Artful Food...

The Best Pizza Dough Recipe at home

Simple and delicious... this recipe has worked best for me and everyone who has tried it, loves it!

But before I post this recipe I must talk about my favourite Pizza joints.  First of all Windsor, Ontario has the best pizza and we all know it here in Essex County! Capri is my personal favourite! The crust, cheese and sauce rock!  My fav ingredients to order is mushroom, pepperoni and green olive. Mmmmmmm...... drooling is happening!

Someone else agrees with me....
http://www.foodtv.ca/blog/archive/2007/09/13/guest-blogger-windsor-pizza.aspx

Grimaldi's

http://www.grimaldis.com/   
Love this place! Situated under the Brooklyn Bridge this tight quartered family style restauant borders on rustic cafeteria, in only the best way though!
We waited in line (in the rain) for about 1/2 an hour.  The line was long but it seemed to move pretty quickly.  People wait to get into this place no matter what. Thank goodness we were protected by the sparse trees but either way we were there and we weren't leaving until we got some of these famous fire baked pizzas. There are no reservations and depending on your party size also depends on how quickly you get in. If you go as a big group split up into smaller parties and plan to sit apart if you want to get in.  Tables in the middle are set up in long family style arrangment. My husband Dean and I sat across from each other at the end of the long table that sat some 20 people. Plan to get gently bumped by fast moving waiters and other patrons making their way to the one small shared bathroom which also often has a line up.  I dare to guess that half of the people waiting for the bathroom could be there just to wash their hands and check out the amazing fire fuelled pizza oven that pumps out several pizzas per minute. It's like a fast pace old fashion machine! And the smell.... mmmmm.... the smokey, bon-firey, cheesey pizza smell. Like nothing else!

And the price is right. 2 pizzas and wine came to about 60 bucks!  Two other past and present fans.... Frank Sinatra and Mayor Guiliani!

B & T Supreme Pizza NYC

So.... if you want to have a kick a-- pizza in one of my favourite places in the world ..... then you have to visit B & T Supreme Pizza in NYC!!! I found it one day by mistake. My husband was working there and I was there for a visit and since he was working I was exploring.  I was on the upper east side checking out some of the museums and shops and I hit Lexingtion at 86th.... hunger was consuming me. I was crossing the street to catch the subway back to Chelsea and a smell I could not ignore hit me like a wall of deliciousness!  A hot garlicky, cheesey, doughy, tomato saucey wall! I entered into this small unassuming pizza joint which housed no more than a few stools thrown up against a fully mirrored wall with shallow counters for chowing down.  Hot chili flakes confettied the black counters where patrons were sardined next to each other balancing on one foot & one butt cheek slurping down the floppy thin crust cheesy goodness! I wasn't sure how I was going to eat this 1/4 of a pizza pie slice... it was bigger than my head! But I knew I could not leave this little hole in the wall without a piece of this lovely smelling pie!  As I sat on the train back to the apartment all noses turned to my greasy delight.  The white paper bag that housed my melty goodness was spotty with grease giving me away to the smell that consumed the subway car.... I was the culprit to the now growling stomachs including my own. Eyeballs rolling in my direction... I couldn't get off that train fast enough! I needed to eat the still piping hot pizza and I didn't care where! I jumped of the train, ran up the stairs, dodged the crowds and sneaked behind the bars of scaffolding and out of the foot traffic. Grease dripped from my chin as well dressed, fast moving New Yorkers passed by and I didn't care who was watching.

So now for my pizza dough.

What you'll need:

1 pkg of regular rise yeast

1/2 cup beer  (room temp)

2/3 cup really warm water  (almost hot)

2 tbls honey

2 1/2 -3 cups of flour ( I use half good quality white flour & 1/2 semolina flour mixed and combined)

1 tspn salt

In a glass bowl (or 4 cup measuring cup) put the honey, beer and really warm water. Stir & let sit until foam gets thick on top. ( I test the waters, so to speak and if it doesn't feel like warm bath water I set the glass bowl in a bigger steal bowl with really hot tap water so that the outside temp rises enough that it will help the yeast become active. (Use your finger to test this temp- it doesn't have to be hot just quite warm.... too hot and you'll kill the yeast. If it takes a few attemps.... don't worry just pitch and start again. You'll get it soon enough!)

Foam will grow within about 5 minutes. ( think beer foam!)

Meanwhile, mix about 2 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt in another bowl. 

