March 4, 2014 “Masterpizzas”

Picasso, Renoir, Monet, artists with different styles but all started their paintings with the same thing, a blank canvas.  A pizza dough can serve the same role.  It becomes the canvas for the toppings you “paint” on your dough. An article in the March issue of Martha Stewart Living, “Modern Masterpizzas” featured pies that were inspired by artists from Picasso to Pollack. These unique brightly colored canvases were the inspiration for the pizza course that became part of the Valentine’s Day menu.  Martha’s pizzas were abstract looking rectangular creations topped with everything from brussels sprouts and delicata squash to a slightly more conventional prosciutto and mozzarella pie.

Joe has always been quite the pizza master. His first job as a teenager was at the most popular pizza shop in the area where he worked his way up from dishwasher to pizza maker. One of his more surprising talents is spinning and throwing pizza dough. So I was certain he would be up to a pizza challenge. He has liked the dough that I have made for several years but decided to use the dough in Martha’s recipe. My dough uses unbleached all purpose flour, Martha’s dough uses bread flour and three times the amount of yeast in the recipe I use. I prefer instant dry yeast in all my pizza and bread recipes. Instant dry yeast does not need to be dissolved in warm water like active dry yeast and can be added with the other dry ingredients. Joe found the dough made with the bread flour tore easily. It definitely rose much more than the pizza dough I make. As Joe put it, dough made with bread flour is not a “spinning dough”. So he worked the dough into the pan, baked it a short time until he could remove the pan and allow the bottom of the crust to brown.

He made two different types of pizza for this occasion. One was topped with an assortment of mushrooms, cremini aka “baby bellas”, shiitake and oyster that were sauteed in butter, olive oil and garlic. After the pizza was removed from the oven, he scattered baby arugula leaves on top. The best of both worlds, pizza and salad.

The other pizza was topped with four Italian cheeses and pancetta.  Like bacon, pancetta originates from pork belly. Bacon is cured by both brining and smoking. Pancetta is cured with salt and pepper but not smoked. Pancetta is readily available these days, even in the “big box” stores. I rewrap it from the original packaging and store it in the freezer for moments like this. Bacon or prosciutto could be substituted for a slightly different flavor profile.

When that pie came out of the oven, he drizzled a little honey over the warm pizza. The saltiness of the pancetta was the perfect contrast with the honey. Honestly, I think I could have eaten  the whole pizza  but used a little restraint, knowing I needed to save my appetite for the many courses yet to come.

 

Martha’s Pizza Dough

Makes enough for three 12″ round pies

Ingredients

• 4c unbleached bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 1/2 t instant dry yeast, I use Fermipan 2 in 1
• 1 3/4c water at room temperature
• 2 1/4t coarse salt
• 1T extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing and bowl

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and yeast. Slowly add water, mixing with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Stir in salt and oil. The dough will be lumpy and raggedy. Brush with oil. Cover bowl with a dry kitchen towel and let rest 1 hour.
2. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and pat with flour. Continue to flour your hands as you work. Holding two opposite sides, pull dough until about a foot long, then fold back onto itself and pinch ends together. Repeat 4 more times, rotating dough each time to stretch alternate sides, until it feels smooth.
3. Place dough in a well-oiled large bowl; brush with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in refrigerator until doubled in bulk, at least 24 hours and up to 48 hours.
4. Turn out dough onto floured surface. Cut into 3 equal parts; form into balls. Brush with oil; cover. Let rest 1 hour.
5. Place dough on fists and use knuckles to begin stretching dough from middle, rotating it slightly as you work. Set on surface and continue to stretch from all sides to form a rough 10-by-14-inch rectangle. Dough may tear at this point, just pinch it back together if that occurs.
6. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled 12 round or 9-by-13 inch rimmed baking sheet. Pull edges to fill pan.

Wild Mushroom and Four Cheese Pizza  topped with Arugula

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1T olive oil
• 2T unsalted butter
• 8oz assorted mushrooms, about 3 cupes (Joe used porcini, oyster and shiitake)
• 1 1/2c shredded four cheese Italian blend.
• Baby arugula or other micro green
• One pizza crust from the preceding recipe

Directions

1. Place pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven if using. Preheat oven to 500°F.
2. Over medium high heat melt butter and olive oil in a sauté pan. Add mushrooms and cook until softened, 7-9 minutes.
3. Brush pizza crust with a thin coating of olive oil. Evenly sprinkle cheese over the crust. Top with the sautéed mushrooms.
4. Bake until cooked through, the crust should be golden on the edges and the cheese should be golden brown in spots, about 15 minutes. Joe bakes his pizza on the sheet for about 5 minutes, uses a pizza peel to remove the pan and bakes the pie directly on the pizza stone until it is done. This allows the bottom of the crust to brown nicely.
5. Sprinkle arugula or micro greens over the warm pizza. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.

Honey Drizzled Pancetta and Cheese Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 1/2c shredded four cheese blend or mozzarella
• Thinly sliced pancetta to cover the pizza
• Honey

Directions

1. Place pizza stone on bottom rack of oven if using. Preheat oven to 500°F.
2. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the crust. Bake for about five minutes or until it is easy to remove crust from the pan with a pizza peel. Return pizza to oven and continue to bake for another five minutes.
3. Layer pancetta over the cheese and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until crust is golden around the edges.
4. Remove pizza from oven with a pizza peel and slide pizza onto a cutting board. Lightly drizzle honey over the pancetta. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.