quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: Why on earth does my Digornio box say to bake the pizza hotter (425 instead in of 400) and longer (25 min instead of 23), to get a SOFTER crust?
At a guess, because if the outside cooks faster, the inside stays soft?
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Yes, going directly on the oven rack for crispier, cookie sheet for softer.
Also--that sounds like a good guess, rivka, but still doesn't make sense to me. The longer the pizza stays in the oven, the more dried out it gets. Does it have something to do with the cookie sheet?
Posts: 1314 | Registered: Jan 2006
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The cookie sheet covers, at a guess, 95% of the surface of the dough that would be exposed to air if the pizza was placed directly on the rack. This will trap a lot of the moisture. You probably have to cook it longer that way because it traps SO much moisture it'd otherwise be soggy.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Speaking of frozen pizzas, what brands do people like? As a kid I really liked Jeno's pizza. Now-a-days I eat the occasional Stouffer's french bread pizza or Trader Joe's brand pizzas.
Posts: 1261 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I prefer French bread pizza, and Stouffer's is the brand I like best, as opposed to Red Baron.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I like pretty much anything with a thin crust. Most of the regular crust frozen pizzas I find are way too doughy.
Contradictory to that, though, I do love Sabatasso's deep dish mini pizzas, which I've only ever seen at Costco.
Posts: 1855 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I like to make my own pizza -- ridiculously easy and so delicious.
In a pinch, though, I did recently discover that the local grocery store's pizza is pretty good. It's take and bake, although it is freezable.
Generally, frozen pizzas taste horrible, IMO. Often they taste good when they first introduce a new brand and it goes downhill shortly thereafter.
Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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I enjoy Lou Malnotti's frozen deep dish and regular old Tombstone frozen thin crust. I have very ordinary tastes, though.
Posts: 11187 | Registered: Sep 2005
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I generally get Trader Joe's frozen pizza too, dabbler. The one with the large discs of cheese (the type of cheese and name of the pizza are escaping me) is my favorite.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: I don't like home-made pizza. It doesn't taste right to me. Not greasy and unhealthy enough I guess...
It is difficult to dismiss homemade pizzas entirely. There are a number of different recipes and different ways to cook them that have surprisingly different results.
When I'm in a mood, my husband's foccaccia (sp?) crust with about a quart of oil in it, topped with loads of sausage and cheese, it worse for you by far than any pizzeria pizza.
Normally, though, I prefer healthier crusts...it's part of the reason I make homemade pizza. I use some whole wheat flour, add extra herbs and spices to the crust for more flavor, and use a pre-heated pizza stone to get that nice crisp texture.
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People who make their own pizza, do you make your own dough? Do you just make regular bread dough?
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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My grandmother used to use the same dough for both bread and pizza, though I think the rising process was different. She tended to put raisins in her bread, and sometimes when she wasn't paying attention we would end up eating pizza with raisins in the crust.
Posts: 1547 | Registered: Jan 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Teshi: People who make their own pizza, do you make your own dough? Do you just make regular bread dough?
Yes, I make my own dough, but no, I don't use bread dough. You can, but I want a slightly different texture for my pizza crust. I also like to add large quantities of basil and oregano.
Here is a recipe I often use...I got it from Allrecipes but made a couple of significant modifications, not the least of which is that I make two crusts out of it and they suggest that this should just make one, monstrously thick crust:
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1 package) 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar (or white) 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour...depending upon my mood, I substitute up to half of this with whole wheat flour
basil, oregano, garlic powder...to taste
Directions
1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes. 2. Stir the salt, seasonings, and oil into the yeast solution. Mix the flour. 3. Put the dough hook on the kitchen aid and let it go until smooth. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, divide in half and form two tight balls. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe. 4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) and put a pizza stone in the oven so it gets hot. Then, if you're good, you can make the pizza on one of those wooden things and slide it onto the stone...but I've never figured out the trick so instead I roll out the dough, get all my ingredients ready, and when the stone is ready, very quickly throw it together (so the stone doesn't cool down much). 5. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Then repeat with second crust (don't try to bake two pizzas at the same time.)
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Anyone else love roasted garlic on homemade pizza? (I cheat though, and buy store made dough).
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Jun 2006
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I love making homemade pizza. Once I found this method, I make homemade pizza all the time. I always have some sort of bread dough in the fridge, so I can just take a bit out and roll out a pizza, and use some of my fresh basil on it. So yummy and a really quick meal.
