A Theory on on Gen Z fashion

Fans of the blog will know I think much of the UC Davis student body is extremely lame. In my first post on UC Davis I declared that the student body were total nerds. In my second post, I posited that perhaps they are lame because their generation as a whole don't know how to party.

The past week I was riding my bike through campus and it was freshmen orientation, so large groups of freshmen were being toured around in groups. It made me remember being a college freshmen and how going to college was a chance at a fresh start with all new people, and wanting to fit in and make friends. I knew that my first impression with my college peers was important in doing so.

However, as I rode past these kids I was a bit amazed that the outfits they were wearing were just all over the place. Like there was no overarching style or even a hipsteresque ironic approach to fashion. It was like they were given a random grab-bag from the thrift store and said "yeah, this looks good on me".

Given how disparate the apparel choices were it made me realize that there doesn't seem to be any style trends that exist in Gen Z. When I was young I think we realized the trends that were in place, and I'd say most people in school generally tried to follow the conventional wisdom of what was stylish at the time, or had defined alternate styles like the goths and hipsters. Gen Z seems to be all over the map, or simply doesn't care about following any trends in fashion. Billie Eilish is probably one of the most famous Gen Zers and her style is so extremely broad that it's almost impossible to define or even mimic.

As I rode I wondered why this might be. When I was a kid we got our style cues from a very homogenized media ecosystem where MTV and The OC told us what was cool. Now media is much more disjointed with a myriad of TV shows, Twitch streamers, indie movies, Tik-Toc trends and influencers. So it makes sense that kids may dress like their favorite influencers or base their fashion choices on an esoteric TV show that very few other people follow. 

I also wonder how much Covid had to do with things. These kids would have missed out on chunks of their freshmen and sophomore years of High School. After a year and a half of virtual learning maybe they came back and what you wore didn't matter anymore.

Every decade seems to have some defined styles associated with it. You can look at a picture of a group of high schoolers and easily tell if it's from the 70s, 80s, 90s or aughts (shoutout to cargo shorts, polo with a popped collar, puka shell necklace and upside down visor). But I wonder if it will still be that obvious for gen Z. It seems like it's not specific trends coming back en masse ala Ugg Boots, but rather every trend ever coming back in a fraction of Gen Z all at the same time. Which honestly must really take the pressure off these kids since everything is cool and everyone looks so uncool.

Brian's Pizza Recipe

Every recipe on the internet these days is legally required to start with a 10 paragraph essay/backstory about the food/dish. So here we go.

I'll freely admit that during the great quarantine of 2020 l, like so many other Americans, began baking at a feverous pace. But I only found I was interested in baking one thing. That thing was pizza.

It's already established that I like pizza. Even though our local pizza joint was still open during the great quar, I thought to myself "you got a 25 pound bag of flour, if you love it so much why don't you try making it you big doofus". So I did.

At first it was bad. Like inedible. But even the early bad ones made me want to try it again and see if I could make it better/edible. From the time I tried my first pie, I was hooked into pizza making. I read articles, watched videos, became a fanboy of Tom "The Dough Doctor" Lehmann (R.I.P.), and started tweaking variables. Little by little I started to hone things in. I actually kept a pizza diary that served like a chemistry notebook of sorts where I'd track things like the amount of salt I used and the output dough temperature along with how it came out and ideas of what to tweak the next week. I invested in a pizza stone, peel and a reverse spiral dough hook (a must have).

Every Friday I'd make a pizza and learn a little. Slowly I started to understand the things that seemed nebulous months before (e.g. how to judge when the dough has achieved full gluten development). My dough stretching technique got better. I experimented with different cheeses and topping strategies. I discovered that where the pizza was placed it the oven could have a major impact out the outcome depending on the pan/stone.

It was sometime towards the end of 2020 that I made my first pizza that I wouldn't have been disappointed with if I had paid for it. By mid-2021 I was making pizza that I thought was on par with the best pizza places around.

For Christmas 2020, I got a Detroit Style Pizza Pan. I found Detroit Style is a bit more forgiving, and an easier assembly than the rounds. I also benefited from eating it my entire life so I knew what it should taste like, along with the 9 months of dough making that I had under my belt already. In no time I was cranking out excellent Detroit style pizzas. I'll admit that it's not on the same level as Buddy's or Jet's but it is very good.

