Pizza Parties

[Cookie]

After a few years of testing various dough and sauce recipes, I have settled in on this combination for a happy medium between flavor, consistency, and easy of use with the dough.  We host a lot of parties where we let our friends build and make their own pizzas.  My favorite dough recipe, from Nancy Silverton at Pizzeria Mozza (Mario Batali's pizza joint), is too wet and sticky for your average weekend pizza warrior, so I've borrowed some of her ideas and mixed them in with my dough recipe.  I've also provided a link to Nancy's chopped salad, which is a great compliment to the pizzas.

 

Pizza Sauce (Enough For 6 or more medium pizzas)

 

Ingredients

•28-oz can of whole peeled tomatoes (preferably San Marzano, but plum tomatoes will also work)

•1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

•1 tsp. dried basil

•1 tsp garlic powder (or 2 cloves minced)

•2 tsp onion powder (or 1/2 onion finely minced)

•salt and pepper to taste

 

Instructions

To make the sauce, put all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until slightly chunkier than puree.  Note:  I find an uncooked sauce provides a brighter more fresh taste.

 

Dough (Makes 3 Medium Pizzas)

 

Ingredients

•1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)

•1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) rapid-rise yeast

•1 1/4 cups water at room temperature

•2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

•1 1/2 tablespoons honey

•4  1/4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting work surfaces and hands

•1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• Olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for oiling the bowl

 

Instructions

1. Measure the warm water into a large liquid measuring cup that you can pour from later. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room-temperature water, oil , honey and stir to combine.

2. Place the flour and salt in the deep bowl of a standing mixer. With a paddle attachment, briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed. Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at low speed until a cohesive mass forms. Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

 

Cooker Instructions

1.  Full basket of lump lit in several places

2.  Pizza stone goes on main grate (grate closest to where lid meets base); no heat deflector, direct heat

3.  Bottom vent open all the way; Top vent open 3/4 turn (may be slightly different on yours)

4.  It will take about an hour to come up to temp; target temp 550F - 600F.  Anything hotter and the top tends to cook faster than the base of the pizza and the cheese burns.

 

Pulling It Together

1.  Separate the dough into three equal pieces

2.  Dust a clean surface with flour and press / hand stretch to about 12-14 inches; If the dough is hard to work with, you can cheat with a roller, but you won't get as many nice big air bubbles in your cooked dough (which I really like).

3.  Generously (tons) dust a pizza peel with semolina four so that your dough will slide off easy onto the stone

4.  Lay your dough on the peel, brush the outside inch of the crust with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt (don't skip this step, especially the salt, this really makes the crust something special)

5.  Put your sauce down and spread to the olive oil rim, dress your pizza, top with cheese, cook until desired doneness, usually 3-5 minutes at 550F-600F.

 

Comments:

1.  We frequently have "BYOPT" parties where we provide the dough, sauce and cheese, and let guests bring their favorite pizza toppings.  We then assist them to build their own pizza.  We make enough batches of dough that everyone can make one of their own.

2.  We usually setup one or two of those white folding banquet tables from Costco as the prep / work stations with all of the ingredients set out, and a large four dusted space to work, they clean up easy and give you a lot of room.

3.  I would do a practice run at home a couple of times before having a party.  You have to learn to work with the dough and get to a point where you are confident it won't stick to the peel.  If it sticks, you end up making a mess and often a mess on the pizza stone that slows everything down as you have to wait for it to burn off / scrape the stone.

4.  I cheat with a couple of these peels that are awesome once you learn how to use them, again, practice makes perfect:  http://www.amazon.com/EXO-Super-Peel-X-tra-Set/dp/B002PFRXG2/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1416051217&sr=1-3&keywords=pizza+peel

 

Finally, we serve the pizza with this salad) which is awesome:  http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2014/06/nancys-chopped-salad/  We usually cheat and pick up some tiramisu for dessert from one of our favorite local Italian joints.  If you feel like splurging on wine, pick up a bottle or two of Amarone.  I love their cheaper / lighter Ripasso as well -- which is currently a daily drinker:  http://www.tommasiwine.it/en/the-amarone/

 

Pictures

The pictures below are from a recent cook.  This pizza is actually a little thicker than I prefer, I must have grabbed too much dough.  Remember that your pizza size is going to be limited by the size of your pizza peel.  What happened here is I was too lazy to reduce the amount of dough to get a slightly thinner pizza, which I prefer.  This pizza was still great.

 

 

[MadMedik]

Nice instructions. Sounds like you have it down. I feel like having pizza!!!!

[LarryR]

Thanks for your post Cookie. I'll have to try the dough recipe. I'm still searching for the right one. Just did some pizzas last weekend and recorded the cook. I'll be posting the video soon. KK is an amazing pizza oven. It's interesting that your post calls for 550 - 600 degrees for cooking as that's where I've settled in. I've tried the higher heat cooks and far prefer the range you list.

[tony b]

Hi, Larry! Where you been son? Been a while since you last posted. Hope all is well with you?

[CeramicChef]

Cookie - nice post! Thanks for being so complete. Now if I can just get some pizza pies that look like those, I'll be fat, dumb, and happy. So far, I'm 2 outta 3! Great looking pizza pies!