Big Cheese Pizza Recipe

[stevemon]

My town had a great Pizza restaurant 20 yrs ago but unfortunaltely it went out of business in about 1987. Seems like the ones who are in buiness now are still around because they don't sell quality pizzas but instead can pass off 2nd rate fare because they're a big corporation. The Walmarts of the Pizza world if you will.

The pizzas I bought at Big Cheese Pizza were the best I'd ever eaten so not having anything close to them now, I did some looking on the net and found a site where a former employee at Big Cheese put up the recipe for their pizzas. If you make up a few let me know how you like it



Big Cheese Pizza Sauce and Crust

Big Cheese Pizza Sauce

This recipe has been created to match the taste of the pizza sauce for the now defunct Big Cheese Pizza chain. This is not the official recipe, but it comes close to the real thing.

For a large (16 inch) pizza;

16 oz. canned tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes in puree (for fresh tomatoes, see note below)
1 1/2 tbsp oregano
3/4 tbsp basil (sweet or spicy globe)
1 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp marjoram
3/4 tsp thyme
1 tsp minced dry garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/8 tsp ground coriander
1/4 - 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

With the exception of the onion powder and the coriander, the above spices should not be fine ground. If so, reduce amounts to accommodate for the higher density of the spice.

Thoroughly mix spices in sauce, then simmer covered, stirring occasionally. Pour sauce on pizza crust, add toppings and bake according to the pizza crust recipe.

If making sauce from fresh tomatoes (a real treat), start with 32 oz tomatoes crushed to a puree in a food processor (with or without seeds, I'm lazy so I leave the seeds in). Simmer uncovered with spices to reduce to 16 oz.


Big Cheese Pizza Crust

Here is a recipe based on crust I remember making at Big Cheese Pizza, a pizza parlor I worked at a decade ago - scaled back from the industrial size to an amount appropriate for a single family. For the record, Big Cheese Pizza is now defunct, and this is not their official recipe.

Dissolve in:
1 1/4 cups of warm water (110-120 degrees F)
1 packet active dry yeast
1 1/4 tbsp sugar

Allow to sit for 8-10 minutes (builds a good froth, so make sure this is in a 2 cup or larger container, glass is best as it holds the heat nicely)

While yeast water is brewing, place in either a mixing bowl of a mixer with a dough hook or the bowl of a bread machine set on manual (no bake cycle):

3 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt

When water is ready, add to flour. Mix thoroughly for about 4-6 minutes, being ready to add flour or water if necessary (flour can vary from brand to brand) to make a smooth, springy dough. Dough should only be slightly sticky to the firm touch.

Remove dough from bowl and place in an airtight bag. Do not seal bag, but leave open in a nearly closed drape (that is, not wide open, but enough to allow gasses from yeast to escape). Set in a warm place for at lest one hour and fifteen minutes. This is the crucial part. Most people don't allow the dough to properly rise, resulting in a tough, unpleasant dough. Try not to allow the dough to rise more than two hours.

Note for bread machine users: Allow to run on manual cycle, and leave dough in closed machine to allow adequate rising time. Again, at least one hour and fifteen minutes. No more than two hours.

Roll out to cover a 14 inch pan for thicker crust, 16 inch pan for thinner crust. Permeate crust with fork in a similar fashion to the way used to keep pie crusts from bubbling. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise an additional 15-20 minutes. Briefly repeat permeation with fork, though not as thoroughly.

Prepare toppings and sauces as desired. Cook pizza at 475-525 degrees (the thicker the toppings, the higher the temperature) until crusts turns golden brown on edges and cheese is browned and bubbling (presuming your has cheese on it). The bottom will be a smooth, medium amber in color.

[87natty]

Hell yes! Pizza on! Thank you Sir!

[Nasty Wendy]

I won a bet which entailed me having homemade pizza last night. I'll keep this recipe handy for the next time.

[bishir]

Dang you for making my mouth water on a day I didn't eat lunch!

Sounds good, I'll try it.

[Turbo_Tim]

Thanks Steve! Good to see someone else appreciates great pizza. I copied and pasted for later (after I loose a few pounds

I hope the dough turns out ok - that's where the difference is!

[Grumpy]

I am a PIZZA whore to

[bishir]

I"m making this as I type. I"ll let ya know how it turns out. Anyone else make it yet?

Wow, after adding all the spices this sause definietly isn't RED! Hope that wasn't suppose to be teaspoons for Oregano

[bishir]

I cooked the pizza! Following the dough recipe to a tee and I thought it turned out great. I cooked the pizza for 14 mins at 500 degrees in a convection oven at about 11 feet above sea level. The sause was good, but I think it had too much oregeno. I believe that recipe should probably be changed from table to teaspoons on oregeno. I put hamburger, mushroom, Feta, mozzerella, and Romano on mine. Here are some pics:

[CaPPY]

The dough (spread by hand) is basically the same. The sequence is a little different...from an old Sicilian recipe (mother-in-laws). I'll leave out a couple of other things to make it less ethnic.

I mix puree with crushed tomatoes...don't cook them, just blend...cover the pizza with that mix. Then sprinkle oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, garlic powder. etc. in either pinches (between thumb and forefinger) or if proficient enough (from the container) to taste. Then add the (three) cheeses covering the spices. That way you can control the taste that you like, easier than heating spices in the sauce.

Then add either pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, etc. to the top of the pizza. See if it's easier to control the taste by using the above order. I like to have beer with pizza, O'Douls non-alch seems to work. I can drink a six-pack if I want. That way, no DUI, if I have to drive!

[wileecoyote]

I have to say, I keep coming back and checking in for this recipe. I love it. Only thing was the first time I made it I didn't allow for how much the crust would rise and it turned out to be about a 2 in crust! Talk about thick crust!

[ULYCYC]

Coming from the pizza and bagel capital of the world you need one ingredient that everyone lacks and that's perfect water. If the water is too hard or soft the dough/crust sucks. Best is try and use filtered bottle water if you can't get it from the tap like NYC has. Having a coal or wood fired fired oven helps cover-up the rest of the non-Italian ingredients.

edit: I forgot the mozzarella. It has to be fresh made not the stuff that comes in 20lb bricks.

[firebird_1252]

Originally Posted by ULYCYC

Coming from the pizza and bagel capital of the world you need one ingredient that everyone lacks and that's perfect water. If the water is too hard or soft the dough/crust sucks. Best is try and use filtered bottle water if you can't get it from the tap like NYC has. Having a coal or wood fired fired oven helps cover-up the rest of the non-Italian ingredients.

edit: I forgot the mozzarella. It has to be fresh made not the stuff that comes in 20lb bricks.

here ed goes with his brick oven pizza lol.. i dont know why but out of ny they think its mandatory to pile on the oragano.

[Buick Runner]

Originally Posted by firebird_1252

here ed goes with his brick oven pizza lol.. i dont know why but out of ny they think its mandatory to pile on the oragano.

Because it tastes better than garlic yuck! Why do all that work when you can get pizza for a $1 in Wildwood. You can't even make it yourself that cheap. Still sounds like a good recipe.

[firebird_1252]

umm greek pizza has alot of garlic. italian dont... south nj dont know what pizza is.

[Buick Runner]

Originally Posted by firebird_1252

umm greek pizza has alot of garlic. italian dont... south nj dont know what pizza is.

Because we have better things to do than to memorize different pizza types, I guess NY does not have anything better to do than to fuss about pizza and Italian still has way too much garlic. Oragano kicks garlic's ass!