My first Pizza from scratch.

finally got around to making a pizza. Sorry no pics.. i had too many guests to worry about pics and what not.

anyhow i did everything from scratch... pretty simple i guess but here is what i did.

for the dough its 2 cups flour 3/4 tsp salt. 2 & 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast. 2 tbs oil. warm water at 120 f

thats for the dough.


the sauce is...
* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
* 6 fluid ounces warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 2 tablespoons honey
* 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
* 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
* 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
* 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
* salt to taste
copyed from the internet of course.


ok so the sauce was a hit. Very good and way better then any of the pizza shops near my house.

The dough.... i started making my dough a bit too early for my guests. It just keept on rising. Which leads me to my question for you TW pizza cooking experts.....

How can i stop the raising of the doh? Can i make doh and store it in my fridge somehow? if so how long can i keep it ?

i ask because it keep raising and i ended up with some really thick bread like crust. all 8 of my guests said they liked it better. they said its a bread stick built in :P

it bothered me so i want to learn how to improve my pizza crust to be more crusty and less bread like.

im gonna make another one soon and ill take pics then.

yes, the fridge will slow down the rise and is exactly where you should put your dough to proof once it's done rising. a good thing to do is punch it down to get most of the CO2 out, then split it into portions (10-12 oz. or so per small pizza is normal), bag them up and fridge them.

im not going to say much about your sauce because you seem to like it, but imo you'd get better flavor out of whole tomates (canned or otherwise) instead of the paste and some fresh herbs (basil and parsley are pretty cheap).

when i make my dough i substitute a little bit of corn meal and a little bit of semolina for some of the flour. good for crispiness and seems to be easier to make it very thin.

You can keep it in the fridge for a long time. How long depends on some things. While its in the fridge, it greatly slows the yeast's growth rate, but... they will continue to develop flavor, so keeping it in there makes it taste better. The caveat is the yeast also make more alcohol, so too long can throw off the taste depending on how you cook it. More salt makes for slower yeast action, so use a little bit more if you are planning a longer rise. Also, if you use some kind of covered bowl, you can trap the CO2 in the container. Yeast need oxygen to work, so too much CO2 also caps growth. You'd have to use something that will stretch a bit, or at least let out a little air, otherwise it may break your container.

And looking at your recipe, I think you used too much yeast. I tend to use equal parts yeast & salt, but I go for a longer rise.

im gonna look into the semolina as thats what i want...more crispiness.

i agree niga fresh tomatoes and fresh herbs would definitly make it better.

with the tomatoes would you deseed and skin them? or throw it all together and puree? Just courious how would you prep regular tomatoes to substitute 6oz of the paste?


and carpe thanks for the advice. How long do you think it can store in the fridge? a couple days? or is it a use that day type thing ?

as for the yeast i used the fishermans packets ... then i purchased a big ass bag off yeast and a HUGE restaurant size bag of flour. the conversion on the side says 1 store pakage = 2 & 1/4 tsp so i followed that. next go at it i will make it 2 tsp and see/learn the difference.

Typically all you have to do is cut a small x on the bottom of the tomatoe just piercing the fruit. Then boil the tomatoes for 10 minutes or so. From here you want to squeeze the liquid out of them after they have cooled and been peeled. Next start coooking the now beaten up and molested tomatoes. You can toss the liquid that has been squeezed out. I am sure there are other methods you can use to turn fresh tomatoes into sauce but this way is fairly simple. This works best with very ripe tomatoes.

To be honest canned whole peeled tomatoes turn out just as good of not better.

Yeah we've had this discussion before, but 99.9% of the time italian canned tomatoes (san marzanos if you can get them) are better tasting than just about anything you can use, even fresh tomatoes.

The key to buying canned tomatoes is to look at the ingredient list. If it says anything besides "tomatoes, water" (sometimes a little basil), don't buy it. A lot of canned tomatoes have a bunch of crap in there with the tomatoes. The good ones won't.

Best pizza dough I've ever made: How to Make Pizza - MonkeySee (http://www.monkeysee.com/play/995-how-to-make-pizza)

trav use "raos peeled tomatoes"

they are san marzano and delicious, there is a knock off "san marzano" brand tomato strand that's grown in california and is pretty good but not as good as raos

you can find them at whole foods.

sounds like a good pizza

Yeah we've had this discussion before, but 99.9% of the time italian canned tomatoes (san marzanos if you can get them) are better tasting than just about anything you can use, even fresh tomatoes.

The key to buying canned tomatoes is to look at the ingredient list. If it says anything besides "tomatoes, water" (sometimes a little basil), don't buy it. A lot of canned tomatoes have a bunch of crap in there with the tomatoes. The good ones won't.

You are one of those weak minded, easily manipulated by advertising individuals, huh?

I have done multiple taste tests of side by side tomatoes (as have many others for that matter), and for the 300%-500%+ cost increase, there is not enough difference between a good, freshly canned tomato, to any san marzano's.

