I wanted to start a thread like this after finding so many hobby chefs on PA. It would be nice to share some tips on how to do things

I'll start with my long running struggle with pizzas and pizza dough. I have a lot of respect for good pizza makers - after trying it myself many times i've learnt it's not that easy!

I thought I made a rather awesome pizza. Back in Perth, my humble home-made pizza was only bettered by a couple of restaurants (in my opinion, anyway). However, today I was in Lygon St and went to Cafe Cavellino. The pizza there was just awesome! They used "proper" toppings - real prosciutto, bocconcini, fresh rocket, and the best pizza sauce I have ever tasted. The dough they had was pretty incredible also - the right amount of bounce, the right amount of chewiness, not oily, and did not leave you with a god-awful thirst afterwards.

I snuck a look at the chef and saw that he used much more mozarella than I do - he piles it on. His sauce also looked much smoother than what I make.

So maybe someone could give me some tips on how to make pizza dough. This is my current recipe:

- 1 cup of normal flour

- 2 cups of 00-grade pizza flour (this stuff is expensive!)

- 1 cup of hot water

- 1 tbsp yeast

- 2 tbsp honey

- pinch of salt and olive oil.

I proof the yeast by dissolving it into the hot water along with the honey, salt, and olive oil. After 30 mins, I mix the yeast mixture into the flour in a non-reactive bowl. After a quick knead, I let it sit covered for an hour. After that, I knead the mixture thoroughly and let it sit in my fridge for 24 hours. I have found that this gives a more complex bready aroma to the dough.

I have no problem cooking the pizza - I think my technique is almost perfect. I use a perforated pizza pan on a pizza stone in my oven at its highest setting. I use no oil on the dough. I get pretty consistent results - lightly browned base, with a nice even rise in the dough. So i'm pretty happy with this part of it.

I have also found that the ratio of the normal flour to the 00 flour is very important. Use more normal flour, and you get an insipid, weak pizza dough. Use too much 00 flour, and you get a very heavy dough that almost turns into a biscuit before the dough rises.

So ... any tips! Help!!! And don't worry joz, I don't plan to open up a restaurant next to yours any time soon!

Here are some pictures of my last attempt.

Pizza with mozarella, salami, olives, bocconcini, enoki mushrooms, and fresh basil

My best mate holding up my pizza.

I dont use any honey in my dough recipe, but sprinkle in some dried oregano just to add a bit of zing to the base.

Hmmmm, never tried overnighting it before, usually just roll in a ball and cover with a teatowel in a clean bowl for around 30 minutes to let it rise.

OK ... you've officially made me hunger for some pizza! :biggrin: Never tried to make pizza dough so would be interested in what you guys come up with.

I do mine in a bread machine; never fails.

recipe-

1 and1/4 teaspoon of yeast

3and1/3 cups of bread flour

pinch of salt

350ml water

1 tablespoon cooking oil.

Using the same recipe, I add a little vanilla sugar to the mix and take little ball sizes and deep fry them until golden; drain and pour maple syrup , honey or ice magic chocolate and cream over them and you have yourself a Greek-like desert. try it you'll love it.

Thanks for the suggestion Grumpy ... will be sure to try it.

Anyone have any favourite recipes they want to share? With photos?

some times its the very simple things in life that are the best. When on a working trip in italy one of hte guys there took me to a little place for lunch.

We wanted something on the run. The guy ordered a grilled fish for me. All it was, was a fillet of fish grilled with some olive oil a little bit of garlic, some herbs, salt and a squeeze of lemon. It was absolutely delicious never tasted anythign like it. I asked what the fish was. He said he couldnt tell me the name but the fish had a very ugly face and the first thing they did apparently after catchign it was cut its head off as theyd never be able to sell it otherwise.

Anotehr time for lunch was pizza. the guy told you dont know what pizza is. its nothing like that stuff you get in australia. Lets have some real pizza !. Again simple base, bocconcini cheese, olive oil , fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, cant remember much more on it to be honest again absolutely delicious !

your pizzas look and sound absolutely delicious as well amfibius would love to have a slice of one of those one day !

