# Pizza



## mika (1/6/07)

Pizza crust


....recipe

3 cups flour
7 grams (1 sachet or 1 1/2 teaspoons) dry yeast
About 1 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Makes approx 4 thin family size bases.

Add yeast and sugar to warm water. Allow to froth up.

Add flour and enough water to make a dough. Knead until smooth.

Return dough to a large, oiled bowl and allow to rise to about double
the size. Remove and knead again.

Roll out to desired thickness to fit pizza tray then leave to rise on tray about 1/2 hour.
We make ours quite thin.

The trick is to half cook the dough in the tray before adding any toppings.

Courtesy of another forum member, but I'm sure they won't object. If they do they can delete it h34r:


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## Jazzafish (1/6/07)

mika_lika said:


> Pizza crust
> ....recipe
> 
> 3 cups flour
> ...



I make something like that, only I add a middy of beer and use the Italian flour... with the picture of pizza on it!


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## johnno (1/6/07)

Vlad the Pale Aler said:


> Pizza




Now there is a topic close to my heart.

I reckon mika is on the money with that base recipe  

cheers
johnno


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## bugwan (2/6/07)

johnno said:


> Now there is a topic close to my heart.
> 
> I reckon mika is on the money with that base recipe
> 
> ...



We normally use pita bread for pizza bases.... where's the 'inadequate' emoticon? :unsure:


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## Randall the Enamel Animal (2/6/07)

Duck, pork and chermoula meatball pizza with pickled mushrooms, tallegio, basil and onion jam.


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## chillamacgilla73 (2/6/07)

I use a similar recipe to Mikas that I pilfered off a magazine that interview Nunzio from Il Padrino Restaurant(Perth). It was exactly as Mika suggested but Nunzios had a bit of olive oil and a secret ingredient - an egg....I'm guessing for the added protein would give the yeast a kick but I did say I was guessing  He won the "The Worlds Best Pizza" award from Sicilly or somewhere in Italy back in 2000...I dunno how respected the award is amongst pizza gurus but the base is a ripper.

My fave pizza recipe is..........sweet spud pizza
Pizza base(Derr)
Sweet potatoe cooked n mashed with a bit of salt n pepper n cumin (in lieiu of tommy paste).
Cheese
Toppings(Not too much)
Oven
Remove from oven when cooked n golden n tastey lookin'
Dollop sour cream and sprinkle a little chopped coriander
Scoff down with a light lager


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## Screwtop (2/6/07)

Randall the Enamel Animal said:


> View attachment 12908
> 
> 
> Duck, pork and chermoula meatball pizza with pickled mushrooms, tallegio, basil and onion jam.




Great looking pizza, I'll take one please. Not that hungry so can you cut it into 6 pieces, I couldn't eat 8.


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## MVZOOM (2/6/07)

Randall the Enamel Animal said:


> View attachment 12908
> 
> 
> Duck, pork and chermoula meatball pizza with pickled mushrooms, tallegio, basil and onion jam.



Quality mate - that looks wicked!


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## Vlad the Pale Aler (2/6/07)

Strange, I could have sworn I posted in this one last night.

:blink:


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## randyrob (2/6/07)

here's my one

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/Beer...d33-t14201.html

Rob.


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## braufrau (2/6/07)

oh man! am so hungry ... and cold ... those are fantastic looking pizzas!


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## Sammus (2/6/07)

same recipe for base that ive always used. mmm so much tastier making your own base!


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## razz (2/6/07)

Randall the Enamel Animal said:


> View attachment 12908
> 
> 
> Duck, pork and chermoula meatball pizza with pickled mushrooms, tallegio, basil and onion jam.


Pardon my igorance, what is tallegio? :blink:


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## NRB (2/6/07)

A type of cheese.


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## Pumpy (7/6/07)

Afghan Bread Pizza


The Afghan bread come in the size of two dinner plates it is 50% wholemeal flour and a crodss beteen a Leb bread and a Indian Naan bread 

I bought two for $2.30 from Auburn in NSW 


Grill one side lightly to firm back up 
turn over to the soft side apply 

I spread a thin layer of that Tomatoe Pasta sauce on the top added some miced beef and Hot Sopressa and fresh Basil few mushrooms and Onions Not too much Cheese Mozzarello sprinkled over 

Grill for about four mins

I less than ten you have a great feast for you and your mates when they come around for a 'Smicks ESB' beer



Pumpy


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## Pumpy (7/6/07)

This is how big the Afghan bread are


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## Jye (7/6/07)

Nice Pumpy... but whats that green stuff to the side <_< 

Love the glass, Im using mine right now.


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## Pumpy (7/6/07)

Jye said:


> Nice Pumpy... but whats that green stuff to the side <_<
> 
> Love the glass, Im using mine right now.




It is a bit of a half hearted salad to go with all I could find Jye  

Yeah Thanks to Ross , I love the glass  

Pumpy


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## Screwtop (7/6/07)

Gees Pump, what a talent, if I'd known it would have been Pizza back at your place after the George IV. Reckon we could have made a real mess in the kitchen after all that Bock


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## Pumpy (7/6/07)

Screwtop said:


> Gees Pump, what a talent, if I'd known it would have been Pizza back at your place after the George IV. Reckon we could have made a real mess in the kitchen after all that Bock



I did not last long before I hit the sack that day . :blink: 

Pumpy


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## Screwtop (7/6/07)

Pumpy said:


> I did not last long before I hit the sack that day . :blink:
> 
> Pumpy



Ditto


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## Tony (7/6/07)

Ahhhhh PIZZA

I have found the secret to good home made pizza is a good tomato base.

Dont use plain old tomato paste, its like brewing VB.

HEre is what i make.

In a small saucepan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and cook 1 medium onion finly chopped till tender, add i or 2 chopped garlic cloves, fry further 30 seconds (keep it sizzling the whole time) add a 400g can chopped tomatoes, 2 table spoons tomatoe paste, 1 tablespoon sugarand bring to the boil gently.
chop a big handfull of fresh basil leaves and add in, also chuck in a tablespoon of dried oregano and simmer till reduced by half and thick.
I put it in little plastic containers and freeze it and get it out when i need it, making the pizza yourself takes enought time, especially if you go with the fresh bread base like i do.

cheers


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## johnno (7/6/07)

Tony definately is on the money about the sauce. :super: 

Listen to him and it will work out well.

cheers
johnno


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## Juddy (7/6/07)

I found the secret to good home made pizza was to build my own oven. Heaps of fun, and the pizza definately tastes better! The mushroom and blue cheese is awesome! Roll out a bunch of bases, get all your mates to bring along some topings and have a heap of fun creating!





Cheers
Juddy


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## Randall the Enamel Animal (7/6/07)

Hey Juddy, that looks like a Russell Jeavons oven. Great book if anyone is thinking about building their own brick oven at home.

Best pizza sauce:

Cut a dozen roma tomatoes lengthways and lay them out on a baking tray lined with silicon baking paper. Drizzle with olive oil and season with lots of cracked pepper and good sea salt flakes. Bake in a hot oven for about 30-40 minutes until the tomatoes have reduced down by about a third. Using a wooden spoon and a fine stainless mesh sieve, push the sauce through into a mixing bowl and then discard the skins and seeds that have remained in the sieve. stir in a couple of teaspoons of sugar and trim the seasoning if you think it's needed. Delicious. Use what's left after pizza day for pasta sauce.


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## Juddy (8/6/07)

Hey Randall
It certainly is! Got a little put off by all the complicated info thats available on the net about pizza ovens. Then I was given a copy of Russell Jeavons book and he made it all alot simpler. Cheap, uncomplicated and effective! He's won me!!!

Cheers 
Juddy


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## Screwtop (8/6/07)

Me Too: Still using an indirectly fired oven that I bought some years ago, still havn't gotten around to building my own directly fired brick oven, thats a project for the future, but in readyness I have the book by South Australian Russell Jeavons, with foreword by Maggie Beer.

For those wanting a copy: Your Brick Oven, Building it & baking in it. Wakefield Press www.wakefieldpress.com.au

Got mine from Angus & Robertson


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## chillamacgilla73 (8/6/07)

Pumpy said:


> Afghan Bread Pizza
> The Afghan bread come in the size of two dinner plates it is 50% wholemeal flour and a crodss beteen a Leb bread and a Indian Naan bread
> 
> I less than ten you have a great feast for you and your mates when they come around for a 'Smicks ESB' beer
> Pumpy


Yummo Pumpy - I am a big fan of the afghan bread pizza base and your recipe is one I will definately give a try.

For the Sandgropers - There is a Lebanese bakery around the corner from work that sells afghan bread for $1.20 - 1 or 2 "loaves" depending on thickness.Mrs macgilla works on Fridays so these Afghani Pizzas are a friday night staple food.

Details - 117 President St, Welshpool - look out for the car bonnet leaning against the wall with "Lebanese Bakery" painted on it. Closed from 12-3.

Note: No afilliation other than they pry coins from my tight fist on occasions....


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## boingk (8/6/07)

Juddy, love the oven!!! I'm sure the pizza would taste better, I love wood-fired food - same thing with BBQ's, just doesnt seem quite all there if its not done over wood fires.

Anyway...my favorite pizza recipe would have to be something like the following:

1 lebanese bread thingy [type they sell at Aldi, $1 for 7]
Coat with tomato paste or pasta sauce,
Sprinkle with cheese and onion,
Whack some ham and pineapple onto it,
Sprinkle some black pepper and ground chilli on,
Throw in some capsicum and tomato,
And add some basil and oregano.

Top off with some cheese to taste and then do at 200'C for 20 to 30 minutes. Man...getting hungry...

EDIT: Yeah, reading back over the posts, what I use looks pretty much like an Afghan bread.


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## andrewg (8/6/07)

mika_lika said:


> Pizza crust
> ....recipe
> 
> 3 cups flour
> ...


Part cooking the dough is a good trick to getting the ideal pizza base and a thin base is a must IMHO! I also add a Tbspn of olive oil to the dough mix.

Favourite topping includes: sundried tomato, kalamata olives, capsicum, fetta, sliced artechoke heart, mushrooms, with basil, oregano, a dash of chilli, on a nice rich tomato sauce.

Like a good beer, a good pizza is all about balance! Not to heavy on the toppings and go easy with the mozzarella.

Ah a good homebrewed beer & homemade pizza - a marriage made in heaven :beer: 
I reckon pizza goes with just about any beer style too!
cheers
HStB


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## Pumpy (8/6/07)

chillamacgilla73 said:


> Yummo Pumpy - I am a big fan of the afghan bread pizza base and your recipe is one I will definately give a try.
> 
> For the Sandgropers - There is a Lebanese bakery around the corner from work that sells afghan bread for $1.20 - 1 or 2 "loaves" depending on thickness.Mrs macgilla works on Fridays so these Afghani Pizzas are a friday night staple food.
> 
> ...




C Mc G ,

Glad There are other Afghan bread converts ,

I thought no one would know what I was talking about  

Pumpy


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## Franko (8/6/07)

Ive been using Afghani bread here for years also,
I buy it from a fruit shop on the Hume Hwy at Casula.
.
I never knew you used it too Pumpy,Ive had Linz and Mel here for a pizza feast a few times looks like were going to have to get together and make a big night of it


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## Rod (8/6/07)

I use the bread machine to make the pizza base

4 bases for about 50 cents


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## fixa (8/6/07)

the bread machine rocks for doing bases. As long as you remember to set it before you go to work so the bases will be ready when you get home.

I like a pizza with lots of meat and cheese.

And anchovies. 

am i weird? (just about pizza's.. the true answer to that is a thread in itself)


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## AndrewQLD (8/6/07)

fixa said:


> the bread machine rocks for doing bases. As long as you remember to set it before you go to work so the bases will be ready when you get home.
> 
> I like a pizza with lots of meat and cheese.
> 
> ...



I'm with you Fixa, meat cheese and anchovies = yumm


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## Paleman (8/6/07)

Anyone ever tried baking a pizza in a Weber ?

A touch of hickory wood on the heat beads for a wood fire taste. Not as good as a wood fire oven, but dam close.

Mmmmmmm a nice meat pizza, and a rich stout. :beerbang:


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## Randall the Enamel Animal (8/6/07)

Paleman said:


> Anyone ever tried baking a pizza in a Weber ?


Yeah, the Weber works well. Pre-heat a heavy terracotta tile over the fire and cook directly on it (you'll need a baker's peel).


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## goatherder (8/6/07)

I read this thread with a heavy heart. I travelled through Italy a couple of years back and ate some amazing pizza. Simple, sparse toppings, not too much cheese. Simply divine. I can't put my finger on what it was that made them great. A few have mentioned thin bases and "it's all about the sauce". I think this is part of it. I wish I had all the answers...


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## Duff (9/6/07)

Randall the Enamel Animal said:


> Yeah, the Weber works well. Pre-heat a heavy terracotta tile over the fire and cook directly on it (you'll need a baker's peel).



Also, let the coals drop back a little. If you only have the standard metal pizza bases, use two if you are placing on the grill or the base burns real quick.


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## Duff (9/6/07)

Here's a real nice pizza to impress SWMBO.

If you don't make the base, I use the Bazaar thin pizza bases you can buy at Woolies.

Smoked Salmon Pizza

Spread base of sour cream and fresh dill. Top with torn smoked salmon, avocado chunks, crumbled fetta and pizza cheese. Fresh black pepper only, no salt. Bake at 200C.

As goatherder mentioned, less is more on a pizza*




*For SWMBO anyway, if you have mates around you've just got to go hard with a variety of flamed grilled animals and copious amounts of cheese :lol:


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## bconnery (9/6/07)

Super thin slices of potato, red onion and gorgonzola cheese, or similar blue cheese. Walnuts too ideally. 

Otherwise goats cheese also works well. 

Any sort of nice ham, veges to your taste, and slices of smoked cheese is another favourite.


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## Juddy (9/6/07)

Prawns marinated in the juice & zest of 1 lemon, lashings of cracked black peper and olive oil. Pancetta, tomato and monzarella. All cooked on the hot hearth of the brick oven! Only 2 mins to cook! And if using a pizza tray turn it upside down so the pizza is easier to remove once cooked!

Cheers
Juddy


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## Screwtop (9/6/07)

Randall the Enamel Animal said:


> (you'll need a baker's peel).



Do I detect a baking background, not many know the terminology, have you heard of a tro.


I'm all for simple and in the less is more camp as far as Pizza's go. Cant beat a Margeurita, named after the Queen and in the national colours. For the sauce, one large tomato and a clove of garlic thrown in the blender then spread thinly and sparingly on the base. Topping is simple, a slice of Mozzarella per slice (Bufo Mozzarella is best), Roma tomatoes sliced in half and placed skin down, a sprinkling of torn Basil leaves and a light sprinkling of Oregano thin crust is a must. Very attractive pizza and delicious.

Hint: for a thin base, dock the dough after spreading it on the pizza pan, stops it rising.


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## jimmyjack (9/6/07)

Just got a pizza stone with giant spatulla for the weber and gave it a go last night. Recipe as follows

1 honey squirted on large pita bread base
2 Margarita base goes on next ( made with tomatoe paste and oj)
3 sprinkle some motzarella on
4 red onion
5 baseil leaves
6 sweet potatoe slices (parboiled then bbqed)
7 spanish chorizo (bbqed)
8 chicken breast (bbqed)
9 cherry tomatoes
10 more motzarella
11 sour cream drizzle after done cooking

Came out just like the pros

Cheers, JJ


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## albrews (9/6/07)

HaigStBrewery said:


> Part cooking the dough is a good trick to getting the ideal pizza base and a thin base is a must IMHO! I also add a Tbspn of olive oil to the dough mix.
> 
> Favourite topping includes: sundried tomato, kalamata olives, capsicum, fetta, sliced artechoke heart, mushrooms, with basil, oregano, a dash of chilli, on a nice rich tomato sauce.
> 
> ...




hi, do you use all purpose (plain) of self raising flour or dosn't it matter.

lauckes crusty bread flour makes a nice base with corn flour rolled into the base for a crispy base.

cheers, alan


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## Bobby (9/6/07)

when I make my own base i like to sprinkle/coat the dough in semolina it tastes great.


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## albrews (9/6/07)

Bobby said:


> when I make my own base i like to sprinkle/coat the dough in semolina it tastes great.



hi, what ratio of non melting cheese (romano, parmesan, mozz-- etc) to melting cheese (tasty-etc) do you use , or what is recommended?

i tried tarragon herbs on a margarita (tomato) and it was a great tasting pizza.

the herb mix called "italian herbs" mixed through the cheese and sprinkled on top makes a great tasting pizza.

cheers.
, alan


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## Hashie (12/6/07)

Finally got my act together and built a pzza oven / bbq over the weekend.





As you can see it has a small fire in it, just to help it cure.
Next weekend, lookout it will be home made pizza in a wood fired oven with hand crafted AG beer to wash it down  
Life doesn't get much better.


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## andrewg (14/6/07)

albrews said:


> hi, do you use all purpose (plain) of self raising flour or dosn't it matter.
> 
> lauckes crusty bread flour makes a nice base with corn flour rolled into the base for a crispy base.
> 
> cheers, alan


alan 
I just use plain flour (never used S/R for bread)
Interesting idea on the corn flour - is this maize flour?

cheers
HStB


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## andrewg (14/6/07)

Hashie said:


> Finally got my act together and built a pzza oven / bbq over the weekend.
> 
> View attachment 13170
> 
> ...


