that looks yummy, HU. So, you use fresh vs low moisture mozz? Does it taste/ melt better?

I'll be right over! Yum!

@hobbitmom I have tried a lot of different cheeses over these many years. I finally settled on Montery Jack because it is most like Brick Cheese which is what they use on Detroit Pizza . It has great melting characteristics and is ” stringy” when you bite into the pizza . I finally learned the right way ( for me) to use fresh mozzarella. I tear the presliced pieces into irregular 1/3’s and place them all over the top. Otherwise they are too wet. The Romano or Parm goes last then plops of sauce.

I bake my raw crust after it has risen at 450° 10-12 min. I make 2000g of dough either 2 big sheet pan sizes ( like this one) or 4 smaller thicker ones using my deep black steel Detroit pans and 2 iron skillets.

I brush with sauce , put the monterey jack, place cooked sausage or roasted mushrooms ( we’ve stopped eating pepperoni it tastes terrible these days and we can’t get beef or other really good pepperoni ) put the torn mozz , then plops of sauce and last the Romano . That ’s it. It keeps after cooking in the fridge for days and reheats perfectly or wrap slices in parchment and freeze , thaw , reheat and it tastes like it was just made. 🙏. c

your housemade pizza looks very nice and glad that you can share with happy grands.

We had an exploratory / celebratory pizza from a good take out place in town to see if dh can abide with dairy as he tests the limits of alphagal over time. So far, so good.

NICE!!!👍🏻

I totally get the greatness of freezing the big pizza bases ready to go for the kids, but may I ask about the dough? You said sourdough--is that your bread recipe just shaped into pizza, or a pizza specific recipe? And are you doing Detroit style pizzas, or just he shape and thickness of the crusts? Do you bake right off, or stall the ferment?

My own pizza recipe is fussy. It's whole wheat, cold ferment, and best on day two, good on days one and three, and okay on day four, of fermenting in the fridge. Then warm up time and shaped tine.... I hadn't considered par baking, but I see the appeal if they were all baked on day two, then frozen for the future. Something to try, at least, especially soon, while I have freezer space. BTW, the favorite topping is chopped broccolini and onion sautéed with red pepper flakes. :)

I think I'd like to try something more like what you make...

The dough recipe is mine after making so many different ones. I have used it exclusively for several years.

I stir everything together. Rest it one hour. Do some ” bowl folds” to get smooth gluten, let it rise and refrigerate over night. Take out next day divide into either 2/ 1000g pieces or 4/500g pieces while still cold ( I don’t worry about warming it up). I butter pans , never use oil , tap with fingertips to stretch dough letting it rest as I do a bit on each one. Let rise til very puffy. Brush well with EVOO and bake at 475° til just getting color about 10-12 min. Cool and bag with parchment between .

I call it Detroit because of the special pans that are buttered , thick crust , cheese to the edges and sauce on top. The skillet pizzas are in old iron skillets and thick crust and are similar to Pizza Uno in Chicago.

They don’t match any description but mine 🤷 .

Here is the dough. I use Arrowhead Mills

Bread Flour and Semolina Rimacinata 50/50

460g bubbly 100% hydration levain

600g water

850g flour ( see above)

21g salt

40g EVOO

20g NON-DIASTATIC MALT ( i buy diastatic and bake 5 min. to convert. it gives pizza dough the right flavor)

( can use 1-2 tsp ADY if you want - sometimes I do sometimes not. Dissolve in water before adding. )

Stir everything together. See above. I have kept it an extra day in the fridge but I like to use it while no more than a day or 2 old .

That is it. 👍

Thanks!

I have the non-diastatic malt, but really appreciate knowing about the conversion. :)

About the levain, though, are you using 230g starter plus water, or 460g of 100% hydration starter, or something else? I could just do my own thing, but I'm hoping to learn something new...

@plllog 460g of 100% hydration levain that was created by putting 230g of water and 230g of Arrowhead Mills flour together with about 40g of stored starter and letting it ferment til bubbly. I take out the extra 40g and it goes back into the fridge storage starter jar.