The Pizza Therapy Forum and Pasta Therapy Forum

[goodfeste]

I'm a starving-artist bachelor living in a large rented room w/bath. I can't do any "proper cooking" in the room (and have no kitchen privileges) but I can heat up whatever I like with a provided microwave oven. I've been trying to come up with a homemade microwave pizza with only limited success.

Q: has anyone tried to make homemade pizza in a freestanding electric skillet? It seems like it might work -- provided the lid is kept on, to get sufficient heat to the top of the pizza and the vent left open to release moisture. Perhaps the only trick would be with getting the finished pie out of the skillet. I might buy a 12" model. I already know about the Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven -- which cooks the pie on a metal turntable that spins between twin heating elements (and which must have deceased pizza pioneers turning over in their graves). Reason I prefer the skillet is that I can use it for a lot of other things.

Getting back to pizza from a microwave, of course I can get store-bought varieties. I don't because I can create something similar (although a bit ersatz) without all that fat and sodium, never mind the price. But that brings to mind something else ...

Q: Has anyone heard of any company mass-producing the metalized cardboard disks that come with microwave pizza? It seems like they might be handy for crisping any bread products in a microwave. They're placed under the pizza and somehow manage to brown and crisp the dough. On the other hand, perhaps that dough is especially crafted to brown and crisp whereas homemade pizza dough ... might not? Anybody have any thoughts or experiences with these items? Thanks.

[AAndreatta]

How about a convection oven? You'd probably have to make your pizzas fairly small, but something is better than nothing.
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-Andy

[goodfeste]

Hey, Stevefrom Yellowtstone -- by convection oven, I think you must mean doing a pizza in a toaster oven. Yes, that's an idea but I checked prices and only the larger, more expensive models will hold a 12" pie. Moreover, a toaster oven is more difficult than a skillet to stow in a closet after use.

I've been thinking a lot about "skillet pizza" lately, so I think I'll play guinea pig for this possibility. I'll find a used skillet with a non-stick surface -- and vented lid (to keep heat over the top while venting moisture). Meanwhile, thanks for the suggestion.

[Vince120]

Goodfeste, how did the pizza come out? I do know from experience that using up to 1/3 of your flour with semolina will make the dough much more non-stick, more manageable in a skillet. I reheat my pizza in a skillet all the time, makes for a nice crisp crust and keeps the oven off in the summer.

Vinny