September 4, 2024 - 10:06am
Labor Day Bake
I decided to "fire up" my Ooni Volt for Labor Day and make a couple pies. It had been some time since I made a pizza not on my grill - I received a handmade grill from Texas as a gift in December, and I've primarily been cooking on that this year. As such, my stretching skills were a bit rusty as I use oil instead of semolina to stretch the dough for the grill.
Ultimately, while nothing spectacular, the results were better than most of the pizza I could have ordered near me. It was also fun to refresh the skillset a bit...
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If those pies are " nothing special" you just send them right on over here to me !! Outstanding looking ! What is your crust secret ? I make huge " grandma" pies all the time. In the past I have made wonderful ones in my 100yr old iron skillets with their deep sides. I also have Detroit pans and makw those as well. We do love our pizza. Yours are very impressive. c
Thank you for the kind words! No secret. Dough was made with a poolish. Final dough was 64% hydration, with just a touch of raw sugar in the poolish. Left it to rise for an hour after mixing and kneading. Once balled, it rested/rose for two hours. Fired up the oven to 750 degrees, then shaped, topped, and launched each pizza. I have a few Detroit style pans, and being from just outside Detroit I'm always partial to that style. I've never made a grandma style, but would like to learn the particulars of that style some time.
I think it smells amazing!
Do you use regular yeast? A grandma pizza is on a huge cookie sheet. There are pictures I think in my posts on TFL. I butter the sheet well using a cold stick of butter rubbed all over the sheet. I then use my fingertips / tapping to spread the dough ,stopping as needed to let it relax. I then brush very well with EVOO and let it rise till puffy. Preheat oven to 450 and brush the dough with sauce and bake approximately 10-15 min til set and just starting to color. Top with grated Romano first then other toppings then spoon “ dollops” ( my Mom’s word lol” ) over the toppings. Bake till bubbling.
I make these par baked huge crusts and freeze so we are ready to go whenever a pizza moment arrives. They keep beautifully. I use my sourdough and a tiny pinch of yeast. Hope this gives you some ideas.