I've made zillions of pizzas in my lifetime, but found myself constantly in search of the perfect authentic Italian pizza crust.
I did a little research and discovered that they key is in the flour. In Italy, flour is classified either as 1, 0, or 00, and this scale refers to how finely ground the flour is and how much of the bran and germ have been removed. 00 is super soft, very finely ground and high in protein. Knowing this information, I went to the grocery store in search of 00 flour and just as I expected, I couldn't find it. However, I did find a bag of Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten and
Vital Wheat Gluten is 75-80% protein. Awesome. The protein content is very important in determining how flour will perform during baking. The protein in flour forms gluten, which is crucial in baking. It gives the dough that chewiness we all love. :)
I added 1/4 C of the Vital Wheat Gluten to 1+1/2 C of all purpose flour to achieve a flour that will make my dough highly elastic.
Finalllllllllly. I've come up with the perfect pizza crust!
To me, a perfect crust has to be chewy on the outside, fluffy, and slightly stretchy on the inside. It must be light, not too thick, but not too thin either. It must be made with white flour and actually have some flavor to it. Nobody likes to eat cardboard.
Below are the ingredients I used for both the pizza sauce and the dough.
Pizza Crust
Ingredients:
1 C warm water
1+1/2C all purpose flour + 4-5 tbsp extra for rolling out the dough.
1/4 C Vital Wheat Gluten
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp pizza yeast
1 tsp salt
Pizza Sauce
Ingredients:
7 celebrity tomatoes (seeds removed)\
1 small yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp honey
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
To make the sauce...
Dice Tomatoes and remove the seeds. (the seeds tend to make the sauce bitter)
Dice 1 small onion.
Add Onion, tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper to food processor/blender.
Blend on high for 2-3 minutes.
In heavy pot, heat 1 tsp olive oil on medium heat.
Gate 2 cloves of garlic into pot.
Reduce to low heat.
Add Sauce to pot, along with 2 tsp honey.
Bring to a complete boil.
Reduce heat to low.
Simmer uncovered for 40-45 minutes while preparing the dough.
**This recipe will make about 2.5 cups of sauce. Jar up what you don't use and refrigerate.
To make pizza dough...
Whisk together 1+1/2 C all purpose flour with 1/4 C Vital Wheat Gluten.
In separate bowl, add 1 C warm water, 1 tbsp sugar, and 2 tsp pizza yeast.
**I used pizza yeast instead of regular yeast simply because I didn't want to wait as long for my dough to rise.
Wait 10 minutes for your yeast to become foamy.
Add in 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp olive oil.
Gradually stir in the flour.
Knead for 1-2 minutes
Roll dough into ball.
Grease the surface of the dough with a little olive oil.
Place in large bowl.
Cover with cloth and let dough rise for ~30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 550F
When dough is ready, roll it out on a floured surface.
Place on a pan that is lined with greased parchment paper.
Spread sauce on pizza.
Top with 1/2 C green onion.
1/2 C sliced fresh white mushrooms.
1/2 C black olives.
1 thinly sliced plum tomato.
1 C chopped green pepper.
Place in oven on middle rack.
Bake for only 5 minutes!
Remove pizza and turn oven on broil.
Add 1C mozzarella cheese.
Place pizza back in oven for 1 minute on broil.
Crank open a bottle of Chianti Castaldo.
Produced from select dry-farmed, hillside vineyards it is a blend of a minimum 75% Sangiovese blended with Canaiolo and other red grapes. Best served with grilled foods and tomato based dishes such as PIZZA.
Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to hear what you have to say :)