Pizza: Part ii

In a previous post, I wrote some instructions on how I cook pizza in my conventional electric oven. Those instructions were over-complicated. More concise steps are below.

The actual recipe (for three 300g-ish doughs) is the same and I’ll copy it here for convenience.

At some point before baking, probably while preheating the stone, shape your dough ball into pizza. I do this by stretching the dough a bit and letting it rest and then repeating that until I’m happy with the shape. Don’t let the dough sit out for too long or it will dry out and get crusty and kinda weird.

1. Put your pizza stone in the oven near the broiler.

   I place mine on the 2nd highest rack; the about 11cm (4.3”) under the broiler.

2. Try to get the stone as hot as possible without burning your house down.

   I use my broiler on its highest setting (260°C) and it takes about twenty-five or thirty minutes.

   My broiler will shut off sporadically, as the stone gets above 350°C (measured with an infrared thermometer) but it will get hotter with patience. You just have to believe in yourself.

3. Once the stone is hot enough, turn off the broiler and slide the pizza on the stone.

   It is important that the pizza is centered under the broiler.

4. With the broiler off, wait two minutes. Turn the broiler on again.

5. With the broiler on, wait two and a half or three minutes; or until the pizza looks done.

   The exact time depends a bit on how burnt you want it and how long it takes for the broiler to do its thing. Just watch the pizza until you’re happy.

6. Take the pizza out. Admire it. Then overeat to cope with the emotional despair that comes from knowing that nobody looks at you with the desire & lust that you have when you look at your pizza.