Comments by "Adam Ragusea" (@aragusea) on "Making New York-Style Pizza At Home" video.

  1. Recipe is linked in the description, please tell me where you think I've gone wrong with the ingredients.
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  2. @SecludedMemory Damn right.
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  3. I age my dough for up to a week, I think it tastes better. Just keep it covered. Even if the skin dries out, just kneed the dough over again and the dry part will re-hydrate.
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  4. Haha! WOW! If you flip through the previous 479 comments you'll see you're the first person to come up with that joke! Bravo sir, bravo.
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  5. That's the spirit!
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  6. Yes, at the surface they result in a crispy, deeply browned layer reminiscent of pastry.
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  7. We're not imitating your culture. My great grandparents came from Bari and settled in the Bronx. This is the linear descendent of the version of pizza they developed, just as I am the linear descendent of the people themselves. It's our culture, whether you like it or not.
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  8. I disagree, I think a layer of olive oil prevents the sauce from binding with the crust.
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  9. What do you think pizza is?
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  10. You'll note my sauce recipe (link in description) does call for dried oregano in the sauce. Do you mean leaves of fresh oregano on top?
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  11. Use half the ingredients.
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  12. I think fresh mozz has too much moisture, leaving pools of water on the finished pizza, at least when baked at domestic oven temperatures. Commercial ovens may bring enough heat to evaporate the excess during cook, I don't know.
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  13. @OutlawMCC For god's sake, you can put toppings on if you want, I was just trying to show the basics!
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  14. @davidshultz2007 This may be the first time in my life Ragusea wasn't a sufficiently Italian last name...
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  15. @SecludedMemory See the recipe, follow the link in the description.
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  16. recipe linked in the description
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  17. My dough recipe is in the link in the description.
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  18. Yes. Bubbles in the crust brown more heavily and create a flakey, pastry-like texture. Large bubbles do the same, but they displace too much sauce and cheese.
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  19. @MrMoo2wo Make it! It's easy! Recipe is in the link in the description.
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  20. Absolutely correct, this only works for thin pizzas. Anything thicker, or with a huge load of toppings, should be baked on a lower rack position.
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  21. @confederatedipperify We were recording that scene for radio. Unfortunately, chewing sounds are the only way to convey eating on the radio!
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  22. @serhathoca Dude, seriously?
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  23. Knickers, eh?
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  24. Hey everybody, recipe is now linked in the description.
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  25. You don't have to, you can stretch it out on the board. But, tossing the pizza in the air will allow centrifugal force to do most of the work for you. As the outer mass of the dough tries to excape the center, it'll cause the pizza to stretch evenly all the way around, while leaving the tick cornice or ring around the edge that is key to NY-style pizza. Again, you can do it on the board, but the pizza probably won't be as even or as round.
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  26. @wallybag100 Just so we're clear, I'm the guy in the video, not Zalupastyle. You are arguing with someone else.
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  27. I don't recall saying anything about the type of mozz I was using, other than saying it's low-moisture, which I prefer. So, I don't know where you're getting this.
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  28. @TheMockingjay22 Third, yes, I agree you should bench proof your dough for 30-40 minutes before rolling it out. But I don't see what that has to do with the dough sticking. Also, failing to bench proof will not "kill" the yeast, it simply won't allow them one last shot at inflating the dough before tossing. Lastly, New York-style pizza is supposed to be paper-thin in the middle. Maybe you like your crust more puffy, but this recipe is about achieving a very specific style.
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  29. @makwabid69 Hasn't happened yet.
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  30. @Pauly69s As I said, this method will leave you plenty of the smaller bubbles. What it will deflate is the giant bubbles that basically push all the cheese and sauce off a whole slice.
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  31. If you paid more attention, you would see that I agree with you. I love NY style pizza, I can't get it in Boston, so I came up with a recipe that allows you to get pretty close to it at home.
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  32. Yes, they brown more than the rest of the crust and create a crispy, pastry-like texture. Large bubbles do the same, but they displace too much topping.
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  33. @Landotter1 My pleasure. Are you building a wood oven at home? That would make amazing pizza, obviously. Much better than mine.