(at this point pre-heat your oven to about 150-200 degrees. You can also use your microwave oven to do this part but you must take a mug or small bowl of hot water and set to a minute or so to pre-heat. Do not ever try to pre-heat a microwave empty unless you have a convection oven that has a built in pre-heat setting)

 When foam has appeared and you are ready, mix all together (wet and dry ingredients) & add more flour as neaded. You want to need the dough so that it is soft, elastic but not that parts of the dough are separating from the ball and sticking to your hands. So I sprinkle some of the flour on the surface that you will be neading it on.  You want to be able to handle it without sticking but not so dry that  it doesn't have any noticable moisture. Roll into a nice ball and oil lightly with olive oil (enough that it won't stick to bowl) set in bowl, turn off your oven, add a bowl of warm/ hot tap water which will keep it warm and moist and leave until risen twice in size (45 minutes to a couple of hours). I like to cover the dough in the bowl loosely with tea towl or tin foil so that it doesn't dry out.

Once it has risen:

Punch down roll in ball, ziplock & freeze or.... roll out into size of pie you want. I like to roll out fairly thin and fold over edges and pinch to make an edge so sauce, cheese and ingredients don't drip over the sides.  I also put finger dimples in the centre all over so that my crust doesn't get really thick.

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  Make sure you put your crust on a pizza stone or cookie sheet before the sauce, cheese and ingredients otherwise, it will be to heavy to move and will rip.
  
  
  

BBQ

In nicer weather I like to roll out my dough and BBQ it. I watch it carefully but get a crust on it and then turn it. When it's got a little crust on the other side, pull it off the BBQ and put your toppings on and then back on the BBQ med/low and shut the lid to cook your toppings. I usually have meat that has to be cooked so I will put it on the BBQ on top of NO heat and turn on the other burners that aren't directly under the pizza.

More info is on-line so check it out!

Have fun and ENJOY!!! YUM!!!!

I'd love to hear of your endeavours! Good or bad.... doesn't matter! Making mistakes often makes better dishes! Please share!!!

Here's more...

http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/jamie-oliver/jamie-at-home/series-2/episode-10-pizza_p_4.html

Wild Oil of Oregano

This is not the brand I use but as long as it is "Wild" Oil of Oregano

& you are getting it from a reliable source, it'll do the trick.

I get mine at Pure Nature Nutrition Centres (link below)

http://www.purenaturenutrition.com/site/

Attention:  This product is for health and medicinal uses only. Not for cooking.

Ok... so your wondering what the heck is Wild Oil of Oregano?? Well, I'm going to tell you! It's wonderful! I used to get really sick at least two times a year with respitory and flu/cold symptoms (EVERY year) and it would last anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks!!! I'm under quite a bit of pressure which leads to stress which leads to low immunity and well you get the picture.... that's why I got sick so much. To top it off I work closely with the public so it was very difficult to avoid all those germs. Well, since I have been taking oil of oregano I have not been sick at all.

Now, it is quite strong. But near as bad tasting as Buckley's and we all know what that stuff tastes like....  I tell people to chase it with V8, at least until you're used to it. Water does the trick for me now that I'm used to it. The other thing the V8 or tomato juise does is, it makes it taste like pasta sauce. Yum!

When H1N1 was at it's peak of scariness(November(ish) 2009), my husband was notified that there were a few confirmed cases of H1N1 on his floor at work. My husband rarely gets sick... but he was coming down with something. Needless to say we were a little worried. (But you know men.... unless they are on the floor unable to move or feed themselves they do little about it.) He seemed to be getting worse after about 2 days and so I made him take the wild oil of oregano and chase it with V8 juice (which he hates by the way) but I pushed on. (3 times a day for 2 or three days). By the first day his symptoms seemed to almost completely dissappear even though the day before he felt and sounded like it was getting worse! By day three he was almost completely better. He is was a skeptic to say the least but by that second day he could not believe how great he felt. To this day Wild Oil of Oregano is part of my husband's daily regime.

My second story is short but amazing! I called a supplier of ours that we deal with on a weekly basis, her name is Francine. She sounded aweful! I asked if she was sick. She continued to tell me that she had been sick for a few weeks and couldn't seem to kick it and it seemed to be getting worse. I told her about the Wild Oil of Oregano & V8 and told her about what I had did with my husband. She said she'd give it a try. Three of four days later I called to check on an item I had ordered. She sounded a lot better so I asked how she was. She told me that she had gone to the doctor and he told her that she was on the verge of having bronchitus. A day after she took my advise and took the oil of oregano and V8 her symptoms seemed to reverse themselves! She was amazed and thanked me for sharing my home remedy. I was so happy to hear it helped!


I recommend Oil of Oregano to all my customers who come in to my store whom are sick or know someone who is.

http://www.purenaturenutrition.com/site/

http://www.homeremediesweb.com/oil_of_oregano_health_benefits.php

What are the Benefits of Oil of Oregano?
The ancient Greeks were one of the first people to recognize oregano oil for its health benefits and medicinal qualities. It is known to be a potent antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic oil that can reduce pain and inflammation and effectively fight off infections. Some of the specific benefits of Oil of Oregano are:
Destroying organisms that contribute to skin infections and digestive problems.
Strengthening the immune system.
Increasing joint and muscle flexibility.
Improving respiratory health.
...and much much more...!