FORTUNA D.O.G. (pizza alert)

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

My kids and I participated in our first non teardrop DOG today.
We decided to do... yeap, another BLT pizza.
Now we were kinda curious as to how it was going to turn out, because we tried a new dough that we've never done before.
This was a dough that we started last night using ice water, then sending it straight to the fridge to ferment overnight. (Was supposed to enhance the flavor of the dough)
BOY DID IT EVER!!!
This was by far, the best pizza crust we've concocted yet!!!
Thin, chunchy on the bottom, but still nice and chewy in the mouth, with great yeasty overtones!!!


Baked hot and fast... 20 underneath, 40 on the lid, 25 minutes in a 14" oven, with one quater turn at 12 1/2 minutes.


This shot just doen't do this pizza justice...


But maybe this close up will. (Notice the bubbling cheese and crust browned to perfection)


We slipped the pizza onto a peel, added a thin layer of mayo, sliced it and added chilled lettuce and tomato...


About two minutes later, it was gone... except this pile of salad.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Hmmmm...
Looks like I'm gonna have to do something other than a BLT.
Well, let's see...
Ira was winking about me using mayo and procceeded to educate me on what an Italian pizza was all about...



IRA... This one's just for you. Any guess'?


Again... this little dinky picture doesn't do the pizza justice.


Ahh... Here yaa go.


Here... Let me slice up your pepperoni pizza for you...


Ira... The best part is that the beer is already in the crust!!!


Dude... You better hurry. Now kids... This was for Ira.


HEY!!!... Ahh Dude, I'm so sorry!

[asianflava]

I'll never figure out how you guys get your coals so evenly ashed.

Mine usually either have some black on'em or if they are completely ashed, they are about to disintegrate.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Rocky,
I was thinking the same thing until just recently...
I'm using a weber chimney starter, with two or three pieces of newspaper to get them going.
On my 16" oven, I've used as many as 80 briquettes.
These newer Kingsford's with the K on one side and the two parallel grooves on the other side, seem to do what they are advertised to do.... Light faster.
I was waiting until the briquettes at the top of the chimney were white also and what I was finding... was that the briquettes at the bottom of the pile were like marbles because of waiting so long.
To avoid that, I just wait until I know those upper ones have a corner started, them dump them into a pile and start placing my bottom briquettes, then after placing the oven, place the briquettes on the lid.
By then, any briquettes that weren't fully ashed when I started placing them, are.
I'd be willing to bet that you are waiting too long to empty your starter chimney...
Dumping them into a foiled pan or onto a metal plate makes it easier to pluck them with tongs too, instead of picking them out one by one from the chimney.

Once you start placing your briquettes, work fast!
The tongs I started out with, were like big tweezers and I was constantly fumbling my briquettes. I bought a cheapy set of tongs that have ends shaped more like spoons... They work great for quickly transfering the briquettes.
They even make that type real fancy too... Take a look at Kevin's, they have a real neat lock on them on the end of the springed hinge that locks them in the closed position when not in use.
(He told me he got them at Bed Bath and Beyond of all places...)

[Kevin A]

---Snip---
Once you start placing your briquettes, work fast!
The tongs I started out with, were like big tweezers and I was constantly fumbling my briquettes. I bought a cheapy set of tongs that have ends shaped more like spoons... They work great for quickly transfering the briquettes.
They even make that type real fancy too... Take a look at Kevin's, they have a real neat lock on them on the end of the springed hinge that locks them in the closed position when not in use.
(He told me he got them at Bed Bath and Beyond of all places...)

[DRYVEM]

Sounds like it was a lot of fun! I need to find one local to attend.


Barbara

[AmyH]

Dean, did you use that recipe that you posted earlier? Did you throw in the additional yeast? If so, I really have to try out that dough recipe of yours...those pizzas look fantastic!! I am so gonna have to start collecting DOs now!!

Have you been onto the pizza making forum: here? There are some great ideas on there.

Amy

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Amy,
I used a new recipe I found... New approach, (For me, at least on purpose) making the dough with ice water and fermenting it overnight in the fridge.
I stumbled upon this Link.
I used the recipe as prescribed, EXCEPT... Instead of using 1 3/4 cups of ice water, I used 1 1/4 cups of ice water and 1/2 cup of ice cold Miller beer from a bottle, which was poured back and forth from one glass to another until it went flat, then rechilled prior to use.
Many of Peter's dough recipes call for this fermentation proccess, which he claims is good for hearth type baking. I'd say that a dutch oven is just about as close as you can come, if not better to that type of baking.
Foget that earlier campsite dough recipe... Take an extra ice chest along and go with this one!

Oh... He's got two good books out for pizza lovers...
The Bread Baker's Apprentice and American Pie.

After using Peter's recipe, I can see that I was using way too much yeast in my concoctions... His recipe doesn't use sugar either... The sugar for the yeast happens during the fermentation process and that's where all that bitchen flavor comes from.

[Ira]

The ONLY thing that's getting me interested in DO cooking at all are these pizzas of yours--sans mayonnaise.

Makes a lot of sense, because it really cooks like a pizza oven would, from top AND bottom. I would just be afraid that I would burn it.

By the way and a teeny weeny off-topic:

There's a big controversy raging over at the barbecue site because Kingsford has changed the design of their standard briquettes--they now have little ridges cut into them. The big debate is whether they now burn faster, less evenly, that kind of thing.

Dean, it looks like these are the kind you used. Yes or no?

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Yeap,
I used the last of my "old" style Kingsford briquettes up earlier this spring...
(First time my supply has lasted me through the winter)
I'm seeing that they do light faster... IMO, the grooves allow for better air flow up through the chimney, when lighting.
Do I think they did it for that?.... No.
I think they did it, to get more briquettes out of a given amount of charcoal.
Ira,
Here's my best advice to you...
If you want to really hook your family on teardropping, especially the kids...
Go out and buy yourself a 14" Lodge oven, make up some dough as prescribed above. (Yes... You can use Bud)
Take them camping, then let the kids know that they are gonna have pizza for dinner.
BTW-In my experience and from viewing others also... I'm not seeing burnt food. I'm seeing undercooked food, if something isn't right.
Buying a 14" shallow, baking a pizza as described above... I gauarntee you will not burn your pizza.
A pizza should be baked hot and fast and when you get your hands on one of those charts and look at the briquette/temperature ratios, you will think I'm pullin' your leg.
If you follow the chart, be prepared to bake your pizza for about 45 minutes. (Too long in my opinion)
Take you family camping, serve the kids a pizza that even the pizza joints can't touch and you will have them asking, "When we going camping again Dad?"

My next challenge in DO cooking...
A cobbler from one oven and spumoni ice cream from another oven.

[Gary G]

OK, I give up..... What's the paper looking stuff under the pizza?????

[Kevin A]

:roll: OK, I give up..... What's the paper looking stuff under the pizza?????

Hey Gary, It's parchment paper.
http://www.kitchengifts.com/parchmentpaper.html

[Gary G]

Thanks Kevin. I can hardly wait to try the pizza recipe.....
Looks really good..... See ya' at IRG.