Why I Oughta...

I've long held that this Chellino Scamorza cheese - out of Joliet - is the best pizza cheese for home bakers.  I started buying it when we lived in Elmhurst and picked it up at Angelo Caputos up in Addison.  Since we moved to Downers, the sourcing of the cheese has been spotty.  They have it at Angelo's on 55th here (shared in 2018) , but I had a bad experience with flavor and don't love that store.  I've since gone back and have had no problems.  I also tracked the price at Nature's Best Market in Westmont where they were selling it for $2 cheaper than Angelo's at $5.99 .   I haven't settled on a source, but buy it where I can when I need it.  I recently picked up a meal at Frankie's Deli in Oak Brook Terrace (near my folk's place) and noticed they carry the stuff.  Here's the tag below showing their price:  $7.99. I haven't done enough of a close examination of the price of Chellino Scamorza Cheese over the years, but I think $7.99 i...

A week later and another Bar Pie shot below.  Last week, I showed a photo and talked about my Bar Pie Progress with a sausage and giardiniera 12-incher (well done, of course) where I talked about what I've been working on since early Spring this year.  This is a 12" bar pie loaded with cupped pepperoni.  I didn't run out for the *right* cheese, so I used what was on hand.  Learned a little bit there - and will go back to my traditional blend.  This one, however, created a little bit of frico that you can see on the bottom right of photo below. Nice Cups. Loaded with Pepperoni. Base chassis of: Crushed Tomatoes, cheese blend. Finished with a heavy hand of post-oven Romano and basil .  Hot Giardiniera added (pre-oven) to half. Menu-wise, I haven't quite figured out how to talk about adding giardiniera to the base bar pie names.  Does it become a different pie? Or should all the base menu pizzas be offered with giardiniera as a 'plus-up'?  Alon...

With Fall here and Winter coming, that usually means that I do *even more* pizza making than I do during the Summer.  The arrival of our Ooni earlier this year changed Summer pizza-making, but I've also been making a little bit of progress on my bar pies.  Here's a shot post-oven/pre-cut of fennel sausage across the whole thing and hot giardiniera on half.  Olive-free giardiniera, of course.    I was talking to Equation Boy/Man about this particular bar pie recently and he mentioned that (for some reason he can't quite explain) the little "orange spots of carrots peeking through make his mouth water".  Dare you to look at this and not have the same reaction.   Last time I posted about my bar pies was in August - when I showed a cross-section and a little bit of the undercarriage .  Back then, I was using a cheddar for the frico edge, but I've moved away from that (for now).  Feels like a Winter thing to bring back at Dorianell's , doesn'...

August marks six-month mark on my Bar Pizza journey.  Started back in March and have posted a few times including my ' pockmark progress ' and how I've tried both pre-and- post-bake ricotta .  I've recently settled some of that (I'm now using Chellino Ricotta pre-bake on my bbq chicken 'stunt pizza'.  More on that in a future post).    Here are a few recent photos showing my progress.   First, with so little yeast, I'm surprised by this kind of structure: Below, you can see a sort-of edge profile.  I'm happy with the thickness, the ply-ability and the crisp on these pizzas.  I do, however, give them first a cooling-rack rest followed by a post-cut dimple pan.   Here's a little frico below.  I've recently moved away from using any sort of cheddar - as it oils-off differently than the other cheeses I'm using. And the full monty - below.  Cup and Char post-bake basil. Here's another profile below: And the top-down, cheese onl...

Yesterday I shared some of my Bar Pie progress shots and talked about pockmarks and what-have-you.  As part of this journey, I've been thinking about some of what Adam Kuban called "stunt pizzas" during the class I took with him earlier this year.  One of the pizzas that I've had in the back of my mind is this shot I posted on the blog back in 2015 .  It has a ricotta that I'm pretty sure is added post-bake.  And that's what I did recently; my first time with post-bake ricotta. Chellino Ricotta to be exact. I'll be working this stunt pizza out a little bit more because I think it has some promise.  'Roni cups, post-bake ricotta, basil and Mike's Hot Honey.  Just like the Spicy Bear from 2015 .  Well, almost like that.