Although pizza has never been a specialty of mine,heres a few suggestions;

After the do has first risen,knock it back by hand again,portion it and roll it out.Let it rise again on the trays.

Try substituting some fine semolina(10-20%) for some of the flour in the mix,you may like this slight change in texture.Also a small amount of olive oilin the mix may also be nice,just depends on personal taste.

A favorite simple pasta recipe

Prawn,chorizo chilli, and rocket with penne.

Prawn cutlets .

Chorizo sausage.

Wild Rocket.

Fresh chilli(red).

Olive Oil.

Salt & pepper.

Penne(DeCecco is my preferred brand)

Add penne to boiling water(salted)

In a separate large pan/pot.heat olive oil till very hot add sliced chorizo fry till a bit cripy.Then add sliced chilli also fry a bit.Add prawn cutlets,fry them only a little as they cook very quickly.

Breifly remove from heat,add to this the cooked and well drained penne.Drizzle with extra olive oil and season to taste.The last thing is now to add the wild rocket leaves,stir through with out cooking them in.Serve and top with shaved Parmy

Enjoy with a glass of Pinot Grigio.....hic!

Ale, i'm guessing that the fish you ate was a Monkfish. It's the ugliest fish I can think of

As for the pizza you had, it's a Margherita. I find that the simpler the pizza, the harder it is to make. This is because you don't have any toppings to distract from failures elsewhere in the pizza. One of the shops in Perth made a superb pizza bianco - woodfired pizza dough with herbs (looks like rosemary, parsley, and oregano to me) and sea salt sprinkled on top. Olive oil and olive tapenade were provided for dipping. Nothing could be simpler - yet it was a real test of the pizza dough maker's skill and cooking technique.

Thanks for your tip, joz. I'll try it the next time I make some pizza.

Maybe i'll serve pizza with one of my future GTG's. It's not a very social thing for me. The pizza's come out one at a time, which means I have to keep on running back to the kitchen. It also takes a good 2 hours to cook and eat all the pizza's - time which could be better spent listening to hi-fi. When I cook for friends I tend to favour recipes which let me do all the preparation in advance. When people arrive, only a quick heat-up in the oven or quick stir-fry would finish the dish and let me serve it. This is why I almost never serve steak - it requires all my attention to make sure it's done to perfection and I can't chat with anyone until the steak is finished.

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A suggestion here Amf,is to dissolve yeast in water thats about body temperature,hot water tends to kill of the delicate bacteria that does all the good work in your dough.

I have seen many pizza dough recipes over the years and though all giving a different result most are yummy,I remember proving one such dough overnight also.Its amazing what works?

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I proof the yeast by dissolving it into the hot water along with the honey, salt, and olive oil. After 30 mins, I mix the yeast mixture into the flour in a non-reactive bowl. After a quick knead, I let it sit covered for an hour. After that, I knead the mixture thoroughly and let it sit in my fridge for 24 hours. I have found that this gives a more complex bready aroma to the dough.

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Amf youve got to get recipes that work while you can cook and entertain at the same time.Having people hanging about the kitchen while its all being preparred is half the fun.Your right You don't want to be trapped in a kitchen while everyone is outside.So when you do design a kitchen make sure there is plenty ofseating behind the work bench and you won't feel separated.

Ale, i'm guessing that the fish you ate was a Monkfish. It's the ugliest fish I can think of

As for the pizza you had, it's a Margherita. I find that the simpler the pizza, the harder it is to make. This is because you don't have any toppings to distract from failures elsewhere in the pizza. One of the shops in Perth made a superb pizza bianco - woodfired pizza dough with herbs (looks like rosemary, parsley, and oregano to me) and sea salt sprinkled on top. Olive oil and olive tapenade were provided for dipping. Nothing could be simpler - yet it was a real test of the pizza dough maker's skill and cooking technique.

Thanks for your tip, joz. I'll try it the next time I make some pizza.

