Back in the sub shop days, we had a Blodgett pizza oven. It had some type of stone insert so all of our pizza had bueno crust (ask anyone who attended Bradley University in the early '80's). We often baked sub buns in there in a pinch. Nice oven for the price.
Bob R On Mon, Dec 28, 2009 at 11:58 PM, Allan Streib <[email protected]>wrote: > Gary Hurst <[email protected]> writes: > > > right up the block from my mom is a salvadorean/mexican restaurant > > with a coal fired oven. they will make you a simple pizza for way too > > much money, thin crust with fresh mozzarela, tomato and basil that is > > pretty worthwhile. i will never understand how most americans happily > > suck down the conveyer belt corporate pizza when such things as this > > exist. > > Conveyor ovens are awful. They do produce a consistent quality pie > without the need for any real skill on the part of the operator, which > is why the chain pizzarias use them. Unfortunately for the consumer, > however, the consistent quality they achieve is not excellent or even > good, but medocre. > > In college I worked at a Domino's franchise. Not world class pizza > maybe, but at the time really not bad. Back then they used deck ovens, > which were later replaced by conveyors. The pizza took a noticable turn > for the worse at that point. Same dough, sauce, cheese and toppings; > the only difference was the ovens. > > The deck ovens could turn out a really nice crust, nicely browned and > crispy on the surface but moist, airy and flavorful on the inside, > cheese carmelized on the surface but melted and stringy underneath, the > tastes of the toppings individually discernable. The conveyor ovens, > with the same ingredients going in, turned out a tough cardboard-like > crust that had no crunch, with the cheese and all the toppings hardened > into a tasteless, dehydrated layer on the surface. > > All the chain pizzarias here, as well as most of the independents, use > conveyor ovens now. Some do better than others, but the best pizza we > have is found at one or two independents that still use deck ovens. > > Our deck ovens at Domino's were electric, and ran at about 580 degrees > F. A coal-fired brick oven could approach 1,000 degrees. Intense > radiant heat is the key to a great pizza. Baking at these temperatures > requires experience and attention. The difference between an underbaked > and a burnt pizza can literally be a matter of seconds. > > Aside from the oven, another critical element of a good pizza crust is > the flour. You need to use a high protein flour, which you cannot buy > at the typical supermarket. So-called "bread flour" is better than > all-purpose, but still not ideal. The best I've tried is "Sir Lancelot" > high-gluten flour from the King Arthur flour company. You can order it > on-line. With this flour, you really have to work the dough to develop > the gluten, so it's best to use an electric mixer such as a Kitchen-Aid. > > For anyone interested, I can enthusiastically recommend a book on the > topic, "American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza" by Peter > Reinhart. The first half is sort of a diary or narrative of his "hunt", > starting in Italy then moving to New York and across the USA, sampling > and comparing locally famous pizzarias. The second half is a collection > of recipes and instructions for how to make a decent pizza at home from > scratch. The author's love for his subject is obvious throughout. > > Allan > -- > 1983 300D > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
