pizza slow (high quality)

I’ve been struggling to land on a good dough process without doing a bunch of math.

Lucky for me, I found a modern Lehmann calculator (named after a forums poster, so you know the approach is good), and have had great luck with it, using bakers percentages a bit more like Kenji’s at 60% hydration, 2% oil, 2% salt, 1% instant yeast.

I use cold water from the fridge and mix it using a food processor until it registers mid-70s F on a thermapen, then cold ferment.

Had a few friends over for a holiday party this week and made two extra large New York style pizzas to feed everyone a lot faster and with a lot less work than my neapolitan process.

For the kids, a half-pep/half-mozz. For the adults: smoked kalamata olives (holy moly, amazing), red onion, mushroom, basil, pecorino, mozz.

photo, a slice of pizza on a cutting board.the pizza is topped with smoked kalamata olives (holy moly, amazing), red onion, mushroom, basil, pecorino, mozz.the sauce: drain a can of whole peeled san marzanos, dicard the liquid, and zap what’s left in the blender w/ one head of garlic and generous pinches of salt, sugar, and oregano.

also born on this day, go figure

https://mastodon.social/@workingclasshistory/113733763757962621

upgraded the pizza oven to the new ‘max’ ooni, which is insanely huge, so that I could do this: make an NY style pizza with slices that are the “correct” size, and feed the family one-and-done.

throwing out the dough to 20" was easy, launching was easy, etc.

I set my expectations low but am very impressed w/ the first bake even though I dislike the dough I made, mostly nits with the fermentation, and I launched too hot

photograph, finished extra large new york style pizza with sauce, cheese, basil, and pepperoni on a wood peel on a counter, a pizza wheel is laying next to the pizza on the left

photograph of the underside of the pizza tilted up from the peel, displaying bubbles of varying sizes from very small to half an inch burst and leapoarded, larger bubbles merely lifted as cavities, w/ a near black ring around the outer edge of the crust

photograph of one slice on a paper plate and two slices on a second paper plate, both on the peel(the paper plates are actually melamine and we re-use them every friday for pizza night because it sets the vibes correctly)

macro of one plated slice, finished w/ shaved parm, red pepper flakes, and oreganothe very thin crust is visibly bubbled and a burned bottom layer has pulled away from the rest of the crust in waves

the november Clarkesworld was particularly fun, and I specifically liked the opener, https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/nelson_11_24/, the second one https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/spires_11_24/, the third one https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/auslender_11_24/, and the last one https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/swanwick_11_24/

I was also surprised to find that pest control (I assume) includes cats someone or some group takes care of out there.

photograph looking up at the street signs on the corner of 20th street and Maryland street on a gray cloudy day

Photograph of an industrial building covered in vertically oriented corrugated steel, behind a chain link fence. Scattered between the fence and the building are half a dozen white cat houses facing various directions in no particular apparent organization

a closer photograph of one of the cat houses situated between a sidewalk curb and a chain link fence with narrow panels slotted through the fencing, confirmed to be a cat house by the open empty can of cat food in front of it next to an empty water bowl

🚶🏽‍♂️

🏁 what I’m considering Mission Bay and Dogpatch.

Being from Maryland, I wondered where Maryland Street, once I found, many years ago, that most of the state-named streets, are along the eastern side of the city here. Maryland St. specifically is right on the waterfront. But you can only get to a few blocks at a time between all the industry.

A map of San Francisco, 101 on the left, 280 in the center, soma to the top and Islay creek along the bottom. All of the visible sections of the Mission, Bernal Heights, Potrero Hill, Mission Bay, and Dogpatch streets (and most alleys but not all the weird driveways and private sections of old streets which are slowly returning) are marked with a purple trail.

solidarity with all the parents of little kids who would be hitting their winter break stride right now if they had a moment of peace but won’t until school starts up again, ten of the longest days of the year from now, and oh btw it’s been raining the entire week

so hot on my wishlist I got it in fully modulated stereo

Two identical paperbacks of David Byrne’s “How Music Works”, which is bright orange with all caps grotesque title over author’s name, one word per line, with very simple sign for a speaker radiating music up at the title between the two.the books are both laying face up on my kitchen counter.HOWMUSICWORKSDAVIDBYRNE.

https://www.ubu.com/sound/dj_food.html

this mix was so fun when it dropped that I went and read the paul morely book ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Words_and_Music:_A_History_of_Pop_in_the_Shape_of_a_City ) strictly kev later connected it to and expanded it against

10th anniversary: https://www.djfood.org/raiding-the-20th-century-is-10-years-old/

now 20th anniversary: https://www.djfood.org/raiding-the-20th-century-expanded-version-20th-anniversary-release/

artwork from the 10th anniversary blog post in the style of the Sgt. Peppers album cover but black and white w/ a 20th century fox movie intro over the top.