So a few weeks ago I decided to make pizza dough for the first time. It was one of those fears I had to overcome. And really wanted to eat fresh pizza. One of things I learned from RR was it's not that hard to cook most things from scratch. But I don't have kids and a lot of time. I found this recipe but altered it a little:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/whole-wheat-and-honey-pizza-dough/Detail.aspx
Sounded easy enough. Yeast, water, flour. I found these portioned yeast packets at Kroger to use. But had to decide between Active and Instant yeast. I guessed and picked Active. Thank God it worked, or else I would have been really upset. I also came home and read that either yeast would have been okay. I also used half white/half wheat flour. I don't know what wheat germ is don't really need to know, so I decided to leave it out. I also added about a teaspoon of olive oil (EVOO as RR would say!).
The first pizza I made with this was really gross, I thought. I also burned the top of my hand really bad taking it out of the oven. It's really ugly. But BJ said he liked the pizza, so it made me feel better. I tried it again the next week while BJ was out of town. This time cut the dough ball in 2 and made a thin crust. Much better!!! I didn't have a rolling pin, so I used a wine bottle I had laying around to roll it out to where it was so thin it almost had holes in it.
BJ was really craving pizza about a week ago so we decided to make an epic journey to find the best pizza tools. After several hours of going back and forth to different stores we found the perfect pizza stone at Sur la Table. Super thin, heats up very easy. The trick is to heat the stone WITH the oven on broil. Then take the stone out, prepare the pizza on it (fast!!!), then put it back in the oven at 400 degrees.
Tonight I used the second half of the pizza dough from last batch to make dinner. I froze it, so I put it in the fridge yesterday to thaw. When I pulled it out it smelled like beer!!! I hate beer, so you can imagine my thought process (Papa Johns, $5.99 Monday Pick-up special). But I did some research online and realized that many people have this problem. It's totally okay! Has to do with yeast and fermenting and rising... Apparently it will disappear when it's cooked. BJ's favorite pizza is Barbeque, and that's what he wanted so we went with it! It goes like this: barbeque sauce (nothing but Sweet Baby Ray's in this house), sauteed onions, chopped leftover chicken, pickled jalepenos, and mix of mozzerela and extra sharp cheddar. I've also learned that a pizza takes about half the amount of toppings you think it needs.
End result: BJ made a Facebook posting about it, which means he really, really liked it. I did too. I had 3 pieces, no crust. BJ ate the rest, even my crust.
I gave myself a B+++.
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4 comments:
A+ best pizza ever. I am deeply saddened that I ate the whole thing while you were blogging about it!
First off, BUY A ROLLING PIN. So cheap and makes it so much better. Also, you can get a pizza plackard (those square wooden things with the handles that the good pizza places use) for pretty cheap and use that to prepare the pizza on. Flour it up real good so the dough doesn't stick, top your pizza, and throw it in - no loss of heat on the stone. And you can show me your skillz next time I'm over. :P
Danny boy (you don't mind me calling you that, do you?), you seem to know a lot about this pizza making. I would be willing to let you use my kitchen to make a pizza next time you're over in exchange for letting me eat some. Just a thought... And bring that wife of yours. I miss her. :(
I MISS YOU TOO JENN :) Especially when I read this blog, which I try not to bc it makes me too sad...too many memories of our cooking nights together :( -KARI
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