Sensational set up Hashie
Somehow I don't think my crappy 4 burner gas bbq could cope with baking pizza - ok with the snags & chops but!
cheers
HStB


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## browndog (14/6/07)

Hashie said:


> Finally got my act together and built a pzza oven / bbq over the weekend.
> 
> View attachment 13170
> 
> ...



I'm really loving this thread, so much so that I want to build myself a pizza oven. Problem is, I don't know the first thing about them. Hashie, from the look ofyour design, you make the fire right inside the part where the pizza goes rather than under it. Is this how they work?If so then I gather you need a nice thick base to hold the heat in. Also, do you need enough room so that you can push the embers out of the way to get the pizza in? I had a look on google for DIY instructions but didn't really come up with anything suitable.

cheers

Browndog


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## fixa (14/6/07)

Yeah, i'm interested in building one too browndog. I gather that they are mostly brick with maybe a render over. The way i understand, the fire is indeed inside the hole on the left, and thats where the pizza goes.

Anyone with plans or dimensions etc?


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## Screwtop (14/6/07)

browndog said:


> I'm really loving this thread, so much so that I want to build myself a pizza oven. Problem is, I don't know the first thing about them. Hashie, from the look ofyour design, you make the fire right inside the part where the pizza goes rather than under it. Is this how they work?If so then I gather you need a nice thick base to hold the heat in. Also, do you need enough room so that you can push the embers out of the way to get the pizza in? I had a look on google for DIY instructions but didn't really come up with anything suitable.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Browndog



All in this Book BD and Fixa

Your Brick Oven, Building it & baking in it by Russell Jeavons. Wakefield Press www.wakefieldpress.com.au


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## Back Yard Brewer (14/6/07)

Screwtop said:


> Great looking pizza, I'll take one please. Not that hungry so can you cut it into 6 pieces, I couldn't eat 8.



It would go well with two things and I think you know what it is  

BYB


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## kirem (14/6/07)

Screwtop said:


> All in this Book BD and Fixa
> 
> Your Brick Oven, Building it & baking in it by Russell Jeavons. Wakefield Press www.wakefieldpress.com.au



Russell's is a great place to eat as well. Very popular not always open but fantastic food. Mainly pizza, but their is other food on menu.

It is in Willunga, near McLaren Vale in SA.


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## johnno (14/6/07)

At this site the author provides a free CD ROM showing how to build your own pizza oven. 

Some of the designs are fantastic and there are pictures of peoples ovens from around the worl who have used his knowledge to build one. These ovens are a bit large for my liking. You would need a lot of wood and people over to justify firing it.
I added the link in the links section a while ago.

http://www.traditionaloven.com/index.html

A better book IMHO is this one from Kiko Denzer.
With his method you dont need bricks apart from a few for the oven floor. You basically build a cobb oven which is using stuff available in your backyard, mainly clay. These are very old traditional wood fired mud ovens which are still in use today.

I purchased his book which is very easy to follow a while back now with the hope of building one myself but have not started yet.

http://www.intabas.com/kikodenzer.html#ovenbook

Happy building.

johnno


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## neonmeate (14/6/07)

i just go up the road to la disfida in haberfield. service is grouchy, grudging and sullen but oh my god the pizza is amazing.


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## Screwtop (14/6/07)

BYB said:


> It would go well with two things and I think you know what it is
> 
> BYB



Have the DVD Album now, watched PF while enjoying two bottles of FF about a week ago. Have to say, think I enjoyed yours more than the real thing. Been driving SWAMBO mad playing it aaaaallll day. Youngest son who play's can't believe how Gilmor pushes those strings about.


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## winkle (14/6/07)

browndog said:


> I'm really loving this thread, so much so that I want to build myself a pizza oven. Problem is, I don't know the first thing about them. Hashie, from the look ofyour design, you make the fire right inside the part where the pizza goes rather than under it. Is this how they work?If so then I gather you need a nice thick base to hold the heat in. Also, do you need enough room so that you can push the embers out of the way to get the pizza in? I had a look on google for DIY instructions but didn't really come up with anything suitable.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Browndog



Google harder, there are a quite a few plans out there, failing that PM me and I'll track down the one(s)? I've got (could be on my work PC  )


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## tangent (14/6/07)

they're right that book of Russels is the ducks nuts
he keeps no secrets and explains it simply.
apparently in the 3rd print run.
wakefield press


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## Juddy (14/6/07)

Browndog
The secret to the Pizza oven is in the base and the dome itself. For a pizza evening at my place I will light a fire in the oven at around 2 in the arvo. A good sized fire is maintained for around 4 hours! During this time the oven walls (Half a solid clay brick covered with 50mm of mortar, which is then covered with 50mm of concrete, which is then insulated with 50mm vermiculite concrete and finally rendered) absorbs the heat of the fire until they are completely soaked and will absorb no more. The base (150mm solid concrete and a single layer of 50mm pavers) also absorbs heat. The theory is that when you place a pizza in the oven it cooks in two ways. Firstly the conductive heat of the pizza in contact with the oven base, and secondly the radiant heat being emitted from the dome. The small fire kept burning also does two things. It keeps the dome topped up with heat as it were, and prolongs the cooking period, and it also draws cool air into the oven. Therefore the pizza ends up being cooked from above and below whilst surrounded by cool air! After a pizza night my oven will still feel warm 24hrs after it was lit! Some more piccies...





The dome during construction.




The finished oven.
The dvd from traditional oven.com as mentioned above it awesome. Rado the gent responsible is an absolutely artist and his ovens are stunning. Russel Jeavons' book is much simpler in both his designs and construction. Very impressive.
Hope this helps?
Cheers
Juddy


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## browndog (14/6/07)

Thanks for the info guys, seemd pretty easy if you stick to the basic principle constructing the oven with the idea of maintaining the heat as long as possible.

cheers

Browndog


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## Hashie (15/6/07)

browndog said:


> I'm really loving this thread, so much so that I want to build myself a pizza oven. Problem is, I don't know the first thing about them. Hashie, from the look ofyour design, you make the fire right inside the part where the pizza goes rather than under it. Is this how they work?If so then I gather you need a nice thick base to hold the heat in. Also, do you need enough room so that you can push the embers out of the way to get the pizza in? I had a look on google for DIY instructions but didn't really come up with anything suitable.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Browndog



Hey Browndog, Juddy summed it up better than I could have so I will leave that there. I have, however found a web page that has lots of styles and links for brick and earth ovens. For mine I used old fire bricks from an electric storage heater for the base, then pressed solid bricks for the vault. I then covered the lot with ~ 100mm of earth (adobe). The outside temperature of the oven is still cool enough to touch after a 3 hour fire on the inside.

I have the plans for mine on Autocad if anyone is interested.


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## fixa (15/6/07)

That'd be awesome hashie. Can you post them here or better by email?


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## Hashie (15/6/07)

I can send them via email fixa. You will need autocad 2004 or later to view, or volo view express.

If you have these, pm your email and i'll post it off.


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## browndog (17/6/07)

Thanks for that link Hashie, gonna spend a lot of time at that site.

cheers

Browndog


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## domonsura (17/6/07)

I have a copy of Rado's plans on CD floating around somewhere, pretty good, haven't had a chance to build one yet......the day will come.....


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## sluggerdog (23/6/07)

Today's Lunch/Dinner. Yum Yum :chug:


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## albrews (23/6/07)

HaigStBrewery said:


> alan
> I just use plain flour (never used S/R for bread)
> Interesting idea on the corn flour - is this maize flour?
> 
> ...




hi, either wheaten corn flour(white) or corn corn flour (cream colour) as in supermarkets . the very fine flours. yes the maize flour could be used. i have not tried the masa flour for it. (masa is a corn flour with a mineral added. ) wonderful for crisp corn chips.
don't forget to oil the top of the pizza base, before adding the tomato sauce to avoid getting a soggy pizza. canola or olive oil. etc will do.
sprinkle the corn flour on the table before rolling out the pizza base.

this is optional.(only if you are fussy) it only crisps the bottom of the pizza. added corn flour makes a crispy fish batter. all corn flour produces a rock hard batter.

i tried a lebanese bread base and achieved a nice thin crispy pizza base.

cheers, alan


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## johnno (10/7/07)

Some more pics of one of my favourite foods.

Had this a few weeks back.

cheers
johnno


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## PhilS (10/7/07)

Very Tasty looking Pizzas there Johhno, even Shrek seems to agree


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## jayse (10/7/07)

Did someone say pizza?
Heres zakk after a long recording session with black label society.


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## tangent (10/7/07)

i like the way Russell points out in his book that pizza is only a quick food to keep the cook going while using the wood oven. Traditionally a whole range of foods are cooked in it, with pizza being one of the few, flat, fast cook things that can handle the initial excessive heat.
Similar concept to the shared ovens in New Orleans where neighbours would get together to share the cooking facilities in a central location away from the house and keep the heat out of the home. (italian communal ovens too) A little ingredient from each family can make a great gumbo, but that's another thread.


----------



## NRB (12/7/07)

Where'd you get the nice pizza trays from Johnno?


----------



## johnno (12/7/07)

NRB said:


> Where'd you get the nice pizza trays from Johnno?




Hi NRB.
I got them off my mum. Not sure where she got them from.

I can ask her if you want. Might take a while to get an answer as she has retired overseas.

cheers
johnno


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## danbeer (18/7/07)

hotdogs AND pizza!

http://www.pizzahut.jp/whatsnew/050_070702_double/


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## johnno (18/7/07)

danbeer said:


> hotdogs AND pizza!
> 
> http://www.pizzahut.jp/whatsnew/050_070702_double/




and burgers/rissoles

johnno


----------



## fixa (18/7/07)

Those wacky japanese....

For a second there i thought the d*ckhead from big brother was working for pizza hut...


----------



## Adamt (18/7/07)

Just for those who want to know what's on that pizza... lol

It's a half and half:

Left Side:

Hamburgers, Green Beans, Corn :blink: , Red Paprika and Tomato sauce
Hotdogs on the outside have sausage and bacon in them with a "Fruity Tomato Ketchup" :huh: 

Right Side:

Actual pizza has non-humorous ingredients.
Around the outside are cheese rolls, which have Cheddar, Mozzarella and Parmesan... with maple syrup....


Those crazy Japanesies!


Edit: Yeah they are sausage rolls, they look kinda like those Vili dogs though. Tasty


----------



## winkle (18/7/07)

Eeer.. aint they sausage rolls? I guess you could add a pie floater in the middle as well :blink:


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## drsmurto (18/7/07)

Just cos i wanted to throw it out there, i dont use a pizza tray, i use a pizza stone. Put it in the oven and let it warm up with the oven. When temp reached slide pizza onto stone. Means both sides are cooked evenly. No more soggy bottomed pizzas!

Tis for those of us who dont have the pizza ovens being shown which are making me very jealous. 

My fave topping is fresh tom sauce, good ham, vine ripened toms and a fresh mozarella ball sliced and added between ham and tomato. A sprinkling of fresh basil and oregano and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Simple but delish.

Cheers
DrSmurto


----------



## afromaiko (18/7/07)

Adamt said:


> Those crazy Japanesies!



Yeah, and they will pay the equivalent of AUD $45 for a Domino's Pizza too! Personally five bucks is too much for me, but strangely I have begun to like corn and Kewpie mayonnaise on pizza now :blink:


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## Doc (31/7/07)

What about Pizza flavoured beer.

From here



> Seefurth, of Campton Township, was home one day last fall brewing beer and threw in some tomatoes, oregano, garlic and basil. He stumbled onto pizza-flavored beer, which is turning into a successful business venture.
> 
> .....
> 
> ...



Doc


----------



## Mercs Own (16/8/07)

Doc said:


> What about Pizza flavoured beer.
> 
> From here
> Doc



That is way tooooooo weird! I will make my pizza dough with a little bit of Coopers Stout in it just to give it that little bit extra!


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## Fents (17/8/07)

DrSmurto said:


> Just cos i wanted to throw it out there, i dont use a pizza tray, i use a pizza stone. Put it in the oven and let it warm up with the oven. When temp reached slide pizza onto stone. Means both sides are cooked evenly. No more soggy bottomed pizzas!
> 
> Tis for those of us who dont have the pizza ovens being shown which are making me very jealous.
> 
> ...



I use a pizza tray but it has holes drilled through it to allow the base to cook as well and its non slip. :super:


----------



## uneekwahn (19/9/07)

wow. this is a great thread guys.

my favourite pizza at the moment is to buy pre-made bases (although in future I'll be using the recipe in the first post) with some thinly sliced sweet potato and blue vein (roaring forties) cheese!

whack some pizza sauce on the base, sprinkle a small bit of grated cheese to hold the ingredients together, put your sweet potato and cut/crumbled blue vein on top, a little bit of cracked pepper, cook in the oven on the pizza tile for 7 - 8 minutes at the highest setting (usually around 250c), pull out, whack some salt flakes on it, cut it, eat and drink beer.

I'm extremely jealous of those with pizza ovens, but will definately be building our own ASAP!

Jason.


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## Fents (19/9/07)

for super thin sliced potatoe (sweet or not) use your vege peeler  cuts super thin so it cooks super well. boh!


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## sathid (8/11/07)

so, what yeast do you use in YOUR pizza base?

lol


----------



## uneekwahn (27/11/07)

Just came across this forum about wood fired ovens and the likes for those that are interested ... http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/

Cheers,

Jason.


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## Franko (28/11/07)

Just came across this site here in Australia looks pretty good
diy pizza ovens

Franko


----------



## johnno (28/11/07)

Franko said:


> Just came across this site here in Australia looks pretty good
> diy pizza ovens
> 
> Franko




DIY?  


Medium Oven Price
$1190 +GST & DELIVERY

Large Oven Price
$1390 +GST & DELIVERY

johnno


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## Tony (31/12/07)

Got a request from this 3 yesterday for daddys special pizza!

They stood and supervised the whole process, including helping to spread flour all over the kitchen.... it wasnt me 







Made them a simple ham and cheese pizza that they enjoy...... there was only one slice left in the end... not bad.






Good food is made with good fresh ingredients. I cooked some bacon with rosmary from the garden and garlic. Some fresh chicken thighs with petter and dried oregano, cooked fresh mushrooms, Cherry tomatoes strait from the vine,Miniture Basil and flowering Oregano from the garden. Pizza base made with home grown tomatoes stued down with onion, garlic and basil, fresh bread made with some of the base dough for garlic bread. Oh and beer  The base is basicly bread with some olive oil mixed in.






Made 3 pizzas...... From left to right......
No.1 - bacon, chicken, halved cherry tomatoes, basil, oregano and cheese.
No.2 - Hungarian mild salami, cooked mushrooms, black olives, basil, oregano and cheese.
No.3 - Hungarian mild salami, a few mushroons, cherry tomatoes, a few black olives, 1 chopped hot chilli, seeds and all, basil, oregano and cheese. (ooooo it was hot too )
HEre they are just before they went into the oven. Cheese was a bit of packet pizze sheeze and the little balls of bocconchini.






And here they are cooked.






ANd the rest is history 

cheers


----------



## PhilS (1/1/08)

They look the goods Tony, My mouth is watering


----------



## ausdb (29/4/08)

Last weeked we had a shindig at our place for about 60 or 70 people and hired a wood fired oven for the weekend. I made Dig's roasted tomato sauce which is the dog's bolloxs and about 10 dough balls and then through a friend of a friend got the majority of pizza dough from a local cafe with a WFO. Here are a few of my creations with the leftovers.
Ham, marinated eggplant, bocconcini


Finished result


Pepperoni, olives, roasted capsicum and bocconcini



There is only one problem, now I want an oven of my own


----------



## Tim F (30/4/08)

Speaking of pizza.... can anyone recommend a good shop in Adelaide to get a few peels and pizza stones? Or a lower cost home made alternative?


----------



## Tim F (18/5/08)

I made a tuna mornay pizza last night. Cheesy white sauce, par-cooked brocoli, sweetcorn, onion & fresh tuna strips that were marinated in lemon thyme, winter savory and garlic. It was surprisingly awesome!


----------



## johnno (10/7/08)

Here is one coming out of my cob oven.

Recipe is the same. Tatse of the pizza is 100 times better if that is possible coming of the firebricks.

cheers
johnno


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## pablo_h (11/7/08)

Since it's already been bumped, I've got to say, thanks for the base recipe. Gives me something to do with all the kit yeasts. I'm going to make them with what ever I usually do in a toasted sandwich when I'm cold and hungry. Chilli, olives, red onion, tomato and whatever herbs and capsicums are still alive in the garden, plus whatever cold meat and cheese is in the fridge.


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## Tim F (1/8/08)

Hey all, just wanted to share a resource. At http://www.fornobravo.com/ if you register with the store, you can download 4 free ebooks from their ebook section. They have a great one on brick oven pizza making, one with plans to make a brick oven, and 2 others about cooking in brick ovens. Lots of pics etc, worth checking out.


----------



## johnno (2/8/08)

Had the day off yesterday so we fired up the oven.

I was rather hungry by then.

cheers
johnno


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## hairofthedog (11/8/08)

for anyone thats intrested i just stumbled across this site they do 2 day wood fire oven building courses ive already booked it looks like a winner http://www.woodfiredovenworkshops.com/


----------



## quantocks (14/8/08)

I posted this in the other thread, but I bought one of these not long ago. has the stone in the middle, heats up and cooks a full size 30cm pizza with raw ingredients within 5 minutes.

