Delicious, delicious pizza.
Dec. 3rd, 2010 10:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
algWell, I have finally perfected a recipe for pizza that my entire family and the kids next door will all eat. It doubles and triples wonderfully, and bakes just as nicely on a half-sheet pan as it does in a cast iron skillet. Now you too can make my pizza! If you just want to look at the pictures, they are at this tag on my Flickr. Otherwise, let us continue...
I start with a teaspoon or so (a squeeze) of honey. If you're vegan, or you don't eat honey, use white sugar or brown rice syrup or whatever. Something sweet for the yeast to eat.
Add a teaspoon of yeast...
...and about a cup of warm water. Sometimes I add 3/4 cup, sometimes a whole cup. You can always add more, or add more flour if you've added too much.
Then add a heaping teaspoon of kosher salt. If you're using free-flowing/table salt, use a scant teaspoon.
Add 1-3/4 cups of flour and stir!
While stirring, stream in about a tablespoon of olive oil. Then start kneading with your knuckles.
It should only take a minute for your dough to come together into a smooth ball. If it's really sticky, add a bit of flour. If it's really tight, add a little bit of water. The bowl shouldn't be too messy, so just put a teaspoon or two of olive oil in the bottom, and roll the dough around in it.
Now: wash your hands and dry them with a kitchen towel. This will make the kitchen towel sufficiently damp for our purposes. Cover the bowl with the kitchen towel and set in a warm place.
I try to time things so that my bread will be rising while laundry is in the dryer, and I just leave the bowl on top of the dryer for an hour or two. Usually about 90 minutes.
It's not going to double in size or anything really dramatic. It will swell a little, but not much. Don't be taken aback by that. After you've let it rise, pull it out and knead it a little again. Oil the pan you're going to bake the pizza in, and then put the dough into the pan to rest for about twenty minutes. In the picture below, you'll see that my cast iron skillet is pretty oily -- this is because I just left the grease from frying mushrooms in the skillet.
It's time to think about fillings! I went through my fridge for stuff to throw in; I came up with leftover sauteed spinach from Tuesday night, some leftover veggie sausage, and mushrooms (that I fried).
Also cheese! Eight ounces of mozzarella and an ounce of romano, shredded.
Time to roll out the pizza dough. Except I really hate using a rolling pin, because then I have to wash it. So instead I try to just push the dough out with my knuckles. When I make a single recipe and bake it in my skillet, this method works pretty well. If I'm making a double or triple recipe and making it on a half-sheet pan, it works less well and I usually give in and use a rolling pin. Dock the dough with a fork to make sure it doesn't puff up -- and if you're doing this in a skillet or anything with sides, make sure you dock the sides, too.
A layer of cheese! I usually do this first layer with about an ounce of romano. Some people, I'm told, use ricotta, cheddar, or pepperjack. That does not appeal to me at all, but you might enjoy it.
Then sauce. This is about a quarter of a recipe of marinara sauce, leftover from when I made soy chicken parmigiana at the beginning of the week (and, uh, pizza bagels for breakfast, but whatever!). I thought I'd posted about my marinara, but I can't find it, so maybe I'll do that next time...
Next goes the filling, then the mozzarella cheese. Some people mix some of the cheese in with the filling, so that it melts throughout, and then sprinkle the rest on top. That's cool! I like to put all the cheese on top, though.
Bake at 450F for about 20 minutes. If you want the cheese more brown, just stick it under the broiler for a minute or two. Just like a baked pasta, you need to let it rest for 3 - 5 minutes before you serve it.
I meant to take a beautiful, perfect picture of the first delicious slice, but I ate it. Here's a picture of the last slice instead.
I ate it with a knife and fork. Mmmm. There are no leftovers, or I'd probably be eating a slice for breakfast.
Not illustrated recipe:
1 tsp honey or other sweetener (do not use Splenda or Equal, though)
1 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
1 heaping tsp kosher salt (or 1 scant tsp table salt)
1-3/4 - 2 cups flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
about 1/2 cup marinara sauce
9 oz shredded cheese, any blend (I use 8 oz mozzarella & 1 oz romano; people swap out the romano for things like pepperjack, cheddar, or ricotta)
some kind of filling (optional)
Mix the honey, yeast, and water. Add salt and flour. While stirring the flour into the mixture, stream in the olive oil. Knead for about a minute to bring the dough together. Oil the bowl and roll the dough in the oil. Cover with a damp towel (or some cling film) and set in a warm place to rise for about 90 minutes. It won't double in size or anything -- it will just swell slightly.
Knead the air out of the dough, then set it aside to rest for 20 minutes. Oil your pan (even if it is a cast iron skillet). Roll out the dough (or press it out with your knuckles). Dock the dough with a fork. If you're baking in a dish with sides and you've pressed the dough up the sides, be sure to dock the sides!
Spread out the first layer of cheese. It should only be about an ounce. Sauce goes over that. You can use more than 1/2 cup sauce, but be careful -- there's not really a place for the water in the sauce to go, so it will make your pizza soggy. If you like a lot of sauce, I suggest cooking it down first, to make it thick and evaporate a lot of the liquid. Add your fillings (I usually use veggie sausage, or whatever leftover vegetables are in the fridge, like sauteed spinach or fried mushrooms or caramelized onions or roasted peppers). The rest of the cheese goes on top.
Bake at 450F for 20 minutes. If the cheese isn't browned sufficiently to your liking after that, you can leave it in for another 5 or 10 minutes without burning the crust, but it's deliciously golden after 20 minutes, so I usually just put it under the broiler for a minute or two to finish browning the cheese.
