grandma pizza

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GRANDMA PESTO PIZZA: Tweaking Tradition!

Grandma Pizza is a thin, crispy, rectangular pizza that, traditionally, is topped with Mozzarella, followed by marinara and basil.

But, just to shake things up (because that’s how I roll!), I decided to change the toppings to pesto, Feta, and Kalamata olives. This has become our family’s current pizza of choice. The garlicky pesto topped with salty, creamy Feta and olives is addictive, which is why I now make 2 pizzas at a time.

NOTE 1: I highly recommend using a food processor to make the dough. Grandma Pizza is a very wet dough and clings to your palms and fingers if you knead by hand.

NOTE 2: A rimmed baking sheet is preferred to define the rectangular shape but, if you don’t have one, just use a large baking sheet and shape the dough as best you can. As you can see from the photo above, dough seems to have a mind of its own, and occasionally refuses to fill in the corners anyway.

GRANDMA PESTO PIZZA – makes 2 pizzas

Dough:

  • 332g (1.5 cups) water, about 104°F (40°C)
  • 4 tsp (12g) yeast
  • 20g (2 T) olive oil
  • 385g (3 cups) strong (bread) flour
  • 8g (2 tsp) sugar
  • 1.5 tsp salt

Topping:

  • 130g (4 cups) (9 oz) fresh basil leaves
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 22g (1 T) lemon juice
  • 88g (1 cup) Pecorino/Romano or Parmesan Cheese, grated
  • 44g (1/2 cup) pine nuts, lightly toasted
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 114g (2/3 cup) olive oil
  • Feta cheese
  • Kalamata olives

About 3 hours before serving time, make the dough:

Combine the warm water and yeast in a cup. Let prove for 5 minutes.

Into the work bowl of the food processor, add olive oil, flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse a couple of times to blend. When yeast has proved for 5 minutes, run the processor and slowly pour in the yeast water. Run the machine about 40 seconds total, stopping to scrape down the sides once.

Now comes the icky part. Remove the blade and scrape off the dough. You’ll notice how stretchy and sticky the dough is.

Empty the dough onto a well floured surface. Using a bench scraper underneath the dough, begin kneading 6 or 7 times to bring the dough together, sprinkling with flour as needed. Cut the dough in half.

Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in each of the two pans. (Don’t be tempted to use more olive oil – it will be difficult to stretch the dough on a slippery surface.) With your fingertips, spread the oil around the pan. Plop one dough half in each pan, flipping them over to cover both sides with a bit of oil. With your slightly oiled fingertips, work the dough to stretch it out to about 20cm x 13cm (8″ x 5″). Don’t worry about it being exact. Cover pans and let rise about 1.5 hours.

While dough is rising (or, ahead of time), prepare the pesto:

Into a blender put all the ingredients (basil, garlic, lemon juice, Pecorino/Romano, pine nuts, salt, and olive oil).

Due to the basil leaves, you’re going to have to blend in spurts, scraping down sides in between. DO NOT PRESS DOWN INGREDIENTS WHILE BLENDER IS RUNNING UNLESS YOU HAVE A BLENDER (SUCH AS A VITAMIX) THAT HAS A TAMPER SPECIFIC FOR YOUR BLENDER! I speak from experience – more than once I’ve thought I could control a wooden spoon to press the basil down without hitting the blades. I was wrong and had to thrown the whole batch out.

After dough has risen, use your fingertips to stretch the dough to cover the pan. You can pull gently on the corners to help it along. Cover and let rise 45 minutes. PREHEAT OVEN TO 260°C (500°F).

Top risen pizzas with your preferred amount of pesto, crumbled Feta, and Kalamata olives.

Bake in bottom third of preheated 260°C (500°F) oven until crust is browned – about 13-15 minutes.

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GRANDMA PIZZA – La Nonna Lo Adora!

grandma pizza text

It’s amazing how many types of pizzas there are. While the dough is basically the same for all, how they’re baked makes the difference.

A Grandma Pizza is square or rectangular, and baked on an oiled rimmed cookie sheet.  This produces a light, crunchy crust.  It’s a very wet dough so there’s no need to roll it out – you just spread it with your fingers.

Note: It’s easiest to use a food processor, but you can get a nice workout mixing the dough by hand in a bowl.

GRANDMA PIZZA

  • 2 T + 1 T olive oil, divided
  • 7¾ oz (1½ cups) bread flour
  • 2 tsp dry yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 cup marinara sauce
  • 8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1/4 cup hard cheese such as Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano
  • about 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • any other topping you may like

Pour 2 T olive oil into the center of a 10″ X 15″ rimmed baking sheet (also called a jelly-roll pan). grandma pizza4Into the workbowl of your food processor (or a large mixing bowl if you’re going to do this by hand), put the flour, 1 T olive oil, yeast, sugar, and salt. Turn the machine on and slowly pour in the water through the pour tube. Once all the water is poured, let the machine run another 30 seconds or so. This is a very sticky, loose dough.grandma pizza10 Empty the dough onto the olive oil in the jelly-roll pan. Dip your finger tips into the oil so the dough won’t stick to them, and flip the dough so it’s now completely covered in oil. grandma pizza6Cover either with plastic film or a large pan (I use a rectangular roasting pan – it fits perfectly.) DON’T use a tea towel – it will just stick to the dough. (Been there, done that!) Let rise about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500º Fahrenheit. 

Gently nudge dough to cover the entire bottom of pan. grandma pizza1Sprinkle on mozzarella, then drizzle on the marinara, followed by any other topping, and finally sprinkle on the Parmesan. grandma pizza2Bake at 500º F in the lower third of oven for 13-15 minutes. Sprinkle on fresh basil. grandma pizza3

Remove pizza to a wire rack and let set about 5 minutes before slicing.