We are right in the midst of gardening season and that (usually) means that pizza season begins to head towards a downswing.  But, that doesn't mean that I haven't made some real progress with my bar pizza work.  Back a month ago (beginning of March), I posted how I was able to achieve some of the pockmarking that I was after and today I'm sharing a couple more progress photos.  I'm happy with the way this basic cheese came out, but I used a little bit too much traditional cheddar (didn't have white) around the ring. In the month of March, I also started to take my bar pizza act on the road and baked off a couple of road pies including this pepperoni 12-incher that was (maybe??) the best bar pie that I've made to date. It was (below) crispy and well done and the undercarriage showed the right bit of char/doneness while the top came along just about where I want the final product.  Of note, the oven I used for this one has NO convection function, but does go to ...

As I continue to hone my craft, I'm learning that there are a few category-wide characteristics of Bar Pizza.  Those are things like: perfectly round, crisp, holds a good amount of toppings.  But, in looking at some of the other 'touchstone' pizzas out there, there's something else that seems to exist.  Pockmarks.  Look at this photo of a pizza from Colony Grill .  Pockmarks, for sure.   As part of the class from Slowrise, they provided a cheese blend that, when combined with the right heat in the oven, leads to those pockmarks.  At least, I think it is the cheese blend - that includes cheeses that oil-off at different points that cause the pockmarks to show up.  Some of my initial pizzas that I pulled out of the oven were showing signs of these pockmarks, but I wasn't able to reproduce them all across the top.  Until this past weekend.  I was using an away-from-home oven, set to more than 500 degrees.  And I pulled out pizzas ...

The post I put up yesterday regarding how Aurelio's pre-pans their dough and then racks them up pre-service time was drawn from a tip they provided on their Instagram handle.  A few posts back, they shared a photo of their founder - Joe Aurelio - in his red and white striped shop shirt . View this post on Instagram A post shared by Aurelio's Pizza (@aureliospizza) That image deserved a post here in the [ pizza dreaming ] category.   Aurelio's has a whole history section up on their site and there are a number of photos with Joe Aurelio wearing this same striped shirt.  Serving beer, visiting a table and in the kitchen. I've posted a number of times over the years here on the blog about the not-going-to-happen pizza parlor spot dream.     It starts with the look of this vintage Little Caesar's Pizza Treat location with a window into the kitchen and side-by-side prep and waiting room.   Just about everything there - the...

Back in  this post from October of 2015 , at the very end, I mention that in a video , the franchisee of the Aurelio's in Geneva "points out that they roll/sheet their skins out ahead of time and let them kind of dry out. They don't want the top 'sticky'. Not 'doughy'."  I thought that was interesting.  They pan their doughs ahead of time.  That kinda makes sense in terms of a production environment, right?  But, I wasn't sure if that was just unique to the Geneva franchise.   Welp, over on their Instagram handle , the folks at Aurelio's pizza confirm for me - as fact - this pre-panning of the dough that I've been thinking about for years.   View this post on Instagram A post shared by Aurelio's Pizza (@aureliospizza) I've been making Bar Pizzas the past few weekends and this is something I'm going to incorporate into my tests to see what impact it has on the finished product.  Also, note...they use cutt...

Over the weekend, I took the Bar Pizza Class from Slowrise Pizza featuring Adam Kuban and learned a bunch of things.  I also cooked eight pizzas over the previous 72 hours.   And, I think I've gotten a little bit better with each of those eight.  Here's a look at the undercarriage of one of the slices that I housed shortly after it came out of the oven.  Really lovely pizza chassis that I can work to modify going forward to make my own. It was light, crisp, flakey and super thin. Of the eight pizzas (not pies), two of them can be classified as "stunt pizzas" - a term that I learned during the class.  One of them based on Adam Kuban's Margot's pizza menu and one of my own creations.  I think that they'll be offering more/other classes or making the class that I took 'on demand', so I don't think it is appropriate to disclose anything else from the class here online other than a few notes (below).  But, I will tell you that Bar Pizza is going to...

