I am not exactly a pizza fan but everyone else in the family is, and I have been blamed of only baking what I like and not giving a thought to others, which I am a little ashamed to admit, is true MOST of the time - Hey! I am the chef, and I reserve the right to enjoy what I cook! Not that they do not enjoy the products I come up with but their own recommendation is always loaded with cheese, cream etc.!
But the kids, they know how to manipulate me - they have observed and analysed my weak points and have to just press a nerve to make me wane and vacillate to their ideas - remember that shoulder nerve Mr.Spock touched and people would swoon and crumble!
This time they positively tricked me into watching my favourite channel since blogging days - The Discovery Travel and Living Channel that keeps itself focused mostly on chow and cheese! The other day there was this series on Italian Pizzas in Chicago. Three pizzerias were reviewed - Pepe, Sally's and Giordano - for the record most of the customers were slightly plump, but who said size 16 is big? Not me!! I love Heather Wells in the series by Meg Cabot - Size 12 is not fat, Size 14 is not fat either, etc.! If you haven't do give this book a go - here is a detective who is on the bigger side, not the forgetful, absent minded, but well shaped kind but your girl next door kind who has a nose for mysteries. Again the book is for 'timepass' - frivolous reading, nothing serious about it! Just the right kind of book to go with a pizza!
After seeing the one hour long program we were all sitting with our tongues hanging out to say the least! My kids insisted that I make this at once - now, I am no Mary Poppins so I promised them a pizza the next day and while they are asleep I looked into google for healthy whole wheat variations. I found many but I liked Pete's recommendation of Jamie Olivier's pizza. I am very happy with my discovery of the pleasures of baking with fresh yeast which renders a softer fluffier bread than the dry one, and used it on the pizza base with delightful results.
If you are looking for baking with tiles do look up Pete's post once alongwith the comments - it is worth reading. Closer home, Anu of My Food Blog made a successful attempt with baking pizza using a tile too. I did not hunt too much - just used my cast iron sizzler tray which worked very well!
My son got back from school early that day and helped me 'knock out' the dough singing "He moves like the black superman and says....I'm Aaaaali....catch me if you can".
But the kids, they know how to manipulate me - they have observed and analysed my weak points and have to just press a nerve to make me wane and vacillate to their ideas - remember that shoulder nerve Mr.Spock touched and people would swoon and crumble!
This time they positively tricked me into watching my favourite channel since blogging days - The Discovery Travel and Living Channel that keeps itself focused mostly on chow and cheese! The other day there was this series on Italian Pizzas in Chicago. Three pizzerias were reviewed - Pepe, Sally's and Giordano - for the record most of the customers were slightly plump, but who said size 16 is big? Not me!! I love Heather Wells in the series by Meg Cabot - Size 12 is not fat, Size 14 is not fat either, etc.! If you haven't do give this book a go - here is a detective who is on the bigger side, not the forgetful, absent minded, but well shaped kind but your girl next door kind who has a nose for mysteries. Again the book is for 'timepass' - frivolous reading, nothing serious about it! Just the right kind of book to go with a pizza!
After seeing the one hour long program we were all sitting with our tongues hanging out to say the least! My kids insisted that I make this at once - now, I am no Mary Poppins so I promised them a pizza the next day and while they are asleep I looked into google for healthy whole wheat variations. I found many but I liked Pete's recommendation of Jamie Olivier's pizza. I am very happy with my discovery of the pleasures of baking with fresh yeast which renders a softer fluffier bread than the dry one, and used it on the pizza base with delightful results.
If you are looking for baking with tiles do look up Pete's post once alongwith the comments - it is worth reading. Closer home, Anu of My Food Blog made a successful attempt with baking pizza using a tile too. I did not hunt too much - just used my cast iron sizzler tray which worked very well!
My son got back from school early that day and helped me 'knock out' the dough singing "He moves like the black superman and says....I'm Aaaaali....catch me if you can".
He had one wedge of a spinach and paneer pizza but chose an 'only cheese' pizza,
daughter loaded hers with tomato-basil sauce, cheddar, mozzarella and spinach.
(Before it went in)
P went in for the same as my daughter while I settled for just the base with sauce and no cheese. I did sample the other one with cheese but mine was good enough for me - saves me from pimples, nah middle age acne too!
I did not alter the recipe majorly except for using more water that recommended as my dough did not feel sticky enough as I like it to before the first rise, and I used 40g of fresh yeast instead of 2 sachets of dry yeast. Do look up the recipe here at Jamie Olivier.com. I also used his tomato sauce recipe for the sauce which works great. The only thing I really did use my head for is the topping! BTW - He gives a choice of flour - I used 800g 'Ashirwad' Atta and 200g ground semolina. This guy is a wonderful cook!