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  34. @cupcake1556 Just for the record, I remain gainfully employed at WBUR, where I am covering the Occupy movement, not participating in it. And the only thing I'm addicted to is making great radio, and occasionally pizza.
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  35. Are you really telling me that only people from Naples are allowed to make pizza?
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  36. Nope, I just think that before people talk to each other on the internet, they should ask themselves: "would I say this in person?"
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  37. It's called a pizza peel, you can get it at any kitchen store, Target, etc. Should cost less than $20. In a pinch I once used a stout piece of cardboard. That worked ok, but was a little tricky.
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  38. @dadankskunk I love to eat it in caprese, but it has no place on pizza. Way too much moisture. The casein proteins tighten and the whey comes spurting up in pools. Terrible idea.
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  39. @kyiana52 Check the recipe linked in the description.
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  40. @fretbuzz59 The yellow hue is an artifact of youtube's video compression, it did not look that way in real life. As for the tomatoes and garlic, I agree that fresh crushed tastes better, but the point of this exercise was not to make the best pizza; it was to make the most authentic NY-style pizza, and in that regard, canned sauce products are the more authentic way to go.
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  41. Here I am, please do share your secrets. Pizzaria Regina? Santarpio's?
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  42. It's low-moisture mozz, as opposed to fresh mozz. Fresh mozz contains a lot of whey which tends to pool on the top of the pizza if it can't evaporate fast enough. If you have a brick oven that gets to 900 degres F, then maybe the moisture will evaporate and the cheese will brown. But if you're using a home oven like me, then low-moisture mozzarella is the only way to go.
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  43. Watch the video, I explain that my technique involves the broiler.
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  44. a pizza stone
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  45. No man, I'm not serious. It was a joke.
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  46. @funkmex75 Oh, just clean it the way you would a wooden cutting board, abrasive pad and water, no soap. As far as the stone is concerned, the best way to clean is to leave it in the oven during the self-cleaning cycle, then just wipe off the ash with a wet paper towel. I actually leave my stone in the oven all the time anyway, because it functions as a heat diffuser/sink, stabilizing the oven temperature.
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  47. marble gets very hot, but it's not very porous, so it doesn't wick away as much moisture.
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  48. Actually, it will, I've done it. And kneading after it's rested will only make it too tough for a half hour. You just let it sit and proof again.
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  49. @fretbuzz59 Also, what do you mean it needs olive oil to cook properly? Are you talking about coating the tossed dough in oil before the sauce? When I make pizzas in my own style, I usually do that. But again, that's not proper NY-style. You can tell because the cornice of an NY-style pizza never has the deep browning it would get if it were coated in oil.
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  50. I think you're thinking of Sicilian-style, which is a sub-genre of NY-style pizza, but it's not the same thing.
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  51. Try a google search, Doc.
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  52. No. Why do you think my pizza sucks?
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  53. @SuperYayo18 We taped this in our office kitchen, he's the guy who works very hard making our coffee and keeping things clean.
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  54. I'm not talking about chain pizza. Pizza Hut and the like tend to have breadier crusts that require a longer baking time and thus lower temperatures. I'm talking about actual New York style pizza, which is not produced by any of the national chains.
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  55. What makes you think I didn't shred that mozz myself?
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  56. No, I'm not. You have to re-knead it and then let it rest. The dry skin will re-hydrate.
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  57. Gah! You can put toppings on if you want! Toppings are easy! You don't need me to show you how to add them! It's the basics of the pizza...the proportion of the core ingredients and the way that you bake them in a weak home oven...THAT stuff is hard, and took me a long time to figure out, so that's what I was trying to share with you.
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  58. Ok. I like the more fermented flavor you get from 3-5 days.
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  59. @fretbuzz59 Because I and a lot of other people who grew up eating cheap NY pizza have a sentimental attachment to it. This video is a companion to a pair of radio stories I produced (linked in the description) in which I talked about missing NY pizza now that I live in Boston. To quote myself, "quality doesn't matter so much as rectitude."
