for sausages applies .. you want at least 20% fat for a good flavour and a juicy burger. I believe they use bottom round for their minced beef which has max. 10% visible fat in it. Solution, buy some extra minced beef fat and add it. If you can't get it minced buy a piece and cut it into small pieced which you can process in your food processor. Alternatively and for a different but great flavor, add some minced smoked bacon,

John

[rumrunner]

I looks like they grind the "hamburg" in the store, is that correct? I wonder if they would grind a small batch with additional fat? Any idea?

[rumrunner]

John,

DO you think it is possible to get a couple of kilo's of a 15 - 20% grind from Villa? anyone in particular to talk to?

Thanks

David

[JohnBKKK]

John,

DO you think it is possible to get a couple of kilo's of a 15 - 20% grind from Villa? anyone in particular to talk to?

Thanks

David

Hi David, have send you the details by PM

John

[seppl04]

thanks for the dough recipe, JohnBkk !

was trying long time, but never succeeded before

now I followed your steps and it worked perfectly well

some personal (!) adjustments for Amateurs like me and who have only a normal table oven:

1. follow the quantities EXACTLY to make the dough. if it proofs not within 30 min, your used yeast might be older. just cover the dough and let it stand for up to a few hours. My experience with below pizza pictures. My dough was standing in the kitchen for 5 hours (!) and was perfect at the end

2. having only a normal table oven and NO pizza stone, following worked perfectly

preheat oven to maximum 260*C in my case

use the normal baking tray, oil it before putting the dough on it

cover it with whatever you like. I used John's recipe for the tomato sauce (yummy)

insert the tray at lowest position into the oven, ONLY bottom heat now for 15 min

take out pizza, insert back into middle position and switch to top+bottom heat for 5-10 min (depends how cross you like it)

result is a dough cross on the bottom and softer on the top, just perfect.

I made some breadsticks as well with the same ingredients as the pizza and WOW, friends liked it

good idea for parties and beer sessions

[JohnBKKK]

Hi Sepple,

glad you enjoyed it. Here a coupple of remarks

1) Always check the expiry date on your yeast- the older it is, the less effective - we buy yeast not in sachets, but in 1.0 lb aluminium vacuum packs. Once opened, we vacuum the unused yeast and place it into the freezer - always store yeast in a cold dry place - it should not really take that long for your dough to double in size - 1/2 hour is normal at our temps -

2) For the "bread-sticks" put a little sauce on the rolled out dough add cheese and rolling the dough again until very thin, not thicker than 3mm- cut long strips -than twist them a couple of times - this will result in the doug prooving more even and will look aquite attractive - you can also sprinkle some caraway seeds over them - and like they do at the Oriental Bamboo Bar, roll a slice of "Parma ham" around them once they have cooled and serve as a snack with wine or beer - yummy but surely a budget question -

Here is an equally delicious alternative - bake dry cured, smoked bacon (may I suggest ....) until very crispy (I said bake, not fry because the result in this case will be better - oven at 180C - place rushers of bacon onto baking sheet and bake until crispy) remove from oven and let cool at which point it will be very very crisp - use some kitchen tissue to remove most of the grease and place into kitchen machine - process until it has the consistency of course pepper - spinkle the dough with the "bacon pepper" and press the "bacon pepper" into it with your hands (plastic gloves may be suggested) before cutting and rolling the sticks - the result will probably be the best beer snack you have tasted - p.s. no sauce in this case, just the bacon - you can also add some freshly ground course black papper

John

[wilko]

I would eat it but not for me a real pizza.....way too over-the-top.

[dhind1]

Excellent - Thank you.

I have been looking for a good recipe for pizza dough since I came here years ago.

[junkofdavid2]

Roulades - French / German - for 2

have your butcher cut 2 large but thin pieces of either Beef shank or Top Round - place them on a butchers block cover with cling film and pound with a mallet until very thin - remove the film and spread an even, thin layer of Dijon mustard over the meat - sprinkle with course sea salt and a generous portion of freshly ground course black pepper - sauté' 2 roughly sliced onions until well caramelized spread over the meat and cover this with very thinly sliced smoked Bacon - now roll up the meat, tucking the side in to close them - you now have longish rolls or sausage shapes - use a toothpick to hold close.