Another thing - I cooked the underside of my base a little on my tawa before I put the topping and baked it in the oven!
Enjoy!
No - you can't make out the base is of whole wheat unless you have decided to be biased!
Enjoy!
No - you can't make out the base is of whole wheat unless you have decided to be biased!
UPDATED ON 16.12.08
Why use baking stones or unglazed tiles - I am looking for Peter Reinhart's book in India but meanwhile google gives this extract from the book which clears all the doubts! These are the points I noted, and updating this page for my reference. These are general reference for any bread and not only a pizza:
1. Unglazed tiles are porous, and are characterised by high heat retention which helps in replicating a traditional apprentice oven at home.
2. The stone should be as hot as the oven before the bread is put in for baking, so put in the stone at least 45 minutes before you bake your bread.
3. Stones/unglazed tiles ensure even baking and a crispier crust.
4. The technique and advantage of 'double-steaming' is well explained here (Scroll down to Pg.92)
5. Use weights for measuring rather than cups.
6. Use wicker baskets for shaping a boule at home and for getting patterns in your bread.
7. Silpat is branded 'silicon treated rubber mat'.
Why use baking stones or unglazed tiles - I am looking for Peter Reinhart's book in India but meanwhile google gives this extract from the book which clears all the doubts! These are the points I noted, and updating this page for my reference. These are general reference for any bread and not only a pizza:
1. Unglazed tiles are porous, and are characterised by high heat retention which helps in replicating a traditional apprentice oven at home.
2. The stone should be as hot as the oven before the bread is put in for baking, so put in the stone at least 45 minutes before you bake your bread.
3. Stones/unglazed tiles ensure even baking and a crispier crust.
4. The technique and advantage of 'double-steaming' is well explained here (Scroll down to Pg.92)
5. Use weights for measuring rather than cups.
6. Use wicker baskets for shaping a boule at home and for getting patterns in your bread.
7. Silpat is branded 'silicon treated rubber mat'.
Happy to be the first one. Mouthwatering pizza and nice presentation. Can i have a one
ReplyDeletei can just saw wow,...;-)...
ReplyDeleteYum yum cheesy!
ReplyDeletethese look so mouthwatering tempting! all the variations! I want one too now. :(
ReplyDelete:D I will make them. It has been a while that I made them.
Yummy, cheesey and gr8 pizza.
ReplyDeleteActually I have been wondering when the pizza was coming, since you bake so much.:)
ReplyDeleteYour pizza looks very colourful. I prefer my spinach disguised a bit.:)
And I have used unglazed tiles since the DB French bread and it works pretty well.
I love pizza and this looks so yummy delciious.
ReplyDeleteLovely!
ReplyDeletesuch pretty looking pies and so delicious too. It's fun when the whole family pitches in and makes their pizza.
ReplyDeleteWow,looks no diff from normal.
ReplyDeleteGiordanos is supposed to behealthy I have heard though.But homemade is much much better.
But here are the doubts:
did you 'grind' rava?
Did rava add colour/flavour as said in the original olivier recipe? did you feel so?
Do you think using fresh yeast made the dough 'not sticky'?
Wait for more...
Size 16 is not all big/fat - Size 20 is not at all :)if you call that a size
Sorry about the questions,the reason I am too curious,is every body seems to have one version or other of pizza dough,and each one is 'authentic and traditional'.I either do from a crust mix,or simply follow a random recipe :D Thankfully it worked till now,but I am looking for a whole wheat version and/or also stuffed.I would like to make 'my own dough' for this.
looks delicious, deeba. been well - how are you?
ReplyDeleteThanks to each one for visiting and leaving a nice little comment for me to smile on!
ReplyDeleteAparna, I am on the look out of an unglazed tile with all the work going on in our society:). I do not have to worry about disguising as spinach is a hit with the kids. I added lots of basil but my son feels its the spinach that tasted bad!
Laavabya, I absolutely agree with you!
Sweatha, my own feeling whenever I have made pizza at home from scratch which is quite a few times is that it is similar to a naan with a variation only in the baking style. In fact this is how I make my naan on an inverted kadahi and it tastes exactly the same!
First - Yes! I ground the rawa but not finely! I expected some difference but rawa I think only adds to the feel of the dough - it takes away the totally smooth texture, apart from that no flavor or any other difference was there!
