By Noelle Carter
Los Angeles Times | Posted: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 12:00 am
It didn't hit me until I was loading firebrick into the back of my clean car one Sunday afternoon that maybe my little "project" was turning into more of an obsession.
All I wanted was a really good homemade pizza.
There are many components that go into a great pizza, and opinions vary as to what they are. But any pizza lover will agree that you can't bake one without a super-hot oven, and you can't replicate the effects of a great pizzeria oven with a standard home model - even with a pizza stone or ceramic tiles. A home oven simply can't reach the right temperature or mimic the necessary radiant heat.
Short of remodeling your kitchen or constructing a wood-fired brick oven in your backyard (that's assuming you have a backyard and the necessary permits), great homemade pizza is just not going to happen at home. You're better off keeping your favorite takeout number on speed-dial when you're craving a great pie in the sweet comfort of your living room.
At least that's what I'd always thought. For about $15 worth of brick and a few ceramic tiles or a pizza stone, even great pizza is possible at home. That and a bit of an odyssey - well, for me at least.
I spent half a weekend casually looking for firebrick, mistakenly thinking it would be readily available at any major hardware store. It's not. And you can't substitute just any brick - you need brick that's been fired at an extremely high temperature to withstand the consistent heat of an oven. Firebrick, made to line fireplaces and chimneys, fits the bill.
By Sunday, I'd had the sense to contact a fireplace store, which referred me to a masonry supply yard. Only one yard was open that day, way across town, but one 45-minute drive later, I was happily loading firebrick into my car.
Firebricks in hand, I began constructing an insert in my oven. The first attempts were horrendous, even potentially catastrophic.
On my first try, I used thick, 71/2-pound bricks, and the assembled insert weighed more than 90 pounds. I quickly removed them, worried that I might permanently damage the oven (I swear I could hear it groaning under all the weight).
Split firebricks worked better. They are the same length and height, but thinner and half the weight. But the sides were precariously balanced, and I was afraid the thinner bricks might slip through the oven rack.
So I contacted a flatbread chef. A professional baker with a background in artisanal breads, he has created different oven configurations to manipulate different types of heat, including the one in the center of his restaurant. I e-mailed him pictures of some of my attempts and we talked.
He liked what he saw but suggested tweaking a few things. We decided to use a regular pizza stone as the base of the insert; it's lighter than a base made of firebrick but will still absorb and radiate the heat necessary to set the crust. I then placed two thick firebricks on either side of the pizza stone to act as walls; they would absorb and radiate heat as a pie baked.
Finally, I built a low "ceiling" out of split firebrick on the upper rack in the oven to create a small, enclosed chamber that would allow the heat to radiate downward over the entire pizza for intense, even baking.
Fingers crossed, I cranked the oven to its highest setting (550 degrees) and waited. It took a good hour, but the oven and bricks became scorching hot. This looked promising.
Now, the foundation to any great pizza is the crust, so the next step was developing the dough. A good crust has to set up and bake quickly in a hot oven, it should be crisp on the outside but tender and slightly chewy on the inside. And it has to carry good flavor without drawing too much attention to itself. The best pizza crusts are the ones you notice only after you're done eating.
The secret? Start with a moist dough. Artisanal bread expert Peter Reinhart recommends a well-hydrated dough that makes a crust with a light, airy texture, and the moisture keeps the crust from drying out in a super-hot oven. Some of the best recipes call for two-thirds or more the amount of liquid to flour in the dough.
It's also important to use only a small amount of yeast. The trick is to add just enough to get the dough started, then set the dough aside for several hours or even overnight, to give the yeast time to do its work slowly. This gives the crust depth of flavor.
And while some purists frown on their use, sugar and oil help, too. A little sugar will help activate the yeast and give the crust deeper color. Oil adds richness to the crust and keeps the structure of the dough from toughening too much when it's kneaded.
The sauce is also key to a great pizza. The trick is to not overdo it. You want a nice, thin layer of basic sauce (and your sauce can be any color; it doesn't have to be red). Too much and you run the risk of a soggy crust.
Your sauce can be simple. For a quick red sauce, puree a can of chopped tomatoes with a little fresh oregano, basil and garlic. Give the sauce a little depth with some chopped Kalamata olives and season with just a little salt. And don't worry about cooking it - your sauce will cook as the pizza bakes.
