Short-rib Pizzadilla

Short-Rib Pizzadilla

                                                         prep time: varies but about 3 minutes per pizzadilla

                                      bake time: about 3 minutes per pizzadilla

                                     total time: about 6 minutes per pizzadilla

Ingredients:

large burrito size tortilla shells, 1 for each person
your favourite pizza sauce, about 6 tablespoons per person
grated or shredded parmesan cheese, about 2 or 3 heaping tablespoons per pizzadilla
shredded mozzarella cheese, sufficient for the number of pizzadillas you are making
shredded left-over cooked short-rib meat, about ½ cup per person
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Preparation:

Place a pizza stone (or an inverted sheet pan) in your oven.

Preheat your oven to 425° F.

build the pizzadilla:

While the oven is heating up, lay each large burrito tortilla you will be baking in front of you.

Spread the desired amount (I usually put about ¼ cup) of pizza sauce over the surface of each tortilla,
leave a very narrow margin around the edge of each tortilla clean of sauce.

Spread some of the grated parmesan cheese over the surface of each tortilla again observing the clean margin.

Spread the desired amount of mozzarella over the surface of each tortilla again observing the clean margin.

Distribute the desired amount of the shredded short-rib meat over the surface of each tortilla again observing the clean margin.

change the oven from bake to broil:

Change the setting of your oven from bake to broil, since the pizza stone is at 425° F and since the tortilla shells are so thin and already baked you are only melting and slightly browning the cheese and heating the shredded short-ribs, the broiler function does this wonderfully.

bake the pizzadilla:

For each pizzadilla:

Carefully slide the prepared pizzadilla onto your pizza peel.

Carefully transfer the pizzadilla on your peel onto the pizza stone by a quick sliding motion.

Bake the pizzadilla until the cheese is melted and slightly browned, in my oven that is about 3 minutes.  Watch them until you know how long it takes in your oven.

Repeat this process for each pizzadilla you are making, I only bake 1 pizzadilla at a time.

service:

Slice each pizzadilla in half vertically and horizontally creating 4 triangular shaped slices per pizzadilla.

Place each pizzadilla on it’s own serving plate and serve accompanied by your favourite beverage.

Pizza Romana

Pizza Romana

makes 1 12 or 15-inch Roman style pizza

Pizza Romana is an ultra-thin pizza as it is made in Rome and while it is ultra-thin it is not crispy but pleasantly chewy.  Since it is ultra-thin do not overdress this pizza, in Italy pizzas are sparsely dressed.  The baker’s formula provided will allow upscaling the recipe.

                                                                            prep time:   1 hour

                                                                            bake time:  5 minutes

                                                                            total time:  1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

12-inch pizza

1 cup 00 flour (8 ounces)

1/8 teaspoon yeast (.077 ounce)

1 ½ teaspoon Kosher salt (.924 ounce)

3 ½ ounces water, about 105° F

¼ teaspoon honey (.154 ounce)

¼ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (.154 ounce), plus additional for the bowl

15-inch pizza

1 1/2 cups 00 flour (12 ounces)

1/8 teaspoon yeast (.115 ounces)

1 ½ teaspoon Kosher salt (1.39 ounces)

5 1/4 ounces water, about 105° F

1/3 teaspoon honey (.234 ounce)

1/3 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (.234 ounce), plus additional for the bowl

baker’s formula (flour =100%, water = 43.75%, salt = 11.5%, olive oil = 1.925%, yeast = .963%, honey = 1.925%)

Preparation

prepare the dough:

In a small bowl, stir in the honey and sprinkle the yeast over the water plus honey.  Set aside for a few minutes, until the yeast has dissolved.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook add the yeast mixture. Mix on the lowest speed until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Then rest the dough, still in the mixer, for 5 minutes. Add the salt and mix on medium speed for 4 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and has developed good elasticity. With the mixer running on medium speed, slowly add the oil and mix until incorporated.

proof the dough:

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.

form the pizza:

Preheat the oven to the highest setting, mine is 550° F and set an inverted baking sheet or, preferably, a pizza stone on the second highest rack in the oven to preheat the sheet or stone.  Preheat for 1 hour.

Place the dough ball on a well-floured surface and then sprinkle more flour on top. Work the dough into a small disk by pushing your fingertips near the center of the dough and radiating outward toward the edges, leaving the center just slightly higher. Continue until you have a round disk about 6 inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. 

Flip the disk over and move it to a portion of the work surface that is just lightly floured. Place both hands on top, palms down, side by side. 

Use one hand to anchor the dough and, working slowly and carefully, use the other to gently push and stretch the dough away from the center. Turn a quarter turn and repeat, repositioning your hands each time. Continue until the disk is 12 to15-inches in diameter and as thin as possible without tearing. 

 Alternatively, use a rolling pin to achieve desired dimensions and shape.  Don’t worry if it is not perfectly round that would just mark your pizza as being homemade.

Sprinkle your pizza peel with corn meal.  Transfer the shaped dough to your pizza peel, shake it slightly to ensure the shaped dough moves freely as one unit, if it doesn’t gently lift the edge that is sticking and sprinkle a little more cornmeal under that edge.

Add your toppings (pizza sauce, mozzarella, etc.).

bake the pizza:

Transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone by placing the peel at the far end of the stone and rapidly pulling it back sliding the pizza off the peel.  This may take a little practice but if you’ve properly coated the peel with corn meal they will act as ball bearings.

