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The physics of baking good pizza

arxiv.org

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Re: The physics of baking good pizza

#101

Post by dwd »

ponzored wrote: post #64
gry wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Related: I highly recommend the Cooking Issues podcast with Dave Arnold [ http://heritageradionetwork.org/series/cooking-issues/ ].

And this great book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Food_and_Cooking The science and history of food! Great illustrations too.

An excellent book that you can pick up, read a few random pages and walk away feeling you've learn't something. Always informative as to where ingredients come from and what happens when heated, kneaded, beaten, stirred, etc.

Re: The physics of baking good pizza

#102

Post by stevewillows »

Larrikin wrote: post #71
bwoodward wrote: post #68

For anybody interested in making pizza at home, /r/pizza is a fantastic resource. Making your own pizza is fun and you can make some decent pies with only a little bit of practice. For home ovens use bread flour. If you end up getting into making pizza, then go down the 00 flour + wood fire oven route.. but until then your home oven can produce some really outstanding pies. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/Pizza/wiki/rec…

The reddit probably has decent content, but the community at the pizza making forum is one of the most dedicated I've seen for something unrelated to gaming or software. Post have slowed down but it seems like that might be because they've figured out how to recreate nearly every pizza from every restaurant you can think of. [1] https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php

PizzaMaking and the sub are basically the two best places. We share a lot of common members. PizzaMaking has more higher level industry folks along with some unbelievable hobbyists.

Over the past few years the ability to make a wide variety of really amazing pizza at home has become extremely accessible. The last wave of ovens are fantastic.

Re: The physics of baking good pizza

#103

Post by philbarr »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #92
Arnt wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just a detail: That's bluewater shipping, which is unbelievably cheap these days if you have the right kind of load. Some of the modern ships carry a thousand containers per crew member. The cost of the crew, fuel and ship itself is spread over many containers, and if your load has the right weight/volume ratio, you can negotiate extra low rates.

I just find it so fascinating that it can be cheaper to ship things from Europe than make them locally, even if logically I know that it makes sense. As another example: the budget branded fries that I brought for $2 for a kg came from the Netherlands. Not only was I amazed that it was cheaper than locally made fries, but that was cheaper than I could buy fresh potatoes. Somehow it's cheaper to grow potatoes, cut the…

You still have to drive it to the stores once it's on land though...

Re: The physics of baking good pizza

#104

Post by culturestate »

jacques_chester wrote: post #32
mahesh_rm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You can put a touch of sugar in the dough, or you can put a touch of sugar in the sauce, but don't put it in both. Corollary: If you put pineapple or other sweet toppings on the pie, don't put any sugar in the sauce or dough." As an Italian, I feel the urge to jump in here. Sugar in dough is used to kickoff/boost yeast levitation, while sugar in sauce is used to affect tomato acidity. In both cases, they are not int…

The American concept of "a touch of sugar" is different from most places', so for that audience the advice is pretty sound. I moved to the USA from Australia. If I want bread that doesn't taste like cake, I actually have to bake it myself.

As an American who lives abroad...I hear this about American bread all the time but I've yet to discover what's actually different. Supermarket sandwich bread is just about the same everywhere.

Perhaps the rest of the world is just used to buying from a bakery, rather than the supermarket?

Re: The physics of baking good pizza

#106

Post by 6nf »

Jaruzel wrote: post #90
kovek wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realized that some frozen meals must be better than others. Thus, there must be a frozen meal that is best. I think cooking methods relate to that. I really appreciate those because they can be very cheap yet nutritious. However, I don't know if it's healthy to consume them too often.

> However, I don't know if it's healthy to consume them too often. Frozen meals tend to have very high levels of salt in them. They also have poor quality ingredients, so are not as nutritional as you think. If you must live on frozen meals, try making them in large quantities yourself over a weekend, and freeze them. Most basic 'meat & vegetables' meals can be frozen and re-heated.

If high levels of salt is the worst thing you can say about frozen meals then they're pretty damn decent for the convenience they offer!

Re: The physics of baking good pizza

#107

Post by crispyambulance »

imh wrote: post #67
chaosbutters314 wrote: post #42

This paper is so oversimplified. If you're actually curious in the physics of food, check out the journal of food engineering. We use much more complex physical models to simulate the physics of food. Fun note, this is my job and it is pretty cool to really dig into the science behind cooking and then apply that to an industrial scale.

Any specific fun recommendations for a similar target audience as OP?

Yes, there's a youtube channel: "French Guy Cooking". It is in English, and in it a french guy with a dives into various aspects of cooking, equipment and technique as only a geek can (he obviously has a technical background).

https://www.youtube.com/frenchguycooking

I like it because he shows taste and sensitivity to the culinary arts, he's hilarious, but actually goes in depth on the topics.

Re: The physics of baking good pizza

#108

Post by crispyambulance »

jazoom wrote: post #65
mahesh_rm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You can put a touch of sugar in the dough, or you can put a touch of sugar in the sauce, but don't put it in both. Corollary: If you put pineapple or other sweet toppings on the pie, don't put any sugar in the sauce or dough." As an Italian, I feel the urge to jump in here. Sugar in dough is used to kickoff/boost yeast levitation, while sugar in sauce is used to affect tomato acidity. In both cases, they are not int…

I use sugar in the dough for making it slightly brown and a tiny bit crunchy.

That will work, but the best way to add crunch and color to crust is to steam it: https://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2017/02/28/steam-in-bread-b...

You crank up your oven to very high (for most ovens that is ALL THE WAY), let it stabilize temperature for 40-60 minutes with an empty pan in the rack underneath where the bread goes.

When the bread goes in, pour a cup of water into the pan. This will create steam in the early stages of cooking and promote good crust properties.

Re: The physics of baking good pizza

#109

Post by Arnt »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #92
Arnt wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just a detail: That's bluewater shipping, which is unbelievably cheap these days if you have the right kind of load. Some of the modern ships carry a thousand containers per crew member. The cost of the crew, fuel and ship itself is spread over many containers, and if your load has the right weight/volume ratio, you can negotiate extra low rates.

I just find it so fascinating that it can be cheaper to ship things from Europe than make them locally, even if logically I know that it makes sense. As another example: the budget branded fries that I brought for $2 for a kg came from the Netherlands. Not only was I amazed that it was cheaper than locally made fries, but that was cheaper than I could buy fresh potatoes. Somehow it's cheaper to grow potatoes, cut the…

The key word is "fresh", also termed "spillage". The potatoes you buy have to be there when you walk into the shop, fresh enough that you don't walk out again or complain. Shops throw away a lot of vegetables, even fairly robust ones like potatoes, and of course the spillage percentage is added to the price you pay. The fries are much more flexible time-wise.

Re: The physics of baking good pizza

#110

Post by jonathanstrange »

There is something in the dough of frozen pizzas that leaves a really bad aftertaste - I've never encountered a counter-example. I still enjoy pre-fabricated pizza from time to time (~once a year) but my girlfriend wouldn't touch one with a pole.

Whatever they put in the dough, it's definitely not the same as what they use in good pizzarias.

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