Features
Authentic cooking system - top and bottom heating elements heat the oven to over 350 degrees celsius
1200 watts of power bake the perfect pizza in minutes
Removable 12" pizza stone ensures crisp, evenly browned pizza bases
Variable heat control
Cool touch handles
'Heating' indicator light
Sturdy, non slip feet
Easy to clean removable parts
Bonus 40 page pizza recipe book and stainless steel pizza cutter
RRP $129.95


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## Brewtus (14/8/08)

After reading this thread, I did not find one mention of my obvious secret ingredient - good yeast. Any clean ale yeast works great. A teaspoon of trub per cup of flour. 

For a each pizza base,
1 x cup of good Italian strong flour
1/2 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of trub yeast
water as required until dough is right. adjust with more flour if not right.

It is the best...........


----------



## bconnery (15/8/08)

I didn't go back through the thread to see if this had been covered but for those going the lazy route of pre purchased bases (probably a no no in this thread but sometimes convenience wins...) a tip I was given was to brush them on both sides with olive oil and put them in the oven for 10 minutes prior. 
Starts them nice and crisp so you can load them up 
Works a treat too.


----------



## ausdb (15/8/08)

Brewtus said:


> After reading this thread, I did not find one mention of my obvious secret ingredient - good yeast. Any clean ale yeast works great. A teaspoon of trub per cup of flour.
> 
> For a each pizza base,
> 1 x cup of good Italian strong flour
> ...


How long do they take to rise using brewers yeast? I just use the compressed fresh yeast you can get from some good food shops and it works well and reasonably quickly.


----------



## Muggus (15/8/08)

Funny this thread pops up today of all days.
Last night I made a couple of homemade pizzas, and one of which was an idea i've been thinking of for a while...the breakfast pizza...so I had to make it happen...
Didn't bother messing around with making fancy bases or anything, so I stuck with those frozen dudes, I'm focused on the topping...

Baked beans, instead of tomato paste, sprinkled with a bit of mozzarella
Plenty of bacon, browned in a pan beforehand
Breakfast sausage, cooked and sliced before hand
Sliced mushrooms
Wedges of tomato
Sprinkle with cheese...throw that in the oven then...
Egg, fried just enough to cook it through then put onto pizza 5 minutes before finish

And BAM...the pizza you could tuck into first thing in the morning!


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## Tim F (15/8/08)

With the egg on pizza I find if you either make a little wall out of some other ingredients or make a uniformly raised crust, you can whip a couple of eggs and pour them straight on. Only take a couple of minutes to cook. Lightly fried onion and egg is lovely on pizza!


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## Brewtus (15/8/08)

ausdb said:


> How long do they take to rise using brewers yeast? I just use the compressed fresh yeast you can get from some good food shops and it works well and reasonably quickly.


Just as fast or faster than packet yeast. No need to revive it either.


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## sabre (21/8/08)

Does any one have plans to build oven as below I am a boily with a big piece of 6mm ssteel that i can have rolled and access to plenty of refractory bricks
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...A:IT&ih=022


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## Barley Belly (22/8/08)

This thread is making me hungry :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2:


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## Tim F (24/8/08)

sabre said:


> Does any one have plans to build oven as below I am a boily with a big piece of 6mm ssteel that i can have rolled and access to plenty of refractory bricks
> http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...A:IT&ih=022



I posted a couple of great links at the bottom of page 5


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## Katherine (10/9/08)

Home made pizza,

We call this the Morning After

Pineapple chilli sauce base (home made)
Mushroom
Onion
Bacon
Egg

YUM!




Portifino

prawn
mushroom
bacon
Italian sausage
topped with pepper


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## fraser_john (14/9/08)

Two pizzas made last night, one is salami, ham, olive and egg, my daughters favourite.

The second (the lighter one) is my wifes favourite, salami, onion, capsicum, ham and olive.

I did not get a picture of mine, hot pepperoni, hot salami, onion, capsicum, ham, olive and home pickled jalepenoes! Yum!


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## juddda (14/9/08)

We made homemade pizzas this evening:

The base (enough for 3 bases)

3 1/2 Cups 00 Flour
1 Tsp Salt
3 Tbs EVOO
1 1.2 Tsp Sugar
2 1/2 Tsp Yeast
1 1/2 Cups Old Porter
3 Tbs Shredded Parmesan
1 Tbs Oregano


The Pizza had Bacon, Smoked Ham, Hot Pepperoni, Home grown chillies, Onion, Mushroom, Caspsicum & Egg :icon_drool2:


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## Katherine (16/9/08)

good base, Juddda


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## Tim F (15/11/08)

My wood fired oven is well on the way! Should have some pizza porn to post pretty soon now.


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## floppinab (22/11/08)

I've got a reasonably big barbecue with a hood. Been thinking of trying one of those stones in it for a while but being the tightarse that I am, I went hunting down the side of the house and found 4 terracotta paving tiles.

I cut them up to fit in the barby and tried a couple of homemade lovelies tonight seeings the wife is away and I'm batching with my three boys and one of their mates.

Gave the tiles a decent wash and gave them a good half hour to warm up with one burner on low to heat the tiles from below and a couple that were not under the tiles on full blast to heat up the hood.

Made up some dough using a Belgian Pale, flour and a bit of soy flour, sugar, salt and half an egg. I usually run some olive oil on my trays before putting the dough on, as a means of getting some heat into the dough. Of course when I went to pull the pizzas of the trays onto the tiles I found them very difficult to move as they were pretty attached to the tray with the oil so ended up cooking them on the trays until they were 3/4 done and firm enough to get off the trays.

SO, after all that, my question for the wood oven owners is how do prepare your pizzas before getting them onto the stone, and I'm guessing you cook them straight on the stone in your ovens. Do you load them on a tray or a slider??? Is it oiled up or dusted with a flour and can you can slip them off easily into your oven???

My end result wasn't too bad, needed some more heat in the tiles I think. Might connect up the high pressure reg. to the barby next time h34r:


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## Tim F (30/11/08)

The wood oven isn't done yet but I'd say it depends how sticky your dough is. If it is more of a normal dough consistency usually it's enough to just have a light coating of flour. Basically I have a peel made of a square of plywood with a little handle cut out. I flour my dough ball, press it out to the pizza shape, then scatter some polenta on my peel and flip the dough onto it. Then I add toppings and just slide the whole pizza off onto my pizza stone.

If your dough is stickier I'd just sit it on a piece of greaseproof paper, then pull it off the paper when it is cooked enough to lift up.

Oh yeah and here's how the oven is going


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## Fents (30/11/08)

going round to hairofthedogs tonight for some pizaa action tonight i think!


----------



## Kleiny (30/11/08)

Im thinking about doing this course in kilmore in march 

has anybody done this and was it worth it for $200

kleiny


----------



## floppinab (2/12/08)

Tim F said:


> The wood oven isn't done yet but I'd say it depends how sticky your dough is. If it is more of a normal dough consistency usually it's enough to just have a light coating of flour. Basically I have a peel made of a square of plywood with a little handle cut out. I flour my dough ball, press it out to the pizza shape, then scatter some polenta on my peel and flip the dough onto it. Then I add toppings and just slide the whole pizza off onto my pizza stone.



Thanks Tim, I had another go last weekend and dusted the trays first with flour instead of the olive oil, then half cooked the pizzas on the trays. They were then firm enough to pull out and finish on the stone. Was quite happy the result, crunchy base that held up quite well.



Tim F said:


> Oh yeah and here's how the oven is going



Yeah yeah , whatever....... :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2:


----------



## Tim F (7/12/08)

Finished off the oven (well enough to get it working, lots of cosmetic stuff left to do) and made some pizzas tonight. I only got one photo, of the last one. This was zucchini, onion, olives & chicken/pine nut sausage pieces, with rosemary. They were all pretty decent but I think I will get better with practice


----------



## bonj (7/12/08)

Tim F said:


> Finished off the oven (well enough to get it working, lots of cosmetic stuff left to do) and made some pizzas tonight. I only got one photo, of the last one. This was zucchini, onion, olives & chicken/pine nut sausage pieces, with rosemary. They were all pretty decent but I think I will get better with practice


That looks fantastic, Tim! You photos are great... they've got me wanting a pizza oven again... If only I could find some space for it. Front yard?


----------



## bonj (7/12/08)

And I just checked the exif data on one of them, and now I'm even more jealous... :icon_drool2:


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## Tim F (7/12/08)

Yeah go on, whack it in the front yard... no-one will notice


----------



## johnno (3/1/09)

Had some time today so fired up the oven.
First pizza of the rank. Next few are lined up.


----------



## quantocks (4/1/09)

Tim F said:


> Finished off the oven (well enough to get it working, lots of cosmetic stuff left to do) and made some pizzas tonight. I only got one photo, of the last one. This was zucchini, onion, olives & chicken/pine nut sausage pieces, with rosemary. They were all pretty decent but I think I will get better with practice



looks absolutely delicious Tim. How is the Canon EOS 5D btw? seems to take decent photos there


----------



## Steve (5/1/09)

johnno said:


> Had some time today so fired up the oven.
> First pizza of the rank. Next few are lined up.



:icon_drool2:


----------



## Katherine (9/4/09)

Another beautiful pizza... perfect base... 

Chilli pineapple base... bacon, mushroom, egg and cheese .... mmmmmmmmmmm

home made of cause... would love a pizza oven...


----------



## cliffo (9/4/09)

Looks fantastic...and that base does indeed look perfect. :super: 

I haven't bought pizza for well over a year - home made is just soooo much better


----------



## Cube (9/4/09)

Katie said:


> View attachment 26096
> 
> 
> Another beautiful pizza... perfect base...
> ...



Looks nice Katie.

Can you post or PM me the base recipe please 

:beer:


----------



## johnno (22/4/09)

And another shot for the pizza lovers.

Fired up the oven last week and cooked up a feast.


----------



## drsmurto (23/4/09)

Tim F said:


> Finished off the oven (well enough to get it working, lots of cosmetic stuff left to do) and made some pizzas tonight. I only got one photo, of the last one. This was zucchini, onion, olives & chicken/pine nut sausage pieces, with rosemary. They were all pretty decent but I think I will get better with practice



That is a thing of beauty and to think, its not that far away from me  

AMB meeting at your place Tim?


----------



## Katherine (23/4/09)

DrSmurto said:


> That is a thing of beauty and to think, its not that far away from me
> 
> AMB meeting at your place Tim?



His bread looks the bomb also!


----------



## bconnery (19/5/09)

Cube said:


> Looks nice Katie.
> 
> Can you post or PM me the base recipe please
> 
> :beer:


Another request for base recipe...
ANy others welcome too...
Our new oven has a pizza stone. It isn't a flashy outside pizza oven but it sure crisps up the bases nicely...


----------



## Tim F (8/7/09)

DrSmurto said:


> That is a thing of beauty and to think, its not that far away from me
> 
> AMB meeting at your place Tim?



Wouldn't mind cooking up a pizza feast actually but I have a bit of landscaping to do first before I'm allowed to let anyone see our back yard 

btw if anyone is interested I've started a pizza blog, hoping to make it a good home made pizza resource so shoot me any ideas or feedback!
Home made pizza blog


----------



## Katherine (8/7/09)

bconnery said:


> Another request for base recipe...
> ANy others welcome too...
> Our new oven has a pizza stone. It isn't a flashy outside pizza oven but it sure crisps up the bases nicely...




Ah you can cook a great pizza in a normal oven all ours are! though I would love a pizza oven. Lloydie has all the receipes in his head I there different all the time! The picture above is mixture of sourdough and normal bread from memory!


----------



## bonj (8/7/09)

Here's my recipe

500g strong bread flour
2 level teaspoons dried yeast
2 level teaspooons salt
2 tbsp olive oil
300mL tepid water

mix all ingredients together (no need to prove the yeast). Develop the glutens. I don't knead, I follow the French method of stretching by swinging the dough up and slamming down on the workspace, then stretching it towards you and fold it over on itself... and repeat until it's smooth and no longer sticks to the bench (method can be found in Crust (and probably Dough) by Richard Bertinet). I work with a fairly wet dough and use a scraper to scrape the straggling bits back into the dough. Preheat oven to 250C (highest setting on my oven). Prove for 1 hour (in warm (25-30C) draught free place (unpowered microwave)), fold back, roll out to about 3/4cm thick. 

Makes 2 pizzas

my favourite toppings (in order top to base)

~90g proscuitto, ripped 
200g grated mozzarella
4-5 basil leaves, ripped
~2 tbspn tomato paste

bake at 240C for ~9 minutes


----------



## Katherine (8/7/09)

> by Richard Bertinet) CRUST



great book....


----------



## bonj (8/7/09)

Katie said:


> CRUST great book....


sure is. Hard to work 500g flour with that method though. Method works better with a kilo.


----------



## AUHEAMIC (12/7/09)

After 9 weeks of trial and error Im getting close. Thanks to all who have post their tips and tricks in this thread.


----------



## Katherine (13/7/09)

Nice looking pizza Peels... I think your there.


----------



## Tony (2/1/10)

Made fresh Pizza the other night. fresh made sause from onion, garlic, tomatoe, basil and oregano boiled down till thick.... and left chunky :super: 

Ham and cheese for the kids






A couple of different ones.

One with Bacon cooked in rosmary and garlic, cooked mushrooms, fresh oregano flowers and fresh Bocconcini (right)

Other one with shreaded fresh Prosciutto, seeded whole black olives, cherry toms, fresh basil leaves and fresh Bocconcini (left)

we couldnt wait when they came out and i took a pic mid feeding frenzy.

I have been asked to make a heap of them for people coming to my kidds bday next weekend so i will be going back through this thread for inspiration 






With the left over dough....... i made a frw rolls. shaped the mup, let them sit for 10 min and thought.... bugger yas, in the oven you go. THey rose like little champs! they were yummy too.






Now im looking back as i recal instructions on making a brick, wood fired pizza oven on here somewhere. I mentioned it to the wife and she said........... sounds like a good idea :blink: 

GREEN LIGHT PEOPLE................ GREEEEEEEEEEEEEN LIGHT :icon_cheers:


----------



## Mercs Own (3/1/10)

Tony said:


> Made fresh Pizza the other night. fresh made sause from onion, garlic, tomatoe, basil and oregano boiled down till thick.... and left chunky :super:
> 
> Ham and cheese for the kids
> 
> ...




congrats on the green light - cant wait for that post! pizzas look great, bread rolls look great and your shun knife in the back ground looks great!


----------



## bonj (3/1/10)

Mercs Own said:


> congrats on the green light - cant wait for that post! pizzas look great, bread rolls look great and your shun knife in the back ground looks great!


Seconded. I introduced swmbo to the shun knives at the shops the other day and may be slowly turning her on to them... I'm a sucker for demascus steel. :wub:


----------



## Tony (3/1/10)

Thanks guys 

:icon_offtopic: 

I have 3 Shun's. They are bloody scary at first but once you slice youself a few times, you learn what not do do with them. Usually bad habits learnt using normal knives that wont remove limbs without you feeling it.

Bonj....... try this site. I got mine from here and they are MUCH cheaper than in the shops! I priced the one in the pic at King of knives for $355 and got it for $192 here.

http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/Produ...93&bid=SHUN

There not Demascus steel. here is a description from the site:

The blade is made from VG-10 high-carbon stainless steel, covered with sixteen layers of stainless steel alloyon each side, which gives it its distinctive rippled Damascus look.

I worked with some very experienced metalurgists while in PNG mid year and they use no other knife. They said this grade of steel will stay sharp for years if you use it on timber block and dont chop bones and stuff. Mine gets constant use and still as sharp as new. It falls through food almost under its own weight. I will take a pic of mine and post em up later if you want. Might make a new thread to keep it on topic.

cheers


----------



## bonj (3/1/10)

Tony said:


> Thanks guys
> 
> :icon_offtopic:
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tony. I was aware that they weren't true Demascus as they're stainless... but they are made from multiple layers like Demascus (and have a high carbon content, like demascus), and they look like Demascus... best of both worlds?


----------



## Fourstar (27/1/10)

The hard work done on Australia Day! Man they where good! :icon_drool2: 

Note to anyone with a hooded bbq that can get it up to 250deg. 

- Get yourself a sandstone paver ($6 bucks at bunnings) and pop it on the grill and close the lid. 
- Turn on all burners until you hit 250deg (and the stone is 250deg constant, most importantly).
- Turn off the burners below the stone and keep the ones to the side of it going while the pizzas cook @ 250deg~. 
- Wait 10 mins and they are done!

Almost a near perfect environment for pizza making and the results are shown below. (Photos taken from my housemates bookface)

Working the dough into rounds before their final proof.




SWMBO's pizza - Italian sausage meatballs, roasted capsicum, olives, prosciutto, goats cheese, basil and fior di latte




Leftovers pizza - Uber thin crust, everything SWMBO has w/ shalotts but forgot the basil




Cheers! :beerbang:


----------



## C_west (3/2/10)

Yea I got given a pizza stone by one of my mates, I use it in the bbq quite often makes some bloody good pizzas, even when Im lazy and just throw it in the oven it is a noticeable improvement over a regular oven tray.


----------



## Fourstar (3/2/10)

C_west said:


> Yea I got given a pizza stone by one of my mates, I use it in the bbq quite often makes some bloody good pizzas, even when Im lazy and just throw it in the oven it is a noticeable improvement over a regular oven tray.



i used todo pizzas in the oven w/pizza stone as i use the stone primarily for baking bread on. I was tempted to build a pizza oven of sorts but now, i certainly wont be doing it until im in my own house and not renting!


