Some people do woodworking; some paint; some garden. I cook.
I find pleasure in the craft. Truly. Nearly every day, I look forward to working on my granite countertop using my collection of tools and my magnificent range.
That's why I make pizza. I get to use my ginormous rolling pin, my ceramic baking stone (a gift from my mother) and my biggest, baddest knife to cut wedges from a crispy crust. Trust me, homemade pizza does not save time or money. Rather, it challenges. Every time. I still can't shape a perfectly round dough circle, my crust thickness varies from edge to edge and I am prone to over-top. Transferring the topped pizza to the oven proves nerve-wracking. Still, I enjoy all aspects of the process; friends and family appreciate the outcome.
My No. 1 motivator: Stocking the ingredients for the dough. I order special pizza flour online, keep packets of yeast in the fridge and heads of garlic in the crisper. Sometimes, I even keep dough in the freezer. The dough that follows keeps overnight in the fridge too. I just need to allow time for it to warm up before rolling out the crust.
I am convinced that the key to my latest crust success lies in the flour. For the past year or so, I have been using the pizza professional's flour of choice: the super finely ground 00 (double zero). It's amazing _ the lower gluten content makes dough so relaxed it's a piece of cake to roll. I like to flavor the dough with fresh garlic and a sprinkling of herbs.
Once the dough is made (it takes less than 5 minutes in a food processor), I start dreaming of toppings. Lately, I cannot get enough white pizza. Tomato-less, thin crust pies satisfy in a different way from their deep-dish Chicago brethren. I top them with small dollops of rich ricotta or mascarpone and a modicum of shredded cheese. A bonus: They cook superfast. We eat one while the other is in the oven.
If you are serious about making pizza at home, invest in a ceramic pizza stone. Like commercial stone ovens, the hot pizza stone actually draws moisture from the crust for added crispness and golden goodness. A good pizza stone will cost at least $30, but will give you years of enjoyment for everything from homemade pizza and calzones to better crusts when heating frozen pizza. I also use it when baking free-form yeast breads or reheating loaves from the local bakery.
Speaking of hot, don't be afraid to turn up the heat on the oven. Seriously. Five hundred degrees (or more) helps achieve professional results. I've made the recipes that follow in my deluxe gas range and in an apartment-size electric stove. Armed with the pizza stone and a 550-degree oven, the results from even an ordinary stove are phenomenal.
The white pizza with caramelized red onions and mushrooms is stunning in its simplicity. I serve it with a salad of sliced tomatoes and herbs. The spicy sausage combination can be made into a pizza, but for fun, I fold it in half for a calzone to be enjoyed with a knife and fork alongside a green salad. Then, it's back to the kitchen for more fun.