Make sure you let it rest for 3 - 5 minutes. Then mangia!
I start with a teaspoon or so (a squeeze) of honey. If you're vegan, or you don't eat honey, use white sugar or brown rice syrup or whatever. Something sweet for the yeast to eat.
Add a teaspoon of yeast...
...and about a cup of warm water. Sometimes I add 3/4 cup, sometimes a whole cup. You can always add more, or add more flour if you've added too much.
Then add a heaping teaspoon of kosher salt. If you're using free-flowing/table salt, use a scant teaspoon.
Add 1-3/4 cups of flour and stir!
While stirring, stream in about a tablespoon of olive oil. Then start kneading with your knuckles.
It should only take a minute for your dough to come together into a smooth ball. If it's really sticky, add a bit of flour. If it's really tight, add a little bit of water. The bowl shouldn't be too messy, so just put a teaspoon or two of olive oil in the bottom, and roll the dough around in it.
Now: wash your hands and dry them with a kitchen towel. This will make the kitchen towel sufficiently damp for our purposes. Cover the bowl with the kitchen towel and set in a warm place.
I try to time things so that my bread will be rising while laundry is in the dryer, and I just leave the bowl on top of the dryer for an hour or two. Usually about 90 minutes.
It's not going to double in size or anything really dramatic. It will swell a little, but not much. Don't be taken aback by that. After you've let it rise, pull it out and knead it a little again. Oil the pan you're going to bake the pizza in, and then put the dough into the pan to rest for about twenty minutes. In the picture below, you'll see that my cast iron skillet is pretty oily -- this is because I just left the grease from frying mushrooms in the skillet.
It's time to think about fillings! I went through my fridge for stuff to throw in; I came up with leftover sauteed spinach from Tuesday night, some leftover veggie sausage, and mushrooms (that I fried).
Also cheese! Eight ounces of mozzarella and an ounce of romano, shredded.
Time to roll out the pizza dough. Except I really hate using a rolling pin, because then I have to wash it. So instead I try to just push the dough out with my knuckles. When I make a single recipe and bake it in my skillet, this method works pretty well. If I'm making a double or triple recipe and making it on a half-sheet pan, it works less well and I usually give in and use a rolling pin. Dock the dough with a fork to make sure it doesn't puff up -- and if you're doing this in a skillet or anything with sides, make sure you dock the sides, too.
A layer of cheese! I usually do this first layer with about an ounce of romano. Some people, I'm told, use ricotta, cheddar, or pepperjack. That does not appeal to me at all, but you might enjoy it.
Then sauce. This is about a quarter of a recipe of marinara sauce, leftover from when I made soy chicken parmigiana at the beginning of the week (and, uh, pizza bagels for breakfast, but whatever!). I thought I'd posted about my marinara, but I can't find it, so maybe I'll do that next time...
Next goes the filling, then the mozzarella cheese. Some people mix some of the cheese in with the filling, so that it melts throughout, and then sprinkle the rest on top. That's cool! I like to put all the cheese on top, though.
Bake at 450F for about 20 minutes. If you want the cheese more brown, just stick it under the broiler for a minute or two. Just like a baked pasta, you need to let it rest for 3 - 5 minutes before you serve it.
I meant to take a beautiful, perfect picture of the first delicious slice, but I ate it. Here's a picture of the last slice instead.
I ate it with a knife and fork. Mmmm. There are no leftovers, or I'd probably be eating a slice for breakfast.
Not illustrated recipe:
1 tsp honey or other sweetener (do not use Splenda or Equal, though)
1 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
1 heaping tsp kosher salt (or 1 scant tsp table salt)
1-3/4 - 2 cups flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
about 1/2 cup marinara sauce
9 oz shredded cheese, any blend (I use 8 oz mozzarella & 1 oz romano; people swap out the romano for things like pepperjack, cheddar, or ricotta)
some kind of filling (optional)
Mix the honey, yeast, and water. Add salt and flour. While stirring the flour into the mixture, stream in the olive oil. Knead for about a minute to bring the dough together. Oil the bowl and roll the dough in the oil. Cover with a damp towel (or some cling film) and set in a warm place to rise for about 90 minutes. It won't double in size or anything -- it will just swell slightly.
Knead the air out of the dough, then set it aside to rest for 20 minutes. Oil your pan (even if it is a cast iron skillet). Roll out the dough (or press it out with your knuckles). Dock the dough with a fork. If you're baking in a dish with sides and you've pressed the dough up the sides, be sure to dock the sides!
Spread out the first layer of cheese. It should only be about an ounce. Sauce goes over that. You can use more than 1/2 cup sauce, but be careful -- there's not really a place for the water in the sauce to go, so it will make your pizza soggy. If you like a lot of sauce, I suggest cooking it down first, to make it thick and evaporate a lot of the liquid. Add your fillings (I usually use veggie sausage, or whatever leftover vegetables are in the fridge, like sauteed spinach or fried mushrooms or caramelized onions or roasted peppers). The rest of the cheese goes on top.
Bake at 450F for 20 minutes. If the cheese isn't browned sufficiently to your liking after that, you can leave it in for another 5 or 10 minutes without burning the crust, but it's deliciously golden after 20 minutes, so I usually just put it under the broiler for a minute or two to finish browning the cheese.
Make sure you let it rest for 3 - 5 minutes. Then mangia!