please don’t deliver

Who doesn’t love pizza? Hot, crusty, tangy sauce, bubbling cheese…yum. Usually you have to go out to enjoy that crispy perfection. Or have it delivered, but somehow that’s never the same. I have a solution: you can make pizza at home! It’s not very difficult–just purchase a pizza stone and wooden peel (inexpensive; any cookware store carries them). Buy ready-made pizza dough at your local pizzeria or grocery store, if you’re timid.  But it’s easy to make your own dough; a cinch to whip up in your food processor. Imagine all the fun you’ll have customizing pies with the toppings you like. To help you get started, I offer here my two favorite combinations. Experiment, be bold…and give the delivery man the night off.

Homemade Pizza Dough

The key to success here is to use fresh active yeast. Check the expiration date–you want to make sure to get a good rise in your dough. I like to let it sit on top of my stove, so the warmth of the preheating oven helps it along.

In a small bowl or pyrex measuring cup, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and let stand for 5 minutes, until yeast is bubbling and foamy.

Coat the inside of a large bowl with the olive oil and put the ball of dough in it, turning it once to coat with oil. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Divide the dough in half and let rest another 10 minutes. Roll out each dough and make two 12 inch pizzas.

Makes 2-12 inch Pizza Doughs:

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

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Time to make the pizza! Place bottom rack of oven as low as possible and place pizza stone on it. Preheat oven to 500 degrees for about one hour before baking to make sure your oven gets really hot.

Prosciutto Arugula Pizza

To make the pizza sauce, heat a small sauté pan (I use a 4 quart) over medium heat and add olive oil. Add a couple of peeled, smashed garlic cloves and cook them for about 1 minute, until slightly golden. Puree a 14 ounce can of whole tomatoes briefly in a blender and add it, along with 1/2 cup tomato puree (love Italian puree that comes in a jar), to the pan. Mix in a pinch of sugar, to balance the acid, dried oregano and dried thyme, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Let sauce simmer for 30 minutes.

Makes 1-12″ Pizza:

Pizza Sauce:
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 peeled, smashed garlic cloves
14 ounce can of whole tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato puree (preferably jarred puree)
a pinch of sugar
1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano and dried thyme
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 Homemade Pizza Dough recipe
cornmeal for dusting
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, torn into pieces
1 to 2 tablespoons basil leaves, torn
shavings of Parmesan cheese
1/4 pound Prosciutto (preferably imported), thinly sliced
1 to 2 cups baby arugula leaves

Robiola Truffle Pizza

Robiola is a creamy cheese from Northern Italy, with a mild, slightly sweet flavor, that works perfectly here. Luscious cheese melting on a thin, crispy crust, topped with caramelized shallots and mushrooms, drizzles of truffle oil and a sprinkling of fleur de sel. Sound good? This pizza will make you swoon. 

Begin by sautéing large sliced shallot in a tablespoon of olive oil that’s been heated in a skillet over medium-low heat. When the shallot is translucent, add sliced mushrooms. I prefer shiitake mushrooms–they have a wonderfully earthy quality. Be sure to remove their stems before slicing. Add a pinch of kosher salt to the pan and let the mushrooms cook without disturbing them too much to bring out their best flavor, about 10 minutes. They should be nicely golden brown.

This pie starts a little differently: place the rolled out dough on a cornmeal dusted peel and pierce in several places with a fork to prevent it from bubbling up. Place in the hot oven to bake for 5 minutes, until just slightly golden. Remove crust from oven and spread with the Robiola cheese. Scatter the mushroom slices and shallots on top and place back in the oven for another 5 minutes or so. Sprinkle with white truffle oil and a bit of fleur de sel. Heaven!

Makes 1-12″ Pizza:

1 large sliced shallot
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms, preferably shiitake
kosher salt

1/2 Homemade Pizza Dough recipe
cornmeal for dusting
1/2 pound Italian Robiola cheese
truffle oil
fleur de sel, sea salt

 

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