Anyone who knows me will have heard of my desire to create the perfect pizza (probably more times than they would have liked to). Its one of my biggest current goals in life, and I think I'm getting close!
Everybody's idea of the perfect pizza is different. Some like it thick, where as some like it thin... yadda yadda. If you're reading an article arrogant enough to claim the search for the perfect pizza, you've heard all this before. So instead of a full page of me telling you about the differences of one pizza from another (and therefore saving me from the research for the time being), I'll just tell you what MY perfect pizza would look like.
Starting from the bottom.. the very bottom: no corn meal! I was once guilty of using corn meal on my pizza, but that was at a time when I didn't put in the effort to preheat my pizza stone properly, and when I cooked inside in an oven that wouldn't get hot enough to burn cornmeal. Thats right, cornmeal burns, but aside from that its hard and it sticks in your teeth. Save the stuff for polenta and cornbread. I use regular all purpose flour, or whatever flour I happen to be using when working with the dough. The flour doesn't seem to burn until your pizza is burned with it, and your pizza slides off just as easy. And hey, you wont be picking cornmeal out of your molars for an hour, which is a convenient way to remind yourself of that delicious pizza you just had, but not all together attractive when your straining your jaw open so you can get that last digit of your index finger in there... you weirdo.
Next, I believe, is the dough. Pizza dough CAN have a myriad of treats laced into it, chili flakes, cheese, that package of italian seasoning you buy even though your italian grandmother would 'smacka you upside da head' if she found out... But SHOULD it? Heck no! I'm building a thin crust pizza here, it has to be a homogeneous mixture of parts without chunks or bits to tear holes in your dough. Stretching pizza dough is difficult enough, and its hard on the dough too, so why have a rampant chili flake slice cavernous and entirely unwelcome holes in your otherwise beautiful dough?
Now heres a touchy subject. Are you going to roll out your dough with a rolling pin, or stretch it by hand? I used to use both methods (how very diplomatic of me), because I like a wafer thin crust without flour dusting my entire house. I started by rolling the dough out till its thin enough to stretch under its own weight, and then I pick the dough up by its edge with both hands and stretch my hands apart, as the dough's weight stretches it downwards. This will reward you with a very uniformly thin pizza with few if any air bubbles, and is best used with doughs that are very elastic and would be difficult to stretch out entirely by hand.
However, now that I have a brand new Kitchenaid mixer weighing down my countertop incase a breeze catches it, I can start to look into new and better doughs. The recipe I am currently working with is from an old Good Eats episode in season three (flat is beautiful) wherein a dough is made with only a small amount of yeast, and is allowed to age in the fridge overnight, producing enough yeast, as well as a whole heck of a lot of flavor for any pizza crust. A fringe benefit of this method is that by the time your twenty four hours are up, all the gluten in the dough is sufficiently relaxed and ready for a good stretch by hand, the preferred method.
Sauce is almost as hotly contested as an individuals dough recipe, and up until recently I was unable to make a sauce which met my desires. However some basic knowledge and some common sense will go a long way. Key points to remember are to ensure that your sauce has the right amount of water. Too much water and your crust is liable to become soggy, too little and the paste burns (whoever said a little bit of black was a bad thing on a pizza?). Also remember that you are effectively diluting your sauce with dough and toppings, so a sauce bordering on too strongly flavored will mellow slightly in the cooking process and balance out in the end.
What happens if my pizza sauce sucks? First, put down that bottle of ketchup! What else do you have around the house that can give you the flavors you need? Balsamic vinegars will balance out discrepancies in the sweet and sour department when simply adding sugar or acid wont do (I can hear your screams now, but give it a try). Lacking that tomato flavor? Perhaps you forgot the tomato paste. Its important, don't leave the tomato paste out (a little vodka helps bring out some of the tomatoes alcohol soluble flavors, but add it after the cooking process). Otherwise season with a heavy hand, use fresh ingredients, and go by taste. And don't be afraid to botch a couple batches. I can't tell you the number of pizzas I've eaten with sauce that was less than stellar.
There isn't a whole lot to say about meat. Certain meats give off a lot of water while they cook, and make a sloppy mess of your pizza, whereas other meats which might crisp up and burn before your pizza is done will benefit from an insulating layer of mushrooms. You have to go with what you like, but do be wary of the water content, and in what position your meat should be in the layers of the pizza so it gets just the right amount of heat.
A note on prosciutto. It goes on AFTER your pizza is cooked. Just trust me on this one.
Mushrooms! Button, sliced as thinly as you can.
You must buy good cheese. No, I don't care that Safeway has a sale on brick-o-mozzarella, you will be rewarded by buying good cheese!
The best mozzarella I've had comes from my italian deli, and is kept in a brine bath. Its soft and very stringy when you pull it apart, and it has a slightly sour, slightly piquant flavor, though it is fairly mild all together. The idea is to tear apart the mozzarella into small pieces about half the size of your thumb, and then scatter them across the pizza. Your not looking to coat the entire surface... You don't work at little caesars after all.
I've recently experimented with buffalo mozzarella, which is creamier and softer than regular cow mozzarella, but I'm not sure its worth paying so much extra for.
Parmesan comes AFTER your pizza is cooked! But go ahead, do whatever you want... Just don't blame me for not warning you.
Finally, sometimes, when nobody is looking, I like to sprinkle a little bit of rock salt on top of the pizza after its cooked... Don't tell nobody.
Now, onto the recipe
For the sauce
One (_____oz) can of whole skinless italian tomatoes. San Marzano is touted as the best for uncooked sauces, however as we are cooking this sauce and seasoning it heavily, go for whatever canned italian tomatoes that have the fewest ingredients
One large handful of fresh thyme with stems
5 or 6 whole stems of basil plus a small handful of leaves (stems have a lot of flavor, and you will remove them later)
One (_____oz) can of tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
sugar to taste
optional items:
One small handful desiccated onion flakes
Chili flakes to taste
One heaping tablespoon of your favorite italian herb mix (don't let your grandma see)
(photo of all ingredients together)
Pour the can of tomatoes into a pot, crush between your fingers, and bring to a simmer. add the thyme and the basil stems. Simmer for at least 10 minutes
Push the sauce through a fine mesh sieve, with the back of a ladle, into a clean pot, and return to the stove. Add the tomato paste, garlic, the salt and pepper, and if using, the onion flakes, chili flakes, italian herb mix, and bring back to a simmer, stirring occasionally for another 10 minutes.
Taste your sauce. At this point all of the seasonings you have already added will have imparted a good amount of their flavor to the sauce, so now is the time to adjust the seasoning, and to add the sugar. A little sugar goes a long way, so add only a little at a time. Taste again in another minute. remember you are aiming for a very powerfully flavored sauce (photo)
Adjust the heat to best maximize reduction. A quick simmer at first works well, and when the sauce starts to spit, reduce the heat. You can burn this sauce, so be careful.
Once the sauce is fully reduced, and you are confidant that enough of the water has left so as to not soak into the crust, remove from the burner (photo of proper complete reduction).
The sauce gets better with age, and freezes well, so make extra.
in the next article, i will be writing about the pizza dough and pulling this all together into a perfect pie.
