Pizza

[MrTPlush]

I would eat 30 day old school pizza out of a dumpster before I would eat totinos. Totinos is the worst pizza ever.

[young guns]

Has anyone had the DiGiorno Croissant crust pizza? How is it?

I've had it. Can't complain but I wouldn't say world shattering either. Worth a try if you think you might like it.

[homer]

Does anybody make their own crust from scratch? I would like to try to make my own thin crust.

[OldHeidelberg]

Every once in a while, I get a craving for that good old fashioned rectangle shaped pizza that my high school cafeteria served.

Probably alone on that though.

 

Buy one of those TV dinners...it tastes pretty close even getting the soggy and chewy texture.

 

What TV dinners are you talking about? I see someone said totinos below but I have had their pizza rolls and it's hard to believe it's not garbage. I loved school cafeteria pizza and can still remember the taste but never found anything like it.

 

Pizza Villa in West Salem was a recent discovery I had, awesome crust although I would recommend extra cheese.

[nodakfan17]

I would eat 30 day old school pizza out of a dumpster before I would eat totinos. Totinos is the worst pizza ever.

My wife and I ate those in college and still buy a few today when we see them on sale for $1 (which isn’t often anymore). It’s not great pizza, but it is a great value.

[igor67]

It's probably safer to eat with a mask on though

[Hopper]

I would eat 30 day old school pizza out of a dumpster before I would eat totinos. Totinos is the worst pizza ever.

My wife and I ate those in college and still buy a few today when we see them on sale for $1 (which isn’t often anymore). It’s not great pizza, but it is a great value.

 

Man, that is still a dollar too much.

They are just so bad.

I haven't had one since college, but even as a college student, willing to eat almost anything cheap, they just didn't cut it.

I'm actually surprised they are still being made.

Back then, Roma was the poorest quality that I could bring myself to eat, which is too bad because back in the 70's and 80's growing up, Roma was great! Now, just horrible.

[MrTPlush]

Every once in a while, I get a craving for that good old fashioned rectangle shaped pizza that my high school cafeteria served.

Probably alone on that though.

 

Buy one of those TV dinners...it tastes pretty close even getting the soggy and chewy texture.

 

What TV dinners are you talking about? I see someone said totinos below but I have had their pizza rolls and it's hard to believe it's not garbage. I loved school cafeteria pizza and can still remember the taste but never found anything like it.

 

 

This is what I was thinking of. It always gave me that giant sheet pizza from school vibe. Not sure if they still make this style anymore as it has been a loooong time since I had one.

 

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=TdRV3SVo&id=0A4F055A15883AE9661D1090D4C674D9B1090978&thid=OIP.TdRV3SVoSYDW62CdRml1FgHaFR&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fimages.wisegeek.com%2ffrozen-dinner-with-pizza-and-corn.jpg&exph=713&expw=1000&q=frozen+tv+dinner+pizza&simid=608051692827321774&ck=BFBC9B5B0008D68A9B088FABD6684670&selectedIndex=2&FORM=IRPRST&ajaxhist=0

 

On another note I had Sam's Pizza in Wausau the other day, top notch pizza. Saltine cracker type crust and the toppings (namely the sausage) was stellar...loved the sauce too. Easily the best I have ever had in the area. I should not be surprised though. Any place that looks like it is about to fall down and looks like it is in a dismal part of town always seems to have the best pizza. Wells Brothers in Racine gives the same vibe and has incredible pizza.

[FVBrewerFan]

Let's talk Tombstone.

 

Have they changed it? That's all we got at home growing up, my parents still get them. Out of nostalgia I've tried them a couple times recently. That is the most god awful crust ever. Taste, mouth feel, the consistency..just horrible. Maybe I didn't know the difference at 15 or whatever, but I swear they've changed it,

[nodakfan17]

This thread reminds me of the high amount of processed food and Kool-Aid I consumed as a kid in the 80s and 90s. What were our parents thinking? I’m honestly a little worried about the long term GI consequences of such a diet. Thankfully, my post college years have been pretty clean (Diet Coke addiction aside).

