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| Hey now, you're an all-star. |
Everyone needs to have at least one good pizza recipe in their repertoire. It's an incredibly convenient and universally beloved food, welcome at almost any occasion, and then there's that awesome feeling when someone goes "wait, you made this?" I live for that feeling.
Anyways, pizza has come a long way in America, and has changed into something quite different from its Italian predecessors. Its crust is thicker, chewier and holds up a much heavier weight of toppings- and while it gets a lot of flack for that, it makes it a lot easier to add vegetables as well. By doing that you can make what is often relegated to the junk food category into a complete meal
And pizza can be any meal! Have it for lunch or dinner, eat the leftovers for breakfast or in the middle of the night should you want a quick midnight snack. Eat it hot or cold. Have it on its own or with a thick layer or your favourite hot sauce. I've even seen people roll it up of flip two slices together to make a sandwich. Pizza has become a part of who we are, at least here in Canada. And out pizza tends to be of the American variety (though Italian-style, thin and simple pizzas are rising in popularity).
I was worried I couldn't make a good pizza without a real pizza oven (or, for that matter, a pizza stone) but this recipe has changed my fortunes. It's a very simple dough that has that nice chewy, soft texture you'd expect from an order-in pizza with a bit more flavour. And once you've got a good crust recipe, you're really free to go wild with the toppings.
Seriously. Above is my attempt to make an eggplant parmigiano pizza, with panko breadcrumbs on the thin eggplant slices. It might be a Frankenstein-like fusion of Italian dishes, but it is delicious. Once you unlock the secret of the crust, no longer will you be forced to pay exorbitant amounts for mere sprinklings of extra toppings- a few sad presliced bell peppers, spongy white mushrooms, and so on. Nor will you need to pay the premium for "artisan" pizzas that aren't all that spectacular. You know, like pizza with pesto or more than two kinds of olive? People will put the word "artisan" on anything and punch up the price. But you are free from that sort of corporate tyranny now. The world of pizza is yours.
Make sure you use a good-quality mozzarella- many have a chemical aftertaste from the brine they sit in, and the ones that are shrink-wrapped aren't an improvement. Bocconcini are a very good way to have your cheese in convenient pieces- just halve them and arrange. As for any other toppings, make sure not to overload- if you must, add some more separately cooked toppings after baking. A pizza with too many toppings won't cook properly, and you didn't wait that long for a mushy mess. Stick to thin, evenly distributed slices, especially with toppings that release a lot of water.
That's about it. Get your game on, go, bake!
American Style Pizza Crust
Adapted from Annie's Eats
1/2 C. Warm water
2 1/4 Tsp. Active dry yeast, or 22 g. Fresh yeast
1 1/4 C. Room temperature water
About 4 C. (22 Oz.) Bread flour, or 3 C. Bread flour and 2/3 C. Whole wheat flour
2 TBSP Olive oil
1 1/2 Tsp. Salt
Extra oil and semolina or flour, for the pans
Recommended Toppings for All-Star Pizza
About half of a large bottle of tomato passata, (2 C.)
4 Cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tsp. Dried oregano
1 Large shallot, thinly sliced
1 Large ball of fresh mozzarella, or 1 container of bocconcini (about 300-350 g.), in slices
1 Large sliced fleshy tomato
2 C. Shredded provolone (or for something with more American flair, Cheddar)
1 C. Sharp grated cheese, such as romano, asiago or parmesan
Assorted vegetables in thin slices- e.g. cremini mushrooms, eggplant, peppers, olives (!!!) (Optional)
1 C. Chopped basil leaves or arugula, optional
Black pepper, to taste
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm water and yeast and let sit 5 minutes.
Add the flour and room temperature water and knead until a cohesive mass forms. Add the salt and oil and continue kneading until stretchy and elastic, when the dough no longer sticks to the inside of the bowl.
Let rise in an oiled bowl for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Oil two large metal baking trays or pizza pans and sprinkle with semolina or flour.
Preheat the oven to 250℃. Divide the dough into two balls and let rest 10-15 minutes. Stretch out to fit onto the pans, taking care not to tear the dough- if it does not want to stretch, cover with a cloth and let rest another 10 minutes.
Spread each pizza evenly with tomato passata. Sprinkle on the garlic and sliced shallot. Arrange the vegetables, if using, without making too thick or heavy of a layer (this makes the dough underneath raw and soggy).
Arrange the slices of mozzarella and tomato. Distribute a layer of the grated cheeses and sprinkle with the oregano. Add a dash of black pepper to each.
Bake for 8-12 minutes, until the cheese is beginning to brown. If using basil or arugula, add to pizza and give one more minute in the oven.
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