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  60. @Ibringthetruth1 Hi, I'm right here.
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  61. @justin23bears It. Is. Not.
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  62. Why don't you educate me with some specifics? The only one you mention is cornmeal. I understand some people don't like it, but it is indisputably a common technique in NY pizza shops. My favorite, Coronet on 111th and Broadway, uses a healthy dusting. It's especially useful for home cooks because we tend to take longer dressing the pizza, thus leaving it time to stick to the peel.
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  63. @Landotter1 When you make your own, do you age it? As you can see in these comments, I'm a big opponent of using fresh mozz on pizza. Too much moisture.
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  64. I would love to be able to bake a 20 inch pizza but it won't fit in a home oven. True, the cornice on this one came out thicker than I would have liked, but the crust itself was quite thin. Please don't say my pizza looks disgusting, even if you think it. It's mean.
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  65. @xGillanator probably not, they're probably glazed. if you use ceramic tiles, they have to be unglazed, otherwise the surface won't be porous, which is the whole point. Plus i bet some glazes are toxic. You could use bricks though. That's just a few bucks at a hardware store.
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  66. Recipe is behind the link in the description.
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  67. I am an amateur, but my decisions are nonetheless considered. Fresh mozz has too much moisture, I don't think it works well on a standard NY-style pizza. Regarding the curst, I wasn't going for a crispy crust pizza. Again, this was about recreating cheap NY-style pizza, which is floppy, not crispy.
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  68. I'm not sloppy, I'm an amateur, and I made this for other amateurs.
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  69. @Ibringthetruth1 People can read my dough recipe by following the link in the description. Indeed, there's no way to get a home oven up to 800, unless you cut the lock off your oven door and bake on the self-cleaning cycle, but I would never suggest such a thing because it would be dangerous and possibly illegal. The procedure I demonstrate works pretty well, though.
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  70. You can put whatever you want on your pizza, I was just demonstrating basic method. Sheesh.
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  71. @fretbuzz59 Plenty of upscale, fancy, high quality pizza in boston. But for the mom-and-pop stuff, there's very little NY-style. In my neighborhood in Cambridge, it's mostly New England "Greek" pizza, basically a thin pan pizza. Very bready, not my favorite.
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  72. @user03625 No! The whole point of this is that you don't!
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  73. @DarkKnife10 His job. We shot this in our office kitchen, he was making coffee for the rest of us. Don't be a jerk.
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  74. Why are you being so rude and mean? What exactly do you think I did wrong with the cornmeal? Also, I'm trying here to recreate an NY style pizza, which is thin but floppy, as opposed to an Italian pizza which would be thinner and crispy. I'd say the cornice on this one turned out a little thicker than I would have liked, but the rest was quite thin. Yes, I realize there are many kinds of mozzarella, I've tried several.
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  75. @xxdjcharlierockxx A kitchen store in Newburyport, Mass. It was about $40, as I recall. They are widely available online, the trick is to get the biggest one possible. Most on the market are too small. Also, if you want to make round pizza, go with a stone that has more square dimensions. Many of the stones on the market are too rectangular. And definitely don't get a round stone.
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  76. @newyork15233003 Yep, recipe is behind the link the description.
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  77. @blazterreck that's why i tell you too flatten the dough with your peel, rather than dock it. doing this will bust the really giant bubbles while leaving the smaller ones intact.
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  78. @F3FisGoodforYou RIght, because we can't get Italian cheese in the states...
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  79. It was not soggy. It was, however, floppy and foldable, which is a defining characteristic of NY style pizza. I like to make crispy crust pizza too, but that is not NY style.
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  80. @nycitystreets Easily found in kitchen stores, online at Amazon and the like, even at Target. The trick is getting the biggest one you can find, most on the market are way too small. Also, get the square or rectangular ones, the circular ones are a waste. Expect to spend circa $50. There are cheaper models, but I wouldn't want one.
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  81. well in that case... Figs?
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  82. Why do you say that?
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  83. Why is that funny? They brown more than the rest of the crust and create a pastry-like texture.