Turn off the oven and immediately and turn it back on setting it to broil.

Bake your pizza until the crust is crisp and the toppings are cooked, 4-5 minutes, until the crust is browned and the cheese is bubbly and slightly charred.

service:

Remove the baked pizza from the oven and slice into 8 triangular, if the pizza is round, slices.  Serve accompanied by extra grated cheese. 

Neapolitan Calzone

Neapolitan Calzone

(Italy)

serves 2 

                                                                              Prep time:  1 hour  5 minutes

                                                                Bake time:  8 minutes

                                                                              Total time:  1 hour 13 minutes

Ingredients 

Pizza Dough:

                    11 ounces (about 2 cups) bread flour, plus additional for work surface

                           .16 ounces active dry yeast (1 ¼ tsp)

                          .16 ounces Kosher or sea salt (1 tsp)

                          7 ounces warm (105 ° F) water

                          .2 ounces honey (2 tbsp)

                          1 ounces extra-virgin olive oil (2 tbsp)

note: to make more than one pizza the bakers ratio is: flour=100%, water=67%, honey=2%, yeast=1.5%, salt=1.5%, and olive oil= 5% or simply multiply the ingredients by the number of pizzas you want to make

Fillings:

  7 ounces Ricotta cheese

                                          5 2-inch x 1/2 inch thick slices fresh Mozzarella

                                      2 tablespoons shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano

                         4 or 5 3 1/4-inch slices imported salami

                               4 or 5 3 1/4-inch slices imported pepperoni

           8 large basil leaves, divided use

           3  or 4 tablespoons tomato sauce

Preparation

Pizza Dough:

1.  In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the flour, yeast and salt and whisk these ingredients until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.  Combine the warm water, honey and oil in a measuring cup and turn on the mixer, fitted with dough hooks, to low and add the liquid. 

2.  As the dough begins coming together raise the speed to high and continue mixing (kneading) until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and forms a rough ball around the mixing hook and there isn’t any dry flour visible (scrap the sides of the bowl to move flour into the path of the hooks as needed).  If the dough doesn’t come together, add additional water (if the dough appears too dry) or flour (if the dough appears too wet) 1 tablespoon at a time until it does.

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured, flat work surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky (add flour gradually as needed to reach the slightly tacky state) adding a little flour if it is too sticky, about 5 minutes.

4.  Lightly oil a large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours* .

*note: if you are making multiple pizzas, after the dough has doubled in size divide the dough into equal sized portions for immediate use or place each portion in its own resealable bag for maturing. 

construction:

1.  Place an appropriately sized pizza stone on the top shelf of your oven and pre-heat the oven to 550° F or as high as your oven will go, to attain the highest temperature allow the oven to preheat for at least 1 hour.

2.  Place the risen dough ball on a flat, lightly floured work surface and flatten it into a disk, then with your fingertips  and palms, press the disk into a thinner disk of dough approximately 10 to 14-inches round and 1/8-inch thick by stretching and rotating the disk [don’t worry if the pizza isn't perfectly round ].   

3.  Distribute some flour or corn meal over the surface of a pizza peel (this will act as “ball bearings” and allow the dough round to move easily over the surface of the peel).

4.  Spread the Ricotta in a strip about 14-inches long and about 3 1/2-inches wide below the center line of the disk, follow this by distributing the mozzarella slices across this strip, then distribute the Parmigiano on top of that followed by the salami slices and the pepperoni slices and finally evenly distribute 5 of the basil leaves.

5.  Fold the top half of the disk over the lower half and then with a pizza cutter or sharp knife trim the dough, leaving about a 1-inch border, so that the remaining dough forms a half moon shape.   Now fold the excess dough (the 1-inch border) over itself pressing it to seal.

6.  Carefully transport the half-moon shaped calzone to the corn meal covered peel (for ease of sliding the calzone onto the stone place it close to the far edge of the peel).  Spoon the tomato sauce onto the top of the calzone (take care not to get any of the sauce on the peel as this will cause the calzone to stick to the peel and make it difficult to slide it onto the stone).  Lastly,  pierce the top of the calzone 3 or 4 times and distribute the remaining basil leaves on top of the calzone.

7.  Slide the calzone off the peel onto the stone and bake for about 7 to 8 minutes until the dough is fully cooked and the crust  appears slightly chard.

service:

Slice the calzone in half and serve half to each dinner.

Pizzadilla

Pizzadilla

makes 1 pizzadella

(America)

My grandkids love my home made pizzas, on one visit when asked what they wanted for lunch pizza was the uniform answer but pizza takes a couple of hours to put together.  So, not to disappoint, I came up with this quick and easy recipe.

Ingredients

1  large(burrito size) tortilla for each pizzadilla

3 ounces your favourite pizza sauce for each pizzadilla

1 or 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan for each pizzadilla

2/3 cup shredded mozzarella for each pizzadilla

toppings of your choice (pepperoni pictured)

extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

1.  Place your pizza stone* in your oven and preheat your oven to 400° F.

2.  Place one tortilla shell on your pizza peel* spread 3 ounces of pizza sauce evenly over the tortilla.

3.  Evenly distribute 1 or 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan over the sauce, evenly distribute 2/3 cup of shredded mozzarella over the sauce and Parmesan, distribute your choice of toppings (if desired), and sprinkle a little extra virgin olive oil over the pizzadilla.

