This pizza has SO many calories, I’m not even joking.

But it was definately worth it.

I used a Garlic and herb pizza dough recipe. I was pretty happy with it, though I wish I had let it rise a bit more before finally applying the toppings. I like to let my dough rest a bit after Iv’e rolled it out.

The pizza you see here has Fresh mozzarella, Black olives, Proscuitto di Parma, Pepperoni and fresh shaved Parmagiano Reggiano and a simple tomato sauce.

Here is the recipe I used for the Pizza dough as it reads on Great chefs.com

1 envelope (2-1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2-1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup fine-ground White cornmeal
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
2-1/2 to 3-1/2 cups unbleached white flour

To prepare the pizza dough: In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water with the sugar. After about 10 minutes, stir inneverbashfulwithbutter.comhttp://www.neverbashfulwithbutter.com the salt, cornmeal, 3 tablespoons of the flour, and oil. Gradually add the rest of the flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until a stiff dough has formed. Place the dough on a floured board and knead it for several minutes, adding only enough additional flour to keep the dough from sticking. When the dough is smooth, transfer it to a bowl that has been brushed with olive oil. To prevent a skin from forming, brush the top of the dough with additional olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, away from drafts, until double in bulk, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Punch down the dough and knead once more. Let the dough rise again for about 40 minutes. Punch down the dough. If it is sticky, knead in a bit more flour.

I know, the pizza dough doesnt call for herbs or garlic, but that doesnt mean you cant add it!

I added about a quarter cup of fresh herbs often used for Italian dishes. Try Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Basil, Parsley/cilantro, sage or any other herb mentioned in Simon and Garfunkle’s song-”Scarborough Fair”

Also, add some minced garlic and garlic powder to the mix. I usually use a lot of it, since I really like the garlicky flavour, but just a sprinkle will do.

Add all the herbs and garlic to the flour before you mix the flour into the liquid mixture. This ensures even distribution throughout the dough.

You can either pre-bake your pizza crust, or you can top it first, depending on your preferences. I recommend cooking on a pizza stone or on a round pizza pan in an oven with a pizza stone or tiles in it. The oven will bake the pizza more evenly this way, and baking directly on the stone will create a crisp bottom crust. Turn the temperature up to 375 or 400 depending on your individual oven’s predilection to cook hot or cold, and in 12-20 minutes later you’ll have yourself a delicious pizza.

Pizza be with you!

-A.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 12:01 am and is filed under January 2007. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.