Then think cheese. Good fresh mozzarella is not hard to find, but the classic pizza cheese, the one that oozes slightly and gives you that glorious string, is simple, low-moisture mozzarella, available at any grocery store. Or be creative with other cheeses; try Fontina, blue or fresh goat cheese.
Lastly, top your pizza, but keep it simple. With all the work you've put into creating your pizza (and your oven), you don't want to ruin things by overdoing the toppings. Remember, the more toppings you add, the more time it will take for your pizza to bake, and this is bad for the crust. Go with quality ingredients - less is more - and keep the toppings simple.
Fingers crossed, I baked that first pizza. In less than two minutes, the crust had puffed and set, and in only 61/2, the pie was done. The crust was crisp and a rich golden-brown, and when I opened the oven, the smell of tomatoes and herbs was amazing. I waited a minute, then sliced - the crust was light and airy around the rim, and it snapped as I cut the pie.
Now, for the real test, I bit into a slice. The red sauce had thickened slightly and had a gentle tang, complementing the richness of the melted cheese. The crust was crisp on the outside, yet airy and still a bit chewy. The flavor was gentle but complex and perfectly seasoned. This was one of the best pies I'd ever had.
Basic Pizza Dough
13/4 cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons sugar or honey
4 cups (19 ounces) bread flour, divided, plus more for kneading
1 package active-dry yeast
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the water with the sugar and 2 teaspoons flour. Whisk in the yeast. Set aside until the yeast begins to foam or bubble, about 10 minutes. (If the yeast fails to bubble, discard the mixture and start over.) Meanwhile, whisk the salt into the remaining flour until evenly combined.
When the yeast is bubbly, stir in the oil using a fork. Begin adding the flour mixture, a cup at a time, stirring until combined. As more flour is added, it may become tough to stir the dough with the fork. Continue incorporating the flour with your hands, gently kneading it into the dough while still in the bowl. When all the flour is added, turn the dough out onto a well-floured board.
Knead the dough just until it comes together in a smooth, supple mass, 7 to 10 minutes. Flour the dough and board as needed to enable kneading, but do not over-flour the dough or it will be tough; the dough should be very moist and somewhat sticky throughout (the high moisture content will keep the crust from drying out when baked).
Clean and lightly oil the mixing bowl. Place the dough back in the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (this slows the proofing process to allow the flavors to develop).
About 2 hours before baking, remove the dough from the refrigerator, punch it down and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place them on a greased baking sheet. Lightly oil the top of each ball and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Set aside until almost doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
Lightly flour each ball of dough to keep it from sticking. Gently stretch each ball into a flat disc, working from the center of the dough outward, then stretching the outer crust to widen the disc. If the dough springs back, set it aside to rest on a floured surface and move to the next ball. Continue to stretch until each disc is 10 to 12 inches in diameter.
Place each disc on a well-floured pizza peel or flat baking sheet before assembling to prevent the pizza from sticking before it is moved to the oven. Assemble the pizzas and bake.
Pizza Margherita
Basic tomato sauce
1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
11/2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons pitted and chopped kalamata olives, from about 10 whole
1/8 teaspoon pepper
• Salt
Place the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor or a blender and add the basil, oregano, garlic, olives and pepper. Pulse the sauce until thoroughly combined and smooth. Taste the sauce and season as needed (canned tomatoes will vary widely with sodium content, resulting in some sauces that require less salt than others). Remove the sauce to a bowl, lightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. This makes about 3 cups tomato sauce.
Pizza assembly
2 prepared pizza dough discs
1/2 cup basic tomato sauce, divided
1 cup grated low-moisture mozzarella cheese, divided, plus more if desired
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided, plus more if desired
Prepare the oven, setting the temperature as high as it will go (most ovens will reach 500 to 550 degrees). It's best to start heating the oven at least 45 minutes before you plan to start baking.
Place one pizza disc on a peel sprinkled with extra flour or cornmeal to prevent sticking. Spread 1/4 cup sauce over the pizza, then sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan evenly over the sauce.
Slide the first pizza into the oven. The pizza will be done when the crust is puffed and rich golden-brown in color, the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling gently, from 6 to 12 minutes depending on how your oven is set up (the hotter the oven, the shorter the time). Remove the first pizza and cool for a minute or two to set up for cleaner slicing, or set aside in a warm place until the second pizza is baked.
Allow the oven to reheat while you assemble the second pizza. Bake the second pizza and serve immediately.