Good to know! I’ll probably start with a 50/50 blend and tweak from there.
some thoughts:
- i meant to say scalfani crushed, not ground, is what I use.
- I drain crushed tomatoes, basically I dump them into a fine mesh strainer with a bowl underneath until the juice stops dripping. This results in a much less watery sauce.
- I meant to mention that diFaras used 00 in their blend for a while. I know this to be the case because I went there with a friend who owns a couple of pizza shops and while we were wating for our pie, he excused himself, came back ten minutes later, and gave me the low down on the contents of their dumpster

- is there a specific style you’re trying for? or is it just what you’ve come to enjoy?
best,
Yes, I have tried this before, but for the crust I make and the amount of cheese/toppings I like to use, I still find it too watery. For a true NY style I agree that drained canned tomatoes are perfect.
That’s a great story! I have only been to DiFara’s once, while Dom was still at the helm, and oddly enough, I wasn’t impressed. I think it was probably a case of unmeetable expectations given all the hype. The pizza was very good, but I just remember thinking “I came all the way to f’ing Brooklyn and waited 2 hours for this???” ![]()
I’m not trying to replicate a specific style. For this particular experiment I’m trying to see whether this particular crust, which I think of as a sort of Neapolitan/NYC style hybrid, can be improved upon in terms of flavor, texture, or both, with 00 flour. I’m very happy with it already using all KABF, but I like to tinker! I have a feeling 00 will make it a little more delicate and may necessitate a lighter hand with toppings, but that’s fine - might be a good opportunity to try drained crushed tomatoes again rather than a reduced sauce.
I attended a couple of wine dinners at difaras where 40 of us bought out the restaurant for the night, no corkage fee and dom made different pizzas until we said no mas. It was an incredible bargain, maybe $45 pp and I’m sure we collectively had $10k of wine on the table.
After my wife’s first bite she leaned over and whispered that the pizza I make was better and I tended to agree. Mostly the pizza were underbaked. However, as dom aged, I believe he had some help and the pizza was much, much better, to the point that I doubt I’ll make its equal.
I believe they’re still holding wine dinners, last I heard the price was around $80pp, still somewhat of a bargain but I’d probably prefer Wus.
Best,
I threw together a pizza from TJ’s crust, with sliced tomato and Greek sausage, Centos pureed tomato, mozz and romano. The sauce looked gloppy, like chain pizzeria sauce, but since it was only tomato and seasonings it was light and fresh. From the oven:
And a slice:
King Arthur’s Recipe of the Year: Flaky Puff Crust Pizza.
This one has a laminated crust, described by KAF as flaky, crisp and cracker-like. It requires more work and monitoring than a straight pizza crust, and I think having an appropriate (dark) Lloyd pan is an advantage. I used 00 flour, salted butter, and made a half recipe in a quarter-sized sheet pan. Topped with homemade marinara, parm, whole milk mozz, fresh mozz, and homegrown basil pesto. I got BIG bubble during the bake – bodkin to the rescue.
Sadly, this was not a win. While just slightly crispy (and nowhere close to what the video would have you believe), the crust also was greasy and a strange fit for traditional pizza toppings. It def did not scratch that pizza itch, despite all the extra attention required by laminating the crust.
Can’t win them all. On to the next one…
Prosciutto, caramelized onion and arugula pizza with homemade pizza sauce and grated mozzarella.
Drizzled with the absolute last few drops of a truly aged balsamic vinegar from 1975, purchased from Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge in the 1990s as a gift to me. It has lasted at least 30 years since I received it and has only gotten better with time. I will need to make a weekend trip to their Cambridge location for another small bottle to last me until I go into a nursing home. ![]()
What a bummer!!
So is it like a croissant pizza ?
That’s how it’s promoted, although more cracker-like. We didn’t find it awful, just odd and not very satisfying in any way.
Che bella!
tonight is Flammkuchen. simple/easy/quick and veddy tasty.