4.  Using the peel, slide the pizzadilla onto the preheated pizza stone and bake until the mozzarella melts and becomes bubbly.

5.  Slice the baked pizzadilla into 4 wedge shaped slices and plate.

6.  Repeat the process for each pizzadilla.  

* unrimmed cookie sheets can be substituted for both the pizza stone and the pizza peel.

Pizza Siciliano

Pizza Siciliano

1 13"x 17" pizzas

(Italy)

One of my first jobs was as a young pizzaiuolo (Italian for pizza chef) at Sally's Sicilian Pizzeria in Deer Park, New York.  Sicilian pizza is slightly different than the Neapolitan pizzas most Americans are familiar with.  For the first thing, Sicilian pizza is rectangular and secondly, while Neapolitan pizza is known for being very thin, Sicilian pizza is 1 inch or more thick.

                                                                                 Prep time: 1 hour 45 minutes

                                                                                 Pizza cook time: 15 minutes

                                                                                 Total time: 2 hours

Ingredients

Basic Sicilian Pizza dough:

13.2 ounces (2 1/2 cups) bread flour, plus extra for "bench" flour

7.4 ounces lukewarm (105°F) water

.21 ounces fine sea salt

.32 ounce extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for the pan and to drizzle

.21 ounces of honey

.16 ounces active dry yeast

to make more than one pizza the bakers ratio is: flour=100%, water=70%, honey=2%, yeast=1.5%, salt=2%, and olive oil= 3%

Spicy New York Style Pizza Sauce:

4 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus some to drizzle

1 tablespoon butter

1 heaping tablespoon dehydrated onions

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

28 ounces canned San Marzano tomatoes, finely hand crushed or pureed

1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

1 teaspoon sugar

toppings:

2 cups Spicy New York Style Pizza Sauce (see recipe above)

8 ounces of grated whole milk mozzarella

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Sliced pepperoni, sausage (sliced or crumbled), onions (sliced or chopped), green or peppers (sliced or chopped), pitted green, black of Kalamata olives (sliced or whole), ham (sliced or torn), meatballs (sliced), salami (sliced), Basil (whole or chiffonade), anchovies, or a combination of the above

Preparation

Basic Sicilian Pizza dough:

1.  Proof the yeast by mixing the honey into the water in a bowl or large measuring cup until the honey dissolves; sprinkle the yeast over the honeyed warm water and stir in.  Let the mixture to stand until the mixture forms a spongy head, about 10 minutes (if the yeast doesn't form a foamy head discard and start again, the yeast is “dead”).

2.  Add the flour to the bowl of your stand mixer and form a well in the center; put the salt, the olive oil, and the proofed yeast into the well.  Attach the dough hooks to the mixer and turn mixer to low and mix until the dough begins to come together and no dry flour remains.

Increase the mixer’s speed to medium-high and mix, scraping down the bowl side occasionally if necessary, until the dough is stretchy and smooth and comes cleanly away from sides of bowl (it may stick to the bottom of the bowl but that’s ok), the dough should be only slightly sticky to touch; about 6 minutes.

3.  Transfer the dough onto lightly floured flat work surface and knead into a smooth ball; about 5 minutes do not skimp on this step as it develops the elasticity of the dough.

4.  Lightly coat the inside of a large bowl with some extra-virgin olive oil.  Add dough ball and turn to coat it with oil (be sure to coat the ball or it will form a crust which will impede the dough's rising). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to double in size, about 1 hour.   

5.  At this point the dough can either be used immediately or the dough can be placed in an appropriately sized resealable plastic bag(s), sealed and placed in a refrigerator for up to 4 days to allow additional flavour to develop.   Remember, if you’ve refrigerated the dough allow at least 1 hour before you are going to make the pizza(s), take the dough out of the refrigerator shape into a ball(s) and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for that time.

*note: if you are making multiple pizzas, after the dough has doubled in size divide the dough into equal sized portions for immediate use or place each portion in its own resealable bag for maturing. 

the pizza base:

1.   Lightly oil a 13"x 17" rectangular, rimmed cookie sheet (I call them pizza pans).

2.  Proceed to form the pizza by placing the ball of dough on a flat, floured work surface and flatten it out to form into a rough rectangle; then using your hands, work the rough rectangle into a finished 13"x 17" rectangle, us a rolling pin if you wish.   Lightly flour the rectangle to keep it from sticking to itself and fold the finished rectangle in half and transfer it the oiled pizza pan, unfold it and adjust it to fill the pan edge to edge.

3.  Cover the pan with a damp cloth (try to avoid having the cloth touch the dough) and allow to rise in the pizza pan for about 1/2 hour.

4.  Proceed to prepare the Spicy New York Style Pizza Sauce.

Spicy New York Style Pizza Sauce:

 1.  In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, bring the olive oil to the ripple state, add  the dehydrated onions, the basil, the oregano, the crushed red pepper flakes**, and the granulated garlic  and cook, stirring constantly, until the  herbs are fragrant, about 1 minute. 

2.  Reduce the heat to low and add the crushed/pureed tomatoes, stirring constantly until the tomatoes combine with the herbs and begins to caramelizes, about 3 minutes.  Raise the heat and bring to a simmer.  Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt, black pepper, sugar and additional red pepper.

3.  Cover and simmer for about 1/2 hour over low heat.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

  

*note:  left over pizza sauce can be frozen and used at a later date

**note:  if you're not sure of how spicy you like your sauce start with 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and adjust seasoning during cooking.