Posts: 1261 | Registered: Jun 2002
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I've tried lots of dough recipes, and I generally do something fairly bread-y, but I also like the Jiffy pizza crust mix for a quick meal, or this recipe which I've used to sneak vegetables into the diets of small children, but which is also a pretty good eat, if a bit...alternative tasting.
Posts: 368 | Registered: Dec 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Christine: Generally, frozen pizzas taste horrible, IMO. Often they taste good when they first introduce a new brand and it goes downhill shortly thereafter.
Very true. I remember when I first had DiGiorno (yes, it's just an o at the end), about 6 or 7 years ago, it was just fantastic. I tried it again a few months ago and it was pretty gross... the quality just went down the tubes.
As a child, we'd never have frozen or take-out pizza, just my mother's homemade. This was partly because my mom's a health nut, and partly due to the cost. (Enough Pizza for 10 hungry people could easily go over the $50 range in the 90s, I don't even know how much it'd cost nowadays) My mom would always use her homemade wholewheat pizza crust and this certain really spicy, rich pizza sauce, and when we had goats, goat cheese. I've never been able to find a restaurant or frozen pizza that matches that taste.
For some reason, I'm the only person in my family that still likes her pizza, so I typically only get it on my birthday. I guess I'll have to ninja her recipe box and start making my own soon.
Posts: 2222 | Registered: Dec 2008
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You could buy each of those ten hungry people their own medium pizza from Dominos or Pizza Hut for around 50 bucks, right this second.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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My favorite frozen pizza is Freshetta (sp?)
I LOVE the four-cheese with the original crust, unfortunately, none of the groceries stores near my house stock at particular type. My mom found a place near my work that has it (sometimeS) but its 45 minutes from my apartment. I may have to stock up while we've still got crazy cold temperatures outside and they're less likely to thaw on the way home.
Posts: 1733 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Originally posted by El JT de Spang: You could buy each of those ten hungry people their own medium pizza from Dominos or Pizza Hut for around 50 bucks, right this second.
And you can always do it from Little Ceasar's but...yuck!
Those $5 pizza deals are never worth the money, even by pizzeria standards...they skimp on the cheese and sauce and toppings and are noticeably lacking in quality.
Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: I don't like home-made pizza. It doesn't taste right to me. Not greasy and unhealthy enough I guess...
It is difficult to dismiss homemade pizzas entirely. There are a number of different recipes and different ways to cook them that have surprisingly different results.
When I'm in a mood, my husband's foccaccia (sp?) crust with about a quart of oil in it, topped with loads of sausage and cheese, it worse for you by far than any pizzeria pizza.
Normally, though, I prefer healthier crusts...it's part of the reason I make homemade pizza. I use some whole wheat flour, add extra herbs and spices to the crust for more flavor, and use a pre-heated pizza stone to get that nice crisp texture.
How do you transport a pizza with raw dough onto a hot pizza stone?
Posts: 1903 | Registered: Sep 2003
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If its anything like bread, you've put it on the back of a baking sheet or peel (those flat wooden things with handles), that's been coated with a lot of semolina flour, and then you slide it off onto the pizza stone.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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quote:Originally posted by El JT de Spang: You could buy each of those ten hungry people their own medium pizza from Dominos or Pizza Hut for around 50 bucks, right this second.
I once ate a Dominoes pizza and ended up puking all night. I don't know if it qualifies as food - it's far worse than even cheap frozen pizzas I've had at parties sometimes, and has no flavor.
The last time I ate out at a pizzeria I got a medium pizza for $22... that was one of the more reasonably priced ones. (their concept of "medium" is 14") I think a pizza of the quality, ingredients, and size my mom makes would cost $20-30. She'd make 5 for about $15-20 total raw ingredients.
Posts: 2222 | Registered: Dec 2008
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: I don't like home-made pizza. It doesn't taste right to me. Not greasy and unhealthy enough I guess...
It is difficult to dismiss homemade pizzas entirely. There are a number of different recipes and different ways to cook them that have surprisingly different results.
When I'm in a mood, my husband's foccaccia (sp?) crust with about a quart of oil in it, topped with loads of sausage and cheese, it worse for you by far than any pizzeria pizza.
Normally, though, I prefer healthier crusts...it's part of the reason I make homemade pizza. I use some whole wheat flour, add extra herbs and spices to the crust for more flavor, and use a pre-heated pizza stone to get that nice crisp texture.
How do you transport a pizza with raw dough onto a hot pizza stone?
