WSM Gourmet Pizza - Because I don't know what else to call it

[unclejhim]

You had me at "spiced pear chutney"!! That dough sounds great also ... will try. Well done and points for great pic's and narrative.

 

[noboundaries]

 
You had me at "spiced pear chutney"!! That dough sounds great also ... will try. Well done and points for great pic's and narrative.

Unclejhim, thanks for the kind words and the point.  You will love the taste of this dough! 

 

[Bearcarver]

Just now found this one----

That is an Outstanding looking Pizza!! 

---

I'd be all over that !!

Dang that looks Good!!

Bear

 

[noboundaries]

 
Just now found this one----

That is an Outstanding looking Pizza!! 

---

I'd be all over that !!

Dang that looks Good!!

Bear

Thanks Bear, for the points and the emoticons! 

Here's a pizza story you might enjoy.  I played football in HS in TN in the early 70's.  Back then, Pizza Hut had "All You Can Eat" Tuesdays.  As a very active teenager, I could eat through the kitchen like a hungry piranha.  My folks took any inexpensive chance they could to fill me up, so we were regulars at All You Could Eat Tuesdays.

My Junior year I move from nose guard to outside linebacker.  One Tuesday my defensive team coach was at "the Hut" with his family.  He watched me go back again and again for pizza.  He came over before he and his family left, talked to my parents, then looked at me and asked, "How many pieces of pizza did you eat?"  I did a quick calculation in my head and said, "I don't know, maybe 16 to 20."  He cracked up laughing. 

The next day I walk into the field house and all the coaches start laughing soon after I arrive.  As my teammates and I were getting suited up for practice, the defensive coach tells everyone about my pizza gluttony the previous night.  Then on the field, instead of saying my name to do something, he started calling me "Pizza."  

The announcer at our home games on Friday nights was the head coach's son.  When I made a tackle on the field, I hear him say over the PA to a crowd of several hundred on each side of the field, "Tackle by number 50, Pizza."  The name stuck, and that is how I was known for the rest of my time in HS.  

Ahhhhh, memories.

Have a GREAT day!

Ray       

 

[Bearcarver]

LOL---Great Story Ray!! 

Bet the coach remembers it too!!

Bear

 

[noboundaries]

A big, flat box arrived yesterday that is REALLY heavy. Looks like my plan to get a cast iron pizza stone worked! BD is less than two weeks away.

 

[disco]

Perfect pizza = Point

Disco

 

[noboundaries]

 
Perfect pizza = Point

Disco

Thanks for the point Disco! 

I still have two dough balls in the freezer.  My wife says I can't use the new cast iron stone (there's gotta be a better name, because it isn't a stone) until my birthday the end of next week.  I'm going to save some of the pulled pork I've got in the smoker right now for the pizzas.  More to follow!    

 

[browneyesvictim]

Why don't you just call it a pizza steel? lol! :-)

By the way I have a batch started with that Tippo 00 flour fermenting now. It will be done on my mini while camping.

I have a Pampered Chef baking stone and has made AWSOME pizza in the oven. I am afraid to put in/on by bbq for the same reason- fear of breaking. Im not sure if it will even fit in my mini. I haven't even tried. Is the steel just 1/4" mild steel plate cut in a circle or is it stainless? I know it is supposed to be "food grade", but I have resources...

 

[noboundaries]

 
Why don't you just call it a pizza steel? lol! :-)

By the way I have a batch started with that Tippo 00 flour fermenting now. It will be done on my mini while camping.

I have a Pampered Chef baking stone and has made AWSOME pizza in the oven. I am afraid to put in/on by bbq for the same reason- fear of breaking. Im not sure if it will even fit in my mini. I haven't even tried. Is the steel just 1/4" mild steel plate cut in a circle or is it stainless? I know it is supposed to be "food grade", but I have resources...

Glad you are trying the dough.  I can't answer your steel questions, but you could probably use the steel you build the pizza on parchment paper on a peel then slide the paper and pizza on the steel.  That's what I do with whatever I am using to cook my pizza.   

The reason I haven't used my "ceramic stone" in my Weber Kettle is fear of breaking it.  I love that stone and it is irreplaceable.  The makers have gone out of business. 
 

Pizza "irons" are basically indestructible.  The new "pizza iron" I have is 15" round, flat (no lipped edge), with two handles, adding to the dimensions.  I have used a cast iron griddle in the oven to make pizza, and the crust was fantastic.  No fear of breakage either, but at 9.75"x16" the width of the griddle was too small for my pizza preferences.

If you have a cast iron skillet, you could turn it upside down on your mini and use the bottom as a pizza iron.  You'd need something to level the pan, and the chamber wouldn't be sealed, but with pizza that isn't important.  Heck, you'd get a higher temp that way.

Take pics of the camping pizza!

 

[browneyesvictim]

Wow. I just realized you are actually cooking it on the parchment, and not on the stone directly. I would have thought it would be best with direct contact.

 I can see how transferring would certainly be easier with the parchment. I usually brush a thin layer of oil on a peel or pan then light dusting of cornmeal. Then press the dough out and top it.  Slides off onto the hot stone pretty easy that way. Do you not recommend using any oil either with this dough?

