I love homemade pizzas. I like that I can choose what kind of toppings and what kind of cheese and how much sauce and so on. I hardly ever do it, because pizza is normally a quick-fix meal and I don't think making a pizza dough counts as a quick-fix meal.
We bought some frozen baby pizza bases last weekend and I've been happily indulging in homemade pizza. Then we went to Wheel and Barrow and they had a big pizza-related display, with pizza paddles and cutters and recipe books and electric pizza makers. So, I bought myself a pizza stone and it's great. Pizza stone and frozen bases makes for a yummy pizza, although not really quick because the stone needs to heat for 15 minutes. It's still good!
I also bought a delbor whisk. I have a similar one from Nigella Lawson's Living Kitchen range and I adore it. I use it all the time, and find that it's always in use. I wanted a second one and had a difficult time in finding it, because Nigella calls hers a "cream whisk", and no one else calls them that. I went to so many kitchenware stores and even visited the hospitality stores, but couldn't find one (I obviously didn't go to Wheel and Barrow, though)I ended up buying another Nigella one online, but the whisk itself was $9.95 and the shipping was $10, so I effectively bought a $20 whisk. I was happy with that, until I found this one at Wheel and Barrow. For $1.95. Sometimes all you can do is laugh.
So would you say the pizza stone creates a superior pizza? Or is it too much of a pain? I don't have one as yet....have heard mixed reviews. What kind of pizza did you make?
ReplyDeleteIt was a pretty simple combinatrion of pepperoni and chorizo on a tomato base with grated mozzarella.
ReplyDeleteI am funny with pizzas in that I hate the bases to be soggy and my concern with using the frozen bases (which you cook from fozen) is that without a decent amount of heat underneath them I'm going to end up with a base that doesn't crisp.
I don't know if the stone makes it better, though. When I cooked the bases the first time (sans stone) the bases did cook through and were crisp, but I think that was overcooked. When I used the stone I thought the cooking time was less, but since I'm pretty sure I overcooked the first lot I couldn't be sure.
I liked using the stone, I don't know if it's better though. The 15m heat up time is nothing, you do that while you assemble. I assembled on some baking paper and just slid that into the oven.
I am prone to a bit of consumerism, so it's possible I just like having it because it means I have another kitchen gadget. I'd be interested to see how it went with fresh dough bases, especially those where the recipe recommends that you prebake the base before adding toppings to prevent sogginess.
Hmm, interesting. I always make my bases from scratch and assemble on a sheet of baking paper, then slide the whole raw thing onto a preheated baking tray. Gets good crispy results with no overcooking, but I'd love to see whether the longer-lasting and more even heat from a stone makes a better pizza.
ReplyDeleteOne day I'll build myself a real outdoor pizza oven (like the one Jamie has in his new series) and a long-handled shovel thing and make the best pizza in the universe!