Castanet

Well worth it - got mine on sale for $13.99 and comes with a metal holder.

Other things I use it for ... chicken nuggets, french fries, jalapeno poppers, biscuits, potato chips (cut potato into thin slices, season, bake @ 350°F about 20 minutes or until crisp), pita or tortilla wedges (350°F for 8-12 minutes), falafels, homemade pretzels, quesadillas, and the best apple strudel.

Let the stone cool completely in the oven and store flat when not in use. You can store them upright but make sure they don't have a chance of falling over as they can crack or break.

Lots of ways to make your own pizza at home but here's a tip that may be of some use to those who have leftover Zaaa.

Microwaving the last few pieces usually yields you momentarily soft, limp crust with burn your mouth heat. The oven takes too long and gives up hard crust and so so toppings.

I saw this on the interweb a while ago and have tried it several times and it actually works.

Turn a burner on to medium heat, place your non-stick fry pan on it. Once heated, lay in the tasty treats and leave thim in for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes or so until the crust is crusty to your taste.

Then, pour a wee bit o water in the pan and place a cover over the lot for about uno momento or until the cheese is all melty again and voila!!!! Tastes pretty much like it did when it was delivered.

swear to god.

You're welcome.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r26571800-Pizza

that thread is all about home made pizza

Our household has been cooking pizzas on the same pizza stone for over a decade.
It's our favourite method of cooking pizzas (except ordering delivery).

mrs forum wrote:Our household has been cooking pizzas on the same pizza stone for over a decade.
It's our favourite method of cooking pizzas (except ordering delivery).

OMG!!!!! You’ve changed gender.

Bsuds wrote:Is it worth getting a stone or is it something that will sit in the cupboard?

Yes - it's worth it.

I got the stone when my kids were small. Used to be, everyone would eat and I'd get to the pizza and have to reheat, because it would be cold. After getting the stone, I'd never go back. Despite eating long after my kids, the pizza was still warm, perfect temp actually.

Plus, when I bake cookies I used to use it as an alternated baking sheet. Cookies turned out so well I ended up getting stone cookie sheets - I have never burned a cookie since getting them, even when my oven flares up with hot spots!

Thinktank wrote:My home made pizzas taste terrible but these guys seem to know how to do it:

A couple of tips if you want to make your own pizzas. Get a proper pizza paddle and a pizza stone for your oven. Bed Bath & Beyond sells a good stone for about $25 and the paddle will set you back another $12-$15.

To make a proper bread or pizza dough Canadian all purpose flour doesn't cut it. Go to bulk barn and buy a kilo of High Gluten Flour for about $10 and use 1/2 cup High Gluten per 2 cups All Purpose. Also, don't buy your yeast from the ripoff supermarkets. Once again Bulk Barn to the rescue selling fast acting yeast for about $6 a lb. Supermarket yeast works out to about $25 a lb in the little packets or jars. Finally pick up some coarse grind cornmeal as long as you're at bulk barn to use as a proper lubricant for your pizza dough.

You can learn how to use a pizza paddle and stone properly watching youtube videos and don't get discouraged if your first couple attempts are flops. It's a learned skill like anything else. Bake for about 12 minutes in a 450 F preheated oven and wait for the best pizzas you ever tasted...

Bon apetit

OK here's my 2 cents....

If you're serious about yeast.... Costco - Red Star 2.008 lbs (908 grams) $4.99 ($2.49 a pound). I part it into a smaller jar and keep the rest in a large jar in the downstairs fridge. The small one upstairs in the fridge.

Yes, a pizza peel (the large flat "paddle") very important.

Pizza stones, there are many kinds, including heavy steel ones that you can't get in Canada, and God knows how much it would cost (because of weight) to ship from the USA. Careful they can break, let them cool after before you touch them.

Pizza dough docker...(or just dough docker) It's a roller type gizmo that pokes small holes in the dough so it doesn't bubble.

CORN MEAL.... YES ! After I roll (ya a know you're not supposed to) out the dough and I've cut it in the shape (I use the pizza pan I used to use to cook then in) and have DOCKED it, I fold the pizza in half on itself and brush the flour off the bottom of the turned up half and the counter below that half and sprinkle CORN MEAL on the counter fold that half back down and then fold the other half over and repeat.

Once I have the toppings on, I slide the peel under the dough, now covered with the toppings, using a lifter to guide it on to the peel. Don't dally putting the toppings on as the longer you take the more the dough (even with the corn meal under) will try to stick to the counter. (some say build the topping on the pizza dough with the dough on the peel, I don't agree)

Then onto the pizza stone that I've sprinkled with CORN MEAL right before I slide the pizza on.

8 minutes in a 500° oven.

Saturday night, now you're ready to watch some hockey.

Thinktank wrote:To make a proper bread or pizza dough Canadian all purpose flour doesn't cut it. Go to bulk barn and buy a kilo of High Gluten Flour for about $10 and use 1/2 cup High Gluten per 2 cups All Purpose.

If you're serious about homemade pizza, the best flour is Italian 00 flour which can be found in a few supermarkets or specialty stores depending on consumer demand or from Amazon.ca.

my5cents wrote:If you're serious about yeast.... Costco - Red Star 2.008 lbs (908 grams) $4.99 ($2.49 a pound). I part it into a smaller jar and keep the rest in a large jar in the downstairs fridge. The small one upstairs in the fridge.

Red or Gold Star SAF Yeast is the only yeast I use. If you don't have a Costco card, you can get the Red Star at Bulk Barn for $4.99. If you don't do a lot of baking, keep a small jar of yeast in your pantry and store the rest in the freezer - will keep for 2-3 years.

I recently switched from a pizza stone to a pizza steel. The difference is dramatic and I definitely prefer the steel. The pizza crust comes out way crispier due to the better heat transfer of steel vs stone. Some styles of pizza (e.g. New York) are better suited to a stone - depends on the crust style. I usually do pizza on the BBQ as it gets hotter. 600 deg plus. 700 is ideal.

Pizza steels can be bought online but they're pricey (and heavy). It's easy to find a metal shop to cut a piece to your preferred size and thickness. Be sure to get the right kind of steel. Thicker the better - 1/4" to 3/4". Then it just needs to be cleaned and seasoned. I spent around $40 and a couple hours of time.

I just looked up the differences between flours and found out that bread flour is the same gluten content as the pizza flour and will work better than All purpose flour.

I like our pizza pan with the holes in it. Never have we been disappointed. It's light and stores nicely on its side.
But Mr. QK makes the pizza crust from scratch. When we cheat and buy a pre-made, we use the pizza pan for it too, again, never disappointed.

I only use the holey pizza pan on Sundays.

Where would I purchase a pizza steel locally?

Is there a certain type of steel I should be asking it be made of?

mrs forum wrote:
Is there a certain type of steel I should be asking it be made of?

It should be food grade steel.

Thank you. I will look a little more into this.