Pizza Pizza

I am in love with a new toy! I have been making a lot of flat doughs and pizzas recently and finally decided to invest in a pizza stone. For years, I did the old trick where I cooked my pizza on an upside down half sheet pan but I just didn’t get the nice thin crispy crust that I wanted. Every time I was scheduled as a chef assistant for one of The Chopping Block’s pizza classes, I talked myself into purchasing a stone, but those dreams just never manifested until now!

The Chopping Block sells a couple of different varieties of stones: Emile Henry’s stone and the Old Stone Oven pizza set.  Having used both varieties, I opted for the Emile Henry stone, as it fits perfectly in my oven, and I was willing to spend a bit more for a good, solid product.  If you don’t know much about pizza stones, they are designed to basically just live in your oven.  The Emile Henry line can withstand very high heat for long periods of time, so my stone just stays in the bottom of my oven.

After finally buying one, I put it to use with an old school Italian pizza party!  For those of you afraid of pizza dough, I assure you it is the easiest thing to make and a great way to be introduced to bread baking. We have a simple recipe that you can let rise, and if you do not use it immediately, you can let it retard (or set in the fridge overnight) to roll out at your convenience.

I started out making a quadruple batch, giving me 4 pizzas.  I like thin crispy crust so I was careful not to overload it with toppings or cheese.  Sausage, pepperoni, mushroom, cheese and sauces of all varieties were stewing about my kitchen and before long, it looked like a Pizza Hut take out kitchen!

What I discovered is that my stone circulated the high oven heat evenly around my dough, giving my pizza the nice crispy crust I so love!  One key element: don’t forget the cornmeal or you will have a horrible time getting that pizza off of the stone.  Cornmeal allows the dough to move around and helps it not to stick. I also adjusted the size of my pizzas. I decided I didn’t need to go home and eat a whole pizza every night, so making a batch of dough and rolling it out into 4 oz mini portions was a better option.

The Chopping Block has some great pizza classes, such as our upcoming Neapolitan Pizzeria.  This class will give you some skills into dough and sauce making and a nice overview of one of my favorite meals…. Pizza Pizza!

Click here for our recipe for Easy Pizza Dough.

What’s your favorite pizza to make at home?