I just made the best pizza I've ever made!

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I was hungry for pizza. And though I make great breads, my pizza crust has usually let me down, except for the time I made it on the Webber. But I wanted pizza, not a fancy, or exotic pizza, but an American style pizza, heavy on an oregano rich tomato sauce, sausage, pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese.

Last week I was lazy and purchased frozen bread dough. I thawed it out and made a pizza for my wife, and myself. I took a suitable chunk of dough and worked it to fit my 10 inch cast iron Grizwold CI pan, plus an extra two inches. I rolled the excess around tubes of string cheese, then covered with my own pizza sauce, made from tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, onion, and a healthy 2 tbs. dried oregano. I laid it on just a bit thick. Next came the pepperoni (finally found a brand with great flavor, happy, happy, joy, joy). Then came browned and crumbled cudahge sausage, then black olives, then mushrooms, and finally, mozzarella to cover. I placed it all in a 130 degree oven with my DW's to let rise. After 20 minutes, I fired up the oven to 425 and put in the pizzas. Twenty minutes later I was awarded with a thick, yeasty, and wonderful stuffed crust, with cheese oozing out. And the toppings, well I have been waiting for that perfect bite for a couple years now. I had to use someone else's dough, but the pizza was worth putting away my pride and saying someone else can do it better.

Finally, a great pizza made in my oven.

I will get that homemade crust perfected yet. It'll come.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Dawgluver]

That just sounds heavenly!

 

[buckytom]

congrats, gw. sounds like a deep dish pizza i could dig into.

and that's sayin' something trom a nyc thin crust kinda guy.

 

[Snip 13]

Sounds great Weed !
You should try making pizza with bought Naan bread, taste great too! I use Naan when I'm too lazy to make dough

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I forgot to mention that I used raw cremini mushroom slices on the pizza, and drizzled white truffle oil over them. The cremini's absorbed the truffle oil, holding that wonderful flavor which came out quite pronounced on the pizza.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[jabbur]

GW - Glad you liked the way your pizza came out. I have a TNT pizza dough recipe my family has used for decades. I can't make bread but I can make this.

2 c warm water
2 pkg yeast
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c butter (melted)
1 egg
2 tsp salt
6-1/2 or 7 cups flour

Measure water into warm mixing bowl - sprinkle in yeast and stir to dissolve - Add sugar, butter, egg, salt and half the flour. Mix until smooth (it's actually kind of shaggy at this point) Gradually add remaining flour until dough is easy to handle and not sticky. (I usually get it out on the counter and knead in the last cup of flour). Place in clean greased bowl turning to grease top, cover lightly with foil. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (can be overnight) Punch down at least once during this time.

This recipe makes 2 half sheet pans or 3 round pizzas. It freezes well too. We like to add oregano leaves to the dough during the mixing and use butter or garlic butter when forming the crust. Bake pizzas at 450° for 15-20 mins after topping with your favorites.

 

[SweetTeboho]

Awesome! I wish I could have tasted it!

My husband who rarely goes into the kitchen can actually make a great pizza. But since the kitchen is his least favorite place he now only makes it after I beg for weeks for his pizza and now only uses the frozen pizza dough when he does.

Now is claim to fame is heated up frozen chicken fingers with macaroni and cheese from a box! I'll take what I can get.

 

[TomatoMustard]

That sounds great. Does the dish you cook it in make a big difference? We always made ours on baking sheets.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

For a Thick crust, deep dish pizza like the one I made, you just can't beat cast iron. But I qualify that by saying that I use a Griswold cast iron that is well seasoned. The reason this is important is that the metal isn't as thick, and so heats more quickly. Yet, it is thick enough to create even heat and hold its heat well. This makes for a crispy, well browned crust, top, sides, and bottom.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[The OutDoor Chef]

I was hungry for pizza. And though I make great breads, my pizza crust has usually let me down, except for the time I made it on the Webber. But I wanted pizza, not a fancy, or exotic pizza, but an American style pizza, heavy on an oregano rich tomato sauce, sausage, pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese.

Last week I was lazy and purchased frozen bread dough. I thawed it out and made a pizza for my wife, and myself. I took a suitable chunk of dough and worked it to fit my 10 inch cast iron Grizwold CI pan, plus an extra two inches. I rolled the excess around tubes of string cheese, then covered with my own pizza sauce, made from tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, onion, and a healthy 2 tbs. dried oregano. I laid it on just a bit thick. Next came the pepperoni (finally found a brand with great flavor, happy, happy, joy, joy). Then came browned and crumbled cudahge sausage, then black olives, then mushrooms, and finally, mozzarella to cover. I placed it all in a 130 degree oven with my DW's to let rise. After 20 minutes, I fired up the oven to 425 and put in the pizzas. Twenty minutes later I was awarded with a thick, yeasty, and wonderful stuffed crust, with cheese oozing out. And the toppings, well I have been waiting for that perfect bite for a couple years now. I had to use someone else's dough, but the pizza was worth putting away my pride and saying someone else can do it better.

Finally, a great pizza made in my oven.

I will get that homemade crust perfected yet. It'll come.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

Goodweed of the North

As a friend of mine Would say to you.

No pics it didn't happen


I was a little bummed not to see any pizza pics.

It does sound good though.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Goodweed of the North

As a friend of mine Would say to you.

No pics it didn't happen


I was a little bummed not to see any pizza pics.

It does sound good though.

Sorry. next time, I'll take pics.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

Sorry. next time, I'll take pics.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

And invite your daughter over as a witness. The eldest one that still lives in town for another month or two. She'd be willing to unselfishly sacrifice some time to eat your pizza and be a witness to its greatness.