Tom’s Thin-Crust Miracle Pizza
December 8th, 2009 · No Comments · Posted in dinner, Recipes
Perfect pizza every time
Brother-in-law Tom has a genius method for making pizza. He rolls out his dough ahead and par-bakes it on a pizza pan. When you arrive at his house, he has a stack of pizza crusts on the kitchen counter ready to go as well as myriad sauces and toppings on the stove. He tops a pizza crust–lots of gorgonzola and mozzarella cheese, say, dotted with baby artichoke and fresh sage leaves–then pops it back into the oven directly on a hot pizza stone to finish. Pour a glass of fine sauvignon blanc and away you go.
In our family, we prefer a thin-crust pizza. My wife makes her own version that can easily tempt me off my low-carb diet. Tom’s dough is equally excellent, but slightly different in the manufacture. When I asked him for his secret, this was his reply:
Makes 2+ large pizzas.
3 cups Caputo “OO” flour (low protein, not absolutely necessary, but so much better)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
pinch of salt
1 package yeast in one cup warm water
Mix yeast and water and let stand for 5 minutes.
Combine flour, olive oil, honey, salt. Add 1 cup yeast mixture. Mix manually or in Cuisanart or Kitchen Aide until smooth. Shape into ball. Cover in bowl, and let stand–2 hours minimum.
Preheat oven to 450, on lowest rack. Pizza stone recommonded.
On floured surface, cut dough-ball in half and roll out to desired shape. For wafer-like, crisp crust, roll as thin as possible without dough sticking to surface.
Cook off rolled out crust and bake for 5-6 minutes for improved consistency. Pre-baked crusts will hold indefinetely.
Top pre-baked crust with favorite ingredients. For best appearance and overall taste and effect, light toppings recommended for crisp, sturdy crust that you can hold in your hand without the pizza wedge drooping.
Bake until golden brown. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle of fresh parmesan and / or red pepper. Cut into appetizer squares or 10 cuts per pizza.
Suggestion for starter pizza (Wine Pairing: Chardonnay or Sauvigon Blanc)
Artichoke, Sage, Gorgonzola pizza:
Follow above steps with:
1/2 Mozzerella
1/2 Gorgonzola
Artichokes
Fresh Sage
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