Monday, July 27, 2009

A Continuation of the Summer Pizza Quest





Well I grilled a couple of more pizzas tonight with better results than last time. I am using a pretty modest BBQ and I am having to adjust the heat for the grilled pizza. I am using Peter Reinhart's recipes for grilled pizza dough. It is: 5 cups unbleached all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of instant yeast, 3 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 3/4 cul room temperature water.

Instructions:
1.
With a large metal spoon, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, yeast 1-1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and the water in a 4-quart bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer until combined. If mixing with an electric mixer, fit it with the dough hook and mix on low speed for about 4 minutes, or until the dough forms a coarse ball and clears the sides and the bottom of the bowl. Add more flour or water by the tablespoonful as needed. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then mix again on medium-low speed for an additional 2 to 4 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, supple and tacky but not sticky. If mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the spoon into room-temperature water and use it much like a dough hook, working the dough vigorously as you rotate the bowl with your other hand. Continue mixing for about 4 minutes, or until the dough forms a coarse ball adding more flour or water by the tablespoonful as needed. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then transfer to a lightly floured counter. Dust the top with flour to absorb the surface moisture, then knead the bough by hand for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, supple and tacky but not sticky.
2.
Immediately divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Gently round each piece into a ball and brush or rub each ball with olive oil. Place each ball inside its own zippered freezer bag. Using the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil over the ball in each bag and seal the bags closed. Let the balls sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then refrigerate the balls for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
3.
Remove the dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before you plan to roll them out to take off the chill and to relax the gluten. At this point, you can hold any balls you don?t want to use right away in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.

What I made tonight was a veggie pizza and a meat pizza. For the veggie pizza I pre-cooked broccoli, mushroom, onions, green pepper, red peppers, and seasoned with salt, pepper and a hint of garlic powder. For the meat pizza I pre-cooked some bacon, hamburger, onions, red peppers, and mushrooms.

On both pizzas I spread some pizza sauce, then some four cheese pizza cheese and then topped with the prepared toppings.

A note: The dough is quite good but I think the next time I will keep the exact recipe but add two tablespoons of honey to give the dough a sweeter taste.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

A Pizza Summer

After reading "American Pie" by Peter Reinhart, I have begun my own quest for the perfect home made pizza. I tried my first attempt at grilled pizza last night. I will post the recipe for the dough when I have perfected it. The dough lacked a little sweetness. But it was paper thin and crisp. I tried one veggie pizza and a sausage and bacon pizza. Both were superior to most restaurant pizzas and I am sure with a little more experimenting I will nail the perfect pizza. If you want a good read get Peter Reinhart's book. In addition to great recipes and ideas for pizza, Reinhart's account for his search for the perfect pizza is also quite entertaining.