I'm trying to pick out a pan to bake pizzas in. I'd prefer something
that I can leave the pizza in as I slice it, so I'm assuming that
aluminum would not be a good choice, and might be damaged by the pizza
slicer. (Please let me know if this is incorrect.) Since I don't like
crispy crusts, I don't think a pizza stone would be a good choice
either. So I guess that leaves me with steel. A quick search of the web
revealed that not many companies make steel pizza pans - the only one
I've found is made by Norpro. I was just wondering, does anyone here use
a steel pizza pan, and do they work well?

On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 19:26:57 -0500, Jaclyn >
wrote:

> Since I don't like
>crispy crusts, I don't think a pizza stone would be a good choice
>either.

Well...why don't you bake your pizza on a "sheet" of your
choice...remove it to a cutting board and proceed?

Jaclyn wrote:
> I'm trying to pick out a pan to bake pizzas in. I'd prefer something
> that I can leave the pizza in as I slice it, so I'm assuming that
> aluminum would not be a good choice, and might be damaged by the pizza
> slicer. (Please let me know if this is incorrect.) Since I don't like
> crispy crusts, I don't think a pizza stone would be a good choice
> either. So I guess that leaves me with steel. A quick search of the web
> revealed that not many companies make steel pizza pans - the only one
> I've found is made by Norpro. I was just wondering, does anyone here use
> a steel pizza pan, and do they work well?

Every cookbook, TV show, and magazine I can recall says that baking a
pizza in a pizza pan gives lousy crust. Everyone recommends baking
stones and not necessarily "pizza stones" either. The recommendation is
for plain old brown quarry tiles in sufficient quantity to cover your
oven rack. Best to take the rack down to "Tiles R Us" or wherever and
get them to cut some of the tiles for a perfect fit.

How to get the pizza on the tile? I broke my heart for a decade trying
to handle a real peel like the pros. Used cornmeal, flour... I was
awful. Then came across suggestion: Assemble pizza on parchment, put
the whole thing on the tile (Use the peel. It's so impressive) and
bake. When finished the burned parchment will be something to reckon
with over the sink, but then move to cutting board and cut away.

BTW: The word is "parchment", not "bakers' film" or any other such.
Those substitutes cannot tolerate the heat, as far as I've been able to
determine. Parchment is messy after the cooking, but the whole thing is
worth it. I use it for French bread baking, too.

Having owned a pizzeria and now owning a kitchen store, I have a slight
affection to pizza pans. You were saying that you don't like a crsip
crust, but want to be able to cut in the pan. I will outline my
suggestions based on the info you gave.

These two pans are made by a great company called Chicago Metallic
(they are used in many restaurants and bakeries). The pans come in two
lines: Commercial (No non-stick coating) and Professional (with a
non-stick coating). Since you want to be able to cut in the pan I would
not suggest a pan with a non-stick coating. Both pans are constructed
of an alumized steel. (heavy-weight Aluminized Steel combines the
durability, strength, and superior heat conduction of steel with the
corrosion-resistance of an aluminum-silicone alloy.) These pans are
truely top of the line!

This pan is a perforated pizza pan, it will crisp the crust maybe a
little more than you would like, but you could cut in the pan as long
as you don't mind a few cosmetic blemishes. To produce a not so crisp
crust, you could cut the heat back on your oven though.

http://www.dominicskitchenstore.com/...sp?ITEM_ID=151

The second option would be to use a deep dish pizza pan, which has no
holes in the bottom and higher sides. You do not have to make a deep
dish pizza in this pan, but it would produce a much less crisp crust
than any other option. You would however, have to use a spatula to get
the pizza out of the pan.

http://www.dominicskitchenstore.com/...p?ITEM_ID=2169

I can help you out with any other questions you may have, feel free to
email me through our website at www.DominicsKitchenStore.com

Chef Dom
www.DominicsKitchenStore.com

"Gualtier Malde" > wrote in message
...
> Jaclyn wrote:
>> I'm trying to pick out a pan to bake pizzas in. I'd prefer something that
>> I can leave the pizza in as I slice it, so I'm assuming that aluminum
>> would not be a good choice, and might be damaged by the pizza slicer.
>> (Please let me know if this is incorrect.) Since I don't like crispy
>> crusts, I don't think a pizza stone would be a good choice either. So I
>> guess that leaves me with steel. A quick search of the web revealed that
>> not many companies make steel pizza pans - the only one I've found is
>> made by Norpro. I was just wondering, does anyone here use a steel pizza
>> pan, and do they work well?
>
> Every cookbook, TV show, and magazine I can recall says that baking a
> pizza in a pizza pan gives lousy crust. Everyone recommends baking stones
> and not necessarily "pizza stones" either. The recommendation is for
> plain old brown quarry tiles in sufficient quantity to cover your oven
> rack. Best to take the rack down to "Tiles R Us" or wherever and get them
> to cut some of the tiles for a perfect fit.
>

But he *wants* a lousy (that is, non crispy) crust.


