In Search of the Perfect Pie

Tony Gemignani Shows Peter Reinhart His Pizza Ovens

Ryan Sanders — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 17:31:28 +0000

Here is what Peter has to say about this episode:

Okay, this is the webisode many of you have been waiting for, where Tony Gemignani shows us all four of his ovens and also, as a bonus, explains the difference between the various types of Double Zero flour — it’s a whirlwind of information and I think you will want to watch it more than once and take notes. One of the joys we’ve had in traveling and meeting all these pizza masters is seeing how deeply they look into all their choices, whether it be flour, tomatoes, cheese, or other ingredients, ovens, heat sources, etc. They all have their own reasons for the choices they, which is great for all of us pizza hunters, as this attention to detail is what distinguishes them as artisans, and that’s why we celebrate them.

Tony Gemignani Prepares a San Felice Margherita

Ryan Sanders — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:18:43 +0000

Here’s what Peter has to say about this episode:

I was mistaken last week when I said the Margherita that Tony made was his World Championship version. Actually, this week is the version that won it all. As it turns out, last week’s pizza was made with Caputo flour and this week’s is made with San Felice flour. When Tony won the World Championship in Naples, which he’ll talk about a little in this week’s segment, he used the San Felice flour so that’s the one he reserves this flour for at his restaurant. He uses Caputo on all his other Napoletana pizzas and, as he indicates here, it’s almost impossible to tell them apart and he loves both brands. But, because he won the title with the San Felice, that’s the one you get if you order the Championship pie, served on the special pedestal platter. Tony told us that he tries to replicate the Margherita exactly as he did it for the judges, and he only makes 73 each day and when the dough runs out he stops taking orders for it. The number has special meaning for him but now I can’t recall what it signifies so be sure to ask when you eat there.

Tony Gemignani Teaches Us To Make a Margherita

Ryan Sanders — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:00:04 +0000

Here’s what Peter has to say about this episode:

In this webisode, Tony teaches me (and you) how he makes the Margherita pizza that won him the world championship. You’ll notice a few great tips, things that aren’t commonly known even by professional pizza makers, such as: the traditional Napoletana way to load the pizza onto the peel; shaping the dough on the marble slab as opposed to lifting or spinning it; when to put the basil on; and the importance of bringing the dough to room temperature before putting it into the oven to prevent burning the underside.

Peter Reinhart & Tony Gemignani on Pizza Quest

Ryan Sanders — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:08:24 +0000

Here’s what Peter had to say on this episode:

In this short, introductory webisode, Tony welcomes us and shows us the oven dedicated to making his World Championship Margherita pizza. In another section he begins making a Sicilian style pizza and gives us a quick briefing on San Marzano tomatoes, which he uses only on a few of the pizzas on his menu.

Puffins = Pizza Muffins | Portable Pizza Bites Ready to Travel

Ryan Sanders — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:33:55 +0000

Ever stop by your local pizza spot to grab a quick slice and then, as you drive off, you realize you are going to have to eat that steaming hot, floppy, greasy, messy slice over your lap as you drive? Or maybe you’ve got a great pizza recipe and you want to show it off at your next potluck, but as we all know, pizza doesn’t travel.. Here today, I submit to you this idea: Puffins! Spread out your dough into tiny little pizza crusts, push the crust into a muffin tin, plop a little drop of your toppings into the middle and then fold the excess dough over the top, sealing the Puffin closed. In my experience, the cheese will cause just enough steam to pop a little hole in the dough-top and the cheese will ooze out a bit and get a bit of browning as it touches the muffin pan. And let me tell you, these things are AWESOME. They are completely self contained, fit in the hand well, and are WAY less messy and driving friendly than a traditional slice. Plus, since the dough is holding all the steam and heat from the baked toppings inside, they stay warm for MUCH longer than a pizza slice as well.

World, start your ovens! Report back to me here at insearchoftheperfectpie.com with tales of your Puffin adventures.

Happy baking!

Ryan
Chico, California

Peter Reinhart Chooses Central Milling Flour

Ryan Sanders — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 17:00:33 +0000

See people? I get on here and blab blab blab about how great Central Milling flours are, even post pics and recipes using the new Germania Pizza Flour blend, and ta-da! Peter Reinhart picks up a sack for himself and loves it! I’ll let you know just as soon as Peter calls to thank me for the incredible tip off. Until then, maybe take a peek at his blog and his experiences/recipes with Central Milling flours.

http://www.fornobravo.com/pizzaquest/instructionals/59-written-recipes/299-the-pizza-quest-challenge-pizza-dough.html

Here’s what Peter is doing with his bag of Central Milling Germania pizza flour:

The Pizza Quest Challenge Dough (makes five 8 ounce/227 g dough balls)

For best results, this dough should be made at least one day in advance–it will also hold in the refrigerator for up to 3 days with good results. Any longer than 3 days and the dough will weaken (start to break down), though it can last for months if shaped into dough balls and frozen in small freezer zip bags.