Place your oven rack to the middle position and pre-heat the oven to 550° F.

constructing and baking the pizza:

1.   Build the "pie" by distributing the tomato sauce over the "pie" completely to the edges (or to within 1-inch of the edge if you enjoy the crust).  Top this by evenly distributing first the grated Parmesan then the shredded mozzarella cheese over the sauce.  Add any additional toppings and finally even distribute about 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil over the entire pizza.

2.  Place the pizzas in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and begins to brown slightly, becomes bubbly and the bottom of the pie begin to brown; at 550° F. this should be about 15 minutes.  Watch the pie and, if your oven does not heat evenly, move the pie around to insure it cooks evenly.

service:

When the pizza is finished remove from oven, immediately sprinkle with the Parmesan and either cut the pie in half or thirds the long way and then into fourths width-wise to produce 12  slices.

New York Style Pizza

New York Style Pizza

(America)

makes 1 14-inch pizza

Whenever I long for my childhood in New York my taste buds turn to a New York style thin crust slice.  This variation of pizza is a direct descendant of the original Neapolitan “pie” brought to America by Neapolitan immigrants.  This is the pizza preferred by New Yorkers, the original . . . bought by the slice and handled with a “New York fold”, true New Yorkers would never dream of eating it with knife and fork.  The slices are crisp on the bottom, slightly charred, the next thin layer is soft and chewy and topped with a spicy, cooked tomato sauce loads of shredded cow’s milk mozzarella toppings of your choice and small pools of good quality extra-virgin olive oil.  

                                                                  Prep time:             1 hour 45 minutes

                                                                  Sauce cook time:   15 minutes

                                                                  Bake time:             11 minutes

                                                                  Total time:              2 hour 11 minutes

Ingredients

 New York Style Pizza Dough:

7 ounces warm (105 ° F) water

.16 ounces active dry yeast 

.2 ounces honey

.53 ounces extra-virgin olive oil

10.6 ounces (about 2 cups) bread flour, plus additional for work surface

.16 ounces Kosher or sea salt

note: to make more than one pizza the bakers ratio is: flour=100%, water=67%, honey=2%, yeast=1.5%, salt=1.5%, and olive oil= 5%

Spicy New York Style Pizza Sauce:

8 ounces canned San Marzano tomatoes, finely hand crushed or pureed

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus some to drizzle

1 heaping tablespoon dehydrated onions

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

standard topping:

5 to 8 ounces cow’s milk mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preparation

New York Style Pizza Dough:

1.  In an appropriately sized measuring cup, combine the water and honey stir to combine.  Stir in the yeast and let sit for about 10 minutes. 

2.  Meanwhile place the flour and the salt into a sifter and sift it into the medium bowl of a stand mixer.  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the olive oil and the yeast mixture.  Turn the mixer, fitted with dough hooks, to medium (4 on a Kitchen Aid^© stand mixer) and turn it on.  Continue kneading (mixing) until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball around the dough hooks (scrap the sides of the bowl to move flour into the path of the hooks as needed), the dough may still stick a little to the bottom of the bowl but that is ok.

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured flat surface (if the dough is really sticky sprinkle with flour until it is just a little tacky) and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky (add flour gradually as needed to reach the slightly tacky state), 3 to 5 minutes.

4.  Lightly oil a large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours*. 

*note: if you are making multiple pizzas, after the dough has doubled in size divide the dough into equal sized portions for immediate use or place each portion in its own resealable bag for maturing.  

Spicy New York Style Pizza Sauce:

1.  In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, bring the olive oil to the ripple state, add  the dehydrated onions, the basil, the oregano, the crushed red pepper flakes**, and the granulated garlic  and cook, stirring constantly, until the  herbs are fragrant, about 2 minutes. 

2.  Reduce the heat to low and add the crushed tomatoes/tomato sauce, stirring constantly until the tomatoes combine with the herbs and begins to caramelizes, about 3 minutes.  Raise the heat and bring to a simmer.  Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt, black pepper, and additional red pepper.

3.  Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes over low heat.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

  

*note:  for more than one pizza increase ingredients proportionally

**note:  if you're not sure of how spicy you like your sauce start with 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and adjust seasoning during cooking.

Constructing and baking the pizza:

1.  Place an appropriately sized pizza stone on the top shelf of your oven and pre-heat the oven to 550° F or as high as your oven will go, to attain the highest temperature allow the oven to preheat for 1 hour.

2.  Place the risen dough ball on a flat, lightly floured work surface and flatten it into a disk, then with your fingertips and palms, press it into a thinner disk of dough approximately 14-inches round and 1/8-inch or less thick (if necessary use a rolling pin to achieve the thickness [don’t worry if the pizza isn’t perfectly round . . . that’s called “rustica” and it’s the way “real” Italian pizza looks in Italy]).  Sprinkle flour over the surface of this thin disk (this will become the bottom of the pie when you place the disk on the peel in the next instruction).

3.  Distribute some flour over the surface of a pizza peel (this will act as “ball bearings” and allow the dough round to move easily over the surface of the peel) and transfer the formed pizza base onto the peel (shake peel to insure pizza moves freely).  Evenly spread 4 to 6 ounces of the Spicy New York Style Pizza Sauce (depending how “wet” you like your pizza) over the pizza base leaving about 1-inch un-sauced margin around the edge for a crust, now evenly distribute the mozzarella cheese over the sauce* and finally sprinkle a little extra-virgin olive oil over the pizza.

