I didn't have the camera right when it came out. I had to eat it hot and fresh, hence the missing pieces.
Bottom, nice irregular char
Check out that bubble
Salute!You may ask "Where's the sauce?" It's coming later today, I was just to excited about this first true success that I had to post. But first of all, saucy, pizza began as a piece of dough fired at incredible temperatures, topped with olive oil, sesame seeds, salt, and a trace of garlic, which is exactly what this is. Consider this day one in my pizza history because this is how pizza was meant to be.
Here are the specifics:
Dough
3 cups high gluten flour
1 cup and 3 Tbsp cold water
2 Tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin)
1.5 tsp sugar
1 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
Combine in bread machine, set on dough cycle (about 25 minutes kneading in mine)
Remove dough, shape into ball. Spray a large bowl with oil and place dough in bowl to rise. Spray with more oil, cover with plastic, stash in fridge overnight.
2 hours before you make the pizza, punch down dough, form balls according to the size pizza you want. Let them proof covered loosely in plastic outside of the fridge in a warm place.
Shape dough after 2 hours, etc, etc.
Topping consisted of a heavy brushing of very good extra virgin olive oil, light sprinkle of garlic powder, and sesame seeds.
The pizza was baked on a Big Green Egg kamado cooker, loaded with a ton of lump charcoal. The egg was heated to 750 degrees to light the charcoal, then cooled down a bit. I put in the plate setter upright then the grill, then grill extender, then 14 inch pizza stone. I opened up the egg all the way until the walls read 350 degrees and the stone read 600. At this point the egg was belching and smoking. Very hot. The pizza was in for about 3.5 minutes. With an average air temperature reading around 650-700 degrees. The top and bottom cooked evenly and got excellent bubbles and char. When it came out, I spinkled some gray french sea salt on the top.
The pizza was nothing short of exceptional. The crust was bubbly and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and had a nice chew from the high gluten flour. It held its shape when I have it the salute! (see above). No flop. The flavor of the dough was like wheat and yeast in the best sense. The topings were simple and pure and I couldn't stop eating it. Pizza is about balance and this one was balance. The sesame seeds brought a nice mediterranean flavor (think hummus/tahini) and I can see how that is authentic to the pizza. They are a little nutty, but mostly carry an earthy flavor. Tasting it out of the tin, French Gray salt tasted like...salt. But as a finishing salt it was a much clearer saltiness, not oppressive or overpowering. From the bottom up, this was a pizza. Nothing else I've made came close.
Here are the specifics:
Dough
3 cups high gluten flour
1 cup and 3 Tbsp cold water
2 Tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin)
1.5 tsp sugar
1 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
Combine in bread machine, set on dough cycle (about 25 minutes kneading in mine)
Remove dough, shape into ball. Spray a large bowl with oil and place dough in bowl to rise. Spray with more oil, cover with plastic, stash in fridge overnight.
2 hours before you make the pizza, punch down dough, form balls according to the size pizza you want. Let them proof covered loosely in plastic outside of the fridge in a warm place.
Shape dough after 2 hours, etc, etc.
Topping consisted of a heavy brushing of very good extra virgin olive oil, light sprinkle of garlic powder, and sesame seeds.
The pizza was baked on a Big Green Egg kamado cooker, loaded with a ton of lump charcoal. The egg was heated to 750 degrees to light the charcoal, then cooled down a bit. I put in the plate setter upright then the grill, then grill extender, then 14 inch pizza stone. I opened up the egg all the way until the walls read 350 degrees and the stone read 600. At this point the egg was belching and smoking. Very hot. The pizza was in for about 3.5 minutes. With an average air temperature reading around 650-700 degrees. The top and bottom cooked evenly and got excellent bubbles and char. When it came out, I spinkled some gray french sea salt on the top.
The pizza was nothing short of exceptional. The crust was bubbly and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and had a nice chew from the high gluten flour. It held its shape when I have it the salute! (see above). No flop. The flavor of the dough was like wheat and yeast in the best sense. The topings were simple and pure and I couldn't stop eating it. Pizza is about balance and this one was balance. The sesame seeds brought a nice mediterranean flavor (think hummus/tahini) and I can see how that is authentic to the pizza. They are a little nutty, but mostly carry an earthy flavor. Tasting it out of the tin, French Gray salt tasted like...salt. But as a finishing salt it was a much clearer saltiness, not oppressive or overpowering. From the bottom up, this was a pizza. Nothing else I've made came close.
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