Pizza Crust & A Dash More

 

Pizza Crust Tall Blonde Cookbook Recipe

Celebrity Chef Bobby Flay has posted his simple and perfect pizza crust recipe. Admittedly I can never resist a tweak so I always add A Dash More.

Using bread flour instead of all-purpose flour will give you a crispy crust and wonderfully filled with air bubbles and has a light chew without being gummy.  I added a link to my NoMato Red Sauce for those who are nightshade-intolerant (potato, tomato, eggplant, peppers, chilies) and craving a pizza but cannot abide the inflammation and indigestion.  NoMato Sauce is perfect for pizza or casseroles such as lasagne, although not recommended for a plate of standalone pasta as it does not adhere well. Happily, you cannot detect the lack of tomatoes.
Makes 2 10-inch pizza crusts.

DOUGH

3 1/2 cups bread flour, + extra for rolling
1 tea. sugar
1 envelope instant dry yeast
2 tea. salt
1 1/2 cups tepid water
olive oil

A DASH MORE

1 Tbl. fresh rosemary, finely diced
1 Tbl. fresh oregano, finely diced

Combine the bread flour, sugar, yeast, and salt and combine in a large bowl. Slowly add water and stir until the dough forms into a ball. Use of all water may not be necessary.  If the dough is sticky, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together in a solid ball.  You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook instead of hand mixing. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth firm ball, approx. 5 minutes.

Grease a large bowl with olive oil, add the dough ball, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm area to let it double in size, about 1 hour.  I have used a saucepan filled with hot water from the tap and placed the bowl on top to warm the dough.  Turn the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces.  Cover each with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rise for 30 minutes.

Roll out into 2 10-inch rounds and fill to your heart's delight.  I like to make a 3-Cheese Pizza using TALLBlonde's NoMato sauce, below:


Smear 3 tablespoons NoMato Sauce on each pizza dough round.
Place slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
Cover with shredded Mozzarella Cheese and shredded Gruyere (or Parmesan)
Slight drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Bake in a pre-heated 450-degree oven for approx. 20 minutes.  Remove from oven when bottom of crust begins to brown and sprinkle with a tablespoon of diced fresh flat leaf parsley.
Y U M !!