Maybe i'll serve pizza with one of my future GTG's. It's not a very social thing for me. The pizza's come out one at a time, which means I have to keep on running back to the kitchen. It also takes a good 2 hours to cook and eat all the pizza's - time which could be better spent listening to hi-fi. When I cook for friends I tend to favour recipes which let me do all the preparation in advance. When people arrive, only a quick heat-up in the oven or quick stir-fry would finish the dish and let me serve it. This is why I almost never serve steak - it requires all my attention to make sure it's done to perfection and I can't chat with anyone until the steak is finished.

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thanks amfibius will have to check out the monk fish.

yeah the pizzas in itally are quite different to the run fo the mill ones here. you knwo the ones...supreme 'with the lot' hehehe your probably right because how hard it is to make a simple pizza that tastes good no doubt is why the mass market ones have so much with toppings etc to make up in the flvour stakes.

all that said pizza is one of my favs. a friend of mine a prof chef made a nice home made pizza when popped by her place one day. she jsut put some italian ani-pasto out of a bottle on this one, plus a bit of boccini with a few other ingredients. yummmm !

never had any real sucess makign decent pizza myself. actually got a pizza stone in the garage(one of those presents from friends you dont know what to do with ! hehe) all these pizza postings will have me pulling it out to give a go ! hehe

amfibius yes cooking at gtg would be a tough thing I reckon especially is yoru caugth up the entire time in the kitchen. yeah maybe jsut some pre made ones you can pop in the oven at the appropriate moment.

hehe joz your kitchen cooking social entertaining at the same time sounds like a jamie oliver episode hehe

Monkfish ugly? Well I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I really enjoyed this at a local restaurant and looked up the photo later in a seafood cookbook at home. Doubt if I would've ordered it if I saw the photo first.

Re pizza, I always thought a pizza was a pizza until a new cafe opened down the road from us a few years ago. As you can see from (an old copy of) the menu (name blanked out), they take a slightly different approach (at least to the "run-of-the-mill" pizza shop in SA). The ubiquitous ham'n'pinapple is inevitably there, but the rest of their pizzas are more imaginative and consistently delicious. I know it would be more satisfying to produce a masterpiece at home, but this place has made it much easier to enjoy "gourmet" pizza's without effort Also, knowing the results they achieve prompts me to adopt some of the hints in this thread and see if I can do even better, if I ever get around to it.

it all sounds PUCKER.

Joz you'll notice I use oil in my dough recipe.

I was given the bread dough recipe by a retired country baker.

When he moved to the city he bought a bread making machine and couldn't get a decent loaf out of it so he modified his 'bakers' recipe for the domestic breadmakers. It never fails and this is the recipe I use for the pizza dough. 2 problems now. 1-I'm forever making bread for freinds. 2- now iv'e told you all his secret recipe I will have to kill you

it all sounds PUCKER.

Joz you'll notice I use oil in my dough recipe.

I was given the bread dough recipe by a retired country baker.

When he moved to the city he bought a bread making machine and couldn't get a decent loaf out of it so he modified his 'bakers' recipe for the domestic breadmakers. It never fails and this is the recipe I use for the pizza dough. 2 problems now. 1-I'm forever making bread for freinds. 2- now iv'e told you all his secret recipe I will have to kill you

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Yep, I'm going to try it, Grumps. If it's half as good as you say, it'll be worth the effort. If it isn't, I can grizzle about it if we ever catch up at a GTG and you can tell me what I did wrong :biggrin:

Yep, I'm going to try it, Grumps. If it's half as good as you say, it'll be worth the effort. If it isn't, I can grizzle about it if we ever catch up at a GTG and you can tell me what I did wrong :biggrin:

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Are you trying the bread recipe or pizza dough?

I'll have to bring some bread along to the gtg

Are you trying the bread recipe or pizza dough?

