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Kenji López-Alt spent 5 months studying Chicago thin-crust pizza

nytimes.com

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Re: Kenji López-Alt spent 5 months studying Chicago thin-crust pizza

#131

Post by JumpCrisscross »

AlbertCory wrote: post #26

Native Chicagoan here. Not totally a snob, but getting there. I didn't usually encounter really crispy crust growing up, but I'm not saying it's wrong. He does a lot of things here I've never tried, but now I'm going to. I had an Ooni, and after 5 or 6 meh attempts, I sold it. I also exited the r/ooni subreddit. I'm also out of love with the Neapolitan style baked at 700F+. Come at me. I think a pizza steel preheated…

> the early Apple people used to go for lunch at Cicero's Pizza

Didn’t know! We’d go there after little league and for Boy Scouts white elephant, the latter where, without exception, someone would pick a gorgeously-wrapped (once spray painted!) rock.

Re: Kenji López-Alt spent 5 months studying Chicago thin-crust pizza

#132

Post by fbdab103 »

OJFord wrote: post #107
p0pcult wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but it's not pizza.

I think GP means pizza. The 'bread' really confused me (I even commented on it) until I realised (and deleted) - that's not how I make my lasagnes!

Yeah, sorry. Common complaint about a Chicago deep dish is that it is a lasagna or bread bowl and not a pizza. Different strokes for different folks but on the scale of New York thin crust to Chicago deep dish, I will veer towards the more hearty option every time.

Re: Kenji López-Alt spent 5 months studying Chicago thin-crust pizza

#133

Post by JumpCrisscross »

quags wrote: post #85
chitowneats wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well put. That being said, the Chicago version is still better. NYC pizza is a bad joke. As long as you're only paying $1 it's not that bad for the price. That price point and the places that offered it are going extinct unfortunately. The "slice" is dead. Imagine having to fold your "pizza" because it's just a nasty mess of sauce and cheese.

The secret of course is the best pizza in the NYC area is in Northern New Jersey.

> the best pizza in the NYC area is in Northern New Jersey

Keep going: the pies around central Jersey are a celebration of tomatoes. That said, not a New York slice (north shore included.)

Re: Kenji López-Alt spent 5 months studying Chicago thin-crust pizza

#134

Post by chitowneats »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #133
quags wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The secret of course is the best pizza in the NYC area is in Northern New Jersey.

> the best pizza in the NYC area is in Northern New Jersey Keep going: the pies around central Jersey are a celebration of tomatoes. That said, not a New York slice (north shore included.)

Where, in your opinion, can I get the ideal New York slice?

Re: Kenji López-Alt spent 5 months studying Chicago thin-crust pizza

#136

Post by rubiquity »

chitowneats wrote: post #134
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the best pizza in the NYC area is in Northern New Jersey Keep going: the pies around central Jersey are a celebration of tomatoes. That said, not a New York slice (north shore included.)

Where, in your opinion, can I get the ideal New York slice?

In Buffalo

Re: Kenji López-Alt spent 5 months studying Chicago thin-crust pizza

#137

Post by JumpCrisscross »

chitowneats wrote: post #134
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the best pizza in the NYC area is in Northern New Jersey Keep going: the pies around central Jersey are a celebration of tomatoes. That said, not a New York slice (north shore included.)

Where, in your opinion, can I get the ideal New York slice?

> where…can I get the ideal New York slice?

Scott’s pizza tour [1]! (No affiliation.)

Coal-fired slices are rare, now. I tend to like a charred, crisp crust and simple toppings that can be bitten through. This is a city that cares about its pizza. We don’t run impostors out of town. But the pizza is great, and there is no single ideal. Buy it, fold it, and enjoy.

(Grimaldi’s and Joe’s. Di Fara and Lucali rub me like Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, Arizona. Pizza isn’t a food for lines.)

[1] https://www.scottspizzatours.com/

Re: Kenji López-Alt spent 5 months studying Chicago thin-crust pizza

#138

Post by convolvatron »

jkubicek wrote: post #113
robshrk wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The one minute par-bake also makes it so much easier and stress free to slide a fully loaded pizza onto the stone. I don’t even use cornmeal just lightly dusted whole wheat flour for the raw dough. The par-baked crust needs nothing.

I’ve gotten much better at load the pizza into my pizza oven stress-free. I’ve moved away from cornmeal; it works great, but I never liked the gritty texture it gives the pizza. My technique is to use a wooden pizza peel and liberally flour it before starting to form the dough-ball into a pie shape. I form the pie using my fists, so I have a chance to shake the extra flour off the crust before I start putting the sau…

i made a peel from hot roll steel. doesn't need anything.

Re: Kenji López-Alt spent 5 months studying Chicago thin-crust pizza

#139

Post by convolvatron »

OJFord wrote: post #103
poloniculmov wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something like this[1]. It's easier to use than a pizza stone and yields better results. 1: https://bakingsteel.com/products/baking-steel

Jesus, $120? Does it knead, stretch, and top the dough itself too? Seriously, is it really supposedly that much better than my £15 cast iron 'stone'? (I put a lovely seasoning on it initially, but didn't look after it very well and it's all cracked and flaking off, so I need to start again really I think - I suppose it does save that maintenance work... but still, I could just buy a new one and start again several ti…

yeah. thats silly. my 'stone' is a piece of scrap 6mm steel. even new it shouldn't cost more than $8 or something

Re: Kenji López-Alt spent 5 months studying Chicago thin-crust pizza

#140

Post by mrexroad »

AlbertCory wrote: post #26

Native Chicagoan here. Not totally a snob, but getting there. I didn't usually encounter really crispy crust growing up, but I'm not saying it's wrong. He does a lot of things here I've never tried, but now I'm going to. I had an Ooni, and after 5 or 6 meh attempts, I sold it. I also exited the r/ooni subreddit. I'm also out of love with the Neapolitan style baked at 700F+. Come at me. I think a pizza steel preheated…

Mmm. Cicero’s is my favorite pizza spot atm. My kid recently started making pizzas w/ a cast iron skillet in oven at 550, not quite the crispy crust that Cicero’s has, but not entirely bad.

Good to hear about your take on the Ooni—-I think I had started buying into the hype and was starting to eye one in next year or two. Your comment gave a nice reminder to work through some other approaches first.

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