I mentioned recently about us talking about pizzas; well today I found the original email. It's attached below.
Craig Begin forwarded message: Date: Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:58:43 -0500 From: Allan Streib <str...@cs.indiana.edu> To: Mercedes Discussion List <mercedes@okiebenz.com> Subject: Re: [MBZ] pizza oven talk 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 --- Craig McCluskey Present: 1982 240D/3.0 (Euro 1984 617.912 engine, 4-speed) 254 kmi 1994 E420 117 kmi Past: 1964 190Dc 1972 220D/8 1972 220/8 1987 190E/2.3 /"\ \ / ASCII RIBBON CAMPAIGN "Friends don't send friends X AGAINST HTML MAIL HTML email." / \ AND POSTINGS http://www.fred.net/tds/longrange.html http://pruffle.mit.edu/~ccarter/I_do_not_use_microsoft.html Craig ---------------------------------- Present: '93 E300D/2.5 Turbo 354 kmi '89 Chevrolet G20 Beauville 210 kmi (the Big Red Van, BRV) '00 Kenworth W900 Helmut 943 kmi Past: '90 E300D/2.5 Turbo 265 kmi RIP '07 Peterbilt 386 Bruno 885 kmi '82 240D/3.0 Bluebell 286 kmi '95 E320 Sebastian 135 kmi RIP '94 E420 Oskar 127 kmi RIP '87 Dodge Grand Caravan RIP '86 190E/2.3 '72 220/8 '61 Willys Utility Wagon '59 Willys Utility Wagon '67 Volkswagen Fastback '64 190Dc Emma '72 220D/8 Herman 186 kmi '69 Lotus Europa '64 Alfa Romeo Turrisimo Internationale '59 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spyder Veloce _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