4.  Gently shake the peel to insure the pizza moves freely (if it doesn’t gently lift the edges of the pizza that are sticking and distribute additional flour until it does).  Using the peel slide the pizza onto the stone and bake the pizza until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the bottom crust is well browned (a little charring is good!), about 9 minutes depending on how hot your oven is.  After the pie has baked for 9 minutes turn the broiler to high and broil for 1 or 2 minutes until the crust begins to brown around the edges but don’t allow the cheese to char.  Remove from the oven, slice into 8 wedge shaped slices and serve. 

5.  Return the oven to bake at 550° F and repeat, if you are making more than pie, with the remaining dough, pizza sauce, and cheese.

*other toppings can be added at this time

Basic Neapolitan Style Pizza

Basic Neapolitan Style Pizza 

makes 1  14-inch pizza

(Italy)

Brandi di Vincenzo Pagnani in Naples, Italy is the birthplace of the modern pizza and in my view still the home of the best pizza in the world.  The secret to their pizza is a simple, very lean dough made of the fewest ingredients possible, a very simple uncooked “sauce” consisting of only five ingredients, and fresh creamy mozzarella (buffalo is best but hard to get in America) baked at very high heat (their ovens run in excess of 900° F.).  While in our home ovens we won’t be able to match those temperatures, if you follow the instructions here you’ll be able to produce a “pie” that comes close to their world famous product.

                                                                                 Prep time:  1 hour 45 minutes

                                                                                 Bake time:  11 minutes

                                                                                 Total time:  1 hour 56 minutes

 Ingredients:

4 to 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into large chunks

Basic Neapolitan Style Pizza Dough:

8.76 ounces bread flour, plus additional for the work surface                

6 ounces warm water (105° F)

.13 ounces yeast

.17 ounces salt                                   

 *to make more than one pizza the bakers ratio is: flour=100%, water=70%, yeast=1.5%, salt=2%

Neapolitan Style Pizza Sauce:

8 ounces whole San Marzano canned tomatoes, roughly crushed tomatoes 

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large clove of fresh garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon Kosher or sea salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

Preparation:

Neapolitan style pizza sauce:

In an appropriately sized mixing bowl combine the crushed tomatoes, the olive oil and the chopped garlic. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt, black pepper.  Set aside for about 20 minutes so the flavours can blend.

basic Neapolitan style pizza dough:

 1.  In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the flour, yeast and salt and whisk these ingredients until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.  Add the warm water and turn on the mixer, fitted with dough hooks, to low.  Continue mixing (kneading) until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and there isn’t any dry flour visible (scrap the sides of the bowl to move flour into the path of the hooks as needed).  If the dough doesn’t come together, add additional water (1 tablespoon at a time) until it does.

2.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured, flat work surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky (add flour gradually as needed to reach the slightly tacky state), about 5 to 10 minutes.

3.  Lightly oil a large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours* (for a more flavourful dough remove the dough from the bowl and place it in a large, resealable plastic bag.  Seal the bag and place it in your refrigerator overnight or up to 4 days.  At least 2 hours before you are going to make the pizza(s), take the dough out of the refrigerator shape into a ball(s) and allow the dough to rest at room temperature).

*note:if you are making multiple pizzas, after the dough has doubled in size divide the dough into equal sized portions for immediate use or place each portion in its own resealable bag for maturing.  

construction and baking the pie:

1.  Place an appropriately sized pizza stone on the top shelf of your oven and pre-heat the oven to 550° F or as high as your oven will go, to attain the highest temperature allow the oven to preheat for 1 hour.

2.  On work surface, place the dough ball (or one of the dough balls) on a flat, floured work surface and flatten into a disk then with your fingertips and palms, press it into a thinner disk of dough approximately 14-inches round and about 1/8-inch or less thick (if necessary use a rolling pin to achieve the 1/8-inch thickness), don’t worry if the pizza isn’t perfectly round . . . that’s called “rustica” and it’s the way “real” Italian pizza looks in Italy.  Sprinkle flour over the surface of this thin disk (this will become the bottom of the pie when you place the disk on the peel in the next instruction and will produce the slightly charred bottom crust Neapolitan pies are noted for).

3.  Distribute some flour over the surface of a pizza peel (this will act as “ball bearings” and allow the dough round pie base to move easily over the surface of the peel) and transfer the formed pizza base onto the peel, the floured side down.  Shake the peel to insure pizza moves freely.  Lightly spread about 4 to 5 ounces of the pizza “sauce” on top of the base (depending how "wet" you like your pie) leaving about 1-inch of uncoated dough around the edge to form the crust. 

4.  Distribute 4 to 5-ounces of the mozzarella haphazardly over the sauce and finally drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil over the surface.

5.  Gently shake the peel to insure the pizza moves freely (if it doesn’t gently lift the edge that is sticking distribute additional flour until it does).  Using the peel slide the pizza onto the stone and bake the pizza until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the bottom crust is well browned (a little charring is good!), about 9 minutes depending on how hot your oven is.  After the pie has baked for 9 minutes turn the broiler to high and broil for about 2 minutes until the crust begins to brown around the edges.  Remove from the oven, slice into 8 wedge shaped slices and serve.*

6.  Return the oven to bake at 550° F and repeat, if you are making more than pie, with the remaining dough, pizza sauce, and cheese.

