I'm easing into the New Year with some photos of last night's dinner. I've been making pizza for over 15 years, and there's always room to learn a few new tricks. While I live right across the street from the infamous Lucali's, I haven't dined there in about two years. Why pay $24 for a pie when I can come pretty darn close to recreating the results in my own kitchen?
I used this recipe but nixed the food processor and decided to mix the dough, using 2 cups of the flour, in a bowl with a wooden spoon. I kneaded in the remaining flour, and what a wonderful way to relax it proved to be. I know no-knead dough is all the craze right now, but frankly, I loved connecting with my meal in such a primal way.
The other change I made was using parchment paper to transfer the pie onto my preheated pizza stones. My pizza peel broke a few months back and I haven't had the chance to replace it. A few more things that elevated our pizza and Looney Tunes night: a 500º oven, instead of the usual 425º, fresh mozzarella and a sprinkle of kosher salt over the topping. I also couldn't resist taking more than one picture for Project 365.
Happy New Year folks. Here's to a delicious 2010.
I had no idea you were doing Project 365. You pizza looks fabulous!
Posted by: alice | 01/03/2010 at 08:31 PM
That pizza looks so good!
Posted by: Andrea Meyers | 01/03/2010 at 08:32 PM
Mmmm... pizza. Total diet food, right? We had a pretty low carb dinner tonight and I'm dying for a slice of this right now.
Posted by: kellypea | 01/03/2010 at 08:33 PM
That pizza looks delicious! I love making pizza. You're right! There's just something about connecting with the dough.
Posted by: Cathy (breadexperience) | 01/03/2010 at 08:34 PM
Yum. I actually don't own a pizza stone and am always wondering if I should...
Posted by: maggie | 01/03/2010 at 08:35 PM
Oh yum. That looks amazing. Heading over to Amazon to look at pizza stones!
BTW, I totally know what you mean about kneading dough. I've never owned a food processor, but even if I had one I think I'd still want to do it by hand. That's how my mom got her muscular arms!
Posted by: Selfish Mom | 01/03/2010 at 09:09 PM
Yay, i am going to do 365 too (try to anyhow). But since i Just got back, i'm behind. Oops. I'm going to try to anyway. I need to get a pizza stone.
Posted by: radish | 01/04/2010 at 06:50 AM
Wow....if you hadn't told us, I would have thought that came from a NYC pizza joint! Ooey, gooey, and bubbly! Delicious!
Posted by: Nadia | 01/04/2010 at 06:57 AM
Great photos! I love the bubbly pizza!
Posted by: Maria | 01/04/2010 at 07:11 AM
I love love love Lucali...not sure which I'm more jealous of...that you live across the street from it or that you can recreate a pizza as good at home! Looks great.
Posted by: nithya at hungrydesi | 01/04/2010 at 07:53 AM
I toooootally agree about kneading being fun! I hate the no-kneading trend too :D
Posted by: Lele | 01/04/2010 at 02:15 PM
Looks gorgeously delicious!
Posted by: Hummingbird Appetite | 01/05/2010 at 04:46 AM
So glad to hear many of you enjoy making dough by hand too. And, yes, go get those pizza stones—I'll browse Amazon and see if they have some good ones to add to the store.
Olga, I bought my old ones at A Cook's Companion. Not to far for you to go!
Alice, I decided project 365 would be a nice way to carve out some "me" time. I have so many photos but never print them. Hoping this will give me incentive to print more than just the one I choose a day for the scrapbook.
Posted by: Jennifer | 01/05/2010 at 07:45 AM
Ok, the pizza looks delish, but what I'm really really really excited about is how gorgeous your site is looking!!!!
Posted by: Fuji Mama | 01/05/2010 at 04:30 PM
yay for 365! that pizza looks delicious.
Posted by: Hannah | 01/05/2010 at 05:21 PM
that pizza looks absolutely scrumptious! I love how cheesy it is and looks like it came right out of a pizza parlor
Posted by: Jessie | 01/06/2010 at 06:39 AM
looks good and good luck 365 of anything is not easy - I did 365 posts - in 2008
Posted by: doggybloggy | 01/06/2010 at 07:07 AM
The pizza looks great!
I have one question though...
Why do you pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes instead of just loading the raw dough with the sauce and cheese (as in a pizza joint)?
Thanks!
Posted by: Demian | 01/06/2010 at 09:10 PM
Love pizza! Like the idea of kneading. Speaking of kneading, I need a pizza stone!
Thanks for delicious post and yummy-looking pics!
Posted by: Kathy Gehrt | 01/06/2010 at 10:17 PM
Demian - very good question. When using a pizza peel, I used to prebake the crust mainly because I found it easier to transfer the crust with toppings onto the stone from the peel. By all means, go for it if you've got the master pizza maker move!
Using the parchment paper method, above though, you can skip the prebake step since the dough is in much closer to the stone. Enjoy!
Posted by: Jennifer | 01/07/2010 at 08:57 AM
Jen -- We're pizza-heads in our house, too. If you're ever in the mood to experiment (who, you?), give it a try with high-protein flour. It gives the crust a nice elasticity and chew. We've got a 50-pound bag of King Arthur Sir Lancelot (14% protein) if you need some!
Posted by: Tamar@StarvingofftheLand | 01/08/2010 at 10:38 AM
Looks great!
for those of you looking for pizza stones, there's a much cheaper alternative to what you'll find on Amazon or other sites. Just go to your local home improvement store, and get an unglazed tile - quarry or other clay, but not ceramic! Make sure it's not glazed. You can usually get one for less than a dollar.
Posted by: Lissa | 01/08/2010 at 06:19 PM
I like the crust~~
Posted by: Chefchuck1 | 02/23/2010 at 03:05 AM