22 ounces (624 grams) Germania flour or a blend of 20 oz./567 g of your favorite bread or Double Zero flour and 2 oz./56 g of pumpernickel or coarse rye flour or rye meal). If you don’t have a scale, this will be approx. 4 3/4 cups of flour.

0.5 oz/56 g. salt (a scant 2 teaspoons or 2 1/2 teaspoons if using coarse kosher or coarse sea salt)

1 oz./28 g crystal beer malt (light or dark–I use amber) or 1 1/2 tablespoons barley malt syrup

0.11 oz/3 g instant yeast (1 teaspoon) OR, 1 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast dissolved in 4 ounces of the water for about 3 to 5 minutes

16 oz/452 g water, room temp. (if using Caputo or another Italian Double Zero, reduce the water to 14 oz/399 g)

And just in case you’re not sure who Peter Reinhart is, check out this link – it should explain everything: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=peter+reinhart&x=0&y=0

Thin Crust Pizza Dough Recipe | How to Work With Wet Dough

Ryan Sanders — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 04:04:10 +0000

Recently, I filmed a new video detailing my latest favorite thin crust pizza dough recipe as well as a few good techniques on how to deal with wet dough. I figured instead of talking your ear off about it, I would just show you! Also, I get a lot of questions asking what dough is supposed to look like in certain stages of mixing/prep, so I’ve left LONG sequences of the mixer doing its thing in there so you can check out what the dough looks like as I make it. You can see it really doesn’t look like dough until an hour or so after I started making it. Just takes a little patience and a bit of faith

Good luck and enjoy the new video! Hola from Chico, California!
-Ryan

Recipe:

- 22oz of ’00′ pizza flour (centralmilling.com)
- 15oz water
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp instant dry yeast
- 1T olive oil
- 1T malt extract

Mix with a dough hook on low until dough comes together. Rest for 30 minutes. Mix on second slowest setting for 12 minutes. Rest for 30 minutes. Seal up in containers and place in fridge for three days. Pull the dough out two hours before baking to let the dough come up to room temperature.

Proof! 125lb of Pizza Flour Goodness

Ryan Sanders — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 23:40:00 +0000

On a recent trip to San Francisco, Alicia and I met up with our friend Nick from Central Milling and boy did he bring us some gifts!

Check out the glamor shots below

I’m Back! New Flours from Central Milling, SF Pizza and More

Ryan Sanders — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:33:26 +0000

Alicia discovers just how popular Central Milling really is in San Francisco!

It’s been a while since my last post, and in the period of radio silence a lot has happened! We bought a small house with a gas oven, I found a new and exciting job, and perhaps most exciting of all, we traveled to San Francisco and had some world-class pizza. Also while in San Francisco, we had a chance to visit with your good friend and mine, Nick from Central Milling. Not only did I buy 100lb of their new ’00′ Normal Pizza Flour, but I also have in my possession 20lb of their newest experimental pizza flour “Pizza Germania.” Between new ovens, reports and reviews from Pizzeria Delfina and Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, and results photos from my experiments with the new Pizza Germania flour, you can expect this blog to roar back to life in the coming weeks.

Adding Panache to Pizza – A New Dough Recipe from Mario Batali

Aimee — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:32:27 +0000

Now that I’ve been diving into pizza again I’ve realize that it’s time to get out of my comfort zone. It’s hard to do when the task at hand is dinner and NO ONE wants to go hungry on a Friday night! I’ve been using the same dough recipe for a couple of years now and I know it by heart. I know what it’s supposed to feel like and how many ounces one batch yields. It’s like that old friend whose sentence you can finish and whose quirks you love . So now, fellow pizza followers, it’s time. I came across a Mario Batali recipe that uses wine in the dough recipe. I have never tried it and I am not sure that I will. I think I like the idea of beer or maybe garlic and fresh basil better. That is my task this week, to come up with a flavorful dough that will give pizazz to pizza Friday! Can I get some jazz hands to go with that?

PIZZA DOUGH

Mario Batali

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup dry white wine, at room temperature
2 tbsp plus 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt and sugar and mix well. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the warm water, wine and olive oil. Using a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until the mixture is too stiff to stir, then mix with your hands inthe bowl until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn the dough out. Knead gently, dusting the work surface lightly with more flour as necessary, for 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, elastic and only slightly sticky.

Oil a large clean bowl, add the dough, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, set in a warm part of the kitchen, and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down, and it is ready to use.

Gary L. Howe for The New York Times