----------



## Pete2501 (3/2/10)

Fourstar said:


> i used todo pizzas in the oven w/pizza stone as i use the stone primarily for baking bread on. I was tempted to build a pizza oven of sorts but now, i certainly wont be doing it until im in my own house and not renting!



+1 

Once SWMBO and I have got our own home a pizza oven will be a must have item to compliment beer and pizza night which is every Friday night. :beerbang: 

Great pictures guys 

Edit: Can't splell


----------



## Howlingdog (5/3/10)

Built my own oven from Rado Hand's plans http://www.traditionaloven.com/ This was my first attempt at laying bricks. Plan came with CD including nearly 1,000 'photos. Very happy with the results. Was supposed to render the lot but SWAMBO said she liked it as it is. Takes about 1.5 hours to get floor to 400 deg.C Usually cooks a pizza in 90 seconds.


----------



## Fourstar (5/3/10)

HowlingDog said:


> Built my own oven from Rado Hand's plans http://www.traditionaloven.com/ This was my first attempt at laying bricks. Plan came with CD including nearly 1,000 'photos. Very happy with the results. Was supposed to render the lot but SWAMBO said she liked it as it is. Takes about 1.5 hours to get floor to 400 deg.C Usually cooks a pizza in 90 seconds.



holy smokes! how long did that project take to complete!?! did you have a few helpers on hand?!


----------



## bonj (5/3/10)

HowlingDog said:


> This was my first attempt at laying bricks.


but obviously not a tool tard like myself... that looks awesome. Were there any council hoops to jump through, or do they not care?


----------



## brettprevans (5/3/10)

Bonj said:


> but obviously not a tool tard like myself... that looks awesome. Were there any council hoops to jump through, or do they not care?


screw the council


----------



## Howlingdog (5/3/10)

About three months on and off to complete Dec/Jan/Febin the rain, I had to rig a tarp over. No council approvals required - not a dwelling. However, if you had it attached to the house or built internal then I suspect approval may apply here.

HD


----------



## komodo (5/3/10)

Pfft councils. 

Looks like a great pizza oven. I've spent many hours looking at Rado's site.
Getting my hands on refractory bricks and cement seems to be the biggest problem though.


----------



## Howlingdog (5/3/10)

Komodo said:


> Pfft councils.
> 
> Looks like a great pizza oven. I've spent many hours looking at Rado's site.
> Getting my hands on refractory bricks and cement seems to be the biggest problem though.



Komodo, email Rado and tell him where you live and he will tell you where to get refractories, second-hand timber for templates etc and second-hand tiles.


----------



## bonj (5/3/10)

Komodo said:


> Pfft councils.



I agree, but since I have a small yard, I don't want some nosy neighbour dobbing me in to the council in the future and wrecking all my hard work.


----------



## brettprevans (5/3/10)

Komodo said:


> Pfft councils.
> 
> Looks like a great pizza oven. I've spent many hours looking at Rado's site.
> Getting my hands on refractory bricks and cement seems to be the biggest problem though.


let me know what you find Komo. Im thinking of knocking one up myself.


----------



## komodo (5/3/10)

CM2 theres Darley refractory supplies (baccus marsh) who have an outlet called Silcom in Keys road Moorabbin (warrigal rd end)

consolidatedrefractories.com.au in greensy

The fire brick company in West Sunshine

refractoryandceramic.com.au in mulgrave.

Be warned refractory items are NOT cheap.


----------



## komodo (5/3/10)

http://www.firebrick.com.au/downloads/Tunn...0Oven%20Kit.pdf 

Link to a kit pricing from The Fire brick company in sunshine (actually reasonably priced!)


----------



## Howlingdog (5/3/10)

Komodo said:


> CM2 theres Darley refractory supplies (baccus marsh) who have an outlet called Silcom in Keys road Moorabbin (warrigal rd end)
> 
> consolidatedrefractories.com.au in greensy
> 
> ...



You could use solid red bricks if you can get them from a demolition yard. 
http://www.traditionaloven.com/articles/95...ick-alternative


----------



## brettprevans (5/3/10)

i can source solid reds easily enough. that could be the go then.

think ill go with the 'dome' style. just got to figure out where to put it etc and the design


----------



## Jye (30/3/10)

Bonj said:


> Here's my recipe
> 
> 500g strong bread flour
> 2 level teaspoons dried yeast
> ...



Big ups to Bonj :icon_cheers: 

Used his recipe tonight and made the best base yet. The better half enjoyed them nice and soft but next time I will cook it for a couple more minutes to get a cruncher base.

Recommend it to anyone.


----------



## Howlingdog (30/3/10)

Jye, have you got a pizza stone, that will help you get a crispper base.

HD


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (30/3/10)

+ 100 for the pizza stone :beerbang: 

also does an AWSOME cob loaf if you put the dough on the hot stone


----------



## Jye (31/3/10)

Yep got a stone.

Stu Ill be trying some bread as well next time.


----------



## Mercs Own (2/4/10)

Birthday Pizza for a bunch of 14 year olds.

Ham and pineapple - margarita with olives - BBQ'd Chicken, roasted capsicum, rocket, hoi sin sauce


----------



## browndog (2/4/10)

Jye said:


> Big ups to Bonj :icon_cheers:
> 
> Used his recipe tonight and made the best base yet. The better half enjoyed them nice and soft but next time I will cook it for a couple more minutes to get a cruncher base.
> 
> Recommend it to anyone.




Where do you get strong bread flour from? never seen it anywhere.

-BD


----------



## Mercs Own (2/4/10)

browndog said:


> Where do you get strong bread flour from? never seen it anywhere.
> 
> -BD



Strong flour is also known as Bread Flour and also "oo" flour. If you want to use a strong flour for making pizzas then buy a "bread Flour' or a Double O packet of flour. You can buy Double O flour at the supermarket and many supermarkets now stock Bread Flour also. 

Do not mistake bread flour for Bread Machine flour....although saying that I am sure you could use that - has anyone?

Lifted from a food site:
When you mix wheat flour with water, the result is the development of a complex protein called gluten. 
The higher the gluten content of a flour, the harder the flour.

Hard flour (used for making bread or pizza dough) has a high gluten content.
Soft Flour (cake flour / pastry flour) is lower in gluten content. 
Italian OO is an European flour, and is a 'strong flour' and can be found in gourmet delis. 

Normal household flours like those available on supermarket shelves (i.e. self raising and plain flours) are made from a low-gluten soft wheat. These will not give you the best results for a Pizza base. If you want a good Pizza flour you need a hard, high gluten flour, known as a strong flour.


----------



## Jye (2/4/10)

browndog said:


> Where do you get strong bread flour from? never seen it anywhere.
> 
> -BD



The box I got said bread flour but had the description strong flour on the side. Give Bonj and yell and find out where he gets his.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (2/4/10)

Bread machine flour is strong flour with a small amount of backing agents, thats all i use for Pizza, breads, cobs and Roti's

Laucke make "Wallaby Flour" in a 5 kg bag (approx $16-18 ), should be able to get it at most supermarkets, This flour is straight white strong flour with no additives

Laucke Wallaby Flour is a flour with characteristics that have been tailored to provide doughs that are capable of successfully meeting a wide range of Bakery requirements. Doughs produced are of good water absorption and balanced; being strong, extensible, and tolerant. Wallaby flour is used universally in the bakehouse and patisserie for yeast raised products such as standard white bread, bread rolls and most pastries, and specialist products such as pizza, hearth and flat breads, bagels and croissants. It is also used for most heavy fruit cakes, cream puffs, yeast donuts, buns and in fact for any product which requires a well balanced and tolerant dough. 

have a read of their web site, has some excellent info on flour, backing etc 

http://www.laucke.com.au/Default.htm


----------



## olde (2/4/10)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Bread machine flour is strong flour with a small amount of backing agents, thats all i use for Pizza, breads, cobs and Roti's
> 
> Laucke make "Wallaby Flour" in a 5 kg bag (approx $16-18 ), should be able to get it at most supermarkets, This flour is straight white strong flour with no additives
> 
> ...


Nice link, thanks Stu, am about out of my big bags of bread flour and was baulking at the idea of being reamed for buying 00 in 1kg bags. Thanks.


----------



## bonj (6/4/10)

Yep, Wallaby flour is one of the ones I get. There's another equivalent also in a 5kg bag. I just get whichever is cheaper at the time. I haven't noticed a difference with pizza or bread. I even tried a 50/50 split of the strong bread flour and organic spelt flour. Couldn't tell the difference there either


----------



## muzza (6/4/10)

mika_lika said:


> Pizza crust
> 
> 
> ....recipe
> ...



+1 for this! Made it tonight and it turned out so very very nice!


----------



## bonj (7/4/10)

Had some fantastic pizzas at my sister's last week. My brother in law built the pizza oven. I have photos which I will post in a few days. 

A really nice one my sister made was a caramelised onion and blue brie... Mmm tasty. My recipe above, I use to make 2 pizzas. My sister uses a very similar recipe but the same quantity makes 4 thinner crust pizzas. Both are good.... just depends on your preference.


----------



## Pennywise (9/4/10)

These are the Pizzas SWMBO, Feral & I eat on friday nights, usually kick back with a few beers and watch the footy (yes, real footy, AFL). Sorry, store bought bases, I grow the tomato's though  

SWMBO's vegetarian pizza (pffft, this isn't pizza)










My real Pizza

usual vegie's on the bottomthen ham & salami





bacon & cheese on top :icon_drool2:


----------



## Fents (9/4/10)

Throw some lamb or some other red meat on next time HB and its a meatlovers!


----------



## Pennywise (9/4/10)

Might give that a try tonight, that'll make the 5 food groups then hey :lol:


----------



## Airgead (26/4/10)

Some shots of the pizzas I made last weekend - 

Smoked salmon for the missus







And hot salami/peperoni for me




I also made calzone and a bunch of pizzas for the kids but they scoffed them before I could get the camera out.

Cheers
Dave


----------



## drew9242 (26/4/10)

I thought i was full after me dinner, but i could deffiently fit that in. Looks devine mmmmm :icon_drool2:


----------



## C_west (7/5/10)

A simple one from the other night, tomatoe, olives, pepperoni and cheese. Was still pretty nice though :icon_cheers:


----------



## Katherine (7/5/10)

C_west said:


> A simple one from the other night, tomatoe, olives, pepperoni and cheese. Was still pretty nice though :icon_cheers:



very good looking pizza.... well done on not overloading with toppings!


----------



## Barley Belly (8/5/10)

Katie said:


> very good looking pizza.... well done on not overloading with toppings!



The more toppings the better IMHO


----------



## Airgead (9/5/10)

Daughter's birthday party last night. She wanted me to make pizza. I spent last night making pizza for 9 7 year old girls - 

The dough divided and in its final rising







The Pizzafication station. Everyone made their own.




Some of the finished pizzas (actually these were mine... the girls were all very boring.. ham and pineapple)






I ended up making 16 mini pizzas (about 10cm across) for the girls and 4 larger ones for the rest of the family. I was cooking non stop from 5:30 till 8. The leftovers became these - 




Cheers
Dave


----------



## bonj (9/5/10)

Nice one Dave. I'm making pizzas tonight.


----------



## Jye (16/5/10)

Made my first dessert pizza tonight 

Cooked with sliced banana sprinkled with brown sugar. Then served with a swirl of chocolate sauce and a thick custard ... nom nom nom


----------



## Jye (18/5/10)

Here it is


----------



## Justin (19/5/10)

My pizza oven, what comes out of it, and the pull of the fire.

I'm a big fan of chicken, asparagus and brie. Awesome combo.


----------



## Kleiny (20/5/10)

Justin any chance of some pics of construction on the oven?

Its looks great i have not seen one with iron over in before and the door looks like it was from a second hand yard.

Kleiny


----------



## Katherine (20/5/10)

Jye said:


> Here it is
> 
> View attachment 38115



YUMMMMMM!


----------



## Sammus (20/5/10)

Anyone do bases like this guy http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm

Basically involves quite different to what I used to do (ie 1st post here). I think the bases he talks about kill any normal bases. It's all about Autolysing, wet kneading and cold rising. He's also very against kneading and rolling after it's risen. You just stretch it out with your hands. Best bases I've ever made by a looonng shot.

I'll have to get some photo's for this thread next time I do some up. It looks pretty much like the first few photos on his page, though I cant quite get the same char happening because of my low oven temp. If only I had a proper wood fired oven :\ My little pizza stone oven barely gets to 350C, it still takes 8-9min per pizza. I want 90sec pizzas!!


----------



## Bongchitis (21/5/10)

Sammus said:


> Anyone do bases like this guy http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm .....




Great Link! Lots of detail and pics and the pizzas look fantastic.

Thankyou sir.


----------



## Airgead (21/5/10)

Sammus said:


> Anyone do bases like this guy http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm
> 
> Basically involves quite different to what I used to do (ie 1st post here). I think the bases he talks about kill any normal bases. It's all about Autolysing, wet kneading and cold rising. He's also very against kneading and rolling after it's risen. You just stretch it out with your hands. Best bases I've ever made by a looonng shot.
> 
> I'll have to get some photo's for this thread next time I do some up. It looks pretty much like the first few photos on his page, though I cant quite get the same char happening because of my low oven temp. If only I had a proper wood fired oven :\ My little pizza stone oven barely gets to 350C, it still takes 8-9min per pizza. I want 90sec pizzas!!



That guy is the rainman of pizzas.

his dough though is almost exactly my 2 day baguette dough with a cold rise in the fridge. Just replace my ferment with the same quantity of sourdough starter and instead of rising on the bench for a few hours, rise in the fridge overnight.

He says his hydration is around 65%. I don't believe him. If he'd only adding 75% of his flour and adding little bit till it looks right I would say his hydration is over 75%. Possibly pushing 80. It looks like my chibbata dough and that's close to 80.

Cheers
Dave


----------



## Jye (22/5/10)

Airgead said:


> He says his hydration is around 65%. I don't believe him. If he'd only adding 75% of his flour and adding little bit till it looks right I would say his hydration is over 75%. Possibly pushing 80. It looks like my chibbata dough and that's close to 80.



Im giving his recipe a go this weekend and I think youre right about the hydration. I ended up with 85% (closer to 80% after kneading) to get a dough that looked like his. I have it fermenting in the fridge over night. Ill give it another go next week and let it ferment in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Also grabbed ingredients to make my first tomato sauce tomorrow, nothing flash but its a start.

... hopefully Ill have more pics tomorrow


----------



## Airgead (22/5/10)

Jye said:


> Im giving his recipe a go this weekend and I think youre right about the hydration. I ended up with 85% (closer to 80% after kneading) to get a dough that looked like his. I have it fermenting in the fridge over night. Ill give it another go next week and let it ferment in the fridge for 3-5 days.
> 
> Also grabbed ingredients to make my first tomato sauce tomorrow, nothing flash but its a start.
> 
> ... hopefully Ill have more pics tomorrow



I just worked it out. If you assume he is adding 75% of his flour then adds another 5% to "get it looking right" then he is spot on 80%.

If you just go with 75% of his flour and add no more you end up at 86%

I'd shoot for 80% straight up. You should be pretty right with that.

Cheers
Dave


----------



## Fourstar (22/5/10)

wow that guy is crazy sammus!

if you want todo a decent pizza at high temps, get yourself a sandstone paver from bunnings, pop it on the grille of your hooded bbq (you better have one!) close the lid and rcank all burners until the stone reaches 250deg (might need a sight thermo for this). once at temp, kill the burners below the stone and leave the side ones on for convection.

Best pizzas without the need for a pizza oven! :icon_cheers: 

My next attempt at pizzas will be a standard dough but the twist will be stretching it like a roti. after making rotis and getting a little practice its proabably a good process as there is no rolling, only stretching by air and some prodding.


----------



## Jye (23/5/10)

The results were awesome!

The base stretched out very easily and had some nice aeration through the crust. I can see this is as good as its going to get for me until I get a hotter oven or a proper pizza oven.

... I should have made more


----------



## Sammus (23/5/10)

What an awesome first result Jye  Looks tops!

I didn't think about hydration percents etc, I just took his basic method and followed it "thereabouts"

certainly shits all over the old dough I was making. Love that site so much haha.

If only those DLX mixers were available in Australia, I would have had one ages ago.... BB from denmark, anyone? 

Fourstar: poor student here that only has BBQs at other peoples house, so I havent aquired myself one yet. I will in good time though! Then I'll try your method. Either that, or I'm going to figure out how to override the thermostat in my breville pizza over and hook it up to one of the many PIDs I have laying about... that sounds safe, right? Insurance will cover if I burn down my house leaving it on, right? h34r:


----------



## Jye (23/5/10)

And his tip about trying less and less topping (Sauce) is spot on. I originally though I wouldnt have enough when making the sauce but ended up removing some and next time Ill add even less.


----------



## Sammus (23/5/10)

found some old pics of my first couple of goes


----------



## Jye (23/5/10)

Great looking char, I just cant get that with my stone/oven


----------



## Jye (27/5/10)

*Chicago Deep Dish*

This was now where near enough cheese, go for double the amount and then some more to help balance all the tomato.






I added the crushed tomatos straight from the can after draining.






It was good but I made the wrong base and the hydration was way to high. Plus it needs a lot more cheese and toppings to help balance all the tomato. But its on the list to cook again


----------



## Fourstar (28/5/10)

Ok, i'm making a trip up to the Queen Vic Market on my lunch break for ingredients. 

