Outdated Forge Pizza is a novel regional model that’s largely served solely within the coal mining area of Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA). An oblong pizza baked in a metal pan — 10 x 14 inches sliced into 8 “cuts” or 11 x 17 inches sliced into 12 — and layered with barely candy tomato sauce and a bunch of melty, shredded cheeses, it’s a regional favourite that’s nice for a celebration.
Outdated Forge, the city the place this pizza will get its identify, has one of many highest variety of pizzerias per capita on this planet. Dubbed “The Pizza Capital of the World,” its 11 pizzerias serve a inhabitants of about 8,500 hungry residents in its tiny 3.4-square-mile footprint. This pizza served in “trays” and “cuts” (translation: Complete pizzas and slices) is ubiquitous in its birthplace, but it surely’s onerous to search out exterior Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Enter Jim Mirabelli, proprietor and chief pizza officer of the NEPA Pizza Review, a information to all issues Northeastern Pennsylvania-style pizza. Jim took all the most effective components of a professionally made Outdated Forge pizza — crispy, medium-thick crust plus decadent cheese pulls — and made a recipe that works exterior the confines of pizzerias, so you possibly can do this regional favourite even for those who by no means make it to Pennsylvania.
“The method entails what I name a ‘layered bake,’ which suggests assembling the pizza in phases and baking after every ingredient layer is added,” Jim says, noting this helps to “attain a crispy backside on this medium-thickness pan pizza.”
The melty, stringy cheese mix is a signature of Outdated Forge pizza. Jim suggests a mix of shredded mozzarella with brick (the Wisconsin cheese identified for its use in Detroit-style pizza) and white American cheeses. For those who don’t have access to brick, he loves white cheddar or Muenster. Like many Pennsylvania natives, Jim swears by Cooper’s sharp white. The 125-year-plus Pennsylvania model’s American cheese is thought for a super creamy texture and superior flavor. As a result of it’s solely retailed in five-pound loaves, Cooper’s could be a dedication. However in stores where it’s available, it’s sometimes stocked at deli counters the place you should purchase as a lot as you want and even specify most popular thickness (it’s beloved for grilled cheese, mac and cheese and many other edible delights).
Don’t have entry to white American cheese in any respect? Don’t panic. “The excellent news is that regardless of well-liked perception, there are actually no particular guidelines that outline Outdated Forge pizza cheese blends,” Jim notes. “I used to be simply with an proprietor who’s utilizing one hundred pc white cheddar and one other who mentioned he’s utilizing straight brick. Some solely use American. Some use as much as 4 or 5 totally different cheeses!”
In that scenario, havarti is an efficient match (it is sometimes delicate and creamy). Gouda too (“Simply don’t go north of 25 p.c gouda within the cheese mix,” Jim gives).
Whereas Outdated Forge pizzas are available two main varieties, “Pink” and “White,” this recipe particularly covers the “Pink” selection. To make an genuine Outdated Forge white pizza, many of the course of stays the identical. Instead of the Outdated Forge-style pizza sauce, you’d add Italian seasoning (assume oregano, rosemary, basil, black pepper and garlic) to the cheese. At Old Forge stalwarts like Cafe Rinaldi, Revello’s, Arcaro & Genell, white pies additionally typically get the chopped broccoli, sliced tomatoes and garlic, and, much less regularly, spinach, remedies.
For those who’re thinking about making the white pizzas famous above, finely chop, season and sauté the broccoli or spinach, reserve, and high the pizzas prebake. Apply the finely sliced tomato and garlic uncooked, and end the pizza with a vigorous quantity of Italian seasoning and Parmesan à la close by stalwart Colarusso’s Cafe.
For those who actually really feel like going native, strive sautéed shrimp and peppers (Outdated Forge-ians go together with every thing from candy to scorching to dried), a delightfully idiosyncratic NEPA topping mixture utilized pre-bake over the cheese.
No matter you select, this recipe’s a scrumptious “minimize” from probably the most pizza-loving components of the US.
This recipe seems in A Love Letter to Northeastern Pennsylvania-style Pizza by Jim Mirabelli.
Notes: This recipe depends on recipes for Northeastern Pennsylvania-style Pizza Dough and Old Forge-style Pizza Sauce.
We suggest utilizing fuel for this recipe, because the bake requires manipulation of temperature that’s best with a fuel flame.
Time
3 hours, half-hour
3 hours passive
half-hour energetic
Yield
2 x 10 by 14-inch pizzas
Serves
2 to 4
Tools
Ooni pizza oven
Ooni Infrared Thermometer
10 x 14-inch metal pizza pan
Ooni Pizza Peel
Ooni Pizza Oven Gloves
metallic spatula
ladle
cooling rack
Ooni Pizza Cutter Wheel or Pizza Cutter Rocker Blade
Substances
2 x 450-gram Northeastern Pennsylvania-style Pizza Dough balls
shortening or butter, to grease the pan
240 grams (1 cup) Outdated Forge-style Pizza Sauce
240 grams (2 cups) shredded mozzarella
120 grams (1 cup) shredded brick (white cheddar or Muenster will do)
120 grams (1 cup) white American cheese (ideally Cooper’s sharp white), shredded (if from a loaf) or thinly sliced
120 grams (1 cup) Pecorino Romano
Technique
Utilizing the NEPA Pizza Dough recipe, make the dough and portion it into 2 x 450-gram items. Enable the dough balls to relaxation at room temperature for 3 hours, or till they’ve doubled in measurement and should not proof against stretching.
Grease a deep-sided 10 x 14-inch pan liberally with shortening or butter. Place the dough evenly in your pan and gently press it into the corners with out making a raised-edge crust. The dough must be uniform and flat. If the dough resists stretching to the corners, cowl it with plastic wrap and permit it to relaxation for five to 10 minutes, then gently stretch it once more. Cowl the dough with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it rise for 1 hour at room temperature.
Preheat your oven to 700°F (370°C), measuring the stone temperature with an infrared thermometer. As soon as the stone has preheated, dial the flame to low.
Take away the plastic wrap, place the pan within the oven and bake the crust for two minutes. Rotate the pan 180 levels and bake for two further minutes.
Retrieve the pan from the oven and use a spatula to take away the par-baked pizza “shell.” Watch out — the dough will likely be scorching! Flip the shell the wrong way up on a cooling rack to permit moisture to flee for five minutes. In the meantime, return the flame to the very best setting till the stone temperature rebounds to 700°F (370°C).
Flip the shell and return it to the pan. Spoon on half of the Outdated Forge-style pizza sauce, overlaying all the par-baked shell apart from a ½-inch border for the crust.
With the flame nonetheless on excessive, return the pizza to the oven for 1 minute, rotating it 180 levels after 30 seconds, till the sauce begins to steam. Take away from the oven.
Sprinkle with half the Pecorino Romano, then cowl with half every of the mozzarella, brick and white American cheeses.
With the stone temp at 700°F (370°C), dial again the flame to an ultra-low setting, then place the pizza within the oven. Bake for 1 minute, rotate 180 levels and bake for 1 further minute. Flip off the oven flame fully and use the residual stone warmth to prepare dinner the pizza for a further 3 to 4 minutes. In case your Ooni pizza oven has a door, depart it open.
When the cheese is melted and begins to brown barely and the seen crust is golden brown, your pizza is prepared!
Take away the pizza from the oven and let it cool on a rack for a couple of minutes. Slice into 8 squares and luxuriate in! Repeat the method for the second pizza.
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