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52 Friday, June 29, 1984
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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COOKING
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Preparing pizza tips and tricks
THE JEWISH NEWS
-
BY GLORIA KAUFER GREENE
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When I first started mak-
ing pizza several years ago,
I found the best way to pro-
duce a somewhat crisp crust
was to partially bake it be-
fore the topping was put on.
Since then, I've purchased a
"baking stone" which pro-
duces great pizzeria-type
crusts without any pre-
baking.
A baking stone (or pizza
stone, as it is sometimes
called) is simply a square,
rectangular, or round piece
of ceramic stoneware or
similar substance that can
hold heat well. It simulates
the brick or ceramic lining
of an old-fashioned baker's
oven.
After the stone has been
preheated in a hot oven, a
completely assembled pizza
is baked directly on it. The
stone immediately cooks
the bottom of the crust, then
evenly distributes the heat
and absorbs moisture fom
the dough as the pizza
bakes. (Free-form yeast
breads also bake exception-
ally well and produce excel-
lent crusts on stones.)
The only trick in using a
baking stone is getting the
pizza onto it. This task re-
quires a large, flat cookie
sheet or, preferably, a
"baker's peel." The latter is
the unlikely name for a
long-handled, flat wooden
paddle that bakers use to
transfer pizzas and breads
in and out of ovens.
Following are some tips
and directions I've learned
over the years that should
help you greatly, particu-
larly in using a baking
stone.
• Before beginning, have
all sauces made and other
topping ingredients pre-
pared, so there will be min-
imal delays later on. (For a
crisp crust, the rolled out
pizza dough should not be
allowed to rise very much
before baking.)
• Put the baking stone in
the oven and set the heat at
about 425 to 500 degrees.
• To shape the crust:
Form the dough into a
small, flat disk. Generously
sprinkle instantized flour
i
Support
March of
(such as Wondra) or corn-
meal on a flat cookie sheet
(with no raised edges on 3
sides) or a baker's peel; then
put the disk of dough in the
center, and sprinkle the
dough.
Press the dough with the
fingertips of both your
hands until it forms a large
circle. Then use a rolling pin
to roll it out to a thin, 14-
inch circle, rotating the
dough often and using addi-
tional flour or cornmeal to
keep it from sticking. (If you
get a lot of resistance from
the dough, let it rest briefly;
then proceed.)
Make sure there are no
holes; pinch the dough to-
gether to fix any if neces-
sary. Crimp up the edge of
the dough all around, so the
filling will not leak out.
• Make sure the crust
slides around very easily
when the peel or cookie
sheet is shaken. If the dough
sticks at all, carefully lift it
up and sprinkle some more
instantized flour or corn-
meal under it. This will act
like teeny rollers for the
crust when it is transferred
to the stone.
• If desired, brush the top
of the dough lightly with
some olive oil to help pre-
vent a soggy crust, and add
a bit of flavor.
• Toppings: Sprinkle the
crust heavily with coarsely
grated cheese, keeping it
about 3/4-inch from the
edge. Mozzarella is tradi-
tional, but just about any
hard or semi-soft cheese will
do — including mixtures; in
fact, pizza is a good way to
use up leftover bits of var-
ious cheeses. Use a total of
about 8 ounces (2 cups,
packed).
• If tomato sauce is de-
sired, drizzle it in a spiral
pattern over the cheese,
leaving some cheese un-
covered. I use about 1 cup
sauce for a 13- to 14- inch
pizza.
• Top with whatever else
is desired, but do not get
carried away.
• A few suggestions for
"gourmet" toppings include
raw and'or sauteed fresh
vegetables, fresh herbs,
smoked fish, thawed and
very well-drained frozen
chopped spinach, drained
canned artichoke hearts,
and canned chilies.
• Once the crust is filled,
check again to make sure
the pizza slides easily. If
not, carefully lift the edge of
the crust and spinkle more
flour or cornmeal under-
neath it. Lifting the end and
blowing under it may also
help.
• To transfer the pizza to
the stone, open the pre-
heated oven, and partially
pull out the rack with the
stone. Hold the peel or flat
cookie sheet as parallel to
the-stoneas possible (i.e. tilt
it up towards you only
slightly), with its most dis-
tant end almost touching
the back of the stone.
Repeatedly jerk the peel
or cookie sheet towards you
to shuffle the pizza off the
peel or sheet and onto the
stone. If the pizza won't
slide, shut the oven, and re-
peat the hints suggested
above. Then try again.
• Immediately close the
oven, and bake the pizza
about 10 to 20 minutes, de-
pending on the oven tern-
perature and type of stone,
until the edge of the crust is
puffed up and golden brown,
and the cheese is melted and
bubbly but not browned.
Remove the pizza from the
stone by sliding the peel or
cookie sheet under it. You
can serve it right on the
cookie sheet, but do not do
this with the peel as it may
ruin the wood.
BASIC PIZZA DOUGH
This recipe may be dou-
bled if dough is made with a
mixer or in a food processor
with a large bowl.
1 scant tbsp. active dry
yeast (1 packet)
1/2 tsp. sugar
V2 cup warm water (105-
115) degrees F.)
About 2 cups white bread
flour (or unbleached
all-purpose flour)
11/2 tbsps. olive (or veg-
etable) oil
3 4 tsp. salt
(Variation: For a whole
wheat crust, substitute
1 cup whole wheat
flour for 1 cup of the
white.)
For food processor: Dis-
solve yeast and sugar in
warm water, and set aside
until foamy (about 10 min-
utes). Put flour, oil and salt
into a food-processor bowl
fitted with the steel blade.
With machine running, add
yeast mixture through
chute. Process until dough
is smooth. Cover loosely
with plastic wrap. Rest
about 5 minutes (for flour to
absorb moisture).
Knead dough with food
processor (using special
dough blade, if applicable)
until smooth and elastic,
about 30 seconds to 1 min-
ute. (If dough seems very
sticky, add a bit more flour
through the chute.)
For mixer: Proof the yeast
mixture as directed above;
then add to it the oil, salt
and about half the flour.
Beat mixture with an elec-
tric mixer for about 3 min-
utes. Then stir in most of the
remaining flour to form a
dough. Rest dough about 5
minutes; then knead until it
is smooth and elastic, about
5 to 10 minutes, add in a bit
more flour if necessary.
Turn the kneaded dough
out into an oiled bowl, and
let it rise until double.
Punch, dough down, ,(If ,