3/25/09 | Leftovers: Homemade Pizza
[ Currently Eating: Raisin Oatmeal ]
I’ve been on a bit of a pizza kick lately. That’s homemade pizza, including the crust. Up until now, I’ve had a difficult time with making the pizza crust taste somewhat decent. But last week, I received a pizza stone as a gift. Cheap Eaters should note that you can probably go the Alton Brown way and buy safe ceramic tile as a pizza stone stand-in for much cheaper. I just never got around to it.
Anyhow, the difference in the crust is pretty striking. Here’s a slice of leftover BBQ chicken pizza, with ingredients in the style of California Pizza Kitchen. This homemade pizza thing is still new to me, so I’m experimenting with the toppings and such. On this one, it’s grilled chicken with BBQ sauce, red onion and cilantro. I omit almost all the cheese except a sprinkling of parm. Also, I found that it tastes better to me if the onions are pre-cooked. I also found out not to put the cilantro on until the pizza comes out - it’s pretty darn hard to sprinkle stuff into a hot oven, haha.
This one turned out pretty well, and I’ll probably make it again. I’m going to be keeping a blob of homemade bread dough in the fridge at all times so we can make a quick pizza when needed.
March 25th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Do you make your own pizza dough, buy from a grocery store or buy from a local pizza shop?
If you make your own, I’d love to hear the recipe.
March 25th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I haven’t made homemade pizza for ages because I always end up with a crust that’s too soft and toppings that are undercooked. I agree with you about pre-cooking the vegetable toppings for the best results. They don’t sell pizza stones in Japan so that’s out the window.
If you have a bread machine, you can whip up quick, fresh pizza dough in it any time. I’ve done this for calzone as well as pizza on the occasion that I have the time and effort to make it. The bread machine is the greatest invention ever for saving time when making anything that requires dough (including cinnamon rolls).
March 25th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
I make my own every week but make dough once a month and keep 3 weeks worth in the freezer. And I haven’t ever bothered with a pizza stone though I’m sure I’d get a more authentic crust with one. It’s definitely cheaper than delivery but I still crave a Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust every once in a while.
My dough recipe is: 2 3/4 cup warm water, 2 tsp yeast, enough bread flour to make a non-sticky dough, 4 TBL Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 TBL salt, 1 TBL sugar. One rise and then divide into 4 equal parts. Freeze 3 and roll out one for pizza.
I can toss the dough but I always end up rolling the thing out anyway. And I always pre-bake my crust for 9 min. before adding toppings and squish down the crust bubbles in the center of the crust every 3 min on pre-bake. So it’s probably not the most authentic thing in the world but it still tastes good, darn it!
March 26th, 2009 at 7:45 am
If you have access to an outdoor grill, just throw the rolled out dough on it until the bottom is done. Flip it over, quickly put your toppings on and cover, if possible until the toppings are done and the cheese is melted. Precooking the toppings a little sounds good as it doesn’t take long for the cheese to melt. A little char on the bottom is a good thing!
March 26th, 2009 at 10:13 am
@frank - I make my own dough, a really basic no-knead recipe of water, flour, yeast and salt. Lately I put a little olive oil in it too. I’m a novice at making pizza still though.
@orchid - I’ve considered a bread machine, but I’m not sure we have room for it since space in the kitchen and cupboards is at such a premium. I previously also got the softer crust too, before the stone. I wonder if they might have ceramic tiles in japan that are safe for cooking use.
@kirk - Freezing the pizza dough is next on my list to try. Your dough recipe sounds very similar to the one I’ve been making, I think I’ve been making a 1/2 recipe of the one you do. I haven’t put sugar in it yet, but I’m going to give that a try too. I also don’t toss the dough and just roll it. I don’t pre-bake, but I haven’t been using any sauce really so it hasn’t affected it as much. But yes I know what you’re talking about with the crust bubbles! I had to poke them down because the toppings were falling off.
@katherineb - I’ve thought about the grill, and we do have one. Actually, this might be a good way to do it, since we can grill year round here in Calif.
April 30th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
After you roll it out, pierce tiny holes all over the dough with a fork…it will save you from having to do the “three minute bubble-popping shuffle.”