I'm not good at this, to be honest. If I were, I'd use a peel and somehow make it work. But as it is, I roll out the dough, take the pre-heated stone out of the oven, lay the dough on the stone, then quickly pile on my topping on before it cools down (I have them strategically placed so I can do this in under a minute most of the time).
The last time I tried to use a peel it was a disaster. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to try again. Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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I prefer pizza screens to stones. They are cheap, thin, light, and the pizza can be prepped on them and go into the oven cold while still producing a great crust.
quote:It is difficult to dismiss homemade pizzas entirely. There are a number of different recipes and different ways to cook them that have surprisingly different results.
I've had home-made pizza made by at least 12 different people, using at least 40 different recipes and at least 10 different techniques.
I didn't like any of it.
I also don't like pizza at a lot of restaurants.
I guess I'm a picky pizza eater.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Which DiGiorno do you like, kq? Someone should make it their mission to duplicate it at home, and then share the recipe with you. (I'd like to attempt this myself, actually, but it'd be wrong of me to imply that I'm likely to follow through.)
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Instead of a frozen pizza, you might consider a frozen Boboli Bread with your favorite bottled maranara, mozzerella cheese and whatever else you can find in the fridge. My kids liked that much better and it was almost as easy.
Posts: 1167 | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Christine: Those $5 pizza deals are never worth the money, even by pizzeria standards...they skimp on the cheese and sauce and toppings and are noticeably lacking in quality.
Notice that I never said anything about the quality. Nor did the person who's quote I was responding to. He merely implied that it was impossible to feed 10 people pizza for 50 bucks, even 20 years ago. Which is factually incorrect.
Additionally, to respond to your statement, I actually was surprised by the quality of Pizza Hut's Pizza Mia, which is 5 bucks for a medium. It was much better than I expected. Little Caesars is pure crap, though, no doubt.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Dogbreath: I once ate a Dominoes pizza and ended up puking all night. I don't know if it qualifies as food - it's far worse than even cheap frozen pizzas I've had at parties sometimes, and has no flavor.
The last time I ate out at a pizzeria I got a medium pizza for $22... that was one of the more reasonably priced ones. (their concept of "medium" is 14") I think a pizza of the quality, ingredients, and size my mom makes would cost $20-30. She'd make 5 for about $15-20 total raw ingredients.
I believe you. That makes no difference to what I posted, or the incorrectness of what you said. See my response to Christine above. Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Actually, I outright stated it's very possible to feed 10 people pizza for 50 bucks, I was talking about how my mother would do it for considerably less. The exact quote is:
quote:(Enough Pizza for 10 hungry people could easily go over the $50 range in the 90s, I don't even know how much it'd cost nowadays)
"Could" being the operative word. I imagine you could go out and buy 66 of those 75 cent totinos party pizzas and feed 10 people to the stuffing point.
Posts: 2222 | Registered: Dec 2008
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I can't actually remember which DiGiornio I liked. It's been a while.
Due to a soy allergy in our littlest one, the only pizza we've been eating lately is Pizza Hut. They are the only major chain, apparently, who do not use soy oil in their pizza. We have to avoid a few of the toppings and half of the pastas and the breadsticks and the dessert breadstick thingies (cinnamon sticks, Hershey's chocolate dunkers) and the fried things but other than that they are safe. So that is what we get. Oh, and I always have to order the pizza "extra well done" or I don't like it much at all.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:It is difficult to dismiss homemade pizzas entirely. There are a number of different recipes and different ways to cook them that have surprisingly different results.
I've had home-made pizza made by at least 12 different people, using at least 40 different recipes and at least 10 different techniques.
I didn't like any of it.
I also don't like pizza at a lot of restaurants.
I guess I'm a picky pizza eater.
Yep.
I'm not sure if I'm picky or not. If I'm at a party, I'll eat whatever they serve, although such experiences usually serve to remind me why I don't usually order that stuff. I do enjoy a very wide range of toppings though. That's one thing you can't get from a pizzeria -- greek pizza with spinach and feta cheese or chicken and bacon alfredo or baked potato pizza with sour cream and chives.
Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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It crisps the crust more, if they're doing it right it doesn't burn. And it makes the pepperoni crunchier and the cheese bubblier and not so limp and soggy. It also results in more grease melting out and coming to the top, so if desired you can throw some paper towels on top to soak some of it up.
I order online and just put "bake extra well done" in the "special requests" section. If ordering in person/on the phone, I just ask them to do it.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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