What sets it apart from other pizza? It's all about the dough... It's a hand-tossed thin crusted pizza made from high-gluten bread flour that has a crunch to it, but also soft enough to fold and eat. They say that the mineral content of the New York area has something to do with how the dough comes out – it probably does because as close as I can get it, it's not quite the same.
Real New York Pizza also is pretty basic – dough, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese – NO CHEDDAR!!!! They're also much larger than your typical pizzas – a pizza is usually 18-19 inches. Of course you can add other toppings like pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, etc. I believe another New York secret is to drizzle the dough lightly with olive oil before putting the sauce on and directly after putting the sauce on, lightly sprinkle a little oregano before adding the cheese and toppings. Most New York pizzerias also have oregano, granulated garlic, red peppers and grated parmessan cheese on the counter or table to add to your pizza.
Homemade Pizza
Pizza Dough
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 c warm water
2 ½ – 3 c bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 ½ Tbl extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp sugar
In a large bowl, mix yeast, water, olive oil, salt and sugar, stir well to proof. After about 5 minutes, add half of the flour and mix well. Add all of the remaining flour, except ½ c and mix well with your hands. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead dough for about 5 minutes, adding additional flour as needed. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled 2 qt bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hr.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees, place pizza stone on bottom rack of oven (if you don't have one you can use a round pizza/cookie sheet).
Divide dough into 2 portions and form into balls. On a lightly floured surface, shape as desired and roll out to a thickness of about ¼ inch. Transfer to a pizza peel (wooden board with a little bit of corn meal on it), top with toppings, transfer to the preheated pizza stone and bake until crispy and golden brown, about 12-18 minutes (depending on toppings). Remove from the oven with the pizza peel and serve immediately.
Sour Dough Pizza Dough
1 c sour dough starter
1 c warm water
2 ½ – 3 c bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 ½ Tbl olive oil
In a large bowl, mix starter, water, olive oil and salt. Add half of the flour and mix well. Add all of the remaining flour, except ½ c and mix well with your hands. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead dough for about 5 minutes, adding additional flour as needed. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled 2 qt bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hr.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees, place pizza stone on bottom rack of oven (if you don't have one you can use a round pizza/cookie sheet).
Divide dough into 2 portions and form into balls. On a lightly floured surface, shape as desired and roll out to a thickness of about ¼ inch. Transfer to a pizza peel (wooden board with a little bit of corn meal on it), top with toppings, transfer to the preheated pizza stone and bake until crispy and golden brown, about 12-18 minutes (depending on toppings). Remove from the oven with the pizza peel and serve immediately.
Pizza Sauce (see Sept 4, 2011 article, or try this...)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 Tbl oregano
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
In a medium size bowl combine all ingredients and mix well.
Now you've got your dough and your sauce – the rest is up to you. Again, the nice thing about making food yourself is that you can add whatever ingredients you like – extra sauce, extra cheese, anchovies, whatever you want. If you're from Pennsylvania, you'll probably want to add some cheddar cheese to your pizza. I've got friends from Japan that have put toppings together that I never would have thought of – but the combinations were delicious. Remember that the more toppings you add (or the wetter the toppings are) the longer your pizza will need to bake. So have fun and experiment...
Topping Ideas
Mozzarella Cheese
Cheddar Cheese
Feta Cheese
Soy Cheese
Tofu
Spinach
Garlic
Onions – Red, White, Yellow or Brown
Mushrooms
Pineapple
Black, Green or Kalamata Olives
Red/Green/Yellow/Orange Bell Peppers
Banana Peppers
Jalapeno Peppers
Artichoke Hearts
Capers
Zucchini
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Pesto
Ham
Pepperoni
Sausage
Ground Beef
Canadian Bacon
Bacon
Chicken
Anchovies
Veggie Burger
Veggie Bacon
Comparison
Price of Homemade Cheese Pizza - $1.75 (made with yeast – sour dough would cost less)
Price of DiGiorno Cheese Pizza - $6.99
Preparation Time for Homemade Pizza – About 30 minutes (not including rising time)
Preparation Time for DiGiorno Pizza – About 20-25 minutes, depending on how you like your crust
Ingredients in Homemade Pizza – Flour, water, yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil, mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, garlic, corn meal
Ingredients in DiGiorno Pizza – Flour, water, mozzarella cheese, tomato paste, sugar, vegetable oil, white corn meal, grated cheese blend, salt, sodium bicarbonate, yeast, sodium stearoyl lactylate, sodium aluminum phosphate, datem, spice, garlic, ascorbic acid, yellow corn meal
DiGiorno claims that one pizza is 6 servings, so that's what I used as a comparison...
Nutritional Data for Homemade Pizza
Calories 290
Total Fat 8g
Saturated Fat 4g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 24mg
Sodium 430mg
Total Carbohydrates 38g
Dietary Fiber 2g
Sugars 2g
Protein 14g
Vitamin A 6%
Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 31%
Iron 15%
Nutritional Data for DiGiorno Pizza
Calories 320
Total Fat 11g
Saturated Fat 5g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 25mg
Sodium 840 mg
Total Carbohydrates 39g
Dietary Fiber 3g
Sugars 8g
Protein 16g
Vitamin A 8%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 20%
Iron 8%
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