Better yet, the fact that you (a self proclaimed cook) would even consider canned tomatoes to come CLOSE to fresh (see 101 varieties of Heirloom) tomatoes, is hilarious.

uh im gonna have to see a peer reviewed study bro

anyways if im putting fresh tomatoes on a pizza they're going to be sliced, not reduced into a sauce :shrug:

p.s. tic tac you never answered my question about being obsessed with me and how tough it is on you i'm still interested

I disagree tic, I've tried using both fresh and canned tomatoes several times several varieties of both and I honestly Think the canned are just as good if not BETTER than most types of fresh tomatoes, especially considering how much time you save by using them.

I guess it depends where you are as well but up in canada we have access to different types of produce throughout the year it's never very consistant depending on the season.

In short quit acting like a snob dude.

Pizza sounds good btw I think i might just make one up tonight i've been craving fresh pizza for a while. Red onion, chicken and asparagus with greek feta ftw!

Fresh tomatoes almost never means RIPE tomatoes in the US unless you are growing your own tomatoes, which also limits the time frame you can actually get them. The fresh tomatoes you buy in most stores are picked green and made artificially red then shipped all around the country. They'd bred for durability not taste. If you tried to ship a ripe tomato, it'd be in bad shape by the time it got to the market.

I'll take the ones that are canned ripe.

I have to say that the time I made sauce with my neighbors over ripened garden tomatoes it tasted better than what I have ever made with peeled canned tomatoes

and carpe thanks for the advice. How long do you think it can store in the fridge? a couple days? or is it a use that day type thing ?

as for the yeast i used the fishermans packets ... then i purchased a big ass bag off yeast and a HUGE restaurant size bag of flour. the conversion on the side says 1 store pakage = 2 & 1/4 tsp so i followed that. next go at it i will make it 2 tsp and see/learn the difference.

Unless its growing mold, its always going to be edible. The dough will reach an internal temp of 200+, thats always enough to kill all bacteria. The question is if the final product will retain enough alcohol for you to taste it, and if that is unpleasant. That depends on so many factors, a time estimate would be meaningless. I took a recipe for an overnight rise, forgot about it for a week, then cooked it, and I could taste the alcohol a little bit, but the overal product was still very good. Even if it wasn't good for pizza, it would make great bread sticks.

And the amount of yeast you put in at the beginning doesn't really affect the final product. As long as the yeast is well mixed, the only difference between 1 tsp and 3 tsp is how long it takes to double.

Fresh tomatoes almost never means RIPE tomatoes in the US unless you are growing your own tomatoes, which also limits the time frame you can actually get them. The fresh tomatoes you buy in most stores are picked green and made artificially red then shipped all around the country. They'd bred for durability not taste. If you tried to ship a ripe tomato, it'd be in bad shape by the time it got to the market.

I'll take the ones that are canned ripe.

go to your local farmers market.

It is quite apparent many of you have never enjoyed a FRESH tomato (heirloom or not).

We grow them every year, my parents usually have about 20 plants, mostly Heirloom varietals. My uncle grows about 120 plants.

Not only are these tomatoes 1000x better than anything canned, they will blow your mind, especially if you can experience the Heirlooms, as believe it or not, there are some extreme taste variances between strains.

A tomato sauce from heirloom tomatoes vs. any canned or store bought item is absolutely amazing, a world of difference.

Those who have tried them, raw or cooked, will agree, without doubt.

i hvae no idea what kind my parents grow in their back yard but they are fucking tasty.

we would eat them sliced and as a side with our meal all the time.

sliced with a little salt and freshly ground pepper and they are good to go.

anyhow later today(maybe for lunch) im gonna give a new sauce and pizza doh a go.


BTW im curious as to what is your guys techniques for spreading out the doh? I tried to be fancy like the pizza shop guys but i failed.

It is quite apparent many of you have never enjoyed a FRESH tomato (heirloom or not).

We grow them every year, my parents usually have about 20 plants, mostly Heirloom varietals. My uncle grows about 120 plants.

Not only are these tomatoes 1000x better than anything canned, they will blow your mind, especially if you can experience the Heirlooms, as believe it or not, there are some extreme taste variances between strains.

A tomato sauce from heirloom tomatoes vs. any canned or store bought item is absolutely amazing, a world of difference.

Those who have tried them, raw or cooked, will agree, without doubt.Who is we? Your parents or you?

I have a large garden of my own with tomatoes and peppers. The fresh are great, but they're not in season all year. You know what I use in the winter? Oh god, CANNED TOMATOES from my garden! THE TERROR

i guess the big reveal in this thread is that tic tac still lives with his parents and eats their food :lol:

Trav - rolling pin and flour here bro - - pretty tough to do the ol' toss'er'ooo.

We = both my parents and I...sadly I only have 3 potted tom plants on the balcony.

Jarred tomatoes from the garden are completely acceptable - what is even better is if you lay them out whole on a sheet pan and freeze them as is - then you can use for any cooked application in the winter.

and no giga, its been a few years since I lived with the 'rents - I now own a nice sized loft with the fiance.