Comments on: Improved Tray Pizza – Round 2

By: jay brown

jay brown — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:00:51 +0000

can anyone tell me the cheese combo/proportion in a disalla’s pizza. i was told there were 3. i know mozzarella, i assume provalone, i don’t remember tht other or what the ratio is.
p.s. i knew joe mineo in dormont during the 60’s wonderful pizza, totally diferent from carson street disalla’s though. love ‘em both

By: Harry

Harry — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:56:18 +0000

I have been eating Ambridge Pizza since my dad took me there in the early 50’s. I too have been all over the world and have NEVER tasted anything that is even close. I’ve been trying to replicate this for 20 years, and I’ve gotten pretty close. A few things I’ve noticed… use REAL yeast, not in the little packets. It adds that little beer like taste. Also it seems to me that they pre bake their crusts and add the sauce, etc at the last minute, so I stretch the dough out on a well greased flat pan, and let it rise like you do, in the oven for about 30-40 minutes. The I heat the oven as hot as it will go, and bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Then I take the crust out, flip it upside down, and bake it another 8 minutes. Then I put it back in, right side up, add the sauce and a little cheese and bake another few minutes. This is a pain but it makes that crunch that you only get in Ambridge PA.

By: kreity

kreity — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 17:41:51 +0000

Love the site. I’ve made strombolis for years but had given up on pizza – now I’m inspired to try pizza again! I also worked in a pizzeria (in a former life) and here is how we made our square (Sicilian) pizza. Mix and let the dough rise once like normal. Stretch into a round on the counter and lift into the pan. Then pull the dough into the corners running your fingers along the entire edge to force the dough in. We covered the dough with an oiled sheet of plastic (like a clean trashbag) cut 2 inches larger than your tray to prevent it from drying out. As it is rising we would pull the dough into the corners at least 2 more times until it stays properly. Once risen (until the dough is just puffed over the edge of the pan), we would usually put the whole pan in the fridge, but you can certainly bake immediately. To bake we covered with just sauce and baked for 15-20 minutes. Then we removed it, added just enough extra sauce to make it wet and added cheese and other toppings and baked until the cheese melted.(5-10 additional minutes). I think this 2 part cooking methods helps the crust cook better. Hope that helps future experiments!

By: PizzaBill

PizzaBill — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 01:05:44 +0000

There’s quite a difference in taste – Even with my recipe. I use far more yeast in the square pizza, it rises in the tray, it’s baked the same day it’s mixed and it’s baked in oil. All of this has an effect on the flavor. Another difference is the addition of white cheddar cheese to the tray pizza. Your best bet would be to try one and let me know!

By: Greg Pavlot

Greg Pavlot — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 18:35:08 +0000

As a Pittsburgher I can tell you that a really fine example of this style is North of the city, in a food court! Sounds funny, but ask your Dad or try it yourself next time you are in town. This is not a franchise, but a one-hit-wonder called Mama Lucia’s, located on the upper level of Northway Mall – McKnight Road, near entrance to North Park – well worth the trip. I’ve wanted to duplicate this dough for years and can’t wait to try your recipe ideas – I’ll follow up with the results soon! Thanks for sharing!!

By: Megan McComber

Megan McComber — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 18:15:36 +0000

This tray pizza really reminds me of the pizza they serve at schools.