Pizzas are planned for tomrrow night. I will have to prep the dough tonight with how cold and miserable its been in Melbourne, the ambients are a killer with yeast based dough making these days.

After my recent Roti making experience, im thinking of stretching my dough like roti are done (the pickup and slap method).


Planned Pizzas are:

- Roast pepper, anchovy, basil, olive, Fior Di Latte and Meredith Goasts cheese.
- Fior Di Latte, Garlic Prawn and Chorizo (i wanted scallop but SWMBO wasn't up for it, dont know why, she loves scallops!)
- Proschuitto, Basil, Garlic and Fior Di Latte.

- Calzone for work with the left overs. :beerbang: 

I'll be using the patented Fourstar Hooded BBQ w/standstone method. Hopefully the weather keeps up. I'll take plenty of happy snaps to show the procedure and the beautiful results! :icon_drool2: 

I wonder if i can get San Marzano tomatoes anywhere? Hmmmmm.


----------



## fraser_john (28/5/10)

Fourstar said:


> Ok, i'm making a trip up to the Queen Vic Market on my lunch break for ingredients.
> 
> Pizzas are planned for tomrrow night. I will have to prep the dough tonight with how cold and miserable its been in Melbourne, the ambients are a killer with yeast based dough making these days.
> 
> ...




Sounds good!


----------



## Fourstar (28/5/10)

fraser_john said:


> Sounds good!




except for my spelling of _prosciutto_.


----------



## Fourstar (28/5/10)

Fourstar said:


> except for my spelling of _prosciutto_.



Well there goes 30 bucks on ingredients (ended up with enough prawns for 10 pizzas!) :lol: its ok, i'll anhilliate a few for dinner tonight!


----------



## Airgead (28/5/10)

Fourstar said:


> Planned Pizzas are:
> 
> - Roast pepper, anchovy, basil, olive, Fior Di Latte and Meredith Goasts cheese.
> - Fior Di Latte, Garlic Prawn and Chorizo (i wanted scallop but SWMBO wasn't up for it, dont know why, she loves scallops!)
> - Proschuitto, Basil, Garlic and Fior Di Latte.



I think my invitation must have got lost in the mail...I'd love to come ;-)


----------



## Fourstar (28/5/10)

Airgead said:


> I think my invitation must have got lost in the mail...I'd love to come ;-)



Get your butt on a flight down here and i'd make ya some.  otherwise you will have to drool over the screen on saturday night.

Hmmm, maybe i can organise a big pizza night on a day during the anhc?! Hmmmmm.


----------



## Fourstar (29/5/10)

Pizza night @ Casa Fourstar! :icon_chickcheers: 

Dough. You all know how to make it, formed to 4 rounds and going for their final proof.



Sauce. Basil, Tomato, Salt, Garlic, EVO & Pepper which was given a gentle blitz.




Toppings. Chorizo, Fior Di Latte, Olives, Roasted Capsicum. (Out of Picture) Basil, Prosciutto and Tiger Prawns.



Oven. Patented Fourstar Sandstone on 4 burner Jumbuck Hooded BBQ. :icon_cheers: 



Pizza. Before/During Cooking/After. This one was Tiger Prawn, Chorizo, Fior Di Latte & Chilli Flakes.






Next Pizza. Prosciutto, Basil, Olives, Roasted Capsicum Fior Di Latte. Check that awesome base/crust!




Final Pizza + Calzone. 
Pizza - Prawn, Olive, Roast Capsicum, Basil & Fior Di Latte. 
Calzone - Chorizo, sauce, whole egg, basil, Fior di latte and topped with parmesan.




Enjoy! I did! :beerbang:


----------



## Airgead (29/5/10)

Fourstar said:


> Pizza night @ Casa Fourstar! :icon_chickcheers:
> 
> Enjoy! I did! :beerbang:



Looks good.

I had some leftover ferment from the baking today so I made an onion pizza with it. Bit of an experiment. Just the dough covered in thinly sliced onion then cooked till the onion went brown. Take out, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

It was bloody good. 

No picture. It was eaten before the camera could be found.


----------



## Fourstar (30/5/10)

Airgead said:


> Looks good.
> 
> I had some leftover ferment from the baking today so I made an onion pizza with it. Bit of an experiment. Just the dough covered in thinly sliced onion then cooked till the onion went brown. Take out, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
> 
> ...



Ive been thinking about doing something like that or maybe some confit onions and shredded duck breast :icon_drool2:


----------



## earle (31/5/10)

I have made pizza's using the 4* method now about 10 times and can highly recommend it. I have a small stainless steel box for wood pellets and shavings which I sit on one of the side burners. After I pop the pizza on the stone I throw some shavings in the box to add some wood-fired flavour. I was a bit dissapointed when I got some scorch marks on the lovely looking sandstone but now I see the photos of 4*'s I see mine has a long way to go until it's authentic.

Last nights efforts
- Tomato and garlic sauce, baby octopus, avocado, spinach, capers, baby spinach and boconcini.
- No sauce, just brushed with olive oil, prosciuto, pear, fig, walnut, baby spinach, blue cheese and boconcini.

Sorry no photos, they weren't around for long enough.

Cheers


----------



## brettprevans (7/6/10)

BIG pizzza session on saturday.

sauce - tomatos (fresh and pasata), basil, pepper salt, garlic and a couple of anchovies.
dough - same recipe as Mika's (page 1) except instead of water I used 2/3rds Aussie Rice lager (had enoght left in the keg for the dough and 1 pint for me) and 1/3 water. I doubled the recipe to make 7 bases (2 nights worth).

Getting ready with the helpers (which makes the process a lot slower but enjoyable)



Helper #1 haveing a spirited crack at kneading 



Rest time (some beer for dough, some for the chef)



Some of the bases waiting around to be made



now for the money shots

Potato, garlic, rosemary, little bit of provolone and parmasan (hald with some chilli for me)




Sauce, Pumpkin, mozzarella, cream cheese (white blobs) and basil



sauce, procutto, cherry tomatoes, cream cheese, basil (and half with black olives for me)



margarita (just sauce, provolone, motzrella and lots of fresh oregono)



Ham & Pineapple for the girls (sauce, ham, pineapple, provolone and motz)




lovely crunchy thin bases. Standout pizza for me was the potato and suprisingly the margarita once I added some olives. really lovely and fresh. All about the sauce.


----------



## earle (8/6/10)

Pancetta, pear, fig, walnut, baby spinach and blue cheese.


----------



## Howlingdog (10/6/10)

Anybody wanting pizza stones check this out for 17 June ;-

http://aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_138...010-06-10-09-47

Seems like a reasonable buy.

HD


----------



## bonj (10/6/10)

I bought one of those a while back from aldi to supplement the stone I already had. You can't go wrong for $7 and while the stone is a little rougher than my more expensive one which has smoother edges, it does the same job, and the cutter works a treat.


----------



## brettprevans (11/6/10)

sweet. i could use another stone. cheer Hdog


----------



## drsmurto (11/6/10)

HowlingDog said:


> Anybody wanting pizza stones check this out for 17 June ;-
> 
> http://aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_138...010-06-10-09-47
> 
> ...



Jaysus thats cheap!

Have been looking for one of those cutters and also something to be able to slide the pizza off the bench onto the stone. A small paddle of some sort?

Anyone in Adelaide know where to buy these?


----------



## brettprevans (11/6/10)

DrSmurto said:


> Jaysus thats cheap!
> 
> Have been looking for one of those cutters and also something to be able to slide the pizza off the bench onto the stone. A small paddle of some sort?
> 
> Anyone in Adelaide know where to buy these?


have you got a nice flat brew paddle Doc? duel purpose item....


----------



## drsmurto (11/6/10)

citymorgue2 said:


> have you got a nice flat brew paddle Doc? duel purpose item....



No, mash paddle is a wooden spoon albeit 1 metre in length so no good.


----------



## earle (11/6/10)

They have wooden pizza paddles in the local catering/hospitality supplies shop here, $20-$30 for a 30cm one. If they have them here in hicksville they should have them in Adelaide. Bit smaller and more expensive than I wanted so I bought a piece of Portapanel about 45cm x 120cm for about the same price and will shape two paddles from it.


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## bonj (11/6/10)

I bought a wooden paddle at one of those kitchen stores. Robins Kitchen or something like that. does the job. I coat the paddle with coarse semolina and then assemble the pizza on that. The semolina helps the pizza slide off the paddle onto the stone.


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## bconnery (11/6/10)

Bonj said:


> I bought a wooden paddle at one of those kitchen stores. Robins Kitchen or something like that. does the job. I coat the paddle with coarse semolina and then assemble the pizza on that. The semolina helps the pizza slide off the paddle onto the stone.



That's what we do too, although we got a paddle with the pizza stone, either the one that came with the oven or another one we bought somewhere..


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## Gulf Brewery (11/6/10)

DrSmurto said:


> Jaysus thats cheap!
> 
> Have been looking for one of those cutters and also something to be able to slide the pizza off the bench onto the stone. A small paddle of some sort?
> 
> Anyone in Adelaide know where to buy these?



DrSmurto

Gaganis have an all metal version of the the pizza cutter. I haven't found a decent place for paddles in Adelaide yet.

Cheers
Pedro


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## drsmurto (12/6/10)

Gulf Brewery said:


> DrSmurto
> 
> Gaganis have an all metal version of the the pizza cutter. I haven't found a decent place for paddles in Adelaide yet.
> 
> ...



Thanks Pedro. 

I have been avoiding going there for years now. Way too easy to spend money there. 

But i need something to transfer the pizza to the stone, last nights effort was pitiful. A perfectly round pizza base ready to be plonked on the stone but in the short distance it had to travel it got twisted and stretched and looked terrible.


----------



## Rustyc30 (12/6/10)

> Jaysus thats cheap!
> 
> Have been looking for one of those cutters and also something to be able to slide the pizza off the bench onto the stone. A small paddle of some sort?
> 
> Anyone in Adelaide know where to buy these?



Hay Drsmurto go have a look down that Creative Cook on south Rd just south of castle Plaza in the new home maker centre on the left hand side of the road. I was in there today and they 3 or 4 different size paddles and the the stainless cutter.


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## stillscottish (17/6/10)

The sandstone paver on the barbie got its first work-out last night.
Finally nailed the dough after a few attempts. I found I was using less flour than Jeff Varasano and Fornobravo state. My dough ended up about 480 gm flour, 320 ml water, 10 gm salt, 3 gm yeast.
I only got to about 300 C according to hood thermometer but WAY better results than a 250 C oven.
I made 1 batch of dough 2 days before and the other batch just a couple of hours before. I intended to do a comparison but in the heat of battle they all got mixed up. The fresher dough was easier to work with but that was probably because I got the mix just right.

Now some tips for new players, i.e. me.
Don't be overambitious with the size of your first pie and make sure you have enough flour on your peel. First one ended up as some sort of doughy sausage roll.
Keep wiggling your peel on the way to the BBQ and it'll slide off like a pro.

Just need to work on my streching now.

Bellissimo


----------



## winkle (17/6/10)

stillscottish said:


> The sandstone paver on the barbie got its first work-out last night.
> Finally nailed the dough after a few attempts. I found I was using less flour than Jeff Varasano and Fornobravo state. My dough ended up about 480 gm flour, 320 ml water, 10 gm salt, 3 gm yeast.
> I only got to about 300 C according to hood thermometer but WAY better results than a 250 C oven.
> I made 1 batch of dough 2 days before and the other batch just a couple of hours before. I intended to do a comparison but in the heat of battle they all got mixed up. The fresher dough was easier to work with but that was probably because I got the mix just right.
> ...



View attachment 38828


Tossa  .


----------



## stillscottish (19/6/10)




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## winkle (19/6/10)

stillscottish said:


>



Black pudding and goats cheese?


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## dabre4 (19/6/10)

Has anyone tryed making pizza base with beer yeast? I've got no idea if it would work or not, but thought it sounded like a pretty cool idea. Why not wash some yeast, and use that as the water/yeast for the pizza?


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## brettprevans (21/6/10)

Doog said:


> Has anyone tryed making pizza base with beer yeast? I've got no idea if it would work or not, but thought it sounded like a pretty cool idea. Why not wash some yeast, and use that as the water/yeast for the pizza?


pretty sure its been discussed somewhere in the thread. 
so has using beer instead of water.

pizza making day yesterday with the kids after ive been interstate for work. good excuse to enjoy drinking, cooking and for the kids to make a mess,

usual suspects
smoked ham, pineapple, cheese + same with egg
pumpkin, cream cheese basil

then....bbq meatlovers: smoked ham, cabana, chizoro sasuage, salami, cheese, tomato sauce base, homemade bbq sauce on top. :icon_drool2: 



another margarita, with olives and fresh tomato. yum. a good homemade tomato sauce is the key and has now made the margarita a favourite if the sauce is good.



the stainless steel mash paddle got a working out doubling as a pizza paddle.

the dough was near perfect. and I brushed all of them with some rosemary/garlic oil i made about 3 weeks ago.


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## Mitternacht Brauer (4/7/10)

If anyone is interested I picked up a couple of 30cm pizza stones at Essendon DFO yesterday . 
Set comes with crappy cutter and a simple wire stand.
Two shops opposite each other , same stone set. $15 in one and $10 in the other . Marked down from $40. There were heaps . Am in the process of giving them and the hooded BBQ a test run

MB


----------



## Fourstar (4/7/10)

Mitternacht Brauer said:


> If anyone is interested I picked up a couple of 30cm pizza stones at Essendon DFO yesterday .
> Set comes with crappy cutter and a simple wire stand.
> Two shops opposite each other , same stone set. $15 in one and $10 in the other . Marked down from $40. There were heaps . Am in the process of giving them and the hooded BBQ a test run
> 
> MB



standstone paver, 6 bucks. double width sandstone paver 12 bucks. big enough todo two pizzas on a 4 burner bbq and available from bunnings! :icon_cheers:


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## MCT (18/7/10)

Left over smoked pulled pork, spanish onion, semi dried tomatoes and home made bbq sauce.
Cooked in a hot weber with a _little_ bit of hickory smoke, just to get that wood fired taste. Worked a treat!


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## Duff (18/7/10)

Mate, that looks fantastic.


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## mwd (19/7/10)

Duff said:


> Mate, that looks fantastic.



+1 wish I had not looked at the pictures now.

As a buyer of McCains perfection frozen pizzas ( when they are on special ) heated in normal oven.
Any suggestions for a decent shop bought pizza. Single bloke microwave trained cannot be arsed wasting valuable time cooking things up from scratch.


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## Steve (19/7/10)

Tropical_Brews said:


> +1 wish I had not looked at the pictures now.
> 
> As a buyer of McCains perfection frozen pizzas ( when they are on special ) heated in normal oven.
> Any suggestions for a decent shop bought pizza. Single bloke microwave trained cannot be arsed wasting valuable time cooking things up from scratch.



Just buy yourself some nice flat turkish bread or wraps (cant remember the exact name) and build your own pizzas and cook in oven as normal.


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## Mercs Own (5/10/10)

I did an article for Beer and Brewer Spring edition - Four Pizza's Four beers - here is a preview of the pizzas if you want the recipe you will have to buy the mag.


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## Banshee (5/10/10)

My pizza dough

4 cups of bakers flour
8 grams of yeast
400ml water
4 tbl spoon of brown sugar 
3 tbl spoon olive oil

For a traditional cold italian pizza (my fav) cook base with tomato sauce on it, let cool, smear with mascaponi, sprinkle on cracked peper, feta, olives and baby rocket leaves. mmmmmmm

tomato sauce = tin of peeled tomatoes, salt, pepper, italian herbs of choice (maybe your fav hop even) and some water and simmer to thick paste.


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## drsmurto (5/10/10)

I had to post the same day as Mercs Own is doing a magazine shoot :unsure: 

They look magnificent Merc!

Anyway....

After spending the last few weeks reading Dough (and Crust which arrived last week) i finally decided that i had absorbed enough of the theory to have a shot.

I have tried so many different pizza dough recipes i thought i would start with that.

First go at the hand kneading and was still sceptical that it would magically go from a sticky mess to dough after several minutes of belting it against the table (well, there is slightly more to his method than that but that was how my partner described what i was doing when her mother asked what the noise was).

But, after 10 mins i had a dough that didn't stick to the table.

Left it to rest in the fridge for 24 hours and then another hour at room temp before dividing up into 3 balls (2 went into the freezer) and letting it prove for another 30 mins.

End result blew me away. Easily the best pizza i have made. 

I didn't take pics but defrosted 1 of the remaining balls and made it again last night. A lot more bocconcini that i used the first time but the fresh cheese has such a short life span it seemed a shame not to use it. :icon_drool2: 

Crust was gorgeous, it puffed up like i have never seen pizza dough before. Nice crispy base. The sauce is just semi-dried tomatoes processed to a paste with a little water added. Then ham, olives, artichoke hearts and bocconcini.








Gulf Brewery said:


> DrSmurto
> 
> Gaganis have an all metal version of the the pizza cutter. I haven't found a decent place for paddles in Adelaide yet.
> 
> ...



Found a peel at Gaganis Bros the perfect size for a pizza on the standard sized pizza stone.

EDIT - spelling


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## Mercs Own (5/10/10)

so you did the pizza dough out of the book????

I have never done a cold pizza dough recipe but have heard good things. Is that what you did? I will have to look up the book.

Looks good although a little hot on the outsides hey  been there done that!