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  84. @stevo388 Sorry, we were recording that part for our radio show, and unfortunately chewing is the only way to convey eating over the air!
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  85. That is indeed a way of making pizza, but not the style of pizza I was trying to make here. The goal was to recreate standard, cheap NY-style utility pizza, which never uses fresh mozz (too much moisture for the amount of cheese) and no fresh basil or olive oil.
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  86. I'm sorry, but you are terribly misinformed. Eggs are virtually unheard of in pizza dough, NY-style or otherwise. In fact, I have never seen an NY-style recipe that included eggs, and I've researched hundreds.
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  87. I'm not a professional and this video isn't for professionals. It's great that you can toss a pizza straight from a ball, but most of us can't.
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  88. my dough recipe is behind the link the description
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  89. @UnvrNoShow If you want to get technical, the presence of bubbles has a bigger impact on texture than flavor, but as Snicurs notes, bubbles brown, and browning has a huge impact on flavor.
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  90. Ok, that's just silly. The yeast are still alive up until the point you bake them at 550 F. Pushing on or kneading the risen dough merely forces out the accumulated CO2 that the yeast have been giving off. It does not "kill" them. And again, I don't advocate pushing out all the CO2. Just give it a little squeeze to pop the very large bubbles that will displace large amounts of topping.
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  91. @Simplemindedgenius How do you pronounce it?
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  92. You're thinking of fresh mozzarella. Some people like that for pizza, but the water inside tends to pool on top and prevent browning. The type of mozz I use is often sold as "aged" and/or "low-moisture" mozzarella.
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  93. How is this a personal video? This was a companion to a radio story we produced, see link in description.
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  94. Expensive high end oven? Any oven will do. You don't need the IR thermometer, I was just using that as a demonstration. You do need a pizza stone, which is about 30-40 bucks, but you could just as easily use bricks from the hardware store, a buck or two a piece.
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  95. Amen, sir.
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  96. What it boils down to, champ, is that you're making a vulgar joke at the expense of an actual human woman. She's not a little lady who lives in your computer. She's a person with a home and a family and feelings and a career, who also happens to be an unbelievably dedicated journalist operating in the public interest. That's why I've got a problem with what you typed. I figure you should think about that for a bit.
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  97. Little Caesar's and Pizza Hut are "real"?
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  98. Well, frist of all, he = me. Secondly, pressing the dough with the peel is for gas redistribution, not for shaping. I shaped the dough by tossing it, and you'll note the final product is perfectly round. It also has a perfect cornice, so I don't know why you think I didn't work the edges. Regarding everything else, you do get this is a video for home cooks, not pros, right? Dabbing the sauce in various places makes it easier for an unpracticed hand to get even coverage.
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  99. @kyiana52 I really don't think it would taste right. It would taste too cooked, like someone spilled spaghetti on your pizza. You want the brighter flavor of less-cooked canned products (technically all canned goods are cooked to some degree).
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  100. No, it's just low-moisture mozzarella. Fresh mozzarella is filled with whey that pools at the top when cooked.
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  101. I doubt this theory, if for no other reason than that NYC's water is supplied by more than a dozen reservoirs, and the relative proportions of each in the city's drinking water are constantly shifting.
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  102. @Pancakemix56 The dough I was working with that day was too cold for gravity to have any stretching power over the knuckles at that thickness. And "throwing" the dough absolutely does something--the more rapidly the dough spins, the greater the centrifugal force applied to the outer edge of the pizza.
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  103. Cast iron will bring the heat, but it's not porous the way a stone is. Stones wick away moisture, allowing the crust to brown without using additional fat. Cast iron is generally used with a layer of oil to brown the crust, giving it a crispy texture and a slightly fried flavor, which can be good but is definitely not NY style.
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  104. @TheMockingjay22 Wow, so many things are wrong with what you said. First, docking does indeed get rid of bubbles, but I like a few small bubbles, so I don't dock. Second, look on the bottom of every pizza in New York and you will find cornmeal, semolina, rice flour, or some other anti-sticking agent. If you don't need one, I'm guessing your dough is too dry for my tastes.
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