*note: with a little experimentation you’ll be able to identify the point when the edges brown (char) without drying out the mozzarella. 

Green Pepper, Onion, Mushroom and Ham Pizza

Green pepper, onion, mushroom and ham pizza

This recipe starts with a New York style pizza dough which produces a very thin, New York style, pizza base which has a slightly charred, crispy bottom yet is tender enough to fold a slice as New Yorkers do.  The recipe includes a note with the "baker's ratio" which allows one to easily increase the number of pizzas one can make, of course the sauce and toppings will need to be increased proportionally.

Makes 1 – 10 to 12-inch pizzas

(Italy)

                                                                               Prep time: 1 hour 30 minutes
                                                                               Sauce cook time: 20 minutes
                                                                               Pizza cook time: 8 minutes

Ingredients

authentic New York pizza dough*: 

8 ounces warm (105 ° F) water 
.18 ounces active dry yeast  
.24 ounces honey
12 ounces bread flour, plus additional for work surface 
.6 ounces extra-virgin olive oil 
.18 ounces Kosher or sea salt

note: to make more than one pizza the bakers ratio is: flour=100%, water=67%, honey=2%, yeast=1.5%, salt=1.5%, and olive oil= 5%

Spicy pizza sauce:

14.5 ounces crushed tomatoes or 14.5 ounces commercial tomato sauce
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil\
2 heaping tablespoons dehydrated onions
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
Kosher or sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper

note: any leftover sauce can be placed in a seal-able container and frozen for your next pizza.

toppings:

1/2 medium yellow onion, peeled and ¼-inch diced
5 small cremini mushrooms, cleaned and caps (stems still attached) sliced into ¼-inch slices
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 slices of ham, roughly torn
1/2 large green bell pepper, seeded and 1/4 –inch diced
8 (3 ¼-inch diameter round) slices of provolone cheese
½ cup grated Parmigiana-Reggiano

note: a cup of shredded mozzarella or a combination of shredded or torn mozzarella and provolone can be substituted for the sliced provolone and the other topping amounts can be adjusted to your preferences.

Preparation

authentic New York pizza dough:

1.  In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine the water and honey stir to combine and sprinkle the yeast over it. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.  If the yeast doesn't "proof" (get "foamy") pour it out and start again it is important to have a live yeast mixture.

2.  Meanwhile place the flour and the salt into a sifter and sift it into the medium bowl of a stand mixer.  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the olive oil and the "proofed" yeast mixture.  Turn the mixer, fitted with dough hooks, to low and turn it on.  Continue kneading (mixing) until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball around the dough hooks (scrap the sides of the bowl to move flour into the path of the hooks as needed).

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (if the dough is really sticky sprinkle with flour until it is just a little tacky) and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky (add flour gradually as needed to reach the slightly tacky state), 3 to 5 minutes. 

4.  Lightly oil a large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap cloth and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  

note: At this point the dough can either be used immediately or it can be placed in a large resealable plastic bag and refrigerated for 24 hours or more to allow the dough to develop more flavour.  Just allow the dough to come to room temperature (about 1 hour) after taking it out the frig.

Spicy pizza sauce:

1.  While the dough is raising, in a medium sauce pan over medium heat, bring the olive oil to the ripple state, add  the dehydrated onions, the basil, the oregano, the crushed red pepper flakes*, and the granulated garlic  and cook, stirring constantly, until the  herbs are fragrant, about 2 minutes.

2.  Reduce the heat to low and add the crushed tomatoes/tomato sauce, stirring constantly until the tomatoes combine with the herbs and begins to caramelizes, about 3 minutes.  Raise the heat and bring to a simmer.  Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt, black pepper, and additional red pepper.

3.  Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes over low heat.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.  

note:  if you're not sure of how spicy you like your sauce start with ¼  teaspoon of red pepper flakes and adjust seasoning during cooking.

Constructing and baking the pizzas:

1.  Place an appropriately sized pizza stone on the middle shelf of your oven and preheat the oven to 550° F.

2.  Place the dough ball on a lightly floured work surface and flatten it into a thick disk then,  with your fingertips and palms and  working from the center of the disk out to the edges, press it into a thin disk of dough approximately 10 to 12-inch round and about 1/8 inch thick (if necessary use a rolling pin to achieve the 1/8-inch thickness [don’t worry if the pizza isn’t perfectly round . . . that’s called “rustica” and it’s the way “real” Italian pizza looks in Italy]).  If you're really brave you can try the spin and toss method of forming the pie (this dough is perfect for it) just remember to use your knuckles when spinning and tossing . . . fingertips can cause holes).  Sprinkle flour over the surface of this thin disk (this will become the bottom of the pie when you place the pizza base on the peel in the next instruction).

3.  Distribute some four over the surface of a pizza peel (this will act as “ball bearings”, allowing the pizza to move easily over the surface of the peel and will produce just the right amount of char on the bottom) and transfer the formed pizza base onto the peel insuring that the lightly floured side is on the bottom.  Evenly spread 4 to 6 ounces of the spicy pizza sauce over the pizza base leaving an about ½-inch un-sauced margin around the edge for a crust, now sprinkle ¼-cup of the grated  Parmigiana cheese over the sauce, then evenly arrange the provolone slices around the pie, distribute the sliced mushrooms over the pie, next evenly distribute the diced green bell peppers, followed by the diced onion,  the torn ham and finally sprinkle a little extra-virgin olive oil over the pizza.

