@pbe gummi bear and I got together last week to bust out some pies and we worked together on documenting this post for pizza month. We went pretty heavy on the prep work.
I started with some Bobby Flay homemade dough, using bread flour instead of all purpose, which gives it more crunch vs chew:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/pizza-dough-recipe.htmlI did realize later (see my funky heart shaped pizza) that it’s important to make a nice smooth dough ball… those cracks in it make it hard to shape later.
Whole milk mozzarella
I went with a pesto, skirt steak, homegrown cherry tomatoes, homegrown cayenne pepper rings, feta cheese, sliced red onion, and mozzarella
Skirt steak getting to room temp with a heavy salt and pepper base
Pepper right out of the garden
18” OTG getting going for gummi’s pie. Gummi decided to make a pizza that's inspired by one of his favorite pizza places near Boston,
Emma's Pizza - The pizza is called the No.3 Hasty Pudding Pie with roasted sweet potato, sweet Italian sausage, caramelized onion, garlic, rosemary sauce, mozzarella, goat cheese.
Red and yellow onions into the 12” CI skillet to carmelize
For gummi’s sauce started with whole canned San Marzanos, added rosemary and garlic, and pureed the everloving crap of out it in the Blendtec before cooking out the water. The Blendtec really is amazing, the sauce was silky smooth before getting some heat to thicken up.
Meanwhile, split the dough, give it a quick knead, and let it rise again
Sausage! Remove the casing if you can’t find bulk, and cook til crumbled
The beat ass old Aristocrat - missing a metal bowl handle, chipped, crazed, stained, and out of round just enough that you have to wiggle the lid to get it to sit on the bowl right, but she can still cook!
Did I mentioned we used an absolute ton of RO lump to get this baby cooking?!?! Gummi has some pretty sweet tiles that made for a great stone
Our Thermapen and IR thermometer says the Aristocrat was smokin' hot.
Fire temp near 1000F
Ambient temp 500F+
Bowl Temp 500F+
Stone Temp 400F+ and rising.
Redhead color change before and after.
(It's a little dusty)
Back in the kitchen the sauce continues to cook down to a nice thickness - gummi crushed this sauce, it was amazing
The skirt steak was just seared on the outside for flavor (45 seconds or so) and left raw in the middle. The thin slices cook in the time it takes to finish the pizza
The stove became one of our makeshift staging areas in my dinky studio cottage
Shaping some pies
Gummi saucin’ it up! And a fine balancing act I might add
Mozzarella, sweet potato, and sausage
Caramelized onions
Goat cheese
Some sweet pecan splits to up the temp and give it the wood burning oven taste. It smells divine
Pie on!
Remember that part about making a smooth doughball at the beginning? This is why…
Pesto
Mozzarella
Red onion
Rare skirt, halved and salted garden tomatoes, cayennes (not really that spicy, a little disappointing, but great sweetness like a red bell pepper)
Feta, more mozzarella, and a healthy dose of cracked black pepper
Meanwhile, on the grill
Pie on!
Closeup of Gummi's finished pizza on the cutting board
Closeup of my finished pizza
Get a load of the crust on gummi’s pizza!
and the crust on mine.