vegetarian 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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PAN PIZZA: Thick & Crispy Crust!

pan pizza textIt occurred to me that while I make pizza quite often, I’ve never written a blog about it. So I decided to start with one that’s easy to make and is actually one of my favorites: PAN PIZZA.

This recipe calls for mixing in a food processor, but you could use a heavy-duty mixer, such as a Kitchen Aid, or even knead by hand – although I have no idea how long that would take. And don’t worry – there’s no tossing the dough involved!

Plan 3 hours start to finish – most of that time is hands off.

Note:  You’ll see some measurements are underlined.  This is to indicate it’s a portion of the total amount called for.

PAN PIZZA – makes 2  9″ pizzas

  • 16¼ oz (3¾ cup) all-purpose flour – it’s best to weigh for accuracy
  • 2 tsp salt, divided
  • 2¼ tsp sugar, divided
  • 2¼ tsp (1 packet) dry active yeast (any kind will do)
  • 1¼ cups water, room temperature
  • 9 T butter, divided
  • 1/4 cup onions, finely minced
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 garlic cloves, pressed
  • 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes, discard stem ends & chop tomatoes
  • 4 T fresh basil, chopped, divided
  • 5 T + 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 12 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 4 T Parmesan cheese, grated

Melt 3 T butter. Also, set out 3 T butter to soften – cut it up to speed up the process. Set this aside for later.

Into the food processor put flour, 1½ tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar, and yeast. Pulse a few times to mix.  Pour the 3 T melted butter into flour mixture and turn on machine. Then slowly add the water through the pour tube. Let processor run until the dough clumps together – about 45 seconds or so.

Put 1/2 tsp oil in a bowl and coat bottom and sides. Smash dough ball into bowl, then flip it and smash down again (this will coat both sides).pizza5 Cover with a plate and let rest about 30 minutes.

While dough is rising, prepare the marinara. Into a saucepan melt 2 T butter. Add in the onions, oregano, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes, until onions are golden. Add in garlic and cook 30 seconds more. pizza3Stir in the tomatoes and remaining 1/4 tsp sugar. Bring to simmer and cook uncovered over medium/low flame 25 minutes. pizza7The sauce will be thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 T basil and 1 T olive oil. Set aside. pizza8When the dough has risen for 30 minutes, roll it out on a NON-floured surface to a rectangle 15″ x 12″. Spread on the softened butter that you set aside earlier over dough to 1/2″ from edges. pizza12Starting at one of the short sides, roll up all the way into a cylinder. pizza11Roll cylinder into a rectangle 18″ x 4″. pizza15Cut in half (so now there are 2  9″ x 4″ pieces). pizza14Fold each piece in on itself in thirds – like a business letter, pinching ends to seal. pizza13Spread 1/2 tsp oil in bowl and place in the 2 dough balls. Cover with plate and place in refrigerator for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425º Fahrenheit. Place rack about 2″ from bottom of oven.

Pour 2 T olive oil into each of 2  9″ cake pans (don’t use the kind where the bottom is separate, such as a springform – the oil will leak out). On NON floured surface, roll each dough ball into 13″ circles . Carefully, place each piece into a cake pan, pressing dough into corners and up the sides about 1″. Divide the mozzarella, sprinkling half onto each crust. Spread half the marinara over each pizza on top of cheese. Sprinkle with 2 T Parmesan each.  pizza9Place in oven and bake 20-30 minutes (rotating halfway through), until crust is well-browned. pizza10Sprinkle on remaining 2 T basil and let set in pan a couple of minutes, then remove to cutting board. Slice and serve immediately.