Dining and Cooking
I’ve been chasing this for years…
In Pizza

I’ve been chasing this for years…

Pequod’s caramelized cheese edge on Lou Malnati’s crispy crust.

I have never been able to get the crust right. In the past, I would overwork the dough, cook at the wrong temp, over/undercook the crust. Sometimes it would be borderline burnt and still soggy at the same time…

Turns out the key is Lou Malnati’s over proofs their dough AND there’s no sugar or salt. Sounds weird but I stumbled on a forum post (will link for anyone interested) with the basic theory that instead of eating added sugar, the yeast eats the carbs in the flour. With a low enough percentage of yeast, you can let the dough ferment for 24+ hours. I imagine the lack of salt keeps it from accentuating any sour flavors. By the time I pressed this into the pan it smelled like a really good beer. The crust is crispy and crunchy and the flavor is 99% there.

So glad to have finally reached the summit of the mountain!

by A_gritzman

21 Comments

  6. DMC_Ryan

    Looks amazing! I hope it tasted as incredible as it looks. Cheers!

  9. Grimnaw

    Dude!

    As a Chicago native, this looks amazing!

    Please post recipe and steps/cheese/sauce. I’ve been wanting to get into deep dish, but haven’t taken the plunge yet.

  10. BezerkrBrain

    Well done. Looks delicious. A note about the salt, an experienced baker told me he lets yeast thrive before adding salt because yeast is somehow “burned” by it. I dont understand it all, but it seems that leaving salt out of the recipe, or adding it only at a late stage via a saline solution, might be a huge benefit, as you’ve cdiscovered. Mybe some other pro’s out there can weigh in on this.

  11. BrotherFrankie

    Beautiful but I like a lil char on the bottom

    Those pepperonis look mahhhhvullluss

  13. woodenmetalman

    Looks beautiful. Pan is the way to go and DMP might give you that push you need. Maybe MSG instead of NACL?

  16. Lucid-Machine

    We all have a dragon to chase. It’s that perfect pizza because the entire thing is subjective. It’s regional, preferential, esthetic. Congratulations, enjoy the ef out of it. I salute you. We’re all chasing the perfect pie and you have yours.