Bryan Simmons wrote:

> OK, here's what was right and wrong. What was right is that I used
> semolina flour instead of all purpose. Huge improvement. I used the
> right sauce, Stanislaus Full Red. Yeah, it's a hassle that it only
> comes in big cans, and you have to zipper bag the rest and freeze it,
> but it's really good. I bought the pepperoni from ALDI, so it was
> about 2/3 the cost of Hormel, but after I use it up, I'll pay more
> for Volpi.
>
> What was wrong was that I used enough dough to make a 12", but I made
> a 14", so it was slightly thinner crust than ideal, and I only let it
> rise once, instead of kneading it a little, and letting it have a
> second rise.
>
> 525F is fine for thin crust.
>
> The proportions of 1 cup fine semolina, and 1/4 cup of water, 1 t of
> sugar, and a heaping t of dry yeast (with a little olive oil) went
> together so easily, with no stickiness. I stirred it together with a
> spoon, and by the time my hands had to touch the dough--it didn't
> stick to my unfloured hands at all.
>
> The toppings were pepperoni, a little bacon leftover from breakfast,
> and some finely sliced pepperoncinis. My son, who is picky as ****,
> and was dubious about my being able to make a decent pizza from
> scratch, gave it a figurative thumbs up, and we all agreed that while
> there was room for improvement, it was pretty good.
>
> My advice is, buy the Stanislaus. If your town doesn't have Italian
> grocers, you may have to buy it from a restaurant supply store.
> Semolina flour alone is not ideal for a NY crust, but mixing some in
> with bread flour will firm things up, or if you want a bready crust,
> adding some to cheaper all purpose flour will up the gluten.
>
> --Bryan

Sounds good Bryan and lots of fun to make I am sure. I'm a bit overdue
to make a home made one. I make my own sauce from canned tomatoes. I
do a medium crust normally but sometimes a deep crust.

Maybe Saturday I'll make one.

Oh I get store frozen ones too for a fast fix and we dress them up with
more 'stuff' such as we have handy.

I may add some of the corned beef from the deli to this one. It's a
boarshead one we like.