Home made pie.. pizza pie that is!

[brewmaster15]

Seems like everyone is on a diet or eating out here lately.. except Liz.. shes still cooking up great food.


Got a craving for some homemade pizza..


Ones a margarita pizza with fresh basil from the garden.. the other is a nice mozz with onions and a marinara sauce...

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Why do some simple things just taste so darn good!

Al

[AquaticNerd]

Looks great Al! How well do you find the crust develop in a sheet tray? I've made one or two in a sheet tray and I was underwhelmed. My next attempt is going to be whenever I get a pizza steel that I can keep in the oven.

How'd this pizza compare to the ones you had in Philly?

[brewmaster15]

Jake, I use pizza stones here also but these cookie trays are really thick and do a decent job on the crust. I think alot depends on the oven temp too.I cook my pizza at 425F in this oven. My last oven was old... that one was 450F. My dough is just flour, water, salt, and yeast. Its hand mixed. The same way I make my Italian bread. I do coat the bowl with olive oil when making pizza as it makes it easier to handle and shape.. I think it also helps with the crust.

As for the comparison to Philly's.. well thats not fair ,lol, as theres nothing like having full control over all the ingredients in a dish.. but I grew up on homemade pizza. My mom came from Italy at 11. I got the basis of much of my cooking from her for pastas, breads, and pizza.

[LizStreithorst]

Cool, another thing I can use for all these fresh maters and basil my garden is giving me! I've never made a decent pizza in my live and have never ever attempted to make my own crust. Maybe I'll put some tofu on top as well, for a bit of protein. Could tell me exactly how you make the crust? I'm going to the store later today or tomorrow some yeast, which is all I don't have on hand. How long do you cook the pizza at 450. My countertop oven only goes to 425, but it's convection so I think it's 425 would be comparable to 450 in a non convection oven.

What I have been making a lot is roasted tomato and garlic sauce. I freeze the extra rather than canning it to maintain that fresh from the garden flavor.

[brewmaster15]

Hi Liz,

I can do that! but I am not much for recipes... Here you go... This is for a 5 lb bag of flour so scale it down as needed. This is enough for a family of 4 to have plenty of left overs for lunch!

5lbs Flour ( I like unbleached)
1/4 cup dry yeast
2 tablespoons salt

water******



5 lbs flour in a large bowl. Add the salt to a cup of warm water and dissolve, add to the Bowl . Add yeast to cup luke warm water and mix well ..let sit a few minutes.( If you have trouble with yeast you can add a teaspoon of honey as a jump starter).. Add this to the bowl... then mix ... I just keep adding water until I get to a smooth Dough like consistency. It should be smooth and not sticky. Form the dough into a tight ball by kneeding it well. Remove from bowl and either dust dough with Flour or coat bowl lightly with Olive oil... Return dough to bowl and cover until it rises to about 3 times its original size. If you are making pizza, you can do so now...(*******SEE ADDDED NOTE****)* dump it out on a cutting board and cut off off chunks to make pizza at the size you want...it should be very easy to gently pull and shape the the dough onto a cookie sheet or stone.. If cooking sheet parchment paper is ok.. for stone, some fine cornmeal or semolina flour is cook to dust with.

Cook until your topping are cooked and when you lift the pizza crust, the bottom is light brown.

One note ..use sauce sparingly of you get a soggy doughy pizza.

Sorry if thats kinda of lame as far as recipes, I've made it so much its just second nature to me.

al


(*******ADDED NOTE****)
If you are making Bread.. after it rises the first time... pound it down and Kneed into a ball second time, then Transfer to cutting board and cover with towel or plastic loosely to rise.. Once it rises, cut to loafs and cook in oven at 450 F until Golden brown.

[LizStreithorst]

That's just fine Al, thanks. It'll be on my list of things to make soon.