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## Ducatiboy stu (5/10/10)

I also love using Pita/Lebanese bread for bases as well... :icon_drool2:


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## drsmurto (6/10/10)

Mercs Own said:


> so you did the pizza dough out of the book????
> 
> I have never done a cold pizza dough recipe but have heard good things. Is that what you did? I will have to look up the book.
> 
> Looks good although a little hot on the outsides hey  been there done that!



Yes, made the pizza dough recipe out of the book (Dough) and left it to prove for 24 hours in the fridge. Took it out to warm up to room temp and let it sit for another hour. Made into 3 balls and left them to prove for another 30 mins.

He suggests the slow rising time produces some acidity which goes well in a pizza.

Photo makes it look more burnt than it is (i bet we all say that about our food photos) but the outside are a tad crispy. The recipe says 10-12 mins at 250C and i pulled this out after 8 mins so my oven is clearly a touch hotter than the knob tells me. 

The trick is not to walk away and forget you are cooking........  having the memory of a goldfish makes it that little bit more challenging.


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## olde (7/10/10)

You wouldn't be the first to be led astray by a knob.
24 hrs is pretty close, I like to leave mine 36hrs, it just seems to develop more stretch without too much elasticity. Hard to describe, but elastic drives me nuts.


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## Mercs Own (7/10/10)

oldy said:


> You wouldn't be the first to be led astray by a knob.
> 24 hrs is pretty close, I like to leave mine 36hrs, it just seems to develop more stretch without too much elasticity. Hard to describe, but elastic drives me nuts.


 
Yeah drives me nuts too!


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## brett mccluskey (16/10/10)

if you want to see some pizzas that will amaze and probably disgust you , check out FXcuisine.com and look for deep fried pizzas ,scottish, and traditional italian pizza frittata. the article on scottish deep fried is hilarious,and the photos make you wonder. :icon_vomit:


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## brett mccluskey (16/10/10)

the deep fried cheese burger is even funnier :lol:


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## komodo (3/11/10)

http://www.instructables.com/id/BBQ-Pizza-Dome/ ...


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## Supra-Jim (4/11/10)

Interesting link Komodo. Seems like quite a bit of effort however.

I've had really good success in faking the 'wood fired experience' by using a pizza stone (and a good old paving stone for two pizzas at once) in the bbq. The secret is throwing in the smoker box with some wood chips. Get the bbq nice and hot (burners on full) and your pizza will cook in around 3-4mins. This is just long enough to for the smoke to give the impression it has been cooked near a flame. 

Cheers SJ


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## Duff (16/11/10)

I got some pizza stuff recently for my birthday. One of the things was a pre-mix of pizza base flour. I don't know if it has been mentioned in this thread, but the pre-mix flour had semolina incorporated into it. It was the best base I have ever tried, real crispy and great flavour. Anyone ever mixed semolina in theirs??

The maker of the flour mix was Home Bread in Virginia, Brisbane.


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## Mercs Own (16/11/10)

The last time I made pizzas I put 10% semolina into the 'oo' flour mix ie 900g of 'oo' flour and 100g of semolina. I have heard some people put 20% into the mix.

I didnt like it as I felt it made the base a little chewy in a tough way. I normally can get a nice textured soft chewy base but the semolina seemed to add a cardboard type toughness to it - no I didnt overcook the pizza's! It didnt make me want to add the semolina in again however some pizza makers - pros and home cooks swear by it.


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## Duff (16/11/10)

I guess that's what it was like Merc. It made the base tougher and when rolled out thin was very crispy and crunchy.

Sort of like K&K brewing for pizza base  Just add yeast and water.....

Come north and do a fresh prawn pizza for your show. There are some great restaurants in Port Douglas which have just hosted the contestants from the English version of Masterchef.


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## bonj (16/11/10)

I guess it depends on your personal preference. I like my bases without semolina (I do use coarse semolina on the paddle to help the base slide off), but I like a thicker breadier base. I get 2 pizzas out of 500g flour, whereas my sister makes 4 out of the same amount.


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## NickB (24/11/10)

From a couple of nights ago, 2 x Cheesy Crust (with Gruyere)






Yum yum!


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## Mercs Own (26/11/10)

Bonj said:


> I guess it depends on your personal preference. I like my bases without semolina (I do use coarse semolina on the paddle to help the base slide off), but I like a thicker breadier base. I get 2 pizzas out of 500g flour, whereas my sister makes 4 out of the same amount.



I get 6 pizza's out of 650g of flour. I also use quite a bit of yeast (4 teaspoons) which I finds makes the dough quite soft and makes the crust nice and softly chewy.


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## earle (26/11/10)

Good looking pizza's in latest edition of Beer & Brewer Merc. I'm also a bit jealous of anyone with a pizza oven, even though the ones I do on sandstone in the BBQ come out great it doesn't create the same kind of atmosphere.


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## brettprevans (26/11/10)

Mercs Own said:


> I get 6 pizza's out of 650g of flour. I also use quite a bit of yeast (4 teaspoons) which I finds makes the dough quite soft and makes the crust nice and softly chewy.


i use between 650 and 800g and get 6 or 7 pizza like you paul. lots of yeast and proofing and yummy thin crisp chewy bases. in fact i might make pizzas with the kids this weekend now that its on my mind. even if our oven is a shite electric element one with no fan :angry: 

gotta love semolina on the bottom of the pizzas. adds a little something extra i recon.


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## Supra-Jim (26/11/10)

earle said:


> Good looking pizza's in latest edition of Beer & Brewer Merc. I'm also a bit jealous of anyone with a pizza oven, even though the ones I do on sandstone in the BBQ come out great it doesn't create the same kind of atmosphere.



Hey earle, I do the same thing. If you want to try to get closer to the woodfired effect, get yourself little smoker box and some smoking chips and put these into your bbq. Prosciutto and mushroom pizza cooked in a smokey bbq is lovely. Also if you want to experiement before buying a smoking box. Get some chips, soak them in water and make a little parcel to hold them (1/2-1 cup) out of al foil and poke plenty of holes in it.

Cheers SJ


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## seemax (26/11/10)

I don't even bother weighing the ingredients which means I'm either lazy or have been making pizza too often (mostly latter as my kids can't get enough).

I too use more yeast than typical recipes suggest, sprinkling it on top of warm water with dissolved sugar to make a starter.

Then in the mixing bowls goes the "OO" flour (the italian stuff from woolies) or other strong unbleached bakers flour, a large pinch of salt and splash of extra virgin... then add yeast starter after its frothed up... add warm water until the dough hook starts slapping the mix against the sides, then mix for 10mins until its soft and no longer visibly wet. Rise for an 1hr or so. 

I also made my own mozzarella last week with some full fat milk, citric acid and junket (both from supermarket)... fresh fluffy cheese in about 1.5hrs!!


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## Mercs Own (26/11/10)

citymorgue2 said:


> i use between 650 and 800g and get 6 or 7 pizza like you paul. lots of yeast and proofing and yummy thin crisp chewy bases. in fact i might make pizzas with the kids this weekend now that its on my mind. even if our oven is a shite electric element one with no fan :angry:
> 
> gotta love semolina on the bottom of the pizzas. adds a little something extra i recon.



In my article in beer and brewer I wrote it when I was still putting my pizzas on a pizza pan in the wood fired oven. I have now worked my oven temps out properly and make my pizzas by sprinkling the semolina onto my pizza paddle then putting my rolled out dough onto the paddle and topping them up then sliding the dough off the paddle into the oven! SO much better although I need to be careful as the excess semolina burns and can leave burn marks and taste on the pizza crust so when I turn the pizzas and move them around the oven I will sweep the semolina into the fire so I have a clean oven floor.

Sorry about your oven hope Santa is generous!


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## earle (26/11/10)

Supra-Jim said:


> Hey earle, I do the same thing. If you want to try to get closer to the woodfired effect, get yourself little smoker box and some smoking chips and put these into your bbq. Prosciutto and mushroom pizza cooked in a smokey bbq is lovely. Also if you want to experiement before buying a smoking box. Get some chips, soak them in water and make a little parcel to hold them (1/2-1 cup) out of al foil and poke plenty of holes in it.
> 
> Cheers SJ


Hi SJ

Yep, have a smoker box and a variety of wood pellets such as the hickory and jack daniels from big green shed and some shavings from BCF. Use for pizza and roasts, smoked some chicken breasts for pizza the other day as well. Gotta love the smokey smell. 

What I meant about atmosphere is that its not quite the same entertaining around the BBQ as it would be around a pizza oven with a real fire.


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## Supra-Jim (26/11/10)

Got it earle, my 'fake woodfired pizzas' have convinced SWMBO that when we reno the entertaining area a pizza oven is approved!!!

Cheers SJ


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## brettprevans (29/11/10)

ended up making pizzas yesterday and did the fake wood fire also. not sure id be arsed doing it again if it was just for the immediate family. but a nice change.

learned that apparently you should not only wear shoes when brewing but also when making pizzas.... taking one out of the oven and dropped it topping side down onto my foot...hot cheese burns a fair bit! luckily it was pizza #6 and the last one.

the other change in this batch was that i made the dough on saturday and left it in the fridge overnight to develop a little lactic. made a noticble differance to taste and texture, yummo!


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## Mercs Own (29/11/10)

10 second rule??? Toe hair in the cheese?


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## Airgead (29/11/10)

Mercs Own said:


> 10 second rule??? Toe hair in the cheese?



Better than toe jam...


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## brettprevans (29/11/10)

Mercs Own said:


> 10 second rule??? Toe hair in the cheese?


I was tempted, it still looked ok. but alas the dogs ate well and scoffed it in 2sec flat.


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## Ducatiboy stu (1/12/10)

citymorgue2 said:


> the other change in this batch was that i made the dough on saturday and left it in the fridge overnight to develop a little lactic. made a noticble differance to taste and texture, yummo!



Yep... Thats makes it sort of like a sourdough... gives a nice tangy taste to the bread....

Try doing a proper sourdogh base, will take about 2 dyas for it to ferment and be ready...


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## drsmurto (1/12/10)

citymorgue2 said:


> ended up making pizzas yesterday and did the fake wood fire also. not sure id be arsed doing it again if it was just for the immediate family. but a nice change.
> 
> learned that apparently you should not only wear shoes when brewing but also when making pizzas.... taking one out of the oven and dropped it topping side down onto my foot...hot cheese burns a fair bit! luckily it was pizza #6 and the last one.
> *
> the other change in this batch was that i made the dough on saturday and left it in the fridge overnight to develop a little lactic. made a noticble differance to taste and texture, yummo!*



It's how i make my pizza doughs. I use the recipe from Dough and leave it in the fridge for 24h.


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## Katherine (1/12/10)

Im getting a pizza oven... whoooooooo!


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## Supra-Jim (1/12/10)

DrSmurto said:


> It's how i make my pizza doughs. I use the recipe from Dough and leave it in the fridge for 24h.



Hi Doc, can you post up that recipe, unless I've missed it and it has already been posted!

Cheers SJ


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## bonj (1/12/10)

citymorgue2 said:


> I was tempted, it still looked ok. but alas the dogs ate well and scoffed it in 2sec flat.


And as a result, citymorgue2 is now missing a toe


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## brettprevans (2/12/10)

Katie said:


> Im getting a pizza oven... whoooooooo!


you go KT girl. hopefully we will see a return to copies amounts of food porn pics posted by yourself. been a severe lack of it recently IMO.

oh and come back to the dark side....



Bonj said:


> And as a result, citymorgue2 is now missing a toe


better a toe than something else! toe pizza huh? little chipolata sausages smooshed to be made to look like toes on a pizza could be a hit with kids


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## Katherine (2/12/10)

It will be awhile before the pizza oven does go up but once it does yeahhhhooo! yeah I have being slack with the photos. Ive still being cooking amazing food as I have an amazing man to to feed but forgetting to take the shots.

Ive got to much on in regards to $$$$ at the moment to even think of buying a fermenter other than the rest of it... but karma got me in a good way in regards to giving that away to charity.. but I still lurk around the site!


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## Mercs Own (4/12/10)

Katie said:


> It will be awhile before the pizza oven does go up but once it does yeahhhhooo! yeah I have being slack with the photos. Ive still being cooking amazing food as I have an amazing man to to feed but forgetting to take the shots.
> 
> Ive got to much on in regards to $$$$ at the moment to even think of buying a fermenter other than the rest of it... but karma got me in a good way in regards to giving that away to charity.. but I still lurk around the site!


 Hey Katie, great news re pizza oven!!! What are you getting? Being that you are in Perth/Freo you have some good options as it seems to be the home of Pizza/wood fired oven makers in OZ. I quite like old Tom and his ovens in Freo but I did get an Al Fresco which are built by a family up near Wanneroo and love it.

Look forward to seeing what you get and whet you make.

If you are thinking of buying a Mediterannean oven have a good look at them....


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## Katherine (6/12/10)

Mercs Own said:


> Hey Katie, great news re pizza oven!!! What are you getting? Being that you are in Perth/Freo you have some good options as it seems to be the home of Pizza/wood fired oven makers in OZ. I quite like old Tom and his ovens in Freo but I did get an Al Fresco which are built by a family up near Wanneroo and love it.
> 
> Look forward to seeing what you get and whet you make.
> 
> If you are thinking of buying a Mediterannean oven have a good look at them....



Cheers Merc 

thanks for the tip... we are going to make it so looking for DIY... looking forward to it will be lots of fun. But yet to build the pargola, paving, gardens etc. Living in a back yard of sand at the moment.


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## Acasta (3/2/11)

Last night after a few drinks me and a mate decided it was time to make the most amazing pizza. Ever.
Spaghetti - Parma - Pizza
As the name suggests, its pizza base, then with spaghetti bolognese and parmesan cheese, topped with a chicken schnitzel ham sause, then pizza cheese, fresh basil and oregano.


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## Duff (10/2/11)

:lol:


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## Fents (10/2/11)

Acasta said:


> Last night after a few drinks me and a mate decided it was time to make the most amazing pizza. Ever.
> Spaghetti - Parma - Pizza
> As the name suggests, its pizza base, then with spaghetti bolognese and parmesan cheese, topped with a chicken schnitzel ham sause, then pizza cheese, fresh basil and oregano.
> 
> ...



That rocks!


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## Pennywise (10/2/11)

You sir, are a freaking genius. So how was it?


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## Katherine (10/2/11)

Little Ceasars in Mundaring do it....


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## Sully (6/3/11)

Just thought I would put a few pics up of the woodfired pizzas we have done lately.

















Loving the woodfired oven.

Cheers

Sully


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## InCider (6/3/11)

Great work Sully!!!


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## Tim F (4/6/11)

I just smoked a nice chicken breast that I've had curing and thought why not make a pizza!




Smoked chicken, sweet chilli relish, jalapeno and fresh tomato. Nearly everything on it homemade or home grown :icon_cheers: 

Not the most professional looking pizza but tasty!


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## Supra-Jim (5/6/11)

Nice work Tim, that looks great!

Cheers SJ


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## Katherine (7/6/11)

Tim F said:


> I just smoked a nice chicken breast that I've had curing and thought why not make a pizza!
> 
> View attachment 46151
> 
> ...



What are you talking about it looks the bomb...


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## drfad (6/3/12)

I put together some pizzas on the weekend using some of my re-cultured US05 for the yeast with excellent results. It didn't rise as much as the usual bakers yeast, but gave the crust a much less bready flavour.

Has anyone tried any other yeasts with success (or failure)?


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## BobtheBrewer (11/3/12)

I am looking for some help from you experienced pizza makers. I use a pizza stone but have a problem. I roll my dough out on a well floured wooden paddle, then add the topping. My problem is getting the pizza onto the stone, it never slides easily and I usually end up with the back end of the pizza piled up. How do I get that sucker to slide evenly?


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## Tim F (11/3/12)

When you say you roll your dough out on the peel, do you mean you actually shape it by rolling it out with a pin on the peel?
If so you would be better off shaping your pizza on a counter, other board etc (preferably by stretching and pressing than rolling, got some pics of how I shape the base here) and then putting it on your floured peel and topping it. Don't leave it sitting on the peel for too long, at least until you get a feel for it.

Before you slide the pizza off the peel you can check that it hasn't stuck down by holding the peel flat on a counter and giving it a shake back and forth, starting very gently so you don't disturb the toppings. The pizza should move freely on the peel - if it doesn't you'll need to fix where it has stuck before you slide it in. If it is just a damp spot you can carefully lift an edge and rub a bit of flour under where it has stuck. If it isn't stuck too badly you can increase the shaking back and forth slowly and that will often be enough to unstick it. If it is stuck all over you need to either use a drier dough or make sure the base has more flour on the outside before you put it on the peel. Another thing you can try is using rice flour or semolina on your peel to help the dough slide off - both are less sticky than plain flour.


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## freezkat (12/3/12)

Birkdale Bob said:


> I am looking for some help from you experienced pizza makers. I use a pizza stone but have a problem. I roll my dough out on a well floured wooden paddle, then add the topping. My problem is getting the pizza onto the stone, it never slides easily and I usually end up with the back end of the pizza piled up. How do I get that sucker to slide evenly?


 corn meal... throw that down first. its like edible ball bearings. Do you brush the top of your crust with olive oil? That also helps keep wet ingredients from seeping through and making the bottom stick.

I love sliced garlic a fresh cracked black pepper on pizza


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## bonj (12/3/12)

freezkat said:


> corn meal... throw that down first. its like edible ball bearings. Do you brush the top of your crust with olive oil? That also helps keep wet ingredients from seeping through and making the bottom stick.
> 
> I love sliced garlic a fresh cracked black pepper on pizza


yep. I use coarse ground semolina which does the same as the corn meal. Fine ground works too, but the coarse ground is nicer on the palate.


