ADVENTURES IN PIZZA-MAKING (WITH A PIZZA RECIPE)
I’ve always loved to cook, as you can see from some of the cooking/food-related posts I’ve made in the past… but I’ve never really tried my hand at baking. I don’t know what it is… maybe it’s the supplies we got from Gourmet Warehouse so I actually have the tools/pans/etc that I need to bake, or what… but I’ve been on a real cooking/baking kick lately. So bear with me as my blog swings between cooking posts, baking posts, Twilight, and surfing this week (I’m heading to Tofino for the long weekend). Haha.
As you can see, my blog has no real direction or niche. I can’t pick just one topic. Hope you don’t mind 
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So, adventures in pizza making! In university I used to make homemade pizza quite a bit, but due to being a starving, broke student, I never really had the good ingredients I wanted to use to make it. One of my favourite foods in the whole world is pizza… so this weekend I figured… hey, why not?
First a disclaimer: Everyone has their own kind of pizza that they like. Personally, I like a thick, spicy sauce… with a medium-thin crust (not too thin, but not a deep dish crust either), and light on the cheese with lots of toppings and herbs. I tried to make this kind of pizza. I don’t recommend the recipes if you prefer a different kind. 
Recipes after the break in the comments section!
Making the Pizza Dough, based on a Mario Batali recipe
The secret to this fabulous pizza dough is white wine, and honey. It really makes a huge difference. Your first steps are to mix together the yeast, water, honey, salt, and olive oil.
Use good ingredients. I like to use a proper ’00′ pizza-specific flour (NOT a pizza mix, those are no good), good olive oil, a decent white wine, and good honey. Why this particular honey? Well, my uncle actually makes this honey himself on his farm near Fort St. John! It’s called Rose Prairie Honey. It’s REALLY delicious. He always sends us a batch every year.
You’ll also notice the pizza stone. This is key to a good pizza as well. It keeps the crust crispy but moist. I have a ceramic one but any kind of pizza stone works well. If you don’t have a pizza stone, any tray will work fine. Knead the dough till firm but pliable and set it aside to rise. (Excuse Allan’s hairy hands in the photo… haha!)
Making the Pizza Sauce, my secret recipe that I adapted from an Italian pizza book
Again, good quality ingredients are key for a good pizza sauce. I like to use Italian tomatoes and tomato paste… perhaps I’m crazy but it seems to make it taste more authentic. I also like to use real chunks of tomatoes… home grown is best but not necessary. The secret here is the fennel seed. It really makes it taste good. Again, high quality parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) is important. If you have a mortar and pestle it makes it easier to mix together the spices.
Saute the onion, garlic and celery together in the olive oil. Combine the ingredients for the pizza sauce, follow the recipe below. Make sure you add the fresh herbs at the end, only when you are ready to use the sauce so that they don’t wilt.
Putting your pizza together
Now that the dough has risen, you can roll it out thin and place it on a lightly floured pizza stone. Spread the pizza sauce on thickly.
Put all your ingredients on top! We used thinly sliced tomatoes from the garden. I like a mix of homegrown heirloom tomatoes. We also used some pineapple, and chorizo salami from Granville Island, sliced up like pepperoni. DELICIOUS! Chop or tear up some fresh basil and grate with parmesan over when serving. We tried some variations, even using fresh mozzarella (Bocconcini) which was also good.
We gobbled up about 3 different pizzas and called it a night. I’m really happy with how they turned out. Savoury, full of flavour, crispy, and a mild spice. Yum! Let me know if you try the recipe and tell me what you think! Let me know if you have any questions!
Tags: best pizza dough recipe, best pizza sauce recipe, ceramic, Granville Island, Italian, pizza, Pizza recipe, stone, tomato sauce, tomatoes
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September 1st, 2009 at 12:37 pm
BEST PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE, Based on a Mario Batali recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon local flavourful honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 1/2 cups ’00′ Pizza flour
How to Do It
Mix white wine, water and yeast in a large bowl until dissolved. Add the honey, salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil and mix well to combine. Add 1 cup of the pizza flour and mix with a wooden spoon until it becomes a loose batter. Add 2 more cups of the flour and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, incorporating as much flour as you can with the wooden spoon.
Bring the dough together by hand and turn out onto a floured board or marble surface. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes, until dough is smooth and firm. Place in a clean, lightly-oiled bowl, using remaining tablespoon of oil and cover with a towel. Let rise in the warmest part of the kitchen for 45 minutes.
