OT dbu/pizza

My pizza is, relatively speaking, low calorie. I use sourdough bread for a thin crust and FAT FREE mozarella cheese (45 cal/1/4cup) sprinkled lightly. Black olives, a few slices of fresh tomato, chopped fresh green and red pepper, slices of mushrooms, and sprinkled with Paul Prudhommes Pizza & Pasta Magic, (hot and sweet). Or McCormick Italian Seasoning, Classic Herbs. I also use Turkey pepperoni from Hormel, 70 percent less fat than regular pepperoni and you can't tell the difference in taste. The only place I use any olive oil is to very lightly grease the pan, then a sprinkle of corn meal. This is baked at about 425 for ten minutes then watch it very closely, it may take a minute or two longer, just keep an eye on it because with the thin crust it can get away from you, :) and that would be tragic.

We indulge in this pizza maybe once every 5 weeks, that makes it a treat.

I have to keep my weight down because I jog everyday and adding weight just makes it less fun. I'm at a pretty consistant 155 to 158 depending on how much water I drink, :)

Enjoy my world famous pizza, LOL.

It works for us.

Depending on the type yeast used.....I've never used dry powder type yeast before & takes longer to rise, maybe 3-4 hrs depending on room temperature at the time obviously. I personally don't like the powder type as the texture of the dough is different & a bit harder to work with. Brick yeast needs no activation before pouring flour & less time to rise, maybe 2.5hrs at most & I feel rises more evenly. Of course I'm referring to *restaraunt* style pizza using a high gluton flour. Interesting article though, especially the cooking times which are about right on, does make a difference. I would prefer ovens set at about 475 rather than 550-600 but if the owner is in a rush to get em out faster than I have no control over that.

I would suppose a higher gluton dough is not exactly healthier either. I make pizza's quite often and most don't seem healthy to me..... ;0)

I make my own pizza at home sometimes and to be honest with ya, a good brick stone & a hot oven beats all....... ;0)

Fat free mozzarella cheese? I'll have to take a closer look in the dairy case next time. We threw a backyard party last year and one of the 5 large pizzas had sliced black olives on it. One of the guests, a woman in her nineties, stopped me as I was about to walk by her, and she said she never cared for pizza before. But the one with black olives had changed her mind. She couldn't stop talking about it. I think as we get older we need that extra *kick*. Most of the time my pizzas are half one thing and half another. I have to do the same for things like potato salad and macaroni salad. Someone doesn't like onion or egg or green pepper. So I make a bland potato and celery, or a bland macaroni with fine chips of carrots. It ticks me off when they are a no show. When you cut back on the main dish calories you may want to splurge a little on desert. If you combine equal amounts of Philly cream cheese (lite or regular) and marshmallow fluff until it's a soupy texture, it makes a great dip for whole strawberries, watermelon and cantaloupe chunks. Be sure to get there first 'cause it goes quick. And tell people not to DOUBLE DIP! That's disgusting.

You're talking about a cake of yeast when you say brick yeast. I haven't seen yeast come in that configuration in years. Sounds to me like you prep your dough circle using the back of your hands instead of roll in one direction method. I'm going to guess I could get pretty darn close to how your dough comes out by simply doubling the dry yeast.Yours probably has those nice big air holes, and you have to open the oven and stab the air bubbles with a fork. Yum, yum.

I'd like to find out what the Greeks put on their pizza that makes them so different from Italian pizza. I can make French and Italian style but not Greek. They won't tell me :(

It's a Kraft product in bags, shreaded. Kraft also makes a 2 percent mozzarella, made with milk I believe. I don't use it unless I can't find the fat free.

Also putting a few slices of tomato on the pizza adds a favor that we like.

Cream cheese dosen't like me so I stay far away.

No dessert for me, thankyou. I do however like a low calorie veggi dip, that stuff goes really well with fresh raw radish, onion, celery, carrots, broccoli (steamed), etc. Trouble with me is I eat too much of it.

Yep, I call it a brick, the last pizzeria I worked in we used it and I like it much much better........

Not sure what ya mean by the back of hands but when I roll the dough balls I tuck in with my fingers and use my palm to close the hole. My current job I don't like the way the other handlers roll the dough as they close the hole with their fingers and don't roll the balls as tight and airless as they should be.....always leads to inconsistent rising and gettin a good crust with enormous amounts of air in the risen dough is a pain in the ass for me.

As I said, I don't like the dry yeast at all!!!! And you are absolutely correct about the air bubbles! Geeeeeeeeeeezuz keeee-rist I pop freaking bubbles damn near all day long and am getting tired of it. I'm not sure though as to the amount of yeast used as I never weighed the powder content but the cake content, depending how fast I needed it to rise, I averaged about 2 ounces per 50lb bag and the dough was beautiful!!! He also used the Pillsbury product flour also which had a less gluton content than the stuff I use now.......I dunno, I don't like this flour or the dry yeast, the texture of the dough is very different, sometimes it's almost like trying to stretch silly putty. I started making all their dough recently & the batches I make rarely have these troubles but they won't admit that mine are better......You know, can't teach old dogs new tricks kinda thing.....Don't wanna insult the Italians as I'm an Irish pizza maker....(LOL)

I believe they are more "classico" type style & the oils also make a difference in the crust taste. I've never really made exotic type pizza before so that would be a guess on my part. Pizza I make is all the basics & quick stuff.....Now I'll tell ya what, give me a good ol' fashin Nu Yawk style white pizza and I'm in heaven.....In these parts it seems white pizza is made with American White slices of cheeze instead of Ricotta....YUCK!!!!

Some pizzerias do make their dough differently though. Personally I like the added touch of eggs & a little corn starch in the batch, gives the crust a nice taste instead of that bland doughy taste.......