Recipe: Pizza Pizza

I frequently say, “I make the best pizza in McHenry County, IL.” It’s true, and until a Lou Malnati’s restaurant opened-up shop down the street, it wasn’t that impressive an accomplishment. But even with Lou’s down the street, this is still the best. I’ll let him have the “Chicago style” deep dish pizza honors, I focus on thin crust.

This recipe is broken into three parts: dough, sauce, and construction. Try to keep-up!




Pizza Dough
Makes enough for two “large” pizzas

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups Bread Flour (No, it’s not ok to use A/P flour)
• 1 1/2 cups Warm Water (water should be between 100-110 degrees)
• 2 tsp Instant Dry Yeast
• 8 tsp Sugar (that’s 2 2/3 Tbs)
• 2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 2 Tbs Olive Oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a glass 2-cup measuring cup, mix the water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit for ~5 minutes to give the yeast a chance to “wake-up.”
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour and the salt.
3. Stir the yeast mixture to get the stuff off the bottom. Add the oil to the water and dump the whole thing into the mixer.
4. Using the dough hook, mix for 20 minutes on the lowest speed. Sometimes I've noticed that the dough is a little too sticky. If that's the case, you can add a few tablespoons of flour into the mixing bowl - that will help dry it out a little. Even though a sticky dough is a pain in the ass to work with, will make a more tender crust. 
5. Knead dough on the counter to form a ball – about 30 seconds. Cut the dough ball in half and roll each half into its own ball – about 1 minute.
6. Put each ball into a glass bowl that has been sprayed with non-stick spray (Pam) and cover with plastic wrap. Put into a warm place for 2+ hours.

FAQs

• Bread Flour? >> As I’ve said before, bread, all-purpose, and cake flours have different protein amounts. It’s the protein that allows the flour to develop gluten which is what gives bread its structure. Bread flour has the highest protein level, and will make the best texture crust.
• I have packet yeast – how much? >> I always buy “bulk” yeast, and measure-out what I need. But I think that one packet has 2 1/2 tsp, so just use one packet.
• I ain’t got no stand mixer. >> This dough is so much easier in a stand mixer, but you can do it manually. Just knead the shit out of that dough for 20 minutes. You’ll notice that the dough starts to tighten-up quickly, but it’s the continued kneading that develops the gluten. A general rule of thumb I’ve seen is that you should manually knead twice as long as the mixer. That would be 40 minutes, which is too long. Knead for 20 and see how that goes. Then tell me all about your NEW mixer – you know, the one you decided to buy after kneading your arms into oblivion that one day!
• Warm place for 2 hours, WTF? >> Yes, you need to “proof” the dough, which means to let it rise. I put mine in the oven (turned off) and then pour boiling water into a loaf pan and put that in the oven too. The boiling water will make the oven warm and the steam will make it humid: warm and humid is perfect for proofing dough.

Pizza Sauce
Makes enough for three “large” pizzas

INGREDIENTS

• 1 6 oz can Tomato Paste
• 1 8 oz can Tomato Sauce
• 1 tsp garlic, minced or crushed
• 1-2 tsp Dried Basil
• 1-2 Tbs Dried Oregano
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder (optional)
• Black Pepper
• Olive Oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, add ~1 tsp olive oil and the garlic. Let cook for a minute or so – until you hear the garlic starting to sizzle.
2. Dump-in the tomato products and the spices. Stir to combine.
3. Bring to a near-boil.
4. Turn-off the heat, and let sit on the stove until you’re ready to use (hopefully in a few minutes, but can sit for a long time if needed)

FAQs

• Doesn't seem like enough sauce for three pizzas >> Relax, you’re not going to take a bath in the stuff. You don’t really use that much sauce on an individual pizza.
• Why “teaspoons” for basil and “tablespoons” for oregano? >> The oregano flavor is the predominant flavor in pizza. That’s why it’s put on the table in pizza restaurants in a cheese shaker.
• What’s up with the sugar? >> A lot of times, sugar is used to temper the acidity of tomatoes in cooking. This is another one of those times.
• Hey, this is enough sauce for three pizzas, but only enough dough for two pizzas - what gives? >> I didn't invent the amount of tomato sauce/paste they put into those cans. The good news is that you can save the sauce as a perfect dip for mozzarella sticks or the uneaten pizza crusts from your kids plates (pretend they're breadsticks, and dip them in the delicious sauce)

Pizza Construction
One pizza serves one 4-person family (daddy, mommy, boy, and girl)

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 Pizza Dough Recipe (see above)
• 1/3 Pizza Sauce Recipe (see above)
• 8 oz. Mozzarella Cheese
• Pepperoni (optional)
• Italian Sausage (optional)
• Red Bell Pepper, diced small (optional)
• Mushrooms, sliced thin (optional)
• Black Olives, sliced (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
2. Remove your proofed dough from the bowl, and place on a floured surface. Flatten the dough into a disc (think “pizza shape”) and stretch the dough gently into the desired shape. Don’t be afraid to pick-up the dough and stretch with your fingers – using bread flour has made this into dough that can take your weak-fisted punishment.
3. Place the dough on a perforated pizza pan (the kind that is round and has a bunch of holes)
4. Spoon-on the sauce.
5. Sprinkle-on a “base layer” of mozzarella. I generally use 1/3 of the cheese beneath the toppings and 2/3 above.
6. Toppings.
7. Top cheese.
8. Bake in the oven for ~13 minutes. I start the pizza on the bottom of the oven, and move to the top about halfway thorough the cooking process. That way, the crust gets crispy (bottom) and the cheese gets browned (top).
9. Cut in wedges (makes 12 wedges easy) and eat.

FAQs

• Do you “toss” your pizza? >> Yes, I am awesome.
• Pizza pan – why not a pizza stone? >> I have a pizza stone, but I think it’s a major pain in the ass. I don’t have a pizza peel (that’s the wooden paddle used to deposit and withdraw pizzas from the oven), so I would have to use a cookie sheet. I suppose if I had a peel, I’d have more success. Also, my stone is smaller than the pizza pan – I’d have to make smaller pizzas. That’s not something I’m interested in at this time...
• How do you sauce? >> Ok, I start with about 2-3 Tbs of sauce (don’t bother measuring, Martha!) in the middle of the dough. Then I take the back of the spoon and start spreading it around. The goal is to cover the dough with as thin a layer of sauce as possible. If you use too much sauce, the dough will cook weird and the cheese will just slide around. Do it my way once, and then try what you like.
• Topping suggestions >> There are two basic pizzas in my arsenal: [pepperoni and black olive] or [sausage and mushroom].
  • Sausage & Mushroom: Use ~6 oz. of mild Italian sausage per pizza and ~4 oz. raw mushrooms. I cook the sausage before putting it on the pizza – I don’t think a home oven gets hot enough to cook the sausage on the pie (restaurant pizza ovens get to 600+ degrees). Plus, a benefit to cooking the sausage before is that I can drain the sausage and eliminate all that extra grease.
  • Pepperoni & Black Olive: I lay-down the pepperoni from the outside-in with consistent spacing throughout. Some people might think it’d be great to make a “sheet” of pepperoni. To those idiots, I’d say “remember proportions.” There’s a reason you’re not eating just a brick of pepperoni – you want the flavors to work with one another. Sprinkle the black olives on top of the pepperoni.
  • Any Pizza: A welcome addition to either of these pizzas is some diced red bell pepper. It adds a nice sweetness to the pie. 1/4 of a pepper should be enough for one pizza.