4.  Gently shake the peel to insure the pizza moves freely (if it doesn’t gently lift the edges of the pizza and distribute additional flourl until it does), using the peel slide the pizza onto the stone and bake the pizza for about 4 or 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly, then turn the oven to broil and bake the pizza for another minute or two (watch the pizza closely) until the crust chars slightly.  

5.  Remove the pizza from the oven, slice into 8 wedge shaped slices and serve.

6.  If making more than one pizzas, repeat with the remaining dough and  toppings and cheeses. 

Pizza Rustica

Pizza Rustica

Just in time for your Christmas parties, Pizza Rustica is the original "deep dish" pizza and a Christmas tradition in my family.

(Italy)

makes 1 pizza, 13x9x2 inches

Ingredients

filling:

1/2 pound Prosciutto ham, sliced very thin
1/2 pound Cappacola ham, sliced very thin
1/2 pound Genoa Salami, sliced very thin
1/2 pound good Pepperoni, sliced very thin
1-pound Mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated
3 pounds Ricotta cheese
6 eggs
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

pie crust:

3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/6 cups shortening
9 to 12 tablespoons cold water

Preparation

Filling  preparation:

1.  Preheat oven to 400º.  Into a large bowl, tear individual slices of each cold cut (except pepperoni) into pieces about the width and length of one's thumb (about 1"x 2" pieces).  Add the slices of pepperoni without tearing.  Toss the mixture to evenly distribute the different meats.
2.  Add the grated Mozzarella, Ricotta, eggs, and nutmeg and mix thoroughly with your hands until all ingredients have been evenly distributed.  Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper to taste, insure you mix thoroughly after adding the salt and pepper.

Pizza crust preparation (or use your own pie crust recipe or a commercial pie crust):

3.  Sift flour and salt together; cut in shortening with a fork until the pieces are the size of small peas.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over part of the mixture and toss with fork, push the moistened flour mixture to side of bowl.  Repeat until all the flour mixture has been moistened.  Divide mixture and form into two balls.

4.   On a lightly floured surface, flatten one of the balls of dough.  Roll the dough out, starting from the center, to a rough rectangle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a lightly greased, rectangular, glass baking dish (approximately 13x9x2 inches in size) and about 1/8 inch thick.

5.  Place dough sheet into baking dish and form to cover the bottom and sides.  Add the filling mixture and distribute evenly.   On a lightly floured surface, roll out the second ball of dough to roughly the same size as the first and about 1/8 inch thick.  Cut into strips of dough 1/2 to 3/4 inches wide.  Lay strips on filled pie at about 1 inch intervals across the width of the pie, fold back alternate strips and begin forming a lattice by interweaving strips placed at 1 inch intervals down the length of the pie (beginning 1 inch from the upper edge) with the strips along the width.   After the lattice has been formed, trim excess dough around the edges of the dish by running a sharp knife along the outer rim of the dish.  Seal edges.

6.  Place the pie in the middle of the preheated oven and bake until the latticed top of the pie is golden brown, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Service:

Allow the pie to cool and set completely before cutting and serving (the pizza is customarily made the day before it is to be served and allowed to cool over night.  It is normally cut into 3-inch cubes for serving).

Lahmajoon

Lahmajoon

(Armenian Pizza)

Makes 3  12-inch pizzas

(Armenian)

                                                          Prep time: 3 hours

Pizza cook time: 12 minutes per

Ingredients

dough:

1 cup warm (105 ° F) water

1 envelope active dry yeast  (about 1 1/8 teaspoons)

¼ cup honey

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus additional for work surface

4 teaspoon salt

topping:

1 ½  pound  lean ground beef  

1 cup drained petite diced tomatoes

¾  cup finely chopped onion

½  cup minced fresh Italian flat leaved parsley

½  cup finely chopped green pepper

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 ½  teaspoons dried mint

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon paprika, or to taste

1/8 to ¼  teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup toasted pine nuts

3 lemons quartered

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

dough:

1.  In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine the water and honey stir to combine and sprinkle the yeast over it. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.  If the yeast doesn't "proof" (get "foamy") pour it out and start again it is important to have a live yeast mixture.

2.  Meanwhile place the flour and the salt into a sifter and sift it into the medium bowl  of a stand mixer.  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the olive oil and the "proofed" yeast mixture.  Turn the mixer, fitted with dough hooks,  to high (labeled  knead on my mixer) and turn on.  Continue kneading (mixing) until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball around the dough hooks (scrap the sides of the bowl to move flour into the path of the hooks as needed).

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky (add flour gradually as needed to reach the slightly tacky state), 3 to 5 minutes.

4.  Lightly oil a large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap cloth and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

5.  After the dough  has doubled in size, remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a 12-inch log.  Divide the log in thirds and form each half into equally sized dough balls.  Lightly oil a 3 large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place each dough ball into its own bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover each bowl with plastic and set in a warm, draft-free place until the nearly double in size again, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

topping:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 450° F.

2.  In a medium sized skillet over medium heat lightly brown the ground beef until it is crumbly but still a little pink.  Remove from  heat and allow to cool.

