Pizza!!

I learned recently that a great pizzeria near my home (Rustico) gets a certain flour for their pizza crust. Its double zero (00) flour from Italy. So I learned that this kind of flour has a high gluten content and is very finely ground. Well, I will forgo the finely ground as its a processed white flour which I do not want to start using. But I can add gluten flour which will increase the likelihood of creating the crust I enjoy from this pizzeria. This recipe is super quick and easy. The toppings can be put on a crust with or without the usual tomato sauce and cheese. That is what makes home made pizza so much fun. Here is one of my favorite renditions of a tomato cheese pizza and a no-tomato no  cheese style. The latter is more like a focaccia bread, in that it is a simple bread with veggies and oil. the only cheese is a generous sprinkling of Romano cheese.  Have fun!

Pizza Dough

2 2/3 cups organic whole wheat flour
1/3 cup gluten flour (Bobs Red Mill)
1/4 cup warm water
1tbsp yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
 Preheat oven to 425. To make the dough dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the sugar. Use a glass Pyrex measuring vessel as yeast may not react kindly to any sort of plastic.  Stir with wire whisk til yeast and sugar dissolve thoroughly. Set aside for 5 minutes. It should have about a half inch of frothiness on top. Then its ready.  To this, add enough warm water to make 1 cup. Never use tap water. Use distilled or filtered water heated on the stove top.

Pour into an stainless or ceramic bowl. Add a cup of the flour, the oil and salt. If you like you can add some chopped herbs for an interesting flavor and visual appeal. If so use, fresh basil, thyme oregano or chives. Summer time is a great time to find these at your local produce market. Stir or whisk til smooth. Then add the rest of the flour or until it is stiff enough to put on a surface for kneading. On the surface add some flour. To knead, use the heal of your hand and press in and push forward creating a slight rolling motion. The point of kneading is to eliminate or reduce the stickiness of the dough. This process should take about 5-10 minutes.  Because this is a gluten rich flour, it will not take that long, as the dough will be pretty stiff to start out.  Now you must rest the dough in order that it softens sufficiently for creating the flat crust. Give it about 30 minutes.  Then either by hand or with a rolling pin, create a flat bread for the baking sheet. This recipe can make 1 normal crust or 2 very thin crust pizzas.

Topping.

Homemade Marinara sauce.
Mozzarella cheese grated or sliced thinly
onions chopped or sliced (organic if possible, as are all the ingredients)
green peppers chopped or sliced
mushrooms chopped or sliced
olives halved
zucchini chopped or sliced

Saute the vegetables lightly in olive oil to soften. Set aside. Preheat oven to lower temperature around 380. Evenly distribute the veggies on top of the pizza dough

 Marinara sauce

I  personally prefer a white pizza, as during the summer the tomato based pizza feels a bit too heavy. Nonetheless this is a very light version, using whole fresh in season tomatoes and fresh basil with just a little olive oil and oregano. 

 

5 large very ripe tomatoes, preferably heirloom style

10 basil leaves chopped

1 tsp oregano dried, or 1 tbsp fresh

2 tbsp olive oil.

 

Chop tomatoes and basil put in blender or food processor, add oregano and oil blend til slightly chunky. Let sit til solids separate somewhat from the liquid. Pour off the liquid. 

Assembly

On the baking sheet sprinkle flour and then lay out the dough.Spread some olive oil on top to cover the surface of the dough. If you are using a sauce as a base, add it now spreading evenly and as thickly or thinly as you desire.  Bake in the oven for only about 10 minutes at 425 degrees. Remove from oven and set aside.

Lower the oven temperature to around 380-400 degrees for the second stage of baking. For the second stage, evenly distribute the sauteed veggies, then add the cheese on top of that. If you prefer, the order can be switched if you don't want to brown the cheese.  You can add fresh basil and Romano on top during last 5 minutes of baking. Enjoy with a summer salad of your choice, anything fresh raw and local will do!