[AKCheesehead]

Let's talk Tombstone.

 

Have they changed it? That's all we got at home growing up, my parents still get them. Out of nostalgia I've tried them a couple times recently. That is the most god awful crust ever. Taste, mouth feel, the consistency..just horrible. Maybe I didn't know the difference at 15 or whatever, but I swear they've changed it,

 

I definitely agree Tombstone isn't what it used to be. Granted I was a kid in the 80s with kid taste buds, but that tavern pizza was a different and better product.

 

With that said, there's a bit of technique to getting one to turn out mediocre+ instead of poor. The crust curls up into weird contortions when baked, and gets a strange mouthfeel as well. Keep an eye on it and when it starts curling, switch to low broil with the oven door ajar.

[LouisEly]

I would eat 30 day old school pizza out of a dumpster before I would eat totinos. Totinos is the worst pizza ever.

THIS. I was at General Mills' HQ on a tour with my MBA program and they offered Totinos things to us, and I wouldn't touch them.

[jjfanec]

Late to this thread and fairly new to Milwaukee. We have really enjoyed Fixture Pizza in Walkers Point and Pizzeria Scotty in West Allis. We have tried quite few others but those two are at the top of our list currently. WyEast in Tosa is pretty solid as well

[LouisEly]

On the topic of good pizza, I had the cherry pulled pork pizza from Poco's this past weekend. Yummy. I see they just added a "hot beef" pizza with braised beef and horseradish sauce... wish they would have had that, or the summer sausage and cheese curd pizza. They're kind of like the Mobcraft of pizza, just coming out with some wild stuff.

 

I asked the guy how many pizzas they do in an average week. He said that when he started he thought if they did 100 pizzas a week they would be wildly successful; on average, they do about 900 a week.

[RobDeer 45]

On the topic of good pizza, I had the cherry pulled pork pizza from Poco's this past weekend. Yummy. I see they just added a "hot beef" pizza with braised beef and horseradish sauce... wish they would have had that, or the summer sausage and cheese curd pizza. They're kind of like the Mobcraft of pizza, just coming out with some wild stuff.

 

I asked the guy how many pizzas they do in an average week. He said that when he started he thought if they did 100 pizzas a week they would be wildly successful; on average, they do about 900 a week.

 

I checked out their site. Looks awesome. Do they ship their frozen pizzas by any chance?

[GAME05]

Does anybody make their own crust from scratch? I would like to try to make my own thin crust.

 

I do. More of a Roman style if you want to look up a recipe. I'll use bread flour instead of AP, and you definitely want a pizza stone (or better yet a pizza steel) if you want a crispy bottom, which you'll want to pre-heat for at least a half hour at whatever the hottest setting your oven will go. And if you get a pizza peel (or the back side of a big cookie sheet), some cornmeal will help prevent it from sticking to it. And jiggle the dough on the peel before you add toppings to make sure it slides around. And then get the toppings on in a hurry.

 

Also a pretty good difference in taste and texture if you're able to proof the dough in the fridge overnight.

 

Strangely I've yet to try a sourdough pizza crust, but I need to.

[MrTPlush]

If you are going to proof dough in the fridge make sure to get proper flour. It is somewhat pointless to do it with normal flour for longer periods. I am sure it makes a difference, but if you are going through that kind of effort you might as well get a high quality flour and really make a difference in taste/texture. I do 3 day proofs, but you have to have dough meant for that long of proofing. It makes an absolutely incredible flavor though, highly recommend.

[CheezWizHed]

When did "proofing" become a US English term? I was watching a British cooking when I first heard it then suddenly it pops up everywhere.

[GAME05]

Can't say I've ever done a three-day proof, so what do you mean by "proper flour"? Do you mean a higher-end brand like King Arthur, or more the type of flour like a 00?

[nodakfan17]

What happened to Pizza Hut?

