Pizza on the deck - is this a perfect meal ?
Pizza has become an obsession with me. Where I live, it’s hard to find a good pie. The dough is soggy or too bready. The toppings add fuel to the fire – greasy, globby, overly salty – and create a mess. I’ve been working for many years to perfect the pizza at home. It’s actually pretty easy once you have the right equipment – good ingredients – and the willingness to learn.
Starting the Quest for a Perfect Pizza Pie
I was a poor college student, using a Cuisinart food processor that my parents gave me as a Christmas gift. It was the “demo” unit from the old Marshall Field’s store on State Street in Chicago. My first efforts at pizza started with a Foccacia dough recipe from the cookbook Fast and Flavorful by Abbey Mandel (circa 1986). The book also had versions for thin, thick and double crusted pizza – which I tried over the years. I was at least able to produce a good pizza – something that would rival what take out offers – at a good price.
I also started realizing that the toppings left much to be desired. Sausage, my favorite topping as a born and breed Chicagoan, was often lacking full flavor and was usually very greasy. Good sausage could be found, but at considerable travel and expense. I discovered Penzey’s Spices – and the Italian Sausage Seasoning blend that they sell. I found that using the seasoning with boneless skinless chicken thighs, was a very good and more healthy way to bring that flavor to the canvas.
Sauce was originally something from a can. Over time, I found good ideas that yielded more flavor, complexity and less salt. The basis for my sauce recipe comes from Fast and Flavorful, but has been kicked up with the addition of red wine, the rind (1″ square) of Reggiano Parmesan cheese and using whole tomatoes (ideally San Marzano tomatoes from Italy – or these that are just as good). Using very little processing - just whirl in the food processor and gently warm – is the key. Cooking, boiling, or simmering over time just seems to kill the sauce – adding bitterness.
An Epiphany
My epihany in my pizza journey was visiting the area around Naples, Italy. It was a cold, wet night in Amalfi proper. We happened upon an old movie theater that was turned into a restaurant – and stopped in for dinner. Since I was a little under the weather – I just wanted something simple – as big flavors would be lost on me. I ordered Pizza Margarhita – a simple pizza with sauce, a little cheese and basil. I was blown away with the texture, flavor and fine crust – crisp, yet not too crisp or thin. The secret – a wood burning oven – with a temperature around 700 degrees farenheit. Time to change up my methods and recipes – I had to make this at home.
My efforts settled on a dough recipe for Neo Neopolitan Pizza Dough from Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day that requires making the dough a day in advance. I like using SAF instant yeast - not the active dry, cake or other types out there. The instant yeast needs no proofing - just add it to the flour and it’s ready to go. I use the techniques from Fast and Flavorful to make it work in a food processor - but add a step that Reinhart suggests – letting the dough rest for 5 minutes just before completing the dough into a ball in the food processor. This causes increased hydration to the dough – and the makes a big difference. I would suggest watching the recipe size carefully – as it makes 5 individual pizzas – halfing it makes two 12-14″ pizzas. I don’t want to hear anyone complaining about a burnt out food processor. A kitchen aid mixer would work well here too.
A few additional tools are essential – a pizza stone, a pizza peel, are the two other hardware needs.
Great Pizza at Home Recipe
I’d love to post the recipe, but it’s copyrighted content. I put the quantities of flour, yeast into the food processor bowl and pulse a few times (my processor has a 14 cup capacity – which is probably the only food processor size that will accept the dough quanities – if you have a smaller unit, cut the recipe in half). I get the yeast and flour blended first, before adding the salt. I would suggest using sea salt – the kind your grocer sells in the bulk bins for $0.40 a pound – and stay away from the Iodized stuff. Iodized salt seems to have a chemical aftertaste to me.
I add the olive oil (something they don’t do in Naples, but I think it lends a good flavor) and honey or agave nectar. Use a simple olive oil (Trader Joe’s has an excellent California Olive Oil that is good stuff – the others they sell work well), not the real fancy, expensive stuff.
I use water that has been filtered and stood for a few hours. Using water right from the tap can have some chlorine that inhibits yeast growth. Letting it stand and/or aerating it will cause the chlorine to gas off over time.
I don’t bother to portion it yet. I just put it into a tall plastic bin – the taller the better – as it helps the fermentation process I think. I use 6 liter flour storage containers for this purpose. I put it into the cool basement for 24 hours.
When it comes time to bake – about an hour before hand – preheat the oven with the pizza stone to 550 degrees farenheit. Put the stone on the lowest possible rack – not the oven floor. I make my sauce at this point.
My sauce is simple. Just a can of whole tomatoes – ideally San Marzano type that are imported (there is one brand that isn’t imported – they are good in my opinion - but not as good as the real thing that can be had for less). I don’t like using the diced, chopped or sauce products – as the processing seems to take flavor away. I have had great success with Hunt’s Whole or Muir Glen brands for simple domestic products. I blend then can contents with 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of dried basil, a little sugar, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 3 tablespoons of red wine. I throw in a 1″ square of the rind from Reggiano Parmesan cheese to add flavor – taking it out before using. I just slowly heat this for 10 minutes -then taste – sometimes adding salt or sugar to make it work well. I’d be curious on what you try and like.
Baking is easy and quick. One thing I suggest is to go light on the toppings starting with the sauce, then a little cheese, then the toppings. If you put too many toppings on the pizza – it might have problems sliding off the peel into the baking stone.
Take the dough and cut it into four even quantities (or less if you have halved the recipe). I use a floured rolling pin on a well floured board to roll the dough into a sort of circle shape. It will likely resist after a few rolls. When that happens, just cover it with a damp clean (unbleached too) towel for 3-5 minutes. Turning it over after letting it rest and adding more flour to the board. I use flour as Reinhart suggests to keep the pizza from sticking to the peel – then top it on the peel itself.
Slide it in. Watch it bake. 5-7 minutes usually does it. I look for a crust on the bottom that has a few little grey spots to judge. You might need to spin it around a bit – to account for uneven oven baking.
Take it out and let it stand. Take a photo to post on Facebook as it sits for at least 2 minutes to set up. Then cut and enjoy !
