The right stuff! – Part 1
When it comes to making pizza, there are so many choices of equipment. I often tell people that pizza can be made without all the fancy stuff, however, the better you are equipped, the better the result. Having said that, if you do not have a great pizza dough recipe, then even the best equipment won’t help. It’s a question of having the right stuff.
Often people will say, “I don’t have a rolling pin”, or “I don’t have a pizza tray”. Honestly, these are not reason enough not to make great homemade pizza.
Rolling pin
Traditional pizza is stretched, not rolled, so a rolling pin is not an essential tool in making great pizza. Pizza will taste great with one rise, although I have found that with a little more time, the dough will be much fluffier and will stretch more easily with a second rise. You may have seen a pizzaiolo (pizza maker) tossing dough in the air, and while I consider this “showy” and potentially messy, centrifugal force will work if your dough has the right stretchiness. If not, then you’re just flinging flour all over the place. If your dough has a lower humidity, it will not easily stretch, hence the need to roll. A word of caution, rolling will remove much of the air bubbles which are desirable for great pizza, the baked crust will be light and airy. But for a dozen years I rolled my dough and I always had great results and raving complements. In a pinch, without a rolling pin, you can use a washed wine bottle or straight glass. Another neat trick is to stretch the dough over an inverted bowl.
When your dough is rolled thinly, it will not rise as much, and many people prefer this over a thick crust. One method that I use to get the best of both worlds is to roll the dough thinly on parchment paper and allow the dough to exceed the size of the tray by about an inch or so and then roll up the extra into a thicker crust contour.
For a thicker crust, rule of thumb is that whatever is not covered with toppings will rise, so creating a framing crust is not necessary.
Pizza pan
I have experimented with many different types of pans and have a preference for perforated aluminium pizza trays. If you do not have that, no worries, a cookie sheet works well. I once baked my pizza on a ceramic plate. Ceramics have good heat conductivity. A pizza stone and a pizza steel are great tools when used correctly. A pizza stone is ceramic and if you heat it up for a good forty-five to sixty minutes prior to use, your pizza crust will be amazing because the overall oven heat will be hotter and more even. A good pizza steel, while much more costly, will retain heat upwards of fifteen times more than a pizza stone. The hotter the oven or tray, the crispier the crust and faster the baking time.
Pizza peel
If you do choose to use a pizza stone or pizza steel, then then a pizza peel or paddle is essential to convey your pizza onto or off the cooking surface. The last thing that you want to do is burn yourself. There are numerous types of pizza peels available.
There are full wood peels or paddles which have a bevelled edge to help get the pizza onto the peel. Personally I find them a bit thick, that is why I prefer a metal peel. With use, a wooden peel may begin to darken or even get burnt, which adds to its charm. Poor quality wooden peels may warp or crack.
Aluminium peels with wooden handles are a good choice as they are thin, making it easier to slide the pizza on and off its surface. Longer or shorter handles are available depending on how deep and how hot the oven.
My personal favourite is a folding barbecue pizza peel because it is easy to store in a drawer and it generally has a smoother and thinner grade of aluminium.
Brad’s Gourmet is here to serve the community for all things pizza related. Visit us from Tuesday to Saturday at 127 Queen St., in Lennoxville. We are looking forward to meeting you! If you have any questions or are looking for pizza inspiration, you can also reach us through our website at www. Bradsgourmet.com.