I think I've made well over 100 pizza's in the past 27 months, and often when eating them people ask me for the recipe. So here it is, but remember, I'm a total amateur who has no real understanding of baking sciences. For real advice ask someone who knows what they're doing, or at least has worked in a pizza place before.

Brian's Traditional Round

Dough Ingredients
Flour - 400g (I've actually not found much difference between high gluten/pizza/all purpose flour)
Yeast - 4g (1% of flour amount)
Water - 252g (63% of flour amount). Use room temperature or slightly colder water. You don't need warm or hot water to activate the yeast. It's an overnight ferment, they yeast will do their job if you trust them.
Salt - 4g (1% of flour amount)
Vegetable Oil - 8g (2% of flour amount)

Process
The night before making pizza make the dough.
1) Add all ingredients except the oil into the mixer bowl (I use a stand mixer). I recommend starting with the water for better mixing.
2) Turn on the stand mixer using a spiral dough hook and let it run on the lowest setting until all the flour is hydrated and the dough has picked up nearly everything off the bottom/side of the mixer bowl into a big blob.
3) Turn off the mixer and let the dough rest for 10-30 minutes depending on how busy you are. When you come back, you should pinch the dough and already see it starting to get doughy and stretchy as those gluten bonds start forming and aligning.
4) Add the oil. I make a little hole like you do in mashed potatoes before adding the gravy. That way it just doesn't coat the bowl making the dough a slide around the bowl.
5) Continue mixing on the lowest speed for about 10 minutes. Once you make a few you'll notice when the dough gets nice and smooth and you've achieved full gluten development. You should be able to stretch it thin enough to see light coming through without it tearing.
6) Pat into a smooth doughball and put it in a covered container. Put it in the fridge until it's pizza time the next day. I don't coat my dough in any oil during the overnight ferment, I did this for awhile and then stopped and didn't notice any difference.
7) Take the dough out a few hours before making the pizza to let it relax and get up to room temperature.
8) Watch a YouTube video on how to open a dough ball into a pizza and then do what they do. 
9) Assemble the pizza with sauce, cheese and toppings. Put the toppings that need to cook the most (mushrooms, green peppers and onions) on top. I used to use a peel and pizza stone but had too many issues transferring between the two, I went back to using a steel pan with holes in the bottom which seems to work pretty well.
10) Bake in a 500 degree oven for 8 minutes or until cheese has brown spots and the crust is golden brown. If the bottom of the crust is too brown, try putting a baking sheet on the rack below, or moving the pizza to the top of the oven. If it's too soft and white, move it to the bottom directly above the heat source. Convection ovens seem to work well too.

Sauce
My wife makes the sauce using a recipe she found online. I don't know that it is or how she does it. So I guess that's the secret ingredient and why your pizza will never be as good as mine. Try adding a bit of black pepper for some extra zest. Seriously.

Cheese
This is open to preference, but I've found the best cheese to be a mix of about 75% mozzarella, and 25% Munster. The Munster really adds a nice nuanced flavor, especially on a white pizza where the cheese takes center stage.

Toppings
Do your thing.

Brian's Detroit Style Pizza
Essentially the same as the round with one major difference - for the amount of water use 68% of the flour weight instead of 63%, I'll also sometimes add a bit extra yeast. It should really rise and double in size. Put the dough in the Detroit style pizza pan (A Detroit style pan from Lloyd's is a must) at least an hour before baking and stretch it to the edges/corners every 10 minutes or so. Remember; dough, then cheese to the edges (for that nice crispy crust), then toppings, then sauce. Bake 24 minutes at 425.

Brian's Breadsticks
Use the traditional round dough recipe, but I usually half it to around 200g of flour. Take the doughball and press it out to a 5x7 rectangle. Use a dough scraper/cutter to cut into 10-12 pieces. Gently roll them and put them on a pan. Cook on an upper rack at 425 for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooked, melt some butter in a small dish and add a shake or two of garlic salt to the butter. Brush on the butter mixture and then liberally apply grated parmesan cheese. For a real kick to the mouth add some powdered ranch dressing seasoning.

Pizza Gallery
Here's some pictures of my pizza making progression from March 2020 until now. They are in reverse order, so they get generally worse as you scroll down.