There are a number of different options available to you in terms of
finding the right pizza pan. Before I go into them I should give you my
biggest piece of generic advice - avoid the shiny pans. These are the
pans that unfortunately will be the easiest to find and are the most
economical. Most box stores carry them. They are made of cheap aluminum
and don't conduct heat very well; with the shiny finish more often
reflecting the heat of the oven instead of absorbing it. I have found
with these pans that the pizzas often come out under baked, especially
towards the center.
Aluminum pizza pans can be used successfully but I would encourage you
to seek out the higher quality hard-anodized aluminum. These pans are
electrochemically hardened which makes the pans more durable and gives
them a longer life span. Another feature I would encourage you to seek
out is a pan with holes as opposed to a solid bottom. The holes allow
the crust to crisp up more as it bakes.
The downside to these types of pans are that they will be harder to
find and will cost a little bit more money. I never want to give people
the impression that you always have to buy top dollar to be completely
satisfied but in this case, I think that the extra money is worth the
investment. I would encourage you to take the time needed to seek out a
good quality pan that will meet your needs. If you don't have a kitchen
supply store near you there are plenty of sources on-line. You pay a
little more for the shipping but it makes the shopping process more
painless.
There are two brands of pans that I have used in the past that I
generally recommend. The first would be Chicago Metallics. This company
puts out a wide range of different bake ware besides pizza pans. Their
products are affordable and pretty easy to find.
Here
are some links to some common sizes and styles of Chicago
Metallics pans that you may find useful:
The second type of pan I
recommend is slightly more expensive but
again, worth the investment. These pans are made by a company aptly
named, Pizza Tools. They do business primarily with restaurants but
they will sell to private individuals as well. They utilize an in-house
annodizing procedure called PSTK; pre-seasoned tuff kote. They use a
water based non-stick coating which is applied to the pans in several
layers and then baked into the surface using industrial strength ovens.
This makes the pans extremely durable and long lasting. I exclusively
use the PSTK pans and I have never had a pizza burn on me and the
crusts come out tasting great.
If you look at the company's website you will see they have two
different kinds of deep dish pans : nesting and stacking. Nesting pans
have a sloped edge while stacking pans are more straight up and down.
My personal preference is for the stacking pans but I think that's
really just a matter of aesthetics. Another advantage of Pizza Tools is
that you have a much larger range of options in terms of pan size.
I would suggest you check out Pizza Tool's website. Besides pans, they
also have a range of other pizza related gadgets that can make your
life easier.
The other direction you can go in is to purchase a hearth stone for
your oven. This is closer to the hearth style ovens that are used for
traditional Neapolitan
style pizzas. While your oven may only go up to
500 or 550 degrees, a professional hearth oven may get up to 800
degrees, with pizzas cooking in a matter of minutes. Check out the
video below of a hearth oven in action and you can literally watch the
pizza cook completely in under two minutes.
Now barring making modifications to your oven that would make your
insurance company think twice about your business, there isn't any way
you can make your oven at home perform like this. The closest you can
get? The hearth stone. Baking stones are available in varying sizes and
thickness. I would recommend looking for a thicker stone as the thin
ones can get brittle and break more easily.
So how do you use the stone? First of all, in addition to the stone I
would suggest you purchase a pizza peel of some kind. These will make
it easier to get your pizza in and out of the oven. If you don't wish
to purchase a peel, a cookie sheet would also suffice in a pinch.
It is very important to let your stone heat up with the oven. The stone
absorbs heat so if you put a cold stone into a hot oven, you won't get
any advantage from using it. The longer you let the oven heat up, the
hotter the stone will get. Also keep in mind that if you are baking
multiple pizzas, you should allow for some time between them so the
stone can get back up to temperature.
So you have your stone in the oven and it has heated up in the oven
which is now up to proper temperature. Start with your pizza peel. Put
down a layer of parchment paper. Then take your dough and shape it
directly on the parchment paper. The reason for using the parchment is
that it will prevent the dough from sticking to your peel. Dress the
pizza with your sauce, toppings and cheese. When it is ready to go into
the oven, turn your broiler on high. Open the oven door and carefully
slide the pizza onto the stone. Close the oven door and turn the
broiler off. The reason for turning the broiler on is to minimize the
amount of heat you lose when you open the door.
After a few minutes, you should be able to open the door and with the
use of the peel to hold the pizza up, slide the parchment paper out.
Again, I would suggest turning on the broiler as you do this. When the
pizza is done, simply slide your peel underneath the pizza and remove
it from the oven. I would recommend using a cooling rack so that
trapped moisture from the heat doesn't make your crust soggy underneath.
Once baking is completed, you should let the stone cool down completely
inside the oven. This is important. The stone should heat up in the
oven and it should cool down in the oven. You want to avoid radical
temperature changes. If something cold were to splash onto the hot
stone, you could risk shattering it.
Finally, in terms of care, the stone requires very little. You
shouldn't need to clean it very often, if ever. If you do need to clean
it, only use hot water and a brush of some kind. Never, under any
circumstances, should you use any kind of cleaning product. Think of
the stone as a sponge. It will absorb any flavor it comes into contact
with. So if you use a cleaning product, your stone will absorb it and
every pizza you make from that day forward will taste of that product.
Here
are some examples of different stones as well as peels that are
available for purchase on line:
Besides these, there are other
tools you can purchase to help you in
your pizza making. There are traditional pizza wheel cutters. There are
wedge style cutters that work nicely with the deep dish style pizzas.
You can get wheel cutters with plastic blades which would allow you to
cut a pizza in the pan without scratching it.
And
from there you get into things like
rolling pins. I would recommend
a heavy rolling pin that rolls independently from the handles - marble
is a good choice. These are easy to work with and are a lot easier on
your back. Dough dockers are cool tools that make perforating dough a
lot faster and thorough. You can also buy pan grippers which are
especially handy when getting pans in and out of the oven.