3.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, onions, parsley, green pepper, tomato paste, mint, garlic, salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, and black pepper.   When the beef has cooled enough to handle, crumble the beef over the mixture and mix well.

construction and baking:

1.  Place an appropriately sized pizza stone on the middle shelf of your oven and pre-heat the oven to 450° F.

2.  Place one of the dough balls on a lightly floured work surface and flatten it into a thick disk then,  with your fingertips and palms and  working from the center of the disk out to the edges, press it into a thin disk of dough approximately 12-inch round and about 1/8 inch thick (if necessary use a rolling pin to achieve the 1/8-inch thickness [don’t worry if the pizza isn’t perfectly round . . . that’s called “rustica” and it’s the way “real” Italian pizza looks in Italy]).  If you're really brave you can try the spin and toss method of forming the pie (this dough is perfect for it) just remember to use your knuckles when spinning and tossing . . . fingertips can cause holes).  Sprinkle flour over the surface of this thin disk (this will become the bottom of the pie when you place the pizza base on the peel  in the next instruction).

3.  Distribute some corn meal over the surface of a pizza peel (this will act as “ball bearings” and allow the dough rounds to move easily over the surface of the peel) and transfer the formed pizza base onto the peel.   Spread 1/3  of  the meat mixture onto the base to within 1/2 –inch  of the edge to form a crust.   Drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil over the pizza.

4.  Gently shake the peel to insure the pizza moves freely (if it doesn’t gently lift the edges of the pizza and distribute additional corn meal until it does), using the peel slide the pizza onto the stone and bake the pizza until browned and crisp at the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes in a 450°F oven.

5.  Repeat with remaining dough balls and toppings.

service:

 As they come out of the oven, slice each pie into 8 wedge shaped slices and serve accompanied by lemon wedges to squeeze over the slices.

Armenian Flatbread Pizza with Cheese

Armenian Flatbread Pizza with Cheese

makes 3  12-inch pizzas

(America)

                                                                           Prep time: 3 hours

                                                                           Pizza cook time: 12 minutes per

Ingredients

dough:

1 cup warm (105 ° F) water

1 envelope active dry yeast  (about 1 1/8 teaspoons)

¼ cup honey

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus additional for work surface

4 teaspoon salt

topping:

1 ½  pound  lean ground beef  

1 cup drained petite diced tomatoes

¾  cup finely chopped onion

½  cup minced fresh Italian flat leaved parsley

½  cup finely chopped green pepper

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 ½  teaspoons dried mint

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon paprika, or to taste

1/8 to ¼  teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ cups sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

extra-virgin olive oil, to taste

Preparation

dough:

1.  In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine the water and honey stir to combine and sprinkle the yeast over it. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.  If the yeast doesn't "proof" (get "foamy") pour it out and start again it is important to have a live yeast mixture.

2.  Meanwhile place the flour and the salt into a sifter and sift it into the medium bowl  of a stand mixer.  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the olive oil and the "proofed" yeast mixture.  Turn the mixer, fitted with dough hooks,  to high (labeled  knead on my mixer) and turn on.  Continue kneading (mixing) until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball around the dough hooks (scrap the sides of the bowl to move flour into the path of the hooks as needed).

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky (add flour gradually as needed to reach the slightly tacky state), 3 to 5 minutes.

4.  Lightly oil a large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap cloth and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

5.  After the dough  has doubled in size, remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a 12-inch log.  Divide the log in thirds and form each half into equally sized dough balls.  Lightly oil a 3 large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place each dough ball into its own bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover each bowl with plastic and set in a warm, draft-free place until the nearly double in size again, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

topping:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 450° F.

2.  In a medium sized skillet over medium heat lightly brown the ground beef until it is crumbly but still a little pink.  Remove from  heat and allow to cool.

3.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, onions, parsley, green pepper, tomato paste, mint, garlic, salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, and black pepper.   When the beef has cooled enough to handle, crumble the beef over the mixture and mix well.

construction and baking:

1.  Place an appropriately sized pizza stone on the middle shelf of your oven and pre-heat the oven to 450° F.

2.  Place one of the dough balls on a lightly floured work surface and flatten it into a thick disk then,  with your fingertips and palms and  working from the center of the disk out to the edges, press it into a thin disk of dough approximately 12-inch round and about 1/8 inch thick (if necessary use a rolling pin to achieve the 1/8-inch thickness [don’t worry if the pizza isn’t perfectly round . . . that’s called “rustica” and it’s the way “real” Italian pizza looks in Italy]).  If you're really brave you can try the spin and toss method of forming the pie (this dough is perfect for it) just remember to use your knuckles when spinning and tossing . . . fingertips can cause holes).  Sprinkle flour over the surface of this thin disk (this will become the bottom of the pie when you place the pizza base on the peel  in the next instruction).

3.  Distribute some corn meal over the surface of a pizza peel (this will act as “ball bearings” and allow the dough rounds to move easily over the surface of the peel) and transfer the formed pizza base onto the peel.   Spread 1/3  of  the meat mixture onto the base to within 1/2 –inch  of the edge to form a crust, distribute about ½ cup of cheddar evenly over the pie keeping the boarder free of topping.   Drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil over the pizza.

4.  Gently shake the peel to insure the pizza moves freely (if it doesn’t gently lift the edges of the pizza and distribute additional corn meal until it does), using the peel slide the pizza onto the stone and bake the pizza until browned and crisp at the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes in a 450°F oven.

5.  Repeat with remaining dough balls, topping, and cheese.

service:

 As they come out of the oven, slice each pie into 8 wedge shaped slices and serve.