In a deep, oven proof pan heat some Olive oil and when hot place the "Roulades" into the oil - sear on high heat on all sides - reduce heat and add 2 each finely cubed carrots onions celery and 4 rashers of smoked Bacon (with any bacon, the dry cured version is always better) - once the vegetables have caramelized add 1 1/2 cups of good beef stock.

With a cup of flower and some water make a simple, firm bread dough - roll into a long thin sausage shape and place around the rim of the pan - now push the lid on, making sure of a tight seal - place the pan in the oven, pre-heated to 180C - leave there for 2 hours - remove and cut away the "bread" -be careful when opening the lid because very hot steam may cause scolding.

Remove the Roulades from the pan and poor the liquid through a strainer into a saucepan - add a cup of a dry red wine and bring to the boil - reduce slowly until sauce consistency has been achieved - now add a knob of very cold butter fresh, coarsely chopped parsley and salt to taste.

Serve with either freshly boiled Potatoes or Potato Dumplings

The German Version of this dish includes ground pork as well in the filling - make sure to remove the toothpicks before serving!

I'll share something similar... one of my favorite "Japanese" teppanyaki recipes (served in some Japanese restaurants, but I dunno if it's really of Japanese origin).

You need:

1) finely chopped garlic and onion leaks, blended together

2) very thinly sliced beef, but at least 3 inches wide

3) Japanese soy sauce and a little sugar mixed in. (sugar is optional; for those who like a tinge of sweetness in japanese food)

4) Some cooking oil

Easy Instructions:

1) saute the chopped garlic/leaks in the oil and sprinkle with salt, then remove from oil

2) place the fried chopped garlic/leaks onto the thinly sliced beef.

3) roll up the beef into rolls, (with the garlic/leaks stuffed inside)

4) in the same pan and oil where you fried the garlic/leaks, heat until very hot. Then, carefully sear the beef rolls on all sides very quickly (so as not to overcook the inside of the rolls). Do it carefully so the beef rolls don't explode open during the frying. (This will smell great!)

5) serve hot and moist; with the mildly sweet soy sauce as a dipping sauce.

Enjoy it!

[JohnBKKK]

Hi David,

I know this, but you want to use a different cut of Beef, probably fillet because the top-round or shank would be quite tough - I would also "melt" a slice of anchovy with the onions and garlic - but it is very good,

John

[gennisis]

Excellent - Thank you.

I have been looking for a good recipe for pizza dough since I came here years ago.

As has been said,using 20% semolina to the flour gives excellent taste and texture

[wjmark]

Excellent - Thank you.

I have been looking for a good recipe for pizza dough since I came here years ago.

As has been said,using 20% semolina to the flour gives excellent taste and texture

Another trick is to add some mashed potato to the dough - maybe 10%

Also, here is a photo of my pizza oven - incredibly hot (really hot!!!). Cooks a pizza in 5 minutes. Note the browning cheese!!! Does a great tandoori too... Ovens like this sell for 1200 to 1800 baht. (of course, being a Cheap Charlie, I bought mine second hand in a market for 500bt...)

Edited August 15, 2008 by wjmark

[h90]

it is always discussed if a pizza should have a thin hard bottom or more a thicker "bread-like". I saw both in Italy. I prefer the bread like bottom.

I add a little bit rye flour making the bottom less dry.

[Lebowski]

I just want to give a few tips on pizza's.

1: Flour: Italians use 00 flour. Basically it is very finely sifted and high in gluten. When cooked correctly you should have a wafer thin crisp base which softens up above.

2: Tomato Sauce: Use a mixture of fresh and canned tomato. use tomato puree to thicken the sauce.

herbs to use include oregano, basil, fennel, rosemary, thyme. you can use carrots and celery to sweeten it. always cook sauce for a minimum or two hours

Use local mozzarella. Generally, the higher the oven temparature the better, but ingenious minds will solve problems, and you can make great pizza at low temperatures too.

[NHJ]

i don't have a digital scale so i can't wheigt the dry yeast, could someone tell me how much a teaspoon full until top (not like a mountain) contains ?

thanks

[Tolley]

I used to make pizza at home and for a base i used wholemeal pita bread....very light and healthy alternative to the stodgy traditional bases.

[memkuk]

Hi everybody,

I took it a step further and designed/built my own wood-fired pizza/bread oven in my garden. If interested have a look on my website MaiPenArai.com. The following link will bring you straight to the Oven page: http://maipenarai.com/?page_id=5

This is not a commercial venture, just (as usual) an over-the-top project of mine: I needed to keep myself busy.