Second - the fresh yeast helps in faster rising and makes a fluffier dough. No it doesn't make the dough sticky, but I have noticed that a sticky dough before the first rise renders a good bread, so I prefer it that way. In fact, I see to it that it is a little sticky - after the first rise it becomes unsticky on its own.
Since we eat roti here we can make out the difference as it is closer to roti when you use whole wheat - the flavor of toasted whole wheat is different from that of maida, otherwise there is no difference, so do go ahead and try the whole wheat thing - it is healthy and tastes great if you are willing to be unbiased:)!
Hey Anu, this is Sunshinemom, not Deeba:) Anyway I am doing good:), and glad to know you are fine coz I too was wondering!
Thanks SunnyJi,aapne mere curiosity thodi door kar di.But Is it a must that you use a pizza stone/tile while baking?What else can be done/used?Sorry I am confused more after reading Pete's post and some comments? :(.Does it affect the look/crustiness of the pizza if I bake without a stone/tile.Or is it just for the commercial looks and quickness.
ReplyDeleteSunnyji helpme its a Pizza SOS
this is such a healthy pizza. . i m craving for one right now :)
ReplyDeletelovely pizza .. I love it too .. N i adore home made pizzas .. looks yummm .. this is what Iam gonna have for dinner tonnight
ReplyDeleteNothing like homemade pizza, Harini. I can imagine how delightful it would be for the kids to make a pizza- I get on to cloud seven myself when there's a pizza cooking in my kitchen! Yours look delicious.
ReplyDeleteSemolina and atta , oh it should be totally different base...Love ur daught topping, I am not a big fan of pizza too!
ReplyDeleteSweatha, not only for pizza, stones are recommended for most breads only because they retain heat well. Glazed tiles are not recommended because the glaze is a chemical which is dangerous, and because it takes away the porosity of the tile/stone. Unglazed tiles are nothing but well baked clay sheets so they are porous and retain heat and work as good baking stones. Pizzas are baked at very high heat which is not possible in OTGs which is why the use of tiles is recommended. See this page - it gives you a complete low down on the subject:
ReplyDeletehttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=yHGBOXSNogsC&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=do+unglazed+tiles+retain+heat&source=web&ots=tVF4g0HrA-&sig=psdn3V5Ct1VqzoUULys1WLHyT2g&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result
Peter Reinhart explains why 'thick' rectangular tiles are needed for baking breads. I am sure it will clear all the doubts, and give you a good crust;)!
Mahima, Deesha, both of you have similar thoughts. Maybe you should have one right now!
Vaishali, I loved your pizza too!
Cham, Yay! That makes two of us:)
Just yummy...............! Semolina and atta , realy a good combination for base. Thanx a ton.
ReplyDeleteThanks,and THANKS.I WHOLEHEARTEDLY APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS.
ReplyDeleteAll that i can say is BIG WOW!! That must be a great experience...
ReplyDeleteHome made pizza even with the cheese is way better than take out. Gorgeous pizzas! I know what I'm making tonight!
ReplyDeleteWow...Pizza from scratch..Thats great..I have been making up my mind to bake one from quite some time now.. I just have a baking Pizza/Pie pan..Will have to try with that now!
ReplyDeletePizza looks perfect,loved the combination of wheat flour and semolina in your base..bet it tasted awesome...will try this the next time I bake pizza crust from scratch :-)
ReplyDeleteHarini, I had a doubt.Actually when I make Pizza or bread. I get the smell of the yeast. A distinct smell. Rest all seems to be fine. The dough rises quite well and the end result is soft and fluffy except for the smell. Do you have any idea why this may be happening? the yeast has not expired it still has 2 more months to go..
ReplyDeleteUj, I sent a mail in response to that doubt. The reasons could be overfermenting (going beyond the dough becoming double), letting the dough rise too quickly at a higher temperature (keeping in a warm pre-heated oven even if room temp. is normal), or due to overusage of yeast. Though not many books recommend I still find that fresh yeast gives me a very good loaf as compared to dry - no smell too! If you can, do give it a try.
ReplyDeleteDid I answer your question? I hope I did:)
Mail to my id? Did not get it.. :( anyways I came back to check if there was any response from you. I used 1/2 tsp active dry yeast for almost 3 cups of flour last time. Yet the result was same. Here the temperature is almost -2 so I just heated up the micorwave for a min or two and let the dough sit inside. May be the temperature was high for it Not sure. I am going out in search of fresh yeast. You say no smell then it shud be great. Yes you did answer my question. Thanks a lot Harini for taking time :)
ReplyDelete