"Pizza Time"

I ran across a recipe by Mark Bittman recently on making pizza.  Since I've had an abundance of tomatoes from the garden I decided to roast some tomatoes first to keep in quart mason jars in the freezer to use throughout the winter.  I set one jar aside to use for the pizza the next day.  Roasting tomatoes can take hours sometimes so I didn't want to get into pizza making too on the same day - I like to keep things easy and simple!

Clean, remove any nasties, cut in half.  Pour a dollop of olive oil on a cookie sheet.  Lay out the tomatoes, rubbing them in the oil until both sides are covered.  I also decided to roast some peppers at the same time.  Sprinkle garlic salt, pepper and thyme over the tops of tomatoes before going in the oven.  You can use any seasonings you like so feel free to try different flavors.  I had enough tomatoes to cover three trays nice and snug.  Bake at 350 degrees for at least 2 hours or until tomatoes have caramelized but not burnt.  The peppers might get really browned and you might want to remove them sooner if you don't like that taste.  I left mine in until everything was carmelized and the peppers were charred.  You decide.

My on-the-counter canister was empty - thank you DH!  He premixes his waffle mix in a large plastic container and he had emptied out my canister so needed to refill.  My flour storage bins in my always too small pantry!

I keep two 5 gallon containers of flour in my pantry plus a 5 gallon buckets of whole wheat kernels in the pantry in my kitchen and then many buckets of w/w berries in the basement storage along with many other grains and seeds.....nope, not Morman but I've always believed in being prepared!

I made the dough up in the food processor per instructions below.  Sorry, no pictures of that being done but because I could use the processor I thought this would be a less messy process which it was.  I like to add seasonings to my pizza dough so there is some seasoned salt and a mix of peppers in the dough.  I set it to rise......here's the recipe....

Pizza Dough

by

Mark Bittman

3 cups all purpose or bread flour

2 tsp. instant yeast

2 tsp. coarse kosher or sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling

2 T. olive oil

1 cup warm water

1.  Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor.  Turn the machine on and add 1 cup of warm water and the oil through the feed tube.

2.  Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch.  If it is dry, add another tablespoon or two of water and process for another 10 seconds.

3.  Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for a few seconds for a smooth, rounded dough ball.  Put the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let rise for 1-2 hours.

4.  When the dough is ready, form it into a ball and divide it into 2 or more pieces if you like; roll each piece into a round ball.  Put each ball on a lightly floured surface, sprinkle with a little flour, and cover with plastic wrap or a towel.  Let rest until they puff slightly, about 20 minutes.  Proceed with adding your favorite toppings.

My toaster oven is set at 120 degrees with a towel on top. The usual way I like to proof yeast breads.  I waited and looked forward to the dough being big and fluffy in about an hour or so......I waited and then I waited and then I waited!  It was getting late and it was clear this dough was not going to be pizza that night!  Take-out saved the day!  I put the bowl in the refrigerator and it stayed there until the next early evening.  I took the bowl out of the refrigerator about an hour before I needed it and let it set to warm up.  I rolled the whole recipe out on a floured cutting board and put onto a peel for decorating.

Dough on the peel with the roasted tomatoes on top along with Margarita pepperoni sliced on the diagonal.  Plenty of oil from the tomatoes so no need to add any extra oils - just spread the oil around with a spoon to cover the outside edges.

Added fresh basil from the garden along with sliced black olives and a sprinkling of pizza seasonings.

I cut open a package of vacuum sealed mozzarella cheese that I had in the freezer since last November!  Vacuum sealers are the most wonderful machines (another topic for another day).  I buy mozzarella in super size bags from Sam's (like Costco) and then I package it up, seal and freeze for when I'll need it.  This cheese was as fresh as the day I bought it - soft and tasty!

Pizza ready to go in the oven on my preheating (500 degrees)  pizza stone to be baked.

Bake for 15 minutes and remove to a cutting board - delicious!

The dough crust was good, a little thicker and heavier than my usual pizzas but that's probably more a product of me not rolling the dough out thin enough - all fixable next time.   I guess my favorite all time crusts on a pizza are crisp and thin and I usually grill them on the barbecue.  I had a new pizza stone I had bought from Forno Bravo (http://www.fornobravo.com/pizza-stone/index.html#pizza_stone) many months ago and I wanted to finally give it a try.  Stone is wonderful but the pizza almost drips off the edges so next time I need to make sure not to make the dough quite so large or roll it more in a rectangle shape.

All things considered this pizza was delicious and I'll use the recipe again but I'll just plan ahead next time!