u/Shanksworthy73

I’ve been trying to find this pizza mozzarella that’s normally only available through food service channels. I remember seeing old comments mentioning that it was occasionally available at some Costco Business Centres. Does anyone’s Costco carry this? My city (Calgary) doesn’t have a business centre, but if yours does and happens to carry this specific product, then I’d like to grab some next time I’m in your city.

The Costco-exclusive Saputo “Deluxe” version (1Kg block) is fine but not exactly what I’m looking for. Nor is the Saputo Mozzarellissima version available in grocery stores. One is a bit too rubbery (minimal stretch), and the other has an unappealing texture with a weird sheen/gloss. The Gold recipe OTOH is god-tier, but rarely available in the wild. I’ve only ever tried it in pizzerias while visiting Quebec, but I live in Calgary where restaurants cut corners and no pizzerias here use premium mozz.

My local Saputo Food Service rep has been unresponsive to my inquiries, so I’m now grasping at straws.

I recently moved to Western Canada and discovered that what people here call “Greek pizza” is nothing like the nostalgic Montreal Greco-Italian-style pizza I grew up with in the ‘70s. I’m talking about places like Marconi, Elio’s, Pendelli’s, Gigi’s, and Casa Rita, with mountains of mild mortadella-like pepperoni stacked underneath loads of cheese. On the surface they’re similar, but the flavour/texture nuances are very different. Anyone who’s moved away from QC and craved this style knows exactly what I mean. Some Montrealers love it, while some consider this to be “unrefined overly-heavy pizza”, but anywhere else in Canada it would be considered an artisanal masterpiece, a toothsome pie worthy of the Greek gods themselves, and would destroy any other pub/greek-style pizza they could offer up.

I’ve been trying to recreate it at home and I’m about 97% there. I’ve got the Roma pepperoni, Saputo Deluxe Pizza cheese from Costco (close enough), and I’ve even nailed the sauce.

The one thing I can’t quite crack is the dough.

I’ve tried countless recipes and they’re all close, but none have that signature Montreal texture: a soft, fluffy, almost milk-bread-like crumb with a lightly crisp exterior. Mine always ends up just a bit too chewy.

I’ve heard 7-Up is the secret, but it didn’t make much difference for me. Whole milk helped a little, but still wasn’t quite it. I’ve also tried the popular YouTube “Montreal Pizza/7up” recipe that gets shared a lot, and it wasn’t the one either.
If anyone has a traditional Montreal Greek pizza dough recipe—or knows what the missing ingredient or technique is—I’d love to hear it.

In the meantime, here are a few of my attempts. (Yes, some pepperoni is on top because my son likes it crispy.)

My family’s favorite, the Montreal all-dressed (pepperoni, green pepper, mushroom).
One has all the pepperoni stacked under the cheese (Mtl-style), and the other has some on top (my son’s preference).

I know, “pep under the cheese” is heresy to some people. Montreal-style pepperoni is actually softer/milder and more like mortadella, so it’s more like a deli salami you’d put in a sandwich.

I’m still experimenting with the dough, trying to get it a little more fluffy than chewy. I used Julian Sisofo’s poolish method, and I augmented it by adding a bit of whole milk powder this time, which made an improvement (see this article). But I might reconsider my Robin Hood BF brand loyalty and switch to a different brand next time.

First pizza of the season! Used the wrong kind of flour for long/low bake (Caputo Pizzeria 00) and no oil/sugar, so had to bake a bit hotter/longer to brown the crust. Consequently cheese browned a bit more than desired, but we enjoyed it anyway.

…on this week, >!the week of Stephen Miller using his pregnant wife as a human shield?!<

This is one of my all time favorite movies, and it’s one I keep going back to every couple years.

https://youtu.be/P5zc6ZLNCek?si=UBpw2U1GAS3MAVQk

I just got a 5L spiral mixer a few weeks ago (mainly for making pizza dough), and was looking for more excuses to use it. I figured low-hydration Montreal-style bagel dough would be a pretty challenging test, and the mixer had no problems with it.

I was very happy about how it turned out. I think maybe the crumb was a bit more airy than is typical of a denser Mtl-bagel (sorry no pics — the kitchen was chaotic with 4 people all trying to achieve different goals 🙂), but the taste was spot-on. The ones in the 2nd pic were from a later batch and were a bit closer to authentic. That’s probably down to how I shaped them — just learning as I go.

Next time I’ll try to use less yeast and/or shorter proof time, and I’ll try to bake them in the Ooni for better consistency, instead of on steel in the home oven.