Ahead of the virtual Bar Pizza class I am taking today, I added a new pan to my pizza making gear at home.  It is another pan from Lloyd's Pans out of Washington State .   I've been very happy with my Lloyd's pans over the years including the long, narrow ones that I bought last year during quarantine and the cutter pans that I've been using for years.   For the Bar Pizza Class , the instructions provided by the instructor (Online Pizza OG Adam Kuban) recommended a specific pan, but provided for a couple of alternatives including a cheap one from Target and using cutter pans that I have on hand.  I figured that I should go all-in and spring for the *right* pan.    That pan is the one you see below from Lloyd's Pans - a 12" Deep Dish Stacking Pan .   Here's how it came in the box: A close look at the label shows the specs and mentions the PSTK coating that Lloyd's puts on their pans. One thing to mention, I ended up buying this pan via ...

 I took the Sclafani Crushed Tomatoes plunge.  Via a 12 pack of these 28 ounce cans from Amazon.  They don't seem to be available locally and the price on Amazon comes out to $2.32 per can , so I figured I'd give them a try.  I can get the Kroger brand of Crushed Tomatoes for $1.49, so there's certainly a premium, but these are (by all accounts) a good, quality item .  When they arrived, I opend up the case and saw those adorable cans. In the post from a couple of weeks ago , I mentioned that online pizza OG Adam Kuban was who recommended these via the instructions that SlowRise sent out related to Adam's Bar Pizza online class.   I've long been a user of 6-in-1 tomatoes, which are billed as "ground tomatoes" , but unfortunately, our local Mariano's (Kroger) stopped carrying them in 28 ounce cans.  They, occasionally get the gigantic, food-service-size cans, but I'm not equipped to deal with that volume of crushed tomatoes.  The guys over at ...

 I've just done something that feels a little bit out of my comfort zone.  I've registered for a pizza making class via Zoom that is coming up in a few weeks.  I'm thinking it is going to be incredibly interesting and fun and I'll learn quite a bit about Bar Pizza.  There is a little bit of prep homework you have to complete before the class begins including making some dough, prepping the various items and making some sauce.  The instructor (Pizza Web OG Adam Kuban) included in the class instructions a mention of his favorite tomatoes:   Scalfani Crushed Tomatoes.  I had not heard of them before.  But, it turns out, they're available on Amazon for a 12 pack for $27.82 .  That is NOT an affiliate link. The cans are adorable.  Here is the listing below: With 12 cans, they come out to be $2.32 per can, which I can't hardly beat at the local Mariano's.  Seems like only the Kroger house brand is typically cheaper at $1.99.  An...

This is the first in a series of posts that I'll get to over the coming weeks that place down markers on some terminology for the pizza-curious.  It has, thanks to Steve Dolinksy - a title:  Pizza Parlance .  The first term up in the parlance tag is Frico Edge.  The pizza you see in the photo below is really showing off its Frico Edge.  Or, simply Frico for those pizza nerds.   The guy who gave me "Pizza Parlance" - Steve Dolinsky - describes frico as something that happens.   He writes :  "The cheese darkens as it bakes along the sides, and while it may look like burnt crust, it’s simply a crispy, somewhat charred cheesy edge."   The frico you see below is one that was better in terms of my history of baking these pizzas. I made this Detroit-style pizza on Christmas eve and used a white cheddar (Cabot's Seriously Sharp White Cheddar) laid down and kind of 'packed in' to the blue steel pan to create this Frico edge. ...

Just about two years ago, I posted some photos of the new (to me) Ezzo pepperoni that I bought online that was billed as 'cup and char' pepperoni .  I was a little bit late to trying the Prince Street Pizza square that seemed to have kicked off the cupping pepperoni trend, but I was able to get to it in April of 2019 and found it to live up to the hype .  For me, the Ezzo stuff was hard to get (had to order online), so it wasn't something that I was getting all the time.  I had a really nice, thick-cut replacement that Mariano's carried, but they stopped carrying it for some reason during the pandemic. That's when I put my antenna up about new pepperoni.  Over the past year or so, I've been hearing/reading about Hormel introducing something called Rosa Grande .  It is, however, foodservice only.   After reading up on the PizzaMaking.com forums , it turns out that most people there believe that this latest market entrant:  Cup N Crisp from Hormel i...

