When I make pizza I use the dough recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (I wouldn't say that it's my favorite veg cookbook but I do find myself using it a lot for basics) with 1 cup of whole wheat flour to about 3 cups of unbleached, plus increasing the salt (I use kosher, can't speak for sea) to 2 tsps. This dough is consistently easy (especially when I do all the kneading in my stand mixer) & good (all that whole wheat means that you can't skimp on the rising/resting time, though). In my fantasy life where I have so much free time that I am able to crack all of the cooking puzzles that have ever stumped me, I would recreate the dough from a frozen crust we once had that made use of vinegar in an extremely light & crispy way (at least, I think it was the vinegar; all other ingredients were the usual obvious ones), but in my real life, I turn to this one every time.
I think that in my husband's eyes, the pizza just barely makes up for the amount of mess I produce while making it. We've been together long enough that he no longer actually comments on my love for putting everything in small white bowls whether it's necessary or not, but then again, sometimes silence speaks volumes. Tonight we featured: red sauce (homemade, also from a VCfE recipe), black olives, veg pepperoni (I don't use it often, but it's nice addition sometimes), roasted red peppers, mushrooms, artichokes, goat mozzarella. (This list is reminding me that one of the all time best ever things to put on pizza is potatoes, by the way.)
I love the way that pizza can be as fancy or as easy as you like, & also how it's one of those meals that asks you to slow down while making it, but not too much, so it's still reasonable to make for a weeknight dinner. It's definitely on my "more often" list for the year.
you are inspiring me!
and i like to do the opposite...put the pizza on the potato :)
Posted by: meg | January 06, 2007 at 05:31 AM
Yummy! Looks soooo good ;o)
BTW I'm a put-everything-in-little-white-bowls type person too....
Posted by: Kristina | January 09, 2007 at 01:39 PM
Have never tried potatoes on pizza (sounds like a noble twist), but I absolutely concur with little white bowls! Mise en place rules! Hubby just does not understand kitchen control.
And no apologia necessary for veg pepperoni (at least good veg pepperoni).
Also have not tried the pizza dough from Madison's cookbook, will use it next time pizza is on the menu.
Posted by: Carolyn Blakeney | December 30, 2007 at 04:18 PM