Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Brick-Oven Pizza at Home

How to Make Pizzeria-Style Pizza in Your Home Oven
brick oven pizza at home

Previously, on Blackberry Pockets… Our pizza dough had proofed, risen, and been shaped. This time, I will show how to achieve the taste and texture of a brick-oven pizza in your very own home!

I would like to thank my friend Pam who gave me the idea to try broiling my pizza. This suggestion put me on the path to figuring out my now tried and true bake-then-broil combination method of pizza perfection.

Note

In order to achieve these results you will require a baking stone and a pizza peel (or similar tool for placing your pan-less pizza in the oven).Now, on to the fun!

Method – 10 Steps to Pizza Perfection!

1. Make sure your stone is located on the center rack, and preheat your oven to 550 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes to an hour.

2. After shaping your dough and putting it into a pan, perforate the dough across its surface with a fork.

3. Place the dough (while still in its pan) into the preheated oven.

4. Bake for 5-7 minutes until the dough begins to caramelize and gets brown on the edges.

5. Remove the pan from the oven, remove the pre-baked dough from the pan, and place it on a wire rack.

6. Set your oven to “broil”.

7. Add your favorite sauce and toppings - I recommend olives, onions, and candied bacon- to what will now be referred to as the “pizza”.

unbaked pizza

8. Using a peel, or other method, place the pizza back in the oven.

9. Bake for another 5-7 minutes, until it reaches your desired level of doneness. Be sure to keep a close eye on it after 5 minutes, because it can rapidly go from Brick-oven badass, to brick-oven burnt.

10. Remove your pizza from the oven and return it to the wire rack.

peeled pizza

Allow to cool and enjoy!

pizza crust bottom
Nice crispy crust!

open crumb
Nice open crumb!

Here are a few ideas for saucing and topping your pizza.


cheese-crisp pizza
Cheese crisp pizza with salsa verde, Monterey Jack cheese, and sliced green chiles!


pizza margherita
Pizza Margherita!

potato pizza
Marinara sauce with caramelized onions, mushrooms, and potatoes!

pesto pizza
Pesto pizza with onions and black olives!