Pizza and Savory Tart Recipes

Pizza Dough (Slow Rise)

Inspired by "What's Eating Dan" YouTube video, I decided to test the idea of slow rise. Many claimed by slow rising, it develops complex flavors and gluten which gives a nice stretchy dough.

I let the dough sit for 48 hours and my observation is there is a more uniform stretch. For flavors, I could not tell the difference.

Ingredients (Yields 4 single-serve pizzas):

1/8 oz instant dry yeast, 1 tbs sugar, 1/8 cup olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 2 cup all purpose flour and 3/4 cup cold water

Procedures:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients well in a large bowl

2. Add olive oil and water. Stir until dough ball is formed and not sticking to the bowl (approximate 2 mins)

3. Knead the dough until smooth (approximately 5 mins, do not overdo it)

4. Grease a large bowl. Place the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours or up to 3 days

5. When using the dough, take it out the fridge and let it come to room temperature (about 30 mins to an hour)

6. If you are not planning to use it after three days, store the dough in freezer bags and freeze it

International Flamekuchen

Traditional Flamekuchen is a German-French tart consisting of caramelized onion, bacon and crème fraîche. In this recipe, Ingmar and I modified it with ingredients we found in his fridge. We dubbed it International Flamekuchen because it adopted flavors from France, Germany, Hungary, India and Italy. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 thin crust pizza base, 2 large onion, 4 garlic cloves, 7 button mushrooms, 2 tomatoes, 0.5 lb bacon, 8 oz light sour cream, Italian dried herbs, curry powder, paprika, ground nutmeg, salt and black pepper to taste

Procedures:

1. Preheat oven according to pizza instructions

2. Slice onion to half rings and mince garlic. Slice mushroom and tomatoes

3. Cut bacon to bite size

4. In a large saucepan over medium heat, fry bacon until its fat is rendered. Drain bacon and set aside on a plate. In the same saucepan, fry onion and garlic until onion is softened. Add desired amount of dried herbs, curry powder, paprika, ground nutmey, salt and black pepper

5. Blend in mushrooms and bacon. Cook until mushrooms are softened

6. Spread sour cream on the pizza. Distribute tomato slices evenly. Spread onion, bacon and mushroom mixture on the pizza

Slow rise dough after 24 hours

Deep Dish Pizza

Ingredients:

Store-bought fresh pizza dough, 1 cup pepperoni slices, 2 medium Italian spicy sausages, 2 cups freshly made tomato sauce, 1 cup sliced black olives, 1 green bell pepper- sliced, 1 tsp olive oil and 2 cups sliced mozzarella cheese

Procedures:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degF

2. Mince the spicy sausage

3. In a pan over medium heat, add olive oil and cook the sausage bits for 5 mins. Remove from heat

4. Roll pizza dough to 12 inch circle, about 0.5 inch thick

5. Grease a 10-inch cast iron pan. Lay the dough into the pan. Press the dough to the bottom and side of the pan

6. Apply and spread evenly 1 cup of tomato sauce onto the dough

7. Sprinkle 1 cup of sliced mozzarella cheese, covering the sauce

8. Distribute evenly the sausage bits, pepperoni slices, olives and green bell peppers on the cheese-and-tomato-sauce covered dough

9. Pour and spread evenly the rest of the tomato sauce on the mixture. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese

10. Bake the pizza for 25 mins or until golden brown

11. Remove pizza from the oven. Use a pie knife to cut individual slices. Serve hot :)

I like my veggies slightly undercooked. If you like your vegs cooked through, pre-cooked over the stove until 3/4 quarter done before spreading on the dough

Before popping in the oven to bake

7. Bake according to pizza instructions or until the crust is lightly brown and crispy

8. Remove from oven and serve while it's hot!

Flatbread Pizza

This recipe makes the flatbread only. Add your favorite toppings. Adapted from Perfect One-Dish Dinner cookbook.

Ingredients (Yields 6 to 8 servings):

1 cup bread or white whole-wheat flour and more for dusting, 0.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil and 1/3 cup warm water

Procedures:

1. Mix flour and salt in a food processor

2. Mix warm water and oil together. Pour over flour mixture in food processor. Process until soft dough ball is formed

3. If dough is too stiff, process in another teaspoon of water or so of water

4. Continue to process into smooth but soft pliable dough, about 15 seconds

5. On a lightly floured surface and with floured hands, take the dough out and cut into thirds

6. Roll each dough to an approximately 12x6 inches rectangle, coating with flour and turning to keep it from sticking

7. Transfer to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat

8. Adjust oven rack to the lowest position and preheat oven to 500 degF

9. Spread your favorite toppings like olive oil, pepperoni, herbs, tomatoes, cheese, sardines, etc on the flatbread

10. Bake until heated through and crisp (8 to 10 mins)

11. Slice with a sharp knife and serve

Homemade deep dish pizza

Eggplant Pizza

Ingredients:

1 store-bought pizza dough (28 oz), half of a large eggplant, 1.5 cup cherry tomatoes, half of a large green bell pepper, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 cup tomato sauce, 6 garlic cloves, 2 shallots, 1 tbs dried basil, 1 tsp oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Procedures:

1. Slice eggplant to 1/3 thick slices. Slice green pepper to thin slices. Cut cherry tomatoes to half

2. Peel garlic and shallots. Slice shallots

3. In a large baking sheet covered with Al foil, spread eggplant slices, garlic and shallots. Drizzle olive oil on the veggies and sprinkle salt and pepper

4. Broil veggies for 8 mins (on HIGH setting). Flip eggplants, shallots and garlic. Spread green bell pepper slices onto the baking sheet. Broil for another 8 mins or until eggplant is fork tender and garlic and shallots are browned

5. Remove the veggies from the oven

6. Preheat oven to 350 degF

7. Shape pizza dough to fit in a 12-in cast iron skillet. Lay the dough in an oiled cast iron skillet

8. Place the iron skillet over medium heat to slowly warm the skillet

9. Assemble the pizza by first spreading the tomato sauce and dried herbs on the dough. Next, mash the garlic and spread over the tomato sauce. Sprinkle half of the cheese to cover the sauce. Distribute the rest of the veggies and finally top it with cheese

10. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Serve hot