Pizzablogger says this version of his Sicilian pizza is "not quite where I want it just yet." Whatevs. If that's truly the case, I'll take a couple slices (one corner and one side-center) of imperfection. Look at the hole structure of that thing!
And I second HollandJim's comment, "Ooooooooooh. Giiiiiiimmegimmegimme [that recipe]!"
Twas mighty damned good, but not perfect, if there is such a thing. My sourdough crusts are really starting to come together.
That pie had red onions, cherrywood smoked mozzarella, fior-di-latte, hand grated Pecorino Romano, hand grated 48 month old Parmegiano-Reggiano, fresh basil from the backyard, fresh chopped garlic and Sicilian D.O.P. extra virgin olive oil on it.
I am firmly convinced that the cherrywood smoked mozzarella from Maplebrook Farms in Vermont was made to be paired with red onions on pizza. Paulie, you should incorporate some into your margherita with red onion. It's a powerhouse combination!
@Mooner To me, 'tomato bread' conjures up images of sundried tomatoes kneaded into the bread, or maybe bruschetta...but then is a hamburger really just 'beef bread'?
Semantics aside - that's one great looking pie!
@PB
Crust looks fab and the toppings sound top notch although I'd prob. go with a milder pecorino for my order. I'll take any corners Adam isn't having...
Great looking Sicilian pie. Do you put olive oil in the dough? Is the pan oiled? What kind of starter do you have? Sorry for all the questions but I'm playing catch up here.
Nick
@Mooner: I agree that what I made is not a pizza.....I need to correct my blog where it says "...tonight's pizza..." It is Sicilian style, but as I have mentioned here before, my personal opinion is that once you remove the crust from direct contact with the floor of an oven, you have left pizza land. Sicilian and deep dish? Not pizza in my book, unless you take the pizza out of the pan once it firms up and place it on the floor of the oven.
It is not tomato bread either, as there were no sliced tomatoes on the pizza at all (which I can't stand as a topping). What possibly looks like tomatoes are the round slices of red onion placed under the sauce.
@Foolish Poolish: Thanks bud, a corner is waiting for you one day.
@Raoul Duke: There is no olive oil in the dough, which is currently a mix of 70% King Arthur Bread Flour and 30% Molino Caputo Tipo 00 Pizza Flour (I'm going to up the Caputo a bit for more softness, but in a standard kitchen oven the Caputo does not fare so well in heavy amounts...it's specifically milled for high temperature use).
I do oil the pan. I use exactly two tablespoons of EVOO and brush it all over the bottom and sides of my pan, which is 13x18 in size. I am unhappy with the pan, and have ordered a pan specifically made for Sicilian style which will offer much better heat transfer qualities. I ordered a 12x16 (my stone is only 14" wide) 2 inch deep one. I can't wait to coat the hell out of that pan with my best olive oil and bake that pan with only the EVOO in it to season it well. Gonna do that like 6 times before I do my first Sicilian in the new pan:
I am also going to order a springform pan and experiment with it. This will allow me to cook the dough for a few minutes and then top it as usual, but I'll then be able to remove the bottom tray and have the entire bottom of the crust in direct contact with the stone and still have the sides in contact with an olive oil brushed form....some charring on the bottom will make an interesting combination, and it will be a pizza! :)
I digress (rambling man I am, but I get excited....sorry). Raoul, I use the Ischia Italian sourdough culture available through Sourdoughs International:
I personally prefer the more assertive sourdough flavor of the Ischia as opposed to the milder characteristic of the Calmoldoli culture (both are good). More importantly, the Ischia takes less time to prepare for pizza making in my experience, as it becomes active much more quickly when taken out of the refrigerator for feeding prior to pizza making.
@Raoul You are pepetuating a stereotype regarding Left Coasters (and Hawaiians). And here I thought you were gonna say you liked the Look of the Jeremy Scott crated pie better.
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10 Comments:
Thanks Adam!
Twas mighty damned good, but not perfect, if there is such a thing. My sourdough crusts are really starting to come together.
That pie had red onions, cherrywood smoked mozzarella, fior-di-latte, hand grated Pecorino Romano, hand grated 48 month old Parmegiano-Reggiano, fresh basil from the backyard, fresh chopped garlic and Sicilian D.O.P. extra virgin olive oil on it.
