Have been on a quest for quite some time for a pizza I could make at home that tasted as good as a pizzeria. I've been experimenting for years with different doughs and finally settled on the same dough you used (Jim Lahey's from Sullivan Street Bakery). It is so easy - I mix it by hand and leave it on the counter for a day (it has to be overnight fermentation). I even bought the Breville Pizza Maker and it produces a pretty darn good pizza. For pizza sauce, I was using Amer.Test KItchen no-cook recipe but it seems a little runny - which means it runs onto the pizza stone - which I don't like. Do you make your own pizza sauce or have you found a good store bought one? It looks sooooo good!

Trailrunner, I made pizza tonight too. Sourdough, made yesterday and left an extra day in the fridge. Baked using the Forkish method. Pretty much the same as what you described above. Oven at 550°F . Finished under the boiler. I'm using a stone though not steel. And the pizza took about 7 minutes, plus two under the broiler.

I'm in the market for a new stone. Maybe I should be looking at steel. What size is your steel?

~Ann

Hey just..thank you ! I think the broiler gets the steel pretty close to the 660 that the Breville advertises..if not exact it is close enough . I had not heard of the Breville till you mentioned it. I am glad it works well ! I make my sauce based on a "lightly " cooked one that I saw somewhere a couple years ago and we love it. One 6 oz can of paste and one can of water mixed together. First simmer chopped garlic in a good amount of EVOO...don't let it brown...just poach it. Then add the paste/water and your spices and salt and pepper...and this is the key ingredient also...sugar...it takes a pretty good amount to replicate the restaurant pizza taste I have found..a couple TBSP...don't let it cook hard or long...just heat together and let it set at room temp for a couple hours. This isn't too thin or thick. I spread it with the back of a spoon on the crust...for a 12" pizza I use about 3-4 Tbsp...way less than I used to use and there is no way it runs off. Since I have cut back on toppings and the stretched crust is very thin it is all working so much better. Give it a try and see what you think...good luck !

Ann,,,that is ONE GORGEOUS pizza !! I will use my SD the next time. I got the basic steel not the extra thick one and I think it does great. It has a learning curve since I wasn't doing the broiler part. The 6" distance is critical..not too high and not too low. The broiler cycles off and that is when you put in the pizza and turn it back to "oven"...the first pizza is done that way and really it was exactly 4 min. No actual broiler on that one...then the next one goes in ..still on oven and then broiler for one minute...then take pizza out and leave the broiler on...while stretching and topping ...slide in next pizza and turn it back to "oven"...you can see how the cycle goes...alternate oven/broil every other pizza. The steel retains heat and my Miele's never lose heat so the brief time the oven is open makes no temp drop at all and I could have kept this up for a party for as long as I wanted. I was SO impressed !

As far as competition I would also look at the new Lodge Logic cast iron pizza pan. it is a 14" circle with handles. It does have edges though , not flat so could potentially be a problem to slide the pizza on with a peel . It is $46 so cheaper than the steel. I think from reading the reviews on Amazon, which are wonderful by the way, that folks don't preheat it and still get great pizza.The get the oven really hot and place the pizza on the LLCI and then slide it in the oven. Of course the problem with this is if you want to make serial pizzas you would have a hot pan after the first bake...so not sure how that would work. It has a lot of other uses too and can be used on the grill outside and stove top etc. I may get one at some point. For now I am in love with my steel and it too can be used for other things as well..bread is great on it and you can use it on a grill too and no edges or handles so when it is hot it is staying put !

You will love it if you decide to get one. Mine lives in the bottom oven and I don't take it out usually. it is HEAVY. I didn't get the case . Let me know if you get one...4 min is so tempting and I am thinking it might get to 3 1/2..that is what Kenji got when he tested the steel. Thanks for looking and you make beautiful pizzas :) c

Here is a link that might be useful: Kenji pizza steel

The "Up Skirt" peak shows a perfect pizza. Very nicely done!

Not very important to pizza making, but it bothers me a little. The following statement is incorrect scientifically, not acceptable coming from Kenji, a MIT scientist:

"The steel, on the other hand, stabilizes at around 450°F (though in some tests it peaked at closer to 500°F). This is due to the steel's radiative properties. It's constantly giving off heat even as it absorbs it, causing it to stabilize at a temperature that's slightly cooler than the air around it."

Based on the fundamental law of "Black Body radiation", heat can only flow from high to low. It is impossible for the 450F steel to radiate heat to the oven which was at above 500F.

Anyway, I will post an interesting way to make a non-stick pizza peel later.

dcarch

Trailrunner, that looks perfect, I like a nice crunchy crust.

I do tend to pile on too many vegetables, and then the crust stays soggy in the middle and it's hard to get the pizza off the peel and onto the stone intact. Less is more, I guess...

Annie

Annie..when I said " less is more" DH looked all around the ceiling ...looking for pigs flying I guess. LOL ! I have always piled it on...but now..whew..I have to eat my words...and excess toppings. It is amazing. See through crust when stretched and amazing crunch and light...and just wonderful ! try it...you will love it. c

c, I don't really like pizza, but Elery loves it, so I keep trying.

My current procedure is to make separate pizzas, he gets to put whatever he likes on his, it usually includes hot peppers. Mine has no sauce (can't stand the stuff) and little or no cheese but lots of vegetables. I like peppers, onions, mushrooms and occasionally I'll add some ham. My pizza goes into the oven and comes out soggy in the middle. I scrape off the vegetables and eat them and the outside crust and throw the rest away. (grin)

Less is more, less is more, less is more.......(I'm trying to remember that!)

Annie

I was looking at your beautiful pizza before, but it just sank in -- 4 minutes!! Wow!

Beautiful pizza!

yep..made 2 more tonight from the 3 day old dough. It takes 4 min. every time. Peel is sprinkled with durum flour...mine is quite coarse...works so perfectly...had to pinch myself LOL! I am now going to use SD and make a thicker edged crust like the one in your pick on Kitchens. These last 4 have been paper thin. Will post when perfect:)

Annie..do you cook your toppings lightly so they aren't so wet? Drain them? Don't use so much!!! c

Yes, I cook the toppings, and I drain them. I just get carried away and use too many. I know I do, and I just do it anyway because I'm perverse that way. (grin)

You know, Grandma used to tell me that optimism was the triumph of hope over experience. I keep thinking it'll turn out differently, so next time, kick me, will you?

Annie

Aha! The paper thin makes sense. :)

My thick edged pizza didn't start out that way! It was very normal. Just a little roll on the edge. But it was commercial dough, so extra yeasty and very high in gluten. It puffed up a big treat. Those are bubbles!!!

Best of luck with your thick edged crust. And remember that the highest part gets (over)cooked the fastest!