Grated or Sliced Mozarella on a Pizza

[sotv]

Going to have a go at Pizza's on a Pizza Stone over the next few days. Going to use a ready mix pizza base, with Sainsburys Tomato Pizza topping, but have been reading conflicting articles on the best type of Mozarella to put on a pizza, some say grated and others say it ends up more like silicone and Mozarella for pizza sliced is a better bet? Any recommendations, along with other readily available supermarket cheeses to use.

Intend using some grated cheddar and basil, would like to add mushrooms but unsure whether you should put them on raw, partially fried/cooked or even tinned mushrooms?

Any other advice for an easy pizza with toppings for a first go, that aren't too expensive, as I have a feeling the first few goes will be hit and miss,.(not into hot and spicy)

Thanks

 

[fubarphill]

I have been using grated mozzarella on mine when I do them in my pizza oven. I like sliced too but the other half prefers a better coverage of cheese so grated it is...

They do turn out nice though, I supposed it depends what you are cooking on/in and how hot the oven gets and time you leave it in for. If you get a nice hot oven (I've been getting upwards of 300c for air temp. Not sure on the stone itself, need an infrared thermometer) and it's in for only a few minutes then you get the best results.

As for other toppings, I'm a big fan of pepperoni (and other cured meats) which you can pick up from Aldi for less than a couple of quid.

 

[homeruk]

one thing to remember with pizza is keep the toppings dry apart from meat fat from salami, ham etc which adds flavor

decent mozzarella is a no no on pizza it gives off a lot of liquid when heated and you just get a soggy pizza no matter what heat its cooked at

ready grated cheese sadly is the better option as its pretty dry, or ive found the basic range of mini mozzarella balls in most supermarkets works well as a final plop on top to make it pretty

morrisions and asda do a 4 cheese grated mix which works well which you can add a sprinkle of fresh grated italian cheese over the top for the extra cheese kick

personally i do a 4 cheese mix, combined with a two cheese mix (mozzarela and chedder) then balls on top

sprinkle  a good layer of cheese over the bread base then add the tomato sauce in dollops and squash around a bit..i know it dont sound right but it allows the base to cook through better and stops a soggy top crust, dont worry about the sauce looking patchy it will spread out during cooking and look perfect

mushrooms....little water bombs! slice them up and cook them off in the oven first, this drys them out and intensifies the flavor and stops pizza going soggy

sadly less is more with a pizza, overlaod it and you end up with a watery mess

kamado cook at 650 plus heat for about 7 or 8 minutes, electric oven i cook it at 275c on a oiled heavy cast iron pizza pan for about 9 minutes

pics are a 14" pizza cooked in the oven at 275c on the cast iron pan with cheese mix, mozzarella balls on top, parma ham, parmezan and chunks of jarslberg

I make up the pizza in the iron pan then transfer it to the hob and preheat it for a minute or two before putting in the oven..crispy bottom every time!

pizza%20raw_zpsj1zcaleo.jpg

• homeruk
• Jun 19, 2017

pizza1_zpsh8h44tph.jpg

• homeruk
• Jun 19, 2017

 

[sotv]

Thank you both for the replies. Got it all set up to do today, and by coincidence, I got the Four cheese mix from Morrisons you mention along with a pack of the Mozarella slices they do. Going to do the base from their Pizza base mix and add some Prosciutto ham to the cheese for me and just fresh basil and cheese for my wife. Thanks for the tip with the mushrooms, will try that method also as Ham and Mushroom is my normal go to Pizza.

Pizza (hopefully for lunch) and one of those Tomahawk steaks they had on offer over the weekend for tea all done on the ProQ.

 

[homeruk]

base recipe i use all the time....

200gms bread flour

25 gms cornmeal

150gms 37 degrees water

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp onion powder

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp fast action yeast

1 tbl olive oil

make up as a bread and rise once before using

tomato base..

1 tin plum tomatos 

1 tsp sugar

salt to taste

glug of olive oil

1 tsp dried basil

1/ tsp dried oregano

1 crushed  clove of garlic fried off in the oil then fished out before adding the other ingredients 

cook down until all of the water/liquid has evaporated off and your left with a thick sauce in a skillet or large frying pan

dont be tempted to add tomato puree to thicken as it spoils the flavor

dont blend the sauce as it chops up the seeds and makes the whole sauce bitter

tried the brands KTC againts Napolina both tins at the same time and there is no difference in taste! so just buy the KTC brand..sometimes on offer at just 25p a tin, I buy a few cases when they come up and make up spag bols etc with them too

you can omit the sugar if you add a drizzle of good quality balsamic vinegar at the end of cooking

this makes enough for a large 14" pizza, scale up as needed

 

[sotv]

 
base recipe i use all the time....

200gms bread flour

25 gms cornmeal

150gms 37 degrees water

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp onion powder

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp fast action yeast

1 tbl olive oil

make up as a bread and rise once before using

tomato base..

