Some days you just wonder why you even try (because you love it!)

[noboundaries]

I'm having one of those "screw what I cooked" days. "I'm not hungry." I was planning on making pizza today out on the Weber. Unfortunately, they've been predicting rain all afternoon so I decided to move the effort indoors to the kitchen.

My homemade pizza dough started bulk fermenting last Wednesday morning, then was split into two pies and put in the refrigerator to cold ferment Thursday morning. The plan was to make pizzas when the sun was shining on Sunday. Nope, SWMBO'd and I were both a little under the weather. Monday was a schedule conflict, so here it is, Tuesday.

Five days of fermentation is right at the extreme edge of what I prefer, but I was looking forward to making pizza tonight. Had two planned. The first one was going to be mozzarella cheese, caramelized onions, my own diced tomato pizza sauce, pepperoni, Italian sausage, some fresh mozzarella, then finished with fresh basil and imported Parmigiano Reggiano.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...ause-i-dont-know-what-else-to-call-it.261586/

Well, if you've ever read my thread about making pizza on the WSM, guess what, THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO MY FIRST PIZZA! It is now a calzone!

On to the second pizza, a total experiment; apricot preserves, smoked salmon, fresh mozzarella cheese on each piece of salmon, shredded mozzarella cheese, caramelized onions, and a sprinkling of parm reg.

As I'm putting the second pizza together, I smell smoke. The oven is set on 500F. I turn around and smoke is pouring out of the oven vent. I put the vent hood on high and five seconds later, the smoke alarm goes off. Ten minutes of ear splitting noise. In all my decades of cooking, I think that's only the second time I've set off the smoke alarm in the house.

Cleaned up the burning corn meal, got the smoke alarm to shut up, and threw in the second pie. It came out looking great. I had to try it and I must say, it's pretty dang good. It needed more apricot preserves, but the sweet apricot nicely complemented the salty smoked salmon.

Heck, even the calzone came out tasting great. I experimented with my dough in the above link, adding twice as much yeast and 1/2 tsp sugar. It had a GREAT sourdough taste after 5 days of cold fermentation.

The disaster (calzone) and the smoked salmon and apricot preserves pizza are below.

 

[indaswamp]

I'd eat that anyday. We all have our bad days inda kitchen...I had one with baked beans recently. At least you can eat your mistake, I had to throw mine out.

 

[SonnyE]

No matter what, I do my best to eat any evidence.
That way, nobody can tell I boo-booed the next time it see's the light of day.

Except corn. You can always tell corn comin or goin... :rolleyes:

 

[myownidaho]

Looks great! How was the crust with five days of fermenting?

 

[indaswamp]

Looks great! How was the crust with five days of fermenting?

I experimented with my dough in the above link, adding twice as much yeast and 1/2 tsp sugar. It had a GREAT sourdough taste after 5 days of cold fermentation.

Sounds good to me!

 

[myownidaho]

Huh, missed that sentence. :oops:

 

[amlong88]

That looks really good to me. All my favorite toppings too.

 

[noboundaries]

Looks great! How was the crust with five days of fermenting?[/QUOTE]

The crust was AWESOME! I experimented with the crust in the link above. I cut all the ingredients in half in the link above EXCEPT the yeast. I also added 1/2 tsp of white sugar.

Usually the biga dough collapses after about 12 hours. Not this time. It was still round and puffy after 24 hours. By cutting the ingredients in half I only made enough dough for two pies. After 5 days I took it out of the fridge about 4 hours before I was ready to start making the pies.

I was concerned about the 5 days, but OMG the tangy taste of the dough was phenomenal. And the elasticity was fantastic. My wife and I both agreed that's how we're making pizza dough from now on.

I still haven't mastered the sliding the pie off the peel, unless I use parchment paper, which I did on the second pie. Practice, practice, practice

 

[indaswamp]

Are you using high gluten flour for the crust?

 

[myownidaho]

I’m a parchment paper junkie. After three minutes you can slide it right out. And Caputo is the only way to go!

 

[noboundaries]

I've figured out that my dough is a little too wet to use the peel/slide method. That's how I end up with calzones instead of pies. Parchment paper is definitely the answer, but I'll keep experimenting to find a way to do the peel/slide method.

Caputo, or "00" flour, gives ideal elasticity and texture. Using AP flour, then adding vital wheat gluten to increase the protein content to the same as Caputo flour, gives great elasticity with a slightly firmer bite. I have to go out of my way to find Caputo, but always have AP in the house.

 

[SmokinAl]

It looks fantastic to me!
But I'm an anchovies & onion guy!
Al

 

[noboundaries]

I hear you, Al. I grew up always having anchovies on pizza. Wasn't my favorite unless the sauce and ingredients worked well together.

For the smoked salmon pizza, the smoke got lost. This morning for breakfast, I warmed a piece in the microwave, then spread a little sour cream on the slice, threw on a few pickled capers, and sprinkled with dill. Wow, so good. My Texan wife, who is NOT a fish eater, hated it. More for me!