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## brettprevans (12/3/12)

Yup corn meal rocks for pizza. I put it on the workbench to keep it from sticking whilst im making the other pizzas, no need for flour.


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## freezkat (12/3/12)

you don't wash your pizza stone, do you?

They are like cast iron, they need to be seasoned


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## BobtheBrewer (12/3/12)

freezkat said:


> you don't wash your pizza stone, do you?
> 
> They are like cast iron, they need to be seasoned




No, I have never washed my stone. Thanks for the tips fellas, I can see the next one sliding off like a ship down a slipway


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## mmmyummybeer (12/3/12)

freezkat said:


> you don't wash your pizza stone, do you?
> 
> They are like cast iron, they need to be seasoned




I just clean the top of the stone with a wet cloth to remove any food etc. You need to put the stone in the oven afterward to dry and sanitize. Pizza stones are porous and can harber bacteria in the crevices that's why its recommended not to wash by immersing in water, as the water will assist in bacteria growth. I normally sprinkle some flour on the stone before use to help the pizza slide off and makes it easier to clean afterwards.


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## Deebo (12/3/12)

I use baking paper under the pizza (I have one of those little electric pizza cookers, not as nice as wood fired but a hell of a lot easier)
I usualy pull it out from under the pizza after it crusts up a little


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## sponge (15/3/12)

Got a couple of pizza dough balls slowly fermenting in the fridge as per Jeff Varasano's method

Ive always just made them a few hours before cooking so im curious to see the difference in texture and taste, as they werent producing the large open air pockets in the crust and it was far too uniform of a colour for my likings...

Quite different working with such a wet dough though. I only did a small batch as its just for myself and my partner, so theres only a couple of small-ish pizza's worth of dough in two seperate containers.

Made the dough on tuesday night, and will be using them tomorrow night, so we'll see how the old 3 day cold fermenting pizza doughs turn out

I probably shouldnt have such high hopes, but I'm quite looking forward to using them.


Sponge


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## brettprevans (15/3/12)

sponge said:


> Got a couple of pizza dough balls slowly fermenting in the fridge as per Jeff Varasano's method
> 
> Ive always just made them a few hours before cooking so im curious to see the difference in texture and taste, as they werent producing the large open air pockets in the crust and it was far too uniform of a colour for my likings...
> 
> ...


cold fermenting pizza dough is talked about in this thread. its awsome. nice slightly tart chewy dough. it makes the whole making pizza thing a little easier, as you can spend a few hours making dough, then leave in fridge and then only spend a short amoutn of time making pizza, as opposed to spending like 3-4 hours in one hit making pizza. it stretchs it out a bit more (pun intended)


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## sponge (16/3/12)

Yea I hadn't heard of the technique until reading through this thread and read up on the link for it.

Pretty informative read if i do say so myself.

Either way, I'm pretty excited for the old dinner tonight.


Sponge


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## Katherine (16/3/12)

My low cal tortilla pizza done in turbo oven... I run and hide now....

The BENT.... prawn, banana and sweet chilli....


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## Katherine (16/3/12)

and just to prove I can do it properly...


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## InCider (16/3/12)

Katie said:


> View attachment 53103
> 
> 
> and just to prove I can do it properly...



OMG!!


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## Tim F (17/3/12)

What's your technique for the turbo oven? I tried one in mine once but the base drooped through the grill and didn't cook.


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## Katherine (19/3/12)

Tim F said:


> What's your technique for the turbo oven? I tried one in mine once but the base drooped through the grill and didn't cook.




havent used the real deal in the turbo oven we have talked about it.... I was thinking of still putting it on a pizza tray the one with holes...


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## Maheel (27/4/12)

Yum Yum


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## sav (28/4/12)

So, had a pizza night tonight, pizza's turned out really good but its only the second time we used our new pizza stone and opened up the oven to see it cracked in half  
It's only the 2nd pizza cooked on it, both times it has been brought up to heat from cold so not sure why it happened, may have been the fact that it was only a $10 stone from crazy clarke's but thought it would have lasted a bit longer than that, any ideas why???

I did have the oven on 250C and the pizzas were perfect in about 6 minutes, do you think that was too hot?


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## drsmurto (28/4/12)

sav said:


> So, had a pizza night tonight, pizza's turned out really good but its only the second time we used our new pizza stone and opened up the oven to see it cracked in half
> It's only the 2nd pizza cooked on it, both times it has been brought up to heat from cold so not sure why it happened, may have been the fact that it was only a $10 stone from crazy clarke's but thought it would have lasted a bit longer than that, any ideas why???
> 
> I did have the oven on 250C and the pizzas were perfect in about 6 minutes, do you think that was too hot?



I have 3 very cheap stones, less than $10 each i think. 2 are used exclusively for breadmaking and the other pizza only.

Always do what you do and put them in a cold oven and crank it up to 250C. When baking bread i sometimes have them in there for 3-4 hours. Yet to break one.

If they weren't so cheap I would take them back and ask questions.


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## uneekwahn (6/6/12)

First post for me in a while ...

Seeing as I'm doing some pizzas this weekend for a little soiree a mate is having (including some biab!), I thought I'd throw up these pics of one of the pizzas I did last weekend

Homemade pizza base with thyme in it






Add some tomato paste with thyme and oregano 






Little bit of cheese on the base with some spanish onion






Sun-dried tomato






Sardines and anchovies






Little bit of cheese on the top






Unfortunately, I forgot to pre-cook the base once I'd put the tomato paste on, so I decided to cook for 9 minutes @ 250c in my oven instead of the normal 7 minutes I'd do and it did overcook it a little. It still tasted bloody good though.






For those that may be at the soiree this weekend, I hope you enjoy my creations


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## brettprevans (7/6/12)

Made pizzas on Tuesday (usually make them once a month). For the first time I precooked the bases. Not a fan. They went very flat bread like. Made it very easy to prep final product but missus prefers the normal way. Maybe I just precooked them too long. Which is probably the issue. Still as always they Shit on bought pizzas.


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## Malted (7/6/12)

I used 50% Spelt flour in my pizza bases recently, turned out wonderfully!


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## Gulf Brewery (13/1/13)

I have been using the Defiance Bakers flour with a hydration of 55 to 60% in a wood fired oven with really good results. I picked up a bag of the Allied Mills Pizza Flour at Gaganis this week and I am going to see if it is better still. Some forums say it needs a higher hydration %. Does anyone use it and can recommend a rate?
Cheers
Peter


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## koots (13/1/13)

I used to work at an Italian restaurant and we let our dough balls rest under a damp tea towel before rolling them out. Once rolled out they were left to rise at room temp, mind you the oven was about 6ft from the closest base rack so probably a little hotter than your kitchen with the oven door shut. Never did we pre cook them though and never had any complaints and I personally loved the bases. Not to say that pre cooking them is wrong just thought I'd offer what we did under instruction of professionals.

Perhaps allow them to rise while the oven is on with them just sitting ontop of the stove so it gets a bit of heat transfer without actually cooking?

Also I haven't read the whole thread but if no-one has mentioned it use some semolina on the bottom of the base to stop it from sticking or burning the bottom of your base before the rest is cooked.


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## Nick JD (13/1/13)

I use bakers flour for my pan pizzas. Super soft base.


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## drsmurto (13/1/13)

Gaganis white flour (10kg bag for $14) is what i use for bread and pizza making. Never noticed the Allied pizza flour Pedro, very keen to hear how it goes.

Ciabatta about to go in the oven then will make a few pizzas, dough is proving. Pizza dough recipe is the one beerbelly gave me years ago which includes semolina in the dough, not just for slipping the pizza off the peel. Rises like a champ. Margeritas tonight with fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden and some cooked down passata i preserved last summer (still have >30 fowlers preserving jars of passata). A few pieces of bocconcini as well.


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## pk.sax (13/1/13)

Only ever used the whole meal flour from the supermarket or the normal atta flour from the Indian shop. Have noticed that it comes out crispier and breadier than shop bought pizza (even good gourmet ones).

I don't roll it either. My dough is a bit softer than the average I see on this thread and I simply oil my hands and knead it to spread out on baking paper, which I find works even better than a pizza stone imo. Bn there, done that. Nothing created a better crust than good ole baking paper. I don't leave it to rise in a ball either. Use proven yeast and knead straight into the pizza disc. By the time I'm done topping it its had had a out 15 minutes to rise. Straight into the oven. Rave reviews  most times I skip the tomato base. Depends.


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## alawishus (13/1/13)

I find adding a teaspoon of gluten to the mix helps no end


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## seemax (13/1/13)

alawishus said:


> I find adding a teaspoon of gluten to the mix helps no end


Not enough gluten in the flour??

I used the Defiance bread flour... it's high protein like the "OO" stuff you get at supermarkets.

My dough is always on the wet side so I get fluffy soft edges. Less water gives a crustier edge.


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## Gulf Brewery (15/1/13)

OK. I made about 12 pizzas for the hordes last night. The dough I made with the Allied Pizza flour was better than what I have made with the Defiance bakers flour. It was more elastic and easily worked.

My recipe was
1kg flour
63% water (65% was too sticky)
1 tbsp olive oil (give or take a bit)
pinch of salt
and yeast.

I use about 170g of dough for a 28 to 30cm pizza

Cheers
Peter


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## Liam_snorkel (17/7/13)

Knocked these up for me and the missus tonight. Base is 50/50 wholemeal/plain. Tomato, chilli, garlic, Spanish onion, persian feta, olives, fresh basil, mushrooms, sopressa, anchovies, mozzarella. Nom. Very happy with my crust.


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## brettprevans (17/7/13)

Nothing beats honemade pizza. Even lebanese bread as base is better than most pizza. A family fav if when I make it. Simple fresh toppings etc. Fan-fkn-tastic. Prime example. Margarita. From a store its pox. Absolute shit. Make it at home with home made passata cheese home grown tomatoes and basil. Magnificent. 

Or justbsimple pumpkin cream cheese and fresh basil. All from the garden. Yum
Hmm im hungry.


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## brentice (18/7/13)

I like pizza. I also like beer. I think that beer and home made pizza is as good as it gets ( apart from a knock at 3am   ) its all true I swear


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## Greg.L (19/7/13)

I think red wine goes best with pizza, a good Aussie shiraz. I make my base in the breadmaker, just bread flour, salt, oil and yeast. Put it on dough setting, come back in an hour and roll it out, very easy. If you love homemade pizza you should always have fresh herbs growing in the garden (or balcony). Sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme, really gives that pizza flavour. In summer some thin sliced homegrown beefsteak tomatoes are sensational for topping.


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## indica86 (31/10/13)

Mmm, Pizza night tonight.
Sourdough pizza is the go around here. I use a culture that is about 2 years old.
Made the dough at 7am, bulk proof for a few hours, then fridge time.
6 pizzas and a loaf of bread yum!


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## OzPaleAle (31/10/13)

I've been using ~250g of spent grain in my sourdoughs lately, makes for tasty bread, however the chunks of grain don't lend themselves to making it easy to stretch a nice thin base, ends up tearing where the grain is.

Crust Pizza do a great Pesto Aioli on their pizzas I managed to replicate using a store bought garlic aioli and adding some of the Aldi pesto. Tastes dam good.


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## indica86 (31/10/13)

Supermarket bought Atta flour does a fine job at adding some nutrients and is very finely milled.


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## OzPaleAle (31/10/13)

I have been using Manilda Bakers Flour lately, 12.5kg bag was not much more than $10 from memory from Costco, I did see they also had 12.5kg bags of Atta Flour also, might grab some next time if its still there to try.


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## merlin032 (1/11/13)

I've been having really good results with an electric pizza maker - google "just pizza oven"

I used an oven thermometer to test the temperature, and it was over 350C (the max temp that my thermometer goes up to).

It produces nice, crispy pizzas in about 5 minutes, and probably the next best thing to a proper wood fired oven that I've been able to find. I've tried pizza stones in our oven etc. never been able to get as good results. It also takes less time to heat up.

I was sceptical - thinking it would be just another appliance that I wouldn't use. But worth a shot if you like your pizzas, home made bases are a must - my other secret weapon is a stand mixer with a dough hook.

Make sure you get one with a pizza stone in the base - I think I've seen others that don't have the stone, those are the ones to avoid.


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## Airgead (30/11/13)

Fark me. Son's 13th birthday. He decides to have a bunch of mates over to watch Dr who (yes he is a geek).
Oh and by the way dad you're cooking everyone pizza.

10 thirteen year old boys. I lost count of how many pizzas I just made. My gods they can eat.

I am absolutely stuffed.


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## pk.sax (2/12/13)

Just to clarify, are you complaining?


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## QldKev (2/12/13)

We've been making pizzas for years. I always used a bread maker for followed the recipe from it and was pretty happy with the result. In the last 6 months I tried a hand made pizza dough following, it's a simple recipe with no oil etc in the dough. I have not use the bread maker since. He has some other excellent recipes too, like his roasted potato.


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## mje1980 (3/12/13)

I ******* love pizza. In fact when I meet someone who doesn't at least like it, straight away I'm suspicious, gotta be a sociopath with a few bodies buried surely. 

I love to cook, but I must admit I like Lebanese bread pizzas. Simple is good, but prosciutto and basil is pretty damn nice. For me, pizza is like sex, even a bad one is still pretty good, and it'd have to be astonishingly terrible for me not to eat it.


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## punkin (3/12/13)

It's not for sale.


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## DeGarre (9/12/13)

QldKev said:


> We've been making pizzas for years. I always used a bread maker for followed the recipe from it and was pretty happy with the result. In the last 6 months I tried a hand made pizza dough following, it's a simple recipe with no oil etc in the dough. I have not use the bread maker since. He has some other excellent recipes too, like his roasted potato.



I just tested this Gianni's method and I am convinced. Base was soft but firm, smooth, slightly sour. A good rise due to this separate 1/4 of the flour with yeast -method, I usually use 6 1/4 cups flour but today only needed 4 cups for same size and thickness. Thanks for the tip!


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## brettprevans (10/12/13)

Made pizzas last night. Hawian, meatlovers pumpkin tomato spinach, capsicum mushroom tomato zucchini oregano and sea salt. Homemade pasata on the bases.

simple fresh delish. 

Its worth playing with your base recipe and method. Last nights 3 cups of flour mix made 4 ultra thin bases. Im talking like pita bread thin. Nice change. Ideally it should have been 3 bases but I stretched it to see how it would go.


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## Airgead (10/12/13)

citymorgue2 said:


> Made pizzas last night. Hawian,


Pineapple on a pizza...Reported.


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## brettprevans (10/12/13)

Airgead said:


> Pineapple on a pizza...Reported.


kids mate. Kids. Otherwise id report myself.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (10/12/13)

I got kids, so......

Carry on, I saw no pineapple


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## Weizguy (10/12/13)

Airgead said:


> Pineapple on a pizza...Reported.


I like pineapple on my pizza, at times, and with the appropriate accompaniment, usually ham, mushroom and chilli.

The real crime against nature is barbecue sauce on a pizza. That's for snags and burgers, not pizza bases! :icon_vomit:


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## Ducatiboy stu (10/12/13)

I dont get egg either


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## DJ_L3ThAL (10/12/13)

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/5105/pizza+sauce

I made this on the weekend as I had shedloads of tomatoes that were a bit too soft for salads. Bloody thing even after an hour of simmering was too thin, great for pasta sauce but not thick like a pizza base paste. Or do home made pizza base sauces always err on the thin side as opposed to the el-cheapo tomato paste in a tin?


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## sponge (10/12/13)

Pizza sauce will often resemble a pasta sauce, not the thick tomato paste that you can buy.

Have a look at a few pictures and videos, you'll notice that they're a much thinner (and much more delicious) sauce than using tomato paste.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (10/12/13)

Mine are always thin. Sometimes if I make one and whack it in the slow cooker and go out for the day, I'll chuck in extra water just to thin it out at the end.

Too thick to me ends up making the base feel more stodgy than it should.


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## adryargument (10/12/13)

For the last 6 months i have been adding berliner weisse to my pizza's instead of water / yeast.
Doesn't rise as much but somehow it provides the base with an amazing amount of stretchiness. Think go go gadget arms stretchy.

Anyway it works great


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## brettprevans (10/12/13)

My pizza sauce is always thin not thick. Slightly thicker than passata is ideal for me persinally but passata thickness is also acceptable. I agree that thick sauce makes it feel stodgy. Even with a margareta you you want to taste some fresh tomato not tomato base sauce.


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## unclebarrel (10/12/13)

Love this thread !
Was reading it this morning and…….




…..Just had home made pizzas for dinner. haha
Margereta with olives for the little ones ( have a 4 y/o who LOVES olives ! )
The adults had an olive and chilli & garlic octopus on margereta, with basil, thyme and oregano from the garden.YUMMO !
Nice thin bases to let the flavours on top do all the work.
Goes well with the home brewed ales !

Pretty standard dough, store bought sauce.
Have been inspired by you blokes to make my own sauce now !!
Will attempt to get as many veggies in the sauce (for the kids !) and reduce it down, hope pumpkin won't make it too sweet.


Anyways, thanks for the thread !!!

Wheres my beer ???? :chug:
catch.


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## Ducatiboy stu (10/12/13)

Making your own sauce is easy. Dice some onion and saute it in some olive oil in a pot, add a couple of tins of tomatoes, simmer,simmer some more, add some salt, simmer till its the consistency you want. Some times I add red wine or herbs. You can cheat a bit and use a stick blender to save time.


