ERIMA

I really, really, really, need to try making pizza this way.

mrgan:

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Gus Mueller, software developer and amateur pizzaiolo, had an idea for generating the sort of heat you need to make properly burned pizza at home:

My general theory was as follows:

1) Place pizza stone near the top of the oven.
2) Turn broiler on high, and make the pizza stone super hot.
3) Place pizza on stone and cook it super fast.

I had instant success.

This weekend, Christa and I tried this in our still-new GE Induction range (which I should point out includes a badass oven, in case I’ve been praising the induction cooktop too much). My fears were:

1. It may be difficult to control the whole setup, given the high heat and the proximity of the pizza to the broiler
2. The stone may crack under the intense, immediate heat

I discussed this with Gus some more and settled on a slightly modified battle plan: the baking stone was pre-heated on the middle rack at 550 F (the highest any home oven will reliably get) for 45 minutes; this should have been a full hour, but oh well. I then moved the stone one rack up, to the next-to-highest position, and cranked the broiler to high. I gave this about two minutes, while I topped the pizza; in it went.

Here’s the whole process immortalized in video form (shot and edited by Christa):

The result? Even though I used bakery dough instead of making my own; even though I took my cheesemonger’s advice and went with a strange cheese he assured me would work great on a pizza; even though I made no particular efforts with this pie except for Gus’ method, the final result was one of the best pizzas I’ve made at home.

The exact thing Gus predicted would happen did happen: the toppings bubbled seductively, the dough stretched awake with no time to dry. It ended up perfectly crisp/chewy, with an almost croissant-like contrast between the caramelized shell and the gooey interior.

So, consider Gus’ experiment repeated and confirmed. Oh, and, the stone was totally fine.

Now, salivate away at the photos (More here.)

From: The Bread Baker’s Apprentice:

1. Mise En Place – Everything in it’s place is the organizing principle.
2. Mixing – In which three important requirements must be met.
3. Primary Fermentation – Also called bulk fermentation, win which most of the flavor is determined.
4. Punching Down – Also called de–gassing, in which the dough begins to enter its secondary fermentation and individuation.
5. Dividing – in which pieces are weighed or scaled, while continuing to ferment.
6. Rounding – in which the pieces are given an interim shaping prior to their final shape.
7. Benching – also called resting, or intermediate proofing, during which time the gluten relaxes.
8. Shaping and Panning – in which the dough is given its final shape prior to baking.
9. Proofing – also called secondary or final fermentation, in which the dough is leavened to its appropriate baking size.
10. Baking – which may also include scoring the dough and steaming, but in which three vital oven actions must occur.
11. Cooling – which is really an extension of baking but must occur before cutting into the bread.
12. Storing and Eating – in production baking it’s primarily storing, but home baking usually emphasizes, ahem, eating.

I really love the concept of mise en place. I definitely try to have everything laid out when I’m in the kitchen. But outside of the kitchen I never consider getting everything in place to create. I’m going to try that.