Making Better Pizza

Lately, I've really been focusing a lot on making better pizza at home. I've been cooking a lot of different breads and things to learn more about yeast, flour, and dough, in the hopes that it will inform what I do when I make pizza. Also, I've been reading a lot on the forums at Pizzamaking.com, and have learned a great deal. I love reading of experiments in reverse-engineering food recipes.

A lot of it is trial and error, but it's always fun. Here is my first attempt at making a stuffed pizza, in the style of Giordano's of Chicago:



I made it in a springform pan on my pizza stone. The top rim is a little jagged, and the dough recipe isn't exact yet, but it tasted really good. I handmade some sausage, and I was satisfied with how it turned out. It made me start thinking about getting my own meat grinder. I've heard that Escalon's 6 IN 1 tomatoes are preferred for this style of pizza, so I'm going to order some for my next try.

I had a little bit of dough left over, so I made a mini-pizza:



This tasted great as well. I just ordered some hi-gluten flour from King Arthur, so I'll hopefully be making New York style pies this weekend.