Lat weekend Tanya made buns. The main issue holding me back from ever trying to make pizza was lack of knowledge about making the crust. I asked Tanya if she would make pizza crust from her bun dough recipe and she said certainly; but she had no idea what went on top of a pizza. I knew about all that...so we were a team! (Married couples should talk to each other more often, but that is a story for another time).
Today we tried our hands at pizza making for the first time and made a couple of 15" pizzas. I got on the internet to find out about the herbs and spices, most of which we had, including fresh basil and parsley. Oregano is THE key and I did have a little bit left. We cleaned out the fridge for toppings. Ham, dill pickles, green onion, tomatoes and green olives. The salami I'd been saving seemed to have disappeared overnight.
No mozzarella of course (too expensive) but Ukrainian or Russian cheese would work; we just didn't have enough. Parmesan cheese powder from our last CARE package was a big help. Olive oil to coat the pans and the crust to give it an awesome golden brown colour - I am going to try it on my biscuits next time.
The bun recipe made perfect crust. Absolutely perfect. It actually rose a little bit in the oven and was so tender. No shoe-leather. And it tasted like real pizza. It was heaven and I inhaled 3/4 of one pizza.
But I am now out of oregano. Couldn't find it at the grocery store this afternoon but Tanya thinks we might find it in a drug store. They did have a bottle of Italian herb and spice mix so we will try that until I can find oregano. We did find fresh rosemary at the grocery store and we have fresh garlic for the next go-round which will be SOON!!
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| Not enough cheese to go to the edges |
Dill pickles??...oh my. The rest sounds delish...
ReplyDeleteYou can put finely chopped dill pickles on or in anything. Seriously!
DeleteThat looks and sounds so yummy, Dad!
ReplyDeleteMy fav pizzas ever are made at Corfields Cafe in Duncan, BC; crusts are relatively thin, (they use a variety of cheeses on the top - all very sparingly) and their various pizza recipes include sliced kalamata or black olives, artichokes, red/green or yellow peppers, onions.
ReplyDeleteWell done, BF. And you're not even Italian. Our grandkids like pizza, and I use a foccacia recipe to make the crust. it works better than store-bought!
ReplyDeleteKy, is there gluten free pizza?
DeleteRJ, we need to add peppers and more onion to our next ones. I like pizzas loaded with meat - we have salami, ham and bacon for the next ones. Next time I am in Duncan we will go for a Corfield's pizza.
RB, if Tanya is comfortable making her bun recipe crust and it works OK, I won't mess with it but send my your foccacia recipe anyhow, please.
If you plant oregano in your garden, be careful or it will take over the place.
ReplyDeleteHaven't tried making pizza in years, it was easy to get one from a chain like Papa John's(we already miss Papa John's, closest one is several hundred miles away) when living in the city. And frozen pizzas have improved over the years. They no longer taste like the cardboard they come on in the package.
No major pizza chains in Ukraine? What a shock. I thought there'd be at least a couple. It's the only thing America exports besides cars and Starbucks.
ReplyDeleteKulkuri, thanks for the tip. There are frozen pizzas at the grocery store but I am always leery of the quality.
DeleteDemeur, it is easy to get a pizza, just not one that looks and tastes North American and I have never been to Italy. Part of it is that an NA type pizza would be too expensive for most people. Piling on the toppings also piles on the costs but how expensive is tomato sauce and herbs and spices?
My fav pizzas ever are made at Corfields Cafe in Duncan, BC; crusts are relatively thin, (they use a variety of cheeses on the top - all very sparingly) and their various pizza recipes include sliced kalamata or black olives, artichokes, red/green or yellow peppers, onions.
ReplyDeletenew york pizza san jose