At the beginning of COVID and the start of social distancing/stay-at-home, I saw some unique pizza pans from Lloyd's pans on Instagram and was 'influenced' (swipe up) to buy them .  These new pans are long and skinny and hold a lot of promise for me as a home pizza maker. I've been fine-tuning my formulations on these pans over the past 60 days and have had some success.  Still plenty of work to do - as the last time I used these I had a TERRIBLE flop - but I'm seeing some good results like these below: I've recently started to use some of our sourdough starter in the formulation.  I've consistently used a 1.5 cup of flour as the basis for the chassis.  I've historically used ADY, but over the past few weeks, I've been using three 'scoops' of our starter and just a little bit of ADY - which...we're running low on.  When I use the starter in bread doughs, I go the whole starter --> poolish --> dough.  But, in these p...

A few weeks back, I saw in Adam Kuban's Instagram Stories (he's the "OG pizza blogger" that I've posted about from time-to-time ) that he had purchased some new pans from Lloyd's Pans that included a long/thin pan that had a pretty unique shape.  I think...he then included a 'repost' (is that what we call them on Instagram?) of a story from TheKitchenWhisperer.Pizza where she was talking about how she was using similar pans.  Here's one of her posts .  And if you look at her feed, there are a bunch .  This one appears to be when she first acquired the pans .    Here's one of a full topped pie below: View this post on Instagram 🎵 “I’m feelin’ Hot! Hot! Hot!” This pizza was SPICY 🔥 in all the best ways! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I couldn’t let another day go by without using my 18” Long Pan from @lloydpans . A girl’s gotta eat after all! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Layers of 🔥🌶spicy banana pepper sauce, cheese blend, ...

One of the things that I've been doing in quarantine is honing a new pizza dough recipe - something that is close to a Chicago Thin.  I first posted about a Chicago thin formulation four years ago in February of 2016 , but I haven't really been happy with it over the years.  I've settled into a dough formulation that I'm starting to hone in on that makes a 12" pie. The resulting dough is sexy.  Like it is soft and supple.  It includes butter AND oil, which I think is part of the reasoning for how the dough feels.  I also don't use any pan lube in this recipe, which is a first for me. You can see the finished product above - featuring a mozz/cheddar blend and these thick-cut Old World Roundy's pepperoni via Mariano's via Instacart.  I just kind of wandered into them and now love them. Below, you can see the upskirt.  Or...undercarriage if you will. I've been baking the pies at between 400 and 450 degrees with the 'convection' *o...

Over the years, I've honed by at-home pizza game.  First it was the discovery and use of Chellino Scamorza Cheese out of Joliet .  Won't make a pie without it now.  Then it was the acquisition of new cutter pans , serving pans and stands .  And now it is buying cup and char pepperoni on the internet. PennMac sells Ezzo 38MM Pepperoni in 1 lb bags and I took the plunge recently.    The bag you see above is one of two that I bought online - but I also bought an Ezzo stick that I haven't sliced.  If you follow the instagram account /ronicups (which I don't know why you wouldn't be, right??), or visited a hip, new pizza place that is making Detroit or bar pies, you've undoubtedly come across Ezzo cup and char pepperoni. View this post on Instagram Roni Cups on a square pizza by @danwongishungry at @psp_nyc #squarepie #squarepizza A post shared by Pepperoni - Roni Cups 🍕 (@ronicups) on Oc...

Via Adam Kuban on his Instagram handle (story) For years, I've been poking around this thread (and the various sub-threads ) on PizzaMaking.com that focus on Chicago-style thin crust (aka Tavern pizza) and in various places, posters have occasionally mentioned using diastatic malt powder - or sometimes non-diastatic - in their dough formulations.  And while I've been intrigued, I've never gone out and procured the stuff, let alone find out where I could buy it locally.  But then, this happened over the weekend on Instagram.  Slice (RIP) Head Honcho and "pizza influencer" Adam Kuban posted this upskirt and description in his recent stories .  I screenshot it above.  ( You can follow Adam here on Instagram .  Or you can learn more about his pop-up Margot's Pizza here .) He called out that he added diastatic malt powder for oven spring and color.  Color, people?!?!  That's one of the things that I've been working on over the years is a cons...