Lately, D., Ph., and I have been experimenting toward a better homemade
pizza. The toppings have been relatively easy. We have been
simulating a couple of favorites from Minsky’s in Kansas City–the chicken
cordon bleu and the buffalo style chicken.
The toppings for each are as follows:
Cordon bleu: alfredo sauce, fresh basil, one chicken breast (cubed), ham
(slivered, sliced into squares), green olives. Top with ~8 ounces of
mozzarella or provolone.
Buffalo style chicken: cayenne hot sauce (I’ve been using Frank’s), julienne
carrots, one chicken breast (cubed), a few lines of ranch or blue cheese dressing. Top with ~8 ounces of mozzarella.
We’ve also tossed together more conventional pizzas: regular (cheese);
pepperoni; or ham, mushroom, and pineapple, the one we had last night (along with a
chicken cordon bleu). Yes, in fact, it has become a veritable pizzeria
around here. Ah, I almost forgot to mention the reuben pizza (a.k.a. Big Reu):
thousand island, kraut, corned beef, and a swiss/mozzarella blend. Very
much like a reuben sandwich. It would’ve been better with a rye crust, no
doubt.
All along the key has been the dough, the crust. I’ve tried
store-bought mixes, pre-made (frozen) balls of dough from here and there,
Pillsbury, and so on. In recent weeks we’ve experimented with homemade
crust, however, and today I worked from
a recipe that turned out good
enough that I think we’ll stick with this one for a while. I mixed it in the
food processor before kneading it by hand; the combination was a little bit
sticky, so it took more flour to get it right. I followed everything in
the recipe except that I split the four cups of flour into two cups of whole
wheat and two cups of all-purpose because we wanted whole wheat crust. I
also added a tablespoon of honey, but the flavor, in the end, was barely
noticeable. After rolling out the dough, I forked holes into the surface and
pre-baked the crust for seven minutes at 400F before adding the toppings.
With the toppings added, I baked them for twenty minutes at 400F, reversing
their rack positions from top to bottom and bottom to top after ten minutes.
Perfect. Best pizza I’ve ever had a hand in making.
Those sound goooood. Ever tried a pizza stone? I love mine, and I never have to take it out of the oven.
Favorite homemades: 1. Hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, topped after baking with fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil (extra virgin). 2. Italian sausage and very carmelized onions (with traditional pizza sauce and conventional, i.e., not “fresh,” mozzarella).
We have two stones, and I got around to trying them this week. One is a really nice piece from Pampered Chef and the other is much less elegant (like a too-thick, oversized piece of bathroom tile). Unfortunately whatever’s on top of them cooks at different rates. But yes, we went to the round pizzas on the stones this week and they turned out well. Yesterday I picked up the makings for the caramelized onion/sausage combo you mentioned for one day this week.