 

They ruled in the 80s and 90s. Going there for a sit down meal was a treat. One time as a kid, while sleeping over at a friend’s house, the host parents let us order whatever we wanted from Pizza Hut. I thought that was the neatest thing (and the ultimate status symbol for a 10 year-old).

 

I think their downfall may be due to changing consumer tastes and competition from non-pizza restaurants. Fast casual places like Qdoba, Chipotle, Panera, or Noodles were rare in the 80s and early 90s.

[madbad2000]

When did "proofing" become a US English term? I was watching a British cooking when I first heard it then suddenly it pops up everywhere.

 

I'm guessing it's been a very long time. I have heard it since I started really getting into cooking in the late 90s. I guess the proper question is when did it become a fashionable word. While I have seen/used the term a lot in my baking classes, it really has become more mainstream recently.

[pacopete4]

I grew up loving Godfathers Pizza. It was my favorite. I now don’t have one near me, the one in my hometown closed years ago, and when I travel I only see them linked into dumpy looking gas stations. Pizza Hut may be heading in that same direction. Getting harder and harder to find them locally.

[madbad2000]

What happened to Pizza Hut?

 

They ruled in the 80s and 90s. Going there for a sit down meal was a treat. One time as a kid, while sleeping over at a friend’s house, the host parents let us order whatever we wanted from Pizza Hut. I thought that was the neatest thing (and the ultimate status symbol for a 10 year-old).

 

I think their downfall may be due to changing consumer tastes and competition from non-pizza restaurants. Fast casual places like Qdoba, Chipotle, Panera, or Noodles were rare in the 80s and early 90s.

 

 

I think you're on the right path, I would also add increased pizza competition and change in quality. Growing up, I remember Pizza Hut being THE game in town for pizza. Dominos was on the downswing and their only competition was a few local shops that tended to be neighborhood focused. Dominos really changed up their game, Papa Johns exploded, Little Caesars has found their niche and there has been a big upswing in artisinal pizzas, food trucks, etc. that all eat into their share. I am also convinced they changed up their recipe which isn't quite the same as it used to be. I haven't eaten pizza hut in over a year and a half and only a handful of times in the past 10 years because I had a store like a quarter mile away. If my family talks about getting pizza, PH never comes up as a preferred option.

[MrTPlush]

Can't say I've ever done a three-day proof, so what do you mean by "proper flour"? Do you mean a higher-end brand like King Arthur, or more the type of flour like a 00?

 

Tipo 00 is usually the flour people use. Part of it has to do with the glutens or proteins being able to hold up for such a long duration cold proof without "over proofing". It actually is doing something positive to the dough the entire time versus a normal flour that is probably doing more bad than good after 24 hours. Tipo 00 dough can sit in the fridge for a week plus and still be good when you pull it out. Of course when you start messing around cold proofing it is always good to get a pizza app that will calculate the necessary ingredients (like yeast) for the amount of time you are going to have it proofing. For 3+ days the amount of yeast needed is really minimal.

 

I use Tipo 00 for my pizza oven because it holds up way better to 1000 degree temps better than normal flour for Neapolitan style. However, I have done 3-day cold proofs and then cooked in a normal oven on a pizza stone...results are still pretty stellar.

 

I am not a flour expert by any means, so I just use what most tend to gravitate towards. The downside is the price, but I don't make crazy homemade pizza often. Some go the extra mile and get the fancy canned San Marzano tomato's from Italy...I just use my own homemade sauce.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Antimo-Caputo-Chefs-Flour-Pounds/dp/B005HEEFN2/ref=asc_df_B005HEEFN2/?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=&hvpos=&hvnetw=o&hvrand=&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584207577357124&psc=1

[CheezWizHed]

I used to live in Winona, MN (small college town with 30k residents including college students - less than 20k without). I was flying home one time and talking to the guy next to me. He said that he was a salesman for a flour company. Their biggest customer was Little Caesar's pizza. Odd facts that you find about your community without knowing...

 

I have no point, except that it was my convergence of flour and pizza story. .