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## Ducatiboy stu (10/12/13)

unclebarrel said:


> Will attempt to get as many veggies in the sauce (for the kids !) and reduce it down, hope pumpkin won't make it too sweet.


Chicken and roast pumpkin with some red onion and soft cheese is yum.


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## brettprevans (10/12/13)

Even just pimping a jar of passata is easy. Throw in fresh herbs garlic etc and ur laughing. 
Buy hiding veg in sauce is good. With burtitos etc I cook down blitzed mushrooms and zucchini and the mix into the mince to hid it.


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## unclebarrel (10/12/13)

That does sound good stu. 

I was actually curios if anybody has tried to pack a lot of veggies in to the sauce, you know, to get your kids to eat more veggies !! But in the form of pizza sauce ! 


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## unclebarrel (10/12/13)

That's what I was thinking Cm2. Just hiding good stuff in tasty foods ! 

We love our mex too, will definitely try hiding good stuff in those 
dishes. 
Don't get me wrong, our kids do eat well, but it is always good to get more vitamins and minerals in where you can ! 

Thanks fellas ! 
Long live tasty home cooked meals !


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## pk.sax (10/12/13)

No tomato sauce. Dough made with atta flour. Generous hit of yeast. Kneaded with hook attachment on handheld. Works the gluten very well. Consistency just softer than roti dough. Spread with a wet hand.

Fresh buffalo mozzarella (or bocconcini) on top. Before I lay the base I spread a little salt, any strong cheese, chilli flakes, any subtle herbs and then top with the toppings and cheese. Keeps the nice flavours from being baked off.


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## bradsbrew (10/12/13)

Sounds great PF, but I just cant get my head around rectangular pizzas.


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## pk.sax (10/12/13)

Heh, using all the inches on that baking tray.

I like that guy's technique on that video on the last page. I don't bother with the proofing and rising. Knead and spread right away, top and into the oven. The yeasts get enough time and the rise in temp does the rest before they die. Turns out very bready and soft. I'm a bit pro moisture too. Lets the bread cook for longer without burning all the toppings. Probably required with the coarse grain flour I use. I'd have to try the rise and make soft stuff again. Scope out some good pizza flour first though, don't think that process will work too well with coarse atta flour. This stuff gets very very sticky if you let it rise.


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## unclebarrel (10/12/13)

Looks great PF,

Suddenly I am hungry again !
I'll try the atta flour soon too !


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## edschache (10/12/13)

My tips:
- decent olive oil in the dough, I use about 4 tablespoons in a batch of dough for 3 thin large pizzas
- decent cheese, splurge on a bucket of real bocconcini occasionally or buy a scoop or two from a decent deli
-- buffalo moz for extra points but the ones I've purchased recently haven't been as good as the stuff I used to use
- fresh basil. one of the easiest things to grow and it is worth the effort
- keep it simple, not too many toppings, if you want more flavours make more pizzas and have a slice of each
- proper pizza flour, I get mine from penisi cuisine in Woolloongabba. (00 flour is more or less the same thing if you can't find something specifically labelled as pizza flour)

I used to know a 'real' recipe for pizza dough that was used to win a few national comps but sadly I've forgotten it. I now generally make it in the bread maker for convenience. Follow the bread maker recipe apart from the oil as per the comment above.

I'd love to have a real pizza oven that gets hot enough to cook them properly.... one day...


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## unclebarrel (10/12/13)

edschache said:


> - keep it simple, not too many toppings, if you want more flavours make more pizzas and have a slice of each


Thats the go !!

I try only have 3 toppings max. That includes cheese.
Only meat I ever use is good pepperoni, or some seafood. Never together.
Heaps of fresh herbs.


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## Glot (10/12/13)

For a base, I use Lebanese bread.


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## Camo6 (10/12/13)

Bocconcini, basil, pepperoni and olives and I'm as happy as a pig in mud.
If I use shredded ham its gotta have a good dose of green capsicum. They pair so well on a pizza.


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## DeGarre (10/12/13)

Ham and mushroom is my favourite. Sometimes I add artichoke and or blue cheese. Capers are nice too in moderation. What's not to like, home brew and pizza...I was going for the Map of Sicily -look...


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## indica86 (11/12/13)

Anchovies, what about the anchovies?
Salami, mushroom, olives, anchovies and chillies.
The Atta flour is awesome too.


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## unclebarrel (11/12/13)

Oh yeah ! 
Those salty delights are welcome anytime.



Is atta flour a supermarket purchase ? I have 00, but till this thread I have never even heard of atta ! 
Will be out and about today, maybe I'll grab some.



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## indica86 (11/12/13)

unclebarrel said:


> Is atta flour a supermarket purchase ? I have 00, but till this thread I have never even heard of atta !
> Will be out and about today, maybe I'll grab some.


Atta flour is finely ground wholemeal flour originating from India. There is a supermarket available brand, Jimmy's or something, otherwise healthfood / hippy / organic shop will have it.


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## unclebarrel (11/12/13)

Ah.
Thanks indica.

Beauty.


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## brettprevans (11/12/13)

indica86 said:


> Anchovies, what about the anchovies?
> Salami, mushroom, olives, anchovies and chillies.
> The Atta flour is awesome too.


capricosa rocks. Anchovies have to be hood. Those pox ones u get from store bought pizza places are shit. Gross texture and flavour imo. 

Atta flour sounds good. I used normal wholemeal flour the other night and its a bit of a pain becuase of the course texture. Will try it.


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## pk.sax (11/12/13)

Yeah, atta flour is just coarsest ground whole meal flour. I buy a 1kg pack from the supermarket in a pinch but the 10kg bag from the Indian store beats it hands down. There are both locally grown and imported variants out there. I like both. Variety of wheat makes a difference.

Like CM2 said, the coarseness of the flour needs to be allowed, thus my practice of doing how I do. It is very healthy though and the bread is rich and quite satisfying. This is partly why I get away with a no tomato sauce pizza because the base and crust are tasty as heck and hold moisture very well.


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## indica86 (11/12/13)

Finely ground, not coarse at all.


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## pk.sax (11/12/13)

Yea, can buy that too. I don't like that product though. Makes fairly drier and lighter feeling roti and corresponding behaviour for other uses. I personally reckon it's maida (white flour) with a little fortification.


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## seamad (11/12/13)

The wallaby bakers bread flour makes really good dough, the italian stuff is probably made with aussie wheat anyway.20% wholemeal makes it a bit more tasty too.
My kids ( 7 and 5) love olives and anchovies, I'm sure at that age I didn't like them.
Hopefully will start work on the wood fired brick oven in the new year, 2 minute pizzas :super:


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## indica86 (11/12/13)

Atta flour is finely ground wholemeal. The bran flakes do not cut the gluten strands as they are ground.


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## brettprevans (11/12/13)

Since we are talking anchovies the Colomba brand anchovy in sunflower oil from coles or aldi are great. Really nice texture and flavour. I use quite a lot of them in cooking for extra complexity and saltyness. They just melt down and make great flavours.


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## bonj (11/12/13)

I'm with seamad on the wallaby flour. I did wholemeal for a while, but I prefer white...

racial....


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## Glot (13/12/13)

what do you consider the most Australian pizza topping? I reckon Hawaiian.


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## Camo6 (13/12/13)

Glot said:


> what do you consider the most Australian pizza topping? I reckon Hawaiian.


With praaawns maaate.


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## Airgead (13/12/13)

Glot said:


> what do you consider the most Australian pizza topping? I reckon Hawaiian.


I have just lost my will to live.


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## Not For Horses (13/12/13)

DeGarre said:


> Ham and mushroom is my favourite. Sometimes I add artichoke and or blue cheese. Capers are nice too in moderation. What's not to like, home brew and pizza...I was going for the Map of Sicily -look...


Is Salvador Dali coming for dinner?


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## unclebarrel (13/12/13)

Tried out the atta flour.
We really liked it !

Here is my fave. Margareta with olives and chilli octopus....plus herbs, lots !
Cheese is just mozzarella. Tomato base is peeled Italian Roma's. (Diced a little more)

Good times.


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## indica86 (27/12/13)

Pizza night tonight.

Chicken mango habanero face blast incoming.


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## timmi9191 (27/12/13)

indica86 said:


> Pizza night tonight.
> 
> Chicken mango habanero face blast incoming.



Wtf? In those immortal words- please explain?


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## indica86 (27/12/13)

Sourdough base.
Chicken, fresh mango, orange habaneros.... nom nom nom... and ouch, it burns and makes me drink more.


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## DeGarre (30/12/13)

DeGarre said:


> I just tested this Gianni's method and I am convinced. Base was soft but firm, smooth, slightly sour. A good rise due to this separate 1/4 of the flour with yeast -method, I usually use 6 1/4 cups flour but today only needed 4 cups for same size and thickness. Thanks for the tip!


Gianni's pizza sauce method is good too, infusing the garlic into the oil by starting with cold oil in the pan. My shop bought pasta/pizza sauce days are over. Here's one, olive oil, sauce, swiss cheese, mozzarella, stilton, ham, mushrooms, tomatoes:








Next one is going to be anchovy, sardine, capers.

All washed down with homebrew. Cheers!


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## Glot (3/1/14)

A someone that eats Pizza most nights, a good home cooked pizza isn't unhealthy. It can contain a lot of vegetables and is portion controlled. I like to use Lebanese bread as a base to get more of an authentic Roman style without any effort. Bit id tomato paste with a bit of bottled garlic, spread with a pastry brush. A light sprinkle of cheese.Then some mushies, capsicum, onion, and some shopped bottled chillies either hot or not. maybe a light sprinkle of dried oregano. Into an oven at 200 for 20 to 30 or when ever I am getting up for a refill.


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## Camo6 (3/1/14)

QldKev said:


> We've been making pizzas for years. I always used a bread maker for followed the recipe from it and was pretty happy with the result. In the last 6 months I tried a hand made pizza dough following, it's a simple recipe with no oil etc in the dough. I have not use the bread maker since. He has some other excellent recipes too, like his roasted potato.



Thanks for the link Kev, did these bases a coupla weeks ago and damn they were tasty. Kept it simple like his vid. No sauce, just roma tomatoes sliced up, basil and cheese. Yeah I probably shouldn't of turned the browning element on but I had the oven cranking and they cooked in under ten minutes.


And don't tell DucatiboyStu but rehydrating the yeast made a huge difference IMO.


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## Glot (3/1/14)

Ur cruel. I have just eaten


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## rotten (3/1/14)

Eat again. Luckily I'm a piss head so I have time to copy that.


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## Ducatiboy stu (4/1/14)

Camo6 said:


> And don't tell DucatiboyStu but rehydrating the yeast made a huge difference IMO.


Whatever.

I allways rehydrate bakers yeast with a touch of sugar.


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## Tahoose (4/4/16)

Bumping this. 

Had a bit of an interest in building a proper clay pizza oven about a year ago and did a wood fired pizza making class in good food week 2015. 

Decided not to bother, although I would like one I don't really have the space to build it in.

Anyway I bought a discounted coolabah wood fired pizza oven from Aldi today for $130 (original price $200).

Not sure if anyone else has used one, but thinking of ways to maybe also use it as a smoker box?


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## Tahoose (4/4/16)

Thats the best I can do for now photo wise. Might just have a crack at some pizza tomorrow night if I get the chance.


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## Maheel (4/4/16)

i would love a proper pizza oven but have to make do with the oven....

love a good pizza
here's my chicken and pepperoni from Sunday night


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## BadSeed (3/9/19)

Been working on my dough game. Knocked out four of these bad boys on a pissy Sunday arvo.
Sensational.


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## wide eyed and legless (3/9/19)

BadSeed said:


> Been working on my dough game. Knocked out four of these bad boys on a pissy Sunday arvo.
> Sensational.


Not a fan of pizza but my wife ordered one on a recent outing to the Pig and Whistle. she couldn't eat it all and gave me some, what made it for me was the pesto on the pizza, bloody delicious


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## MartinOC (3/9/19)

BadSeed said:


> Been working on my dough game. Knocked out four of these bad boys on a pissy Sunday arvo.
> Sensational.
> 
> Recipe please?


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## BadSeed (3/9/19)

MartinOC said:


> Recipe please?



Good question, I have been trying loads of different recipes and ingredients over the last few years and I am happy with this one.
The key is the fermenting, the flour and the hydration. I use the Lighthouse bread & pizza dough from Coles at 62%.
So for a Kg of flour is:
1Kg Flour
620ml Water
20g Salt
20g Sugar
5 tsp Olive Oil
3g Yeast (I use lowans)

Mix half the water with everything apart from the yeast. Mix it well, it will be dry as. Add the yeast to the remaining water while you are mixing.

Add the rest of the water/yeast mixture and mix/knead
I use a bread machine but it's easy enough by hand. Separate into pizza size balls, cover in more olive oil and put in individual sandwich type bags

Then in the fridge for around 48 hours, this one was only 36. Take them out around 4 hours before you plan to use them.
Easy as.


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## Lorenzo99 (4/9/19)

BadSeed said:


> Good question, I have been trying loads of different recipes and ingredients over the last few years and I am happy with this one.
> The key is the fermenting, the flour and the hydration. I use the Lighthouse bread & pizza dough from Coles at 62%.
> So for a Kg of flour is:
> 1Kg Flour
> ...


Senbloodysational!
Thanks for sharing your recipe.
I have been in search for 3 years or so of a recipe to make a pizza like yours. How do you cook it? temperature? time? oven type? stone or metal tray?
That sauce looks great as well, is it store-bought?
Cheers


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## Sjek (4/9/19)

Agreed, that looks great! I assume the 620ml of flour is supposed to be water?


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## Nullnvoid (4/9/19)

BadSeed said:


> Good question, I have been trying loads of different recipes and ingredients over the last few years and I am happy with this one.
> The key is the fermenting, the flour and the hydration. I use the Lighthouse bread & pizza dough from Coles at 62%.
> So for a Kg of flour is:
> 1Kg Flour
> ...



Excellent! I'm going to assume the 620ml is water not flour 

I might give this a go on the weekend!


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## BadSeed (4/9/19)

Sjek said:


> Agreed, that looks great! I assume the 620ml of flour is supposed to be water?


Yes !!


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## BadSeed (4/9/19)

Lorenzo99 said:


> Senbloodysational!
> Thanks for sharing your recipe.
> I have been in search for 3 years or so of a recipe to make a pizza like yours. How do you cook it? temperature? time? oven type? stone or metal tray?
> That sauce looks great as well, is it store-bought?
> Cheers



Wood fired pizza oven, hot as hell, no tray just the bricks. Cooks in around a minute.

If you cooking it in an oven I would use a stone and have it all as hot as possible. My oven at home goes to around 250 I think, that should do it.
The cast iron pan method works pretty well too if you google it. Probably better than the oven.

Sauce recipe:
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 clove of garlic
1 or 2 basil leaves
1/2 tsp Balsamic
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1/4 tsp salt

Blend 3/4 of the tomatoes with everything else and then add the remaining tomatoes.
This makes it mostly smooth with just a few 'lumps' of tomato
Heat slowly until it simmers, taste it and see what you think.
Add some water if you think it's too thick.

That's all there is to it.


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## MartinOC (4/9/19)

I've just bookmarked this page...


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## S.E (4/9/19)

Sjek said:


> Agreed, that looks great! I assume the 620ml of flour is supposed to be water?


Ha. Shows my thinking, I assumed beer!

Has anyone tried the Laucke Pizza & Focaccia flour? I’ve been getting 5kg bags at Costco and getting fantastic results with my very limited pizza skills.


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## Lorenzo99 (17/9/19)

BadSeed said:


> Wood fired pizza oven, hot as hell, no tray just the bricks. Cooks in around a minute.
> 
> If you cooking it in an oven I would use a stone and have it all as hot as possible. My oven at home goes to around 250 I think, that should do it.
> The cast iron pan method works pretty well too if you google it. Probably better than the oven.
> ...


Brilliant your absolute champ!. I have a stone so I will give it a go on the bottom of the oven as hot as I can get it. No pre-baking the base before adding ingredients I'm guessing?


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## BadSeed (17/9/19)

Lorenzo99 said:


> Brilliant your absolute champ!. I have a stone so I will give it a go on the bottom of the oven as hot as I can get it. No pre-baking the base before adding ingredients I'm guessing?



No all at once, but heat the stone for at least 40 mins on the hottest setting you can


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## BadSeed (17/9/19)

S.E said:


> Ha. Shows my thinking, I assumed beer!
> 
> Has anyone tried the Laucke Pizza & Focaccia flour? I’ve been getting 5kg bags at Costco and getting fantastic results with my very limited pizza skills.



Higher protein is better ime, the stuff I use is around 9% the Laucke is 7.8%. so close enough.
The taste test is all that matters


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## Maheel (17/9/19)

Lorenzo99 said:


> . No pre-baking the base before adding ingredients I'm guessing?



I pre bake a i am in a normal oven cranked up to full. i have a stone in there to retain heat but preheat a terracotta pizza "plate" a well that i bake off the dough on for a bit, wip out chuck on the yummy stuff and back in to cook


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## wide eyed and legless (17/9/19)

I have been converted and bought a stone, though I now wish I had bought the Home make it pizza maker due to what appears to be the fragility of the stone. I will be careful with the stone and see how I go, I am one pizza down to date.
https://www.homemakeit.com.au/products/pizza-oven-electric-napoli-red-31cm-diam


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