Pizza shops make the best pies for a number of reasons. First, they are pros who make pizza for a
living, adjusting their recipe to meet their customer’s expectations. They also have pizza ovens, searingly hot
things with stone floors that make crusts crisp and the cooking time
short. Additionally, the pros understand
their ingredients and don’t use them in a way that keeps them from
shining. At home, you won’t have a
professional pizza maker to throw your pies, but you can adjust how you cook and
make your family and friends very happy.
There are some toys you should have to make a good pizza,
things that will get used often in your kitchen, not just when you make
pizza. A good mixer, with a dough hook
will help you make a batch of dough that is properly stretched. A 14 or 18 inch pizza stone for the oven is
worth getting. It approximates that
professional pizza oven at your local shop.
If you don’t want to pay The Pampered Chef’s premium price, a piece of
terra cotta flooring from Home Depot will work just as well. Make sure that you wash it well and rub in
olive oil before the first use. Also use
it when you bake crusty bread.
I’ll admit to cribbing my dough recipe from Luigi Carnacina’s
Great Italian Cooking, although I add
some olive oil to the dough, to flavor it and help it crisp in the oven. I also use a mixer, however you could
exorcise some demons, kneading by hand. Carnacina’s
book is an essential addition to your kitchen library and since Amazon
has copies for $18.00, go get it.
The English translation was published in 1968. It has clear, easy to follow recipes for everything
you will find in the most selective market.
He documents Italian haute cuisine as it was cooked in the early part of
the 20th century, plus it has lots of those old school color plates with wacky over-garnished dishes. Here’s
a picture of my copy of Carnacina’s pizza recipe.
This is what
a good cookbook in your home should look like, browned from use, scorched from
heat, dog-eared and splashed with layers of brown and red sauce. Cathy suggests that this is the case only if
you are me. Some people take care of
their books. I’ve been using variations
on this recipe for 32 years.
For the
sauce, I’m going with heresy. For most
of the year you cannot get fresh tomatoes, canned are a very good alternative. I use Furmano’s petite diced tomatoes. It’s a consistent product with a fresh
flavor. Also, Furmano's is active in hunger
relief, donating to local organizations.
Add fresh garlic, olive oil, basil and oregano and you have a special
thing. The most important part of making
pizza sauce is NOT cooking it. Too many
sauce recipes talk of stewing the tomato sauce for hours to thicken it and
combine flavors. This is completely unnecessary and only serves
to acidify the sauce. Read the recipe
below. It is easy and makes a flavorful
sauce.
Toppings,
well that’s up to you. Most should be
precooked, sausage, onions, green peppers, mushrooms. Cooking them ahead lets the flavors bake in
to the pie immediately. Stuff like
olives and pepperoni can just be sprinkled on the top just before going into
the oven. Experiment, but don’t tell me
if you are putting BBQ sauce on your pizza.
That’s just wrong, wrong. And, I
agree with Jon
Stewart, Chicago pizza is an abomination!
_____
Neapolitan
Pizza makes six 8 inch pizzas
3 ½ cups
flour
1 packet
dried yeast
¼ tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
¾ cup warm
water
¼ cup olive
oil
3 tbs.
coarse cornmeal
½ recipe
pizza sauce, recipe follows
18 oz. whole
milk mozzarella, grated
1 tbs. fresh
oregano, chopped
1 tbs. fresh
basil, chopped
In the bowl
of your mixer, dissolve the yeast, salt, olive oil and sugar in the warm
water. Allow to stand for 10 minutes,
until the yeast is activated and begins to foam.
With the
mixer on low, with a dough hook attachment, blend in the flour, starting with a
small amount at a time, eventually adding the full 3 ½ cups. The dough should appear soft and dry, pulling
away from the sides of the bowl as the mixer runs. If the dough is too dry, add a few
tablespoons of water. If it is wet to
the touch and sticking to the sides, add a few tablespoons of flour.
Knead the
dough in the mixer for three minutes.
Remove the bowl from the mixer, set it in a warm place to proof. Cover
it with a towel. Allow to proof for
about an hour, until it has doubled in size.
After the
dough has doubled, punch it down and allow it to rise again. After the second proofing, turn the dough out
onto a floured cutting board. Knead it
for a minute and divide it equally into six parts. Put the dough onto a baking sheet and allow
it to again double in size.*
Put the
pizza stone or terra cotta tile in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 450°. On a
floured surface, stretch a piece of the dough into an 8 inch circle, about 2/10
of an inch thick, with the edges being slightly thicker. No need to throw it in the air unless there
are cameras around. You’ll drop it and
get dog hair all over it. Yuck! Working, quickly, take the hot pizza stone
out of the oven. Sprinkle cornmeal over
it so that the pizza doesn’t stick. Lay
the dough on the stone, coat thinly with 4 ounces of sauce, 3 ounces of
mozzarella and a little fresh oregano and basil. At this time add any toppings. Just a few ounces will do. You could also drizzle it with olive
oil. Return the stone to the oven. Bake until the crust is crispy and brown,
about 6 minutes. Serve immediately.
*This extended
proofing makes for a more consistent dough that stretches easily. Yeah, it takes a long time, but it is worth
the hassle. If you want to freeze some
dough, do it after the second proofing.
Just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.
When you want to use it, simply thaw, proof one more time then toss it
in the oven.
_____
Pizza
Sauce
2 28 oz.
cans petite diced tomatoes
½ cup olive
oil
3 cloves
garlic
1 tbs. fresh
oregano, chopped
1 tbs. fresh
basil, chopped
salt and
black pepper to taste
Put one can
of tomatoes in a large mixing bowl.
Puree until smooth with a hand mixer or food mill. Add the second can of tomatoes and the rest
of the ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Allow to marinate for at least one hour
before using on the pizza. Overnight is
better.
Any leftover
sauce is great on pasta. Do something
like this. Cook and cool ½ pound of
penne. Heat a large sauté pan, add 3
tbs. of olive oil. Sauté the penne until
it is hot and begins to crisp. Season
with salt and pepper. Ladle in 8 oz. of
pizza sauce. Cook it down for about two
minutes, until the penne is glazed. Top
with freshly grated Parmesean or Locatelli cheese. Frying the pasta gives it a different,
crunchy feel and helps it soak up the sauce.
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