BAKING PARTNERS CHALLENGE #10 – PIZZA

We are a group of home bakers helping each other to achieve baking perfection.  Baking partners was begun by Swathi at Zesty South Indian Kitchen.   In order to achieve the best results, a perfect recipe and the right techniques are required.  We are a small group of home bakers, who love to bake and want to learn more about the tips and secrets of baking and baking well.  We are planning to try out recipes from books/magazines and cooking shows.  Every member gets a chance to present their choice of recipe and share important points with the rest of the group. The main purpose of this group is to learn the techniques, critic procedures if there are ways to improve and to eat delicious food.

THIS MONTH WE ARE MAKING NEW YORK STYLE PIZZA AND SAUCE – YAY!  I chose Archana of Tangy Minds recipe because we love thin or original crusts. Recipe adapted from SeriousEats
Ingredients for the thin crust:
22 1/2 ounces (about 4 1/2 cups) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
15 ounces lukewarm water
Ingredients for making its NY Style pizza sauce
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes or Fresh Tomatoes.
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 medium cloves garlic, grated
1 teaspoon dried oregano
pinch red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
2 six-inch sprigs fresh basil with leaves attached
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and split in half
1 teaspoon sugar
Toppings:
Any sliced or chopped veggies of your choice such as capscium, sliced onions, mushrooms. Also you can add paneer or sliced jalapenos or even fruit such as pineapple. I used very thinly sliced mushrooms.
Any Meat as you like. Preferable pre-cooked Chicken pieces if you want. It is optional. I used super thin pepperoni just under the cheese.
CHEESE – 1 to 2 cups (depends on the size of the pizza) grated cheese – Parmesan or Mozzarella Cheese.
For Making the sauce:

• Pulse the tomatoes and their juice in food processor / Mixie until pureed, or puree with hand blender. Puree should not be completely smooth, but should have no chunks larger than 1/16 of an inch. Set tomatoes aside.
• Combine butter and oil in medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and large pinch salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil sprigs, onion halves, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to lowest setting (bubbles should barely be breaking the surface), and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by 1/2, about 1 hour. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool and store in covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

For Making the thin crust pizza:

• Combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in bowl of food processor or in a bowl. Pulse 3 to 4 times until incorporated if you have food processor. otherwise mix well together with the help of the whisk . Add olive oil and water. Run food processor until mixture forms ball that rides around the bowl above the blade, about 15 seconds. Continue processing 15 seconds longer. Those who don’t have food processor. try it with hand mixer or stand mixer or knead it with your hands and how are you kneading like chappati/roti dough.
• Transfer dough ball to lightly floured surface and knead once or twice by hand until smooth ball is formed. It should pass the windowpane test. Divide dough into three even parts and place each in a covered quart-sized deli container or in a zipper-lock freezer bag. Place in refrigerator and allow to rise at least one day, and up to 5.
• At least two hours before baking, remove dough from refrigerator and shape into balls by gathering dough towards bottom and pinching shut. Flour well and place each one in a separate medium mixing bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise at warm room temperature until roughly doubled in volume.
• 1 hour before baking, Preheat oven to 400°F. Turn single dough ball out onto lightly flour surface. Gently press out dough into rough 8-inch circle, leaving outer 1-inch higher than the rest. Gently stretch dough by draping over knuckles into a 12 to 14-inch circle about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer to pizza pan.
• Spread approximately 2/3 cup of sauce evenly over surface of crust, leaving 1/2 to 1-inch border along edge. Add toppings of your choice evenly and spread 1/3 of cheese over sauce evenly.
• Bake until cheese is melted with some browned spots and crust is golden brown and puffed, 10 to 15 minutes or varies depends on your oven.
• Transfer to cutting board, slice, and serve immediately. Repeat with remaining two dough balls, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.