Pizza

Confessions of a Mad Scientist/Cook

Originally published Jan. 27, 2023

If any part of the recipe is too squished on your device, try rotating it to landscape orientation

So, today I planned to make pizza. Normally, I would go and buy pizza dough from the nearby Superstore, but because of snow, I did not feel like removing it from my car and driving on not-quite-cleaned roads. Not to be deterred, I decided to prepare my own dough, but it wouldn’t be fun if I did it the normal way, without a bit of experimentation. So here is what I did:

First, I prepared the sponge (mix 1.5 tsp dry active yeast and a pinch of sugar into 1.5 cups lukewarm water, let sit for 5 minutes until it starts foaming, then mix in 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2.5 cups (350 g) of all-purpose flour).  The recipe calls for the sponge to rest in a warm (80°F/30°C) place for about 1 ½ hour.  Normally, I would warm my oven, and place it there, but decided to use my Instant Pot. It has three setting for making Yoghurt; the lowest keeps the temperature at 33°C. So, I turned it on, put about 1 cm of warm water in the pot and placed my mixer bowl with the sponge inside the pot. As a cover for the pot, I used just a big plate to keep the dough from drying.

It worked, proving took less than one hour, and the sponge was very light and foamy. I deflated it, and, in the mixer, added 280 g (2 cups) flour and 2.5 tsp salt, mixing with the hook until well kneaded (about 5 minutes). I coated the dough with some olive oil and back to the Instant Pot it went. Again, it took about an hour to rise to more than double the size.

I deflated it again, and let it rest for about half an hour as I wasn’t ready to bake. You can also let it rest in the fridge overnight; it will make your pizza crust fluffier.

Anyway, it seems that experimenting with the Instant Pot was not a bad idea.

At this point I realized that I made dough for two pizzas. Well, no loss – after baking pizza I baked the other half of the dough as a baguette. We will have it for breakfast.

Just to have a complete recipe:

Spread the dough onto a pizza baking sheet covered with oiled parchment paper.

Pizza Sauce

for 2 large pizzas (really simple):

Mix one 298 mL can tomato sauce with one156-mL can tomato paste. The can sizes force it to be for two pizzas. Add 2 tbsp each dried basil and oregano, 4 clove garlic (squeezed), 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (secret ingredient), salt and pepper to taste. Optionally, add hot red pepper flakes. Mix well and spread half on the pizza. Freeze the other half for future use.

Toppings:

Grated Mozzarella cheese, sliced pepperoni,¹ green peppers (cut into small pieces), ½ red onion, half-slices separated into individual half rings, sliced mushrooms.

Bake

pizza in 450°F oven for 12 minutes, rotate by 180°, and continue baking 3-5 minutes.

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Footnotes

1. It is hard to find good pepperoni for pizza. I found that one made by Marcangelo Foods in Concord ON is very good, and is available in METRO (near the stand where they sell pizza) and in Walmart. I also remember that in the past we used Bridgford pepperoni that is no longer available in Canada, but may be available in the US ↩︎

Ingredients (click on the arrow to expand) just to have them in one place.

	For dough:
1.5 cups	Luke warm water
1.5 tsp	Active dry yeast
2 tbsp	Olive Oil (preferably EVOO)
350 g	All purpose flour (for sponge)
280 g	All purpose flour (for second kneading)
2.5 tsp	Salt
	Olive oil to coat the dough

	For Sauce:
one 298-mL can	tomato sauce
one 156-mL can	tomato paste
2 tbsp	dried oregano
2 tbsp	dried basil
4 cloves	garlic (squeezed)
2 tbsp	Worcestershire sauce (secret ingredient)
Optional	hot red pepper flakes.
To taste	salt and pepper