Cut the dough into 3 or 4, and knead into little rounds for smaller pizzas. Or you can roll out one big pizza. Rest for 15 mins.
September 1st, 2009 at 12:38 pm
BEST PIZZA SAUCE (THICK AND SPICY), based on a secret recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup finely chopped up onions or shallots
- 1/4 cup very finely chopped celery
- 2 minced garlic gloves
- 2 cups tomato sauce (Passata, Italian recommended)
- 6 oz tube or can tomato paste (Italian recommended, if using a high concentration tomato paste, only use half)
- 1/4 teaspoon medium hot habanero pepper
- 4 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
- 2 teaspoons dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- 1 Bay leaf
- A few leaves fresh basil
- A sprig of fresh rosemary
- A sprig of fresh flat leaf or normal parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
How to Make It
1. Use a saucepan or frying pan, and melt the oil and the butter over medium-high heat. Wait until the butter starts foaming and then add the onion/shallots, garlic and celery. Sauté until very soft.
2. Add the tomato sauce, paste. Mix in the sugar, bay leaf, and salt and pepper. Make sure it is nice and smooth.
3. Grind up the dry herbs and habanero pepper in a mortar and pestle, or chop finely on a cutting board. Add them to the sauce.
4. Add the cheese, and stir in well. Let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes.
5. When ready to use, add the fresh herbs and stir into the sauce. Take the pan off the heat. Spread onto the pizza dough!
September 1st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
I’ll have to try making some pizza one of these days. First need to get a baking pan lol.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Holy crap, Allie! That’s outstanding, and kudos on all the local ingredients, loads straight out of your garden and everything! You guys are amazing! They look AMAZING, and bet they were the tastiest in the world! Wow!
September 1st, 2009 at 10:03 pm
That sounds really good. How long do you cook it in the oven for? What degree also?
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:31 am
Wow, you seriously and freakin’ impress me with your mad cooking/baking skills! I always want to eat so bad after seeing your pictures.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:50 am
I just ate lunch and this post made me HUNGRY for a pizza (ties in with my weakness for fine italian food) – I half-heartedly curse you for such a delicious looking/sounding post! Home-made pizza is the absolute best, and I noticed a lot of cross over in the recipe I got from my mom with yours (though yours is higher-end, and something I’d aim for now)
When you say spicy sauce, do you mean like flavorful spicy, or hot-oh-god-the-fire spicy? I’m a fan of the former, if it weren’t apparent..
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:46 pm
That looks delicious! I’m definitely going to try that recipe. I usually try to master whole wheat dough, but it never turns out right.
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Thanks everyone!
Tawcan, if you don’t have a baking pan, you can use a cooking sheet instead and make a rectangular pizza. If you don’t have one of those, you can use parchment paper on aluminum foil… just put the pizza in the oven closer to the top of the element so that the bottom crust doesn’t burn easily.
Twi fanatic, depends on the size of the pizza… for these ones I used 475 degrees Fahrenheit, approximately 10-15 minutes. You need to watch it carefully… bake until the crust is browned and the cheese is bubbly!
Adelaide, thanks missy!
Mike, thank you… it’s flavourful spicy, not super hot at all. The recipe I gave is for a mild heat. Personally I like everything really spicy, so I add more habanero pepper… but I adjusted the recipe for a more general taste
My suggestion when making the sauce is to add a tiny bit of the habanero pepper… stir it for 5 minutes and then taste the sauce. You can always add more heat if you need it.
Nikki, definitely try it out! Try using half whole wheat flour and half pizza flour. It should still turn out good and it’ll be a bit more healthy with more texture
September 3rd, 2009 at 12:05 am
White wine and honey? Interesting. Might have to try it…
September 8th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Hi Allie,
This post is great and love the tasty pics =) Tyler, (www.tyleringram.com) has been talking about your pizza post since he read it. I have finally gotten myself online with my own personal blog which I have been wanting to start for ages! I have some time off of work this week so I am going to attempt to make your pizza recipe so thanks for the extra recipe details in the comments section. I will let you know how our version turns out….
September 10th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Let me know how it turns out Robyn!
November 10th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
I am about to try this out.
And I have the same pizza stone that you have. I bake my bread on it and it will actually be the first time I use it for pizze
How do you clean it afterwards (as we mustn’t use water) ?
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