I'll have to bring some bread along to the gtg

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I was going to start with the bread recipe. I tried making bread years ago and lost interest when the results were "just OK". Time to have another go with a new recipe

thanks amfibius will have to check out the monk fish.

yeah the pizzas in itally are quite different to the run fo the mill ones here. you knwo the ones...supreme 'with the lot' hehehe your probably right because how hard it is to make a simple pizza that tastes good no doubt is why the mass market ones have so much with toppings etc to make up in the flvour stakes.!

hehe joz your kitchen cooking social entertaining at the same time sounds like a jamie oliver episode hehe

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Unfortunately pizza in Oz and probably the USA has been barstardised,the real italan deal is buy using less but fresh ingredients as opposed to mass market processed crap.Even thuogh I do love my capriciosa as much as a simple clean woodfired one.

Yes Al my wife thinks its all as easy as Jamie makes out on tv,I always get roped in when we entertain.

As her apron says,I like to cook with wine,sometimes I even add it to the food! :biggrin:

I do mine in a bread machine; never fails.

recipe-

1 and1/4 teaspoon of yeast

3and1/3 cups of bread flour

pinch of salt

350ml water

1 tablespoon cooking oil.

Using the same recipe, I add a little vanilla sugar to the mix and take little ball sizes and deep fry them until golden; drain and pour maple syrup , honey or ice magic chocolate and cream over them and you have yourself a Greek-like desert. try it you'll love it.

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I'll have to try your recipe one day soon gaz,what concerns me is commercial breads that stay fresh for a week to many preservs.Fresh is best

Yep, I'm going to try it, Grumps. If it's half as good as you say, it'll be worth the effort. If it isn't, I can grizzle about it if we ever catch up at a GTG and you can tell me what I did wrong :biggrin:

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Pizza and hi-fi mmmmm :biggrin:

Here are some pictures of my last attempt.

Pizza with mozarella, salami, olives, bocconcini, enoki mushrooms, and fresh basil

My best mate holding up my pizza.

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damn forget hifi gtg's, when is the pizza tasting night Amfibius?

i'll be sure to bring a very empty stomach :biggrin:

Exactly, cooking, and photography GTG’s should be the go for a while…the audio can wait till late autumn and winter.

Exactly, cooking, and photography GTG’s should be the go for a while…the audio can wait till late autumn and winter.

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brilliant idea, with so many people interested in photography we can make a good day of it. Cruise out to some nice places to take snap shots then back to amfibius place for pizza

brilliant idea, with so many people interested in photography we can make a good day of it. Cruise out to some nice places to take snap shots then back to amfibius place for pizza

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like the sounds of this one !

In 2 weeks time I will be finished in Woop Woop and i'll be back in Torquay!

I suppose we could go shoot some pictures, but I only like shooting at dawn or dusk. Any time during the day the lighting isn't really conducive to interesting pictures.

Hm, I suppose we could meet in the arvo, listen to some hi-fi, then head down to the beach (100m walk from my place) to do some shooting. Then come back and have some pizza and some wine. I have a spare QS bed, a spare single bed, and two couches for those who don't mind slumming it.

Will have to check my roster and let you guys know.

In 2 weeks time I will be finished in Woop Woop and i'll be back in Torquay!

I suppose we could go shoot some pictures, but I only like shooting at dawn or dusk. Any time during the day the lighting isn't really conducive to interesting pictures.

Hm, I suppose we could meet in the arvo, listen to some hi-fi, then head down to the beach (100m walk from my place) to do some shooting. Then come back and have some pizza and some wine. I have a spare QS bed, a spare single bed, and two couches for those who don't mind slumming it.

Will have to check my roster and let you guys know.

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One of the beauties about photography it doesn’t have to be outside or in fact landscapes/seascapes. There is plenty of macro work in all sorts of area’s, plus of course still life, portraiture etc. I guess it all comes down to what people want to photograph.

One of the beauties about photography it doesn’t have to be outside or in fact landscapes/seascapes. There is plenty of macro work in all sorts of area’s, plus of course still life, portraiture etc. [/b]

You've got a daughter, haven't you Spearmint?