I plan to make stromboli soon. I'm going to try making sauce with peeled tomatoes, as I think they would be a nice touch with the texture of the crust. I'll add tomato paste, basil, garlic, powdered Romano cheese and black pepper to start. When I 'freestyle', I just add ingredients until I get the taste I am looking for.
Made my masterpiece tonight because of this thread. My wife didn’t complain. Funny no two ever look the same. But damn it tastes good. I cook them on a stone at 550 degrees. Higher would be better but that’s max on the electric. Don’t forget to drizzle with olive oil before it goes in the oven.
You can use fresh mushrooms and make them even better than canned, just cook them in salted butter before they go on the pizza! Just start them off in a little bit of water and a pinch or 2 of salt to get them to start releasing the liquid in the shrooms and when the liquid is almost cooked out, add the butter and cook a few minutes more. You don't want to drain the liquid because of all the delicious flavor still in it that will combine with the butter and coat them. Basically canned mushrooms are pre-cooked and canned in a brine where they get there extra flavor. I say salted butter Trumps brine every time. Probably more economical for a pizzeria to use canned but who cares when your trying to out do the pizzeria at home? As for that pan, I bought the Copper chief I think its called and waiting for when I have to throw that one away before I get the "stone coated" one. Which could be any time now because everything sticks to it without grease/butter or something of that nature! It did work the first couple of times though without anything to assist it to not stick though.
I put corn meal on the pizza peel(paddle) and the pizza slides right off onto the stone. It acts like little ball bearings. Learned that from the great pizza place where I grew up. It was a husband and wife team. The guy was an artist. I watched him make many a pizza since I was 5 and I do it the same way.
While I feel your pain there is one in Florida that tops all others. Venezia Italian restaurant in St Armand’s circle, Sarasota Fl. Absolutely perfect. Fire brick oven, authentic ingredients, they even used corn meal on the bottom of the crust. Damn! Now I need to go there. Cliff
Is there any other way to do it? Not sure if anyone from Michigan remembers Dino's Pizza? My uncles started that franchise back in the 70s, really great pizza that I grew up on. Have not found an equal to that pizza recipe that my Italian Grandmother made since. Unfortunately the franchise was short lived because a several of the owners used them as a front for their bookie activities rather than making sure they stayed good pizzerias! So now there aren't anymore of them! Although there was one Dino's that lasted to around 2004 until that owner retired but now all gone.(that I know of) Around where I am at, having a pizzeria is a rough game because there are like 7 of them in a 1.5 mile drive down the main road where my house is! Was thinking about opening a burger joint on that road to take some of that pizza business!