I am firmly convinced that the cherrywood smoked mozzarella from Maplebrook Farms in Vermont was made to be paired with red onions on pizza. Paulie, you should incorporate some into your margherita with red onion. It's a powerhouse combination!
http://www.mountainmozzarella.com/products-smoked-mozzarella.htm
Pizzablogger at 7:15PM on 08/18/09
To me, this isn't pizza. It's tomato bread.
That's not to say tomato bread can't be great....
Mooner at 9:48PM on 08/18/09
@Mooner To me, 'tomato bread' conjures up images of sundried tomatoes kneaded into the bread, or maybe bruschetta...but then is a hamburger really just 'beef bread'?
Semantics aside - that's one great looking pie!
@PB
Crust looks fab and the toppings sound top notch although I'd prob. go with a milder pecorino for my order. I'll take any corners Adam isn't having...
FP
foolishpoolish at 10:06PM on 08/18/09
Great looking Sicilian pie. Do you put olive oil in the dough? Is the pan oiled? What kind of starter do you have? Sorry for all the questions but I'm playing catch up here.
Nick
Raoul Duke at 10:12PM on 08/18/09
Tomato Bread:
http://img.foodnetwork.com/FOOD/2003/12/31/em1d45_onion_tomato_bread_lg.jpg
Mooner at 11:34PM on 08/18/09
@Mooner: I agree that what I made is not a pizza.....I need to correct my blog where it says "...tonight's pizza..." It is Sicilian style, but as I have mentioned here before, my personal opinion is that once you remove the crust from direct contact with the floor of an oven, you have left pizza land. Sicilian and deep dish? Not pizza in my book, unless you take the pizza out of the pan once it firms up and place it on the floor of the oven.
It is not tomato bread either, as there were no sliced tomatoes on the pizza at all (which I can't stand as a topping). What possibly looks like tomatoes are the round slices of red onion placed under the sauce.
@Foolish Poolish: Thanks bud, a corner is waiting for you one day.
@Raoul Duke: There is no olive oil in the dough, which is currently a mix of 70% King Arthur Bread Flour and 30% Molino Caputo Tipo 00 Pizza Flour (I'm going to up the Caputo a bit for more softness, but in a standard kitchen oven the Caputo does not fare so well in heavy amounts...it's specifically milled for high temperature use).
I do oil the pan. I use exactly two tablespoons of EVOO and brush it all over the bottom and sides of my pan, which is 13x18 in size. I am unhappy with the pan, and have ordered a pan specifically made for Sicilian style which will offer much better heat transfer qualities. I ordered a 12x16 (my stone is only 14" wide) 2 inch deep one. I can't wait to coat the hell out of that pan with my best olive oil and bake that pan with only the EVOO in it to season it well. Gonna do that like 6 times before I do my first Sicilian in the new pan:
http://www.pizzatools.com/SearchByCategory.aspx?CategoryCode=158000#158097
I am also going to order a springform pan and experiment with it. This will allow me to cook the dough for a few minutes and then top it as usual, but I'll then be able to remove the bottom tray and have the entire bottom of the crust in direct contact with the stone and still have the sides in contact with an olive oil brushed form....some charring on the bottom will make an interesting combination, and it will be a pizza! :)
http://www.kaiserbakeware.com/Noblesse-Rectangular-Springform-13-inch-by-9-inch-plu751665.html
I digress (rambling man I am, but I get excited....sorry). Raoul, I use the Ischia Italian sourdough culture available through Sourdoughs International:
http://www.sourdo.com/culture.htm
I personally prefer the more assertive sourdough flavor of the Ischia as opposed to the milder characteristic of the Calmoldoli culture (both are good). More importantly, the Ischia takes less time to prepare for pizza making in my experience, as it becomes active much more quickly when taken out of the refrigerator for feeding prior to pizza making.
Pizzablogger at 8:04AM on 08/19/09
Although PBlogger's pizza looks very good, I WANT the pie in the middle shot of the Jeremy Scott feature.
@PBlogger I'm not a big fan of smoked mootz.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 8:56AM on 08/19/09
@PB I'm with Paulie on this, I tried smoking mootz once, but it wouldn't stay lit.
Raoul Duke at 12:19PM on 08/19/09
@Raoul You are pepetuating a stereotype regarding Left Coasters (and Hawaiians). And here I thought you were gonna say you liked the Look of the Jeremy Scott crated pie better.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 3:23PM on 08/19/09
@Paulie I like a little more meat, and a lot less attitude on my pizza, not like Jeremy Scott's.
Raoul Duke at 8:09PM on 08/19/09