1 tin plum tomatos 

1 tsp sugar

salt to taste

glug of olive oil

1 tsp dried basil

1/ tsp dried oregano

1 crushed  clove of garlic fried off in the oil then fished out before adding the other ingredients 

cook down until all of the water/liquid has evaporated off and your left with a thick sauce in a skillet or large frying pan

dont be tempted to add tomato puree to thicken as it spoils the flavor

dont blend the sauce as it chops up the seeds and makes the whole sauce bitter

tried the brands KTC againts Napolina both tins at the same time and there is no difference in taste! so just buy the KTC brand..sometimes on offer at just 25p a tin, I buy a few cases when they come up and make up spag bols etc with them too

you can omit the sugar if you add a drizzle of good quality balsamic vinegar at the end of cooking

this makes enough for a large 14" pizza, scale up as needed

Thanks for the recipes, not sure how the ProQ will respond to Pizza cooking, though the makers say it is doable and I have their pizza stone to try it. I got 450F and was still climbing with the Big K restaurant charcoal last week so if I can get it up to 500F  hopefully it will work and taste ok. Will look at some homemade pizza bases and sauces like you have provided in the future. If it all works out ok?

Do you know if a pizza stone is best sat almost directly over the charcoal basket (white hot charcoal rather than still flaming)? with about 2 inch gap or is it best to put a stack on, putting the stone about 10 inches above the charcoal? with the lid on

 

[homeruk]

i dont have a proQ so cant comment on it but i would have thought you would need the pizza stone well away from the direct heat and use a heat deflector also between them or you will just get a burnt pizza base before the top has cooked

When i cooked them on my kamado using the pizza stone the heat deflector was 4" below the stone also, cooked at 650-700f and it was perfect, cooked at 450f and the bottom of the pizza burnt as it took longer to cook the top, 

have a look here..http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/261572/new-baby-arrived#post_1695734

 

[sotv]

 
i dont have a proQ so cant comment on it but i would have thought you would need the pizza stone well away from the direct heat and use a heat deflector also between them or you will just get a burnt pizza base before the top has cooked

When i cooked them on my kamado using the pizza stone the heat deflector was 4" below the stone also, cooked at 650-700f and it was perfect, cooked at 450f and the bottom of the pizza burnt as it took longer to cook the top, 

Not sure that temperature will be achievable for me, but will give it ago. No heat deflector setup with the proq so it will be trial and error. Will add a stack to the base with the lid. I may try sitting the stone over the dry waterpan foiled also?

 

[sotv]

First off the pizzas turned out very edible and definitely something I will do again.

Lessons learned. Buy a Pizza Paddle don't add basil at the start if cooking a pizza for more than 2-3 minutes

Ended up setting the proq up with the base, one stack and the lid,  Put the pizza stone in at the beginning to warm up while the charcoal caught. Temperature below the pizza stone reached 520F the temperature above the pizza stone reached 395F

I will try your pizza base mix next time homeruk, as the sainsburys pizza base mix, was very sticky for a long time and took a good 10-15 minutes of kneading to become smooth for an 8 inch pizza, which was a bit excessive I thought. Just added the Morrisons 4 cheese mix and 2 slices of the mozarella slices (it is like a slice of processed cheese) and some ordinary deli air dried ham and some basil leaves from the garden.

Due to the elasticity (floppiness of the pizza base) once everything added and having no Pizza paddle to drop it onto the pizza stone. I had to keep it on the pizza tray I normally cook my pizzas on in the oven and put that on the pizza stone. For this reason the pizza took about 8-9 minutes to cook, overall. But I was still rewarded with a pizza that had a crispy base (no soggy or charred parts) and lovely hot bubbly cheese on top.

Definitely going to persevere with this and when the granddkids come up. I can see them have a lot of fun making there own pizzas from there choice of toppings and eating them after they have been cooked

 

[homeruk]

if im using the pizza stone i make up the pizzas in advance..about an hour before and store them in the oven to let them rise a little and to keep them out of the way while making the next ones

lay a piece of grease proof paper on a chopping board that fits in the oven, make up the base on another surface using cornmeal under it to stop it sticking, sprinkle cornmeal on the paddle, scoop up the pizza..quick lunge at it works best then slip off onto the pre corn mealed grease proof on top of the chopping board and place the whole lot in the oven (oven turned off!) and make up the rest

keep the paddle well covered in cornmeal when scooping up each pizza or deploying them onto the stone

flour is a funny thing and will absorb different amounts of water from brand to brand/age/ humidity etc so you need to get to know your mix and adjust the water/flour ratio to suit, i make up that recipe and kneed in a kenwood chef, sometimes 4 minutes sometimes 13 minutes its all done by eye and feel as most good bread is

there is so many small tweeks you can do making a pizza to adjust to your personal tastes but its all fun and beats any takeaway crud and most decent restaurants once you master it

there is no "traditional" way to make a pizza, having eaten pizza in several quality gaffs in italy last year and each one was a completely different style but all good and they were never loaded up like the takeaway gaffs over here

the take away places here dont use real food to top them its all processed so it cooks easy even the cheese is not real cheese hence why it dont turn to water when cooked

 

[sotv]

Thanks for all your help and tips homeruk. One final one. Is this the sort of pizza paddle I am looking for? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pizza-Pee...9?hash=item1a14e354d9:g:AE0AAOSwIQdZEcF0#rwid  for my needs.

 

[homeruk]

million types of peels out there, I had a fixed one a few years back but bought a new folding one for the kamado which is pretty sturdy and works well, down to personal preference really, you can get these on amazon or fleabay just shop about for the best price

 

[smokin monkey]

Bought mine off Amazon. All pretty much the same.

 

[sotv]

Ordered the foldable handle one, for ease of storage. Amazing how many extras, rib racks, chicken stands, pizza stones, dust and wood etc you collect, it all mounts up for storage.