I am thinking of using one of my 12" dutch oven lids turned upside down in the mini. I'm pretty sure it will fit propped up or maybe on a pie pan. Heck, I might even use the charcoal basket for that. As a backup there will be a Camp Chef 3-burner stove with a BBQ grill box that my buddy has. I don't know how high of a temp that will hold, but I can throw an Amazen tube in there for some smoke. But I think I would prefer the flavor of doing it on wood- lump and chunks.

Yes. I will get pics of the camping pizza and start my own thread. I am prepping for several gourmet camp cooks actually.

 Funny how this pizza has me the most excited!

By the way, my better half prefers the calzones over pizza, and by the looks of how yours came out I am almost certain this will be a win for her too! Thanks a bunch for sharing!

 

[myownidaho]

I second using parchment paper. I do pull it after three minutes.

 

[noboundaries]

 
Wow. I just realized you are actually cooking it on the parchment, and not on the stone directly. I would have thought it would be best with direct contact.

 I can see how transferring would certainly be easier with the parchment. I usually brush a thin layer of oil on a peel or pan then light dusting of cornmeal. Then press the dough out and top it.  Slides off onto the hot stone pretty easy that way. Do you not recommend using any oil either with this dough?

I am thinking of using one of my 12" dutch oven lids turned upside down in the mini. I'm pretty sure it will fit propped up or maybe on a pie pan. Heck, I might even use the charcoal basket for that. As a backup there will be a Camp Chef 3-burner stove with a BBQ grill box that my buddy has. I don't know how high of a temp that will hold, but I can throw an Amazen tube in there for some smoke. But I think I would prefer the flavor of doing it on wood- lump and chunks.

Yes. I will get pics of the camping pizza and start my own thread. I am prepping for several gourmet camp cooks actually.

 Funny how this pizza has me the most excited!

By the way, my better half prefers the calzones over pizza, and by the looks of how yours came out I am almost certain this will be a win for her too! Thanks a bunch for sharing!

I second using parchment paper. I do pull it after three minutes.

I do leave the parchment paper beneath the crust when it cooks.  Kind of a necessity because I don't have a metal peel, just wood, and the wood peel is too thick to retrieve the pizza.  I can easily grab the parchment and pull it up onto the wood peel. 

I did not use wood chunks when I did my pizzas, just the charcoal.  Definitely looking forward to the camping pizza pics! 

 

[biaviian]

The dough looks pretty slack.  Is that the case or is it just the pictures?

 

[noboundaries]

Slack? Meaning not firm? It is a pretty slack when fermenting. Stiffens up nicely when cooked.

 

[cheezepizza]

Ray, this pizza approves of the great work you have done!

I've never done a 4 day ferment, usually 3 at max, but I may try that extra day seeing how your dough looked in the photos. I try to always make my own dough, prepare my own sauce (sometimes from my homegrown tomatoes when the harvest is good), and select great quality ingredients.

Having a pizza stone really helps up your pizza game, but since they do crack I've changed over to unglazed quarry tiles. They measure 6x6 inches and I can fit 9 on my oven rack. If I got a proper tile cutter I could shave some and tile out the whole rack! These tiles can also crack but since they come in a box of like 45 tiles I have many extras. 

Anyhow, great work man! 

 

[cheezepizza]

 
Wow. I just realized you are actually cooking it on the parchment, and not on the stone directly. I would have thought it would be best with direct contact.

 I can see how transferring would certainly be easier with the parchment. I usually brush a thin layer of oil on a peel or pan then light dusting of cornmeal. Then press the dough out and top it.  Slides off onto the hot stone pretty easy that way. Do you not recommend using any oil either with this dough?

I have built the pizza on pans, and then pull the pan out after the dough has hardened slightly. It then cooks directly on the tiles, and sometimes a short broil to crisp up the top.

 

[noboundaries]

 
Ray, this pizza approves of the great work you have done!

I've never done a 4 day ferment, usually 3 at max, but I may try that extra day seeing how your dough looked in the photos. I try to always make my own dough, prepare my own sauce (sometimes from my homegrown tomatoes when the harvest is good), and select great quality ingredients.

Having a pizza stone really helps up your pizza game, but since they do crack I've changed over to unglazed quarry tiles. They measure 6x6 inches and I can fit 9 on my oven rack. If I got a proper tile cutter I could shave some and tile out the whole rack! These tiles can also crack but since they come in a box of like 45 tiles I have many extras. 

Anyhow, great work man! 

CP, thanks buddy!  I've actually fermented the dough much longer, but really prefer the 4-7 day taste.  After that it gets kind of funky. 

I still use my ceramic stone.  It was designed for the Weber Kettle but the company went out of business due to cracking and returns.  I've managed to keep mine from cracking, but only use it in the oven and the smoker where the temps ramp up and down more evenly.   

I've been using a carbon steel paella pan in my Weber Kettle for making pizzas.  It works fine, but didn't give me as even a cook as I like across the bottom.  Earlier this Spring I switched to a cast iron stone for the Kettle.  I LOVE that thang!  It can handle any temp with no worries about cracking.  I've got some fermented dough in the freezer.  Just might have to make some pizzas this weekend!