--
Peter Aitken

Jaclyn wrote:
>...Since I don't like
> crispy crusts, I don't think a pizza stone would be a good choice
> either...


You can still use a pizza stone. Just don't pre-heat the stone and
under-cook your pizza. If you want the toppings a little more done,
finish them off with the broiler.

Thick dough also helps.

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 09:57:43 -0800, Gualtier Malde > wrote:

>.... When finished the burned parchment will be something to reckon
>with over the sink, but then move to cutting board and cut away.
..... Parchment is messy after the cooking, but the whole thing is
>worth it. I use it for French bread baking, too.

Only the areas of parchment which are not between the pizza and the stone will
blacken and be liable to break off into bits. I usually slip my peel between the
paper and the crust to remove the pizza, and then just lift the parchment paper
out in one piece with my fingers.

-- Larry

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 22:34:22 GMT, "Peter Aitken" > wrote:

>But he *wants* a lousy (that is, non crispy) crust.

De gustibus non disputandum est. 8

-- Larry

On 16 Mar 2006 15:14:16 -0800, wrote:

>
>Jaclyn wrote:
>>...Since I don't like
>> crispy crusts, I don't think a pizza stone would be a good choice
>> either...
>
>
>You can still use a pizza stone. Just don't pre-heat the stone and
>under-cook your pizza. If you want the toppings a little more done,
>finish them off with the broiler.

Or you can simply cook the pizza on heavy-duty aluminum foil atop the stone. The
foil holds moisture in the crust and retards crisping.

-- Larry

We went through the same thing to get our pizza onto a stone. Our solution
has been to make the pizza on baking paper, slide that on the peel, slide it
off the peel onto the stone, let it cook for a couple of minutes (until the
pizza can retain its shape to be moved), slide the peel under the pizza to
remove the paper and then put the pizza straight onto the stone. Then we
cook it for a few more minutes and it's nice and crispy.

"Gualtier Malde" > wrote in message
...
> Jaclyn wrote:
>> I'm trying to pick out a pan to bake pizzas in. I'd prefer something that
>> I can leave the pizza in as I slice it, so I'm assuming that aluminum
>> would not be a good choice, and might be damaged by the pizza slicer.
>> (Please let me know if this is incorrect.) Since I don't like crispy
>> crusts, I don't think a pizza stone would be a good choice either. So I
>> guess that leaves me with steel. A quick search of the web revealed that
>> not many companies make steel pizza pans - the only one I've found is
>> made by Norpro. I was just wondering, does anyone here use a steel pizza
>> pan, and do they work well?
>
> Every cookbook, TV show, and magazine I can recall says that baking a
> pizza in a pizza pan gives lousy crust. Everyone recommends baking stones
> and not necessarily "pizza stones" either. The recommendation is for
> plain old brown quarry tiles in sufficient quantity to cover your oven
> rack. Best to take the rack down to "Tiles R Us" or wherever and get them
> to cut some of the tiles for a perfect fit.
>
> How to get the pizza on the tile? I broke my heart for a decade trying to
> handle a real peel like the pros. Used cornmeal, flour... I was awful.
> Then came across suggestion: Assemble pizza on parchment, put the whole
> thing on the tile (Use the peel. It's so impressive) and bake. When
> finished the burned parchment will be something to reckon with over the
> sink, but then move to cutting board and cut away.
>
> BTW: The word is "parchment", not "bakers' film" or any other such. Those
> substitutes cannot tolerate the heat, as far as I've been able to
> determine. Parchment is messy after the cooking, but the whole thing is
> worth it. I use it for French bread baking, too.
>

Viviane wrote:
> We went through the same thing to get our pizza onto a stone. Our solution
> has been to make the pizza on baking paper, slide that on the peel, slide it
> off the peel onto the stone, let it cook for a couple of minutes (until the
> pizza can retain its shape to be moved), slide the peel under the pizza to
> remove the paper and then put the pizza straight onto the stone. Then we
> cook it for a few more minutes and it's nice and crispy.
>
I'll try that next time. Sounds good. Also: A recipe I read recently
had one wait until the last 5 minutes to put on the Mozzarella. I did
that and the product was creamy and delicate and not as stringy. Your
post just reminded me of that.