Cooking Class #5: Pizza with Love
Pizza!
Last week Laura had quick breads and this week we started on yeast breads. For her yeast breads, she chose pizza dough. We decided then to make an entire pizza from scratch, the dough and the sauce would be completely homemade.
Our first glitch seemed to come with the yeast. It wouldn’t bubble. So, we made a trip out for more yeast. This time it bubbled in the warm water and we were ready to begin.
Homemade sauce at the ready, Laura starts patting the dough.
Rolling the dough.
Putting on the sauce.
The Laura touch? Heart shaped pepperonis!
Hot and ready from the oven.
Basic Pizza Dough
makes 3 –
12 inch (30 cm) pizzas
* 1 tablespoon active dry yeast, or 1 oz (25 gr) brewer’s yeast
* 1 1/2 cups (350 cc) warm water
* 3 1/2 cups (500 gr) flour
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* pinch of salt* In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast on the warm water, and stir to dissolve it. Set aside until the yeast starts forms bubbles in about 5 minutes.
* Sift the flour. Pour the flour into a large bowl or on a work surface. * Mold the flour in a mound shape with a hole in the center.
* Pour in the center the yeast mix olive oil, and a pinch of salt.
* Using a spatula draw the ingredients together.
* Then mix with your hands to form a dough.
* Sprinkle some flour on the work surface. Place the dough on the floured surface.
* Knead the dough briefly with your hands pushing and folding. * Knead just long enough for the dough to take in a little more flour, and until it no longer sticks to your hands.
* With your hand, spread a little olive oil inside a bowl.
* Transfer the dough into the bowl.
* On the top of the dough, make two incisions that cross, and spread with a very small amount of olive oil. This last step will prevent the surface of the dough from breaking too much while rising.
* Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth, and set the bowl aside for approximately 1½ – 2 hours until the dough doubles in volume. The time required for rising will depend on the strength of the yeast and the temperature of the room.
When the dough is double its original size, punch it down to eliminate the air bubbles.
* On a lightly floured work surface, cut the dough into three equal pieces.
* On the work surface, using a rolling pin and your hands, shape one piece of dough into a thin round layer. Make a pizza about 12 inches in diameter.
* Make a pizza about 12 inches in diameter and transfer it to the pan. Using your fingertips, push from the center to the sides to cover the entire surface of the pan with a thin layer of pasta. Repeat this step with the other 2 dough pieces to obtain 3 pizzas.
* At this point the pizza is ready to receive its topping (see recipes).
* Add onto the pizza your preferred topping. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper if indicated by the recipe.
NOTES:
* Cook the pizza in a regular oven at 500 F (260 C) for about 20–25 minutes.
Ultimate Pizza Sauce
| 2 | tablespoons olive oil |
| 1 | tablespoon butter |
| 1/2 | cup onions, chopped |
| 1/4 | cup celery, chopped |
| 1 | garlic clove, minced |
| 1 (8 | ounce) can tomato sauce |
| 1 (6 | ounce) can tomato paste |
| 2 | tablespoons grated parmesan cheese |
| 1 | teaspoon dried basil |
| 1 | teaspoon dried oregano |
| 1/2 | teaspoon salt |
| 1/2 | teaspoon sugar |
| 1/4 | teaspoon black pepper |
| 1 | small bay leaf |
| 1 | teaspoon fennel seeds |
- In a large skillet, melt butter with the oil. Add the onion, celery and garlic and saute until soft and transparent.
- Add tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir until smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients and bring to slow simmer.
- Simmer for 30-60 minutes (or not at all depending on your taste and time frame).
- Remove the bay leaf and spread the sauce on your prepared pizza dough.
Hi Barb,
Nice to see that someone else makes their own pizza dough. If you’ve got a grill, I highly recommend cooking pizza on it. The flavor of wood smoke really enhances most things you’d put on a pie.
the Grit