Pizza is (never) Perfect

I'm not going to post a recipe for pizza, there are millions out there, each of them have their merits...

But a few words on pizza, if I may.

All food flavour, texture, etc are subjective to the eater, no question.  But most foods generally need a certain calibre and method of preparation if you will in order for anyone to consider them decent.  Pizza is one of those foods where I've seen what I consider total crap with prep and ingredients be completely revered and loved by other eaters, and vice versa as well "why would you want a thin crust in a super hot oven?" my answer is BECAUSE IT'S PERFECT, DUH!


Pizza 1 - Bruschetta style!

On the crust alone people have their opinions!  How sweet should it be, how doughy? how crunchy? Thin or bready edges? Dense or light? Whole wheat? Maybe naan bread even? or pita?

Oh, and the sauce? Lots of it, little, sweet, tomatoey, no sauce? white sauce? pesto? cheese sauce? Dip it in sauce?



The toppings are endless.  Traditional? Meat lovers? Veggie? just cheese? No cheese? Broccoli (by god!) what kind of cheese? Do you chop or slice the veg? under or over the cheese (I'll save it for you, OVER THE CHEESE PEOPLE!).

The oven? BBQ? Pizza stone?

The point is, we all have an idea of what an ideal pie should be.  If you're like me, you haven't found it yet.  I don't know if I'll ever find it in a restaurant.  I'm not sure if I'll ever be even able to make it.  But I often come close in either case.



Chorizo, what did I do without you?



One day, I'll make my own dough, freeze it, and bake with it (I've seen oodles of recipes, and they seem straightforward).  But the other day I used frozen dough which I had purchased awhile ago to make 2 thin-ish crust pizzas which were completely delicious.   I've never done this before, so it was an experiment for sure (and next time it will take like, a third of the time)



I had intended on using the BBQ to cook this pizza, but when it was preheating we ran out of propane!  So I baked the pies in a 500 degree oven for about 15 minutes a piece finishing with a broil. (rotating sheets halfway through) 



Some ingredients making bruschetta



PIZZA 1 Fresh Bruschetta style topping (seeded chopped tomato, garden basils, pressed garlic, roasted red peppers, olive oil, a bit of fine chopped green onion, some fine chopped black olives) Cheese mix of Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan (heavier on the last 2), Basil pesto tomato sauce (half tomato sauce, half pesto)

PIZZA 2  A few oz of finely chopped chorizo sausage, chopped mushrooms, peppers, par cooked with some fresh sage and  parsley.  Cheese mix of Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan (heavier on the first one)



Saucing up the bruschetta pizza



LESSONS LEARNED: - Pizza dough likes to pull back at you when you roll it out.  I found, and I felt cheesy (ha ha) doing this is using your hands and spinning with your fingers REALLY is the best way to stretch the dough out.  I'm no flip in the air type, but it's the best way to work it.
- Well floured areas are key! Or cornmeal, or something (again, subjective!) The pizza will not slide off your board onto the pan unless it's well floured
- Get a pizza stone.  I haven't found one yet - where do you buy these?  I tried pre-heating my pans in the oven to help mimic that, but by the time I got the pizza sticking to the board off, the pan was almost cooled down :)

- Use fresh herbs - always the best.

The BOTTOM LINE:I'm not buying pizza kits again when I can pre-make dough in my stand mixer, divide it up and freeze it.  Not much more work, delicious results.