Wild Mushroom - Shallot - Goat CheesePizza

Bread Experiment #2

3.5 cups bread flour
1 cup water
1 cup active sourdough culture
2 tsp fine sea salt

Combine Ingredients and knead.
Proof for 5 hours
Punch down and form a ball
Proof for 3 more hours

Preheat oven with stone to 450 degrees bake for 15 minutes
spray the oven with cold water every 5 minutes (humidity in the oven helps form a crust)
reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 45 minutes

Let cool for a half hour.




This one definitely had the best form. The dough was firm, easy to shape and rose much higher than the previous one. I had used all-purpose flour on my first attempt, and my culture was more active this time.
Flavor-wise, this one was fairly bland compared to the first one, which had a deliciously strong sourdough flavor.

Homemade Bread experiment 1

How Peter Thiel foresaw the economic crisis

41 year old Peter Thiel:
hedge fund manager
venture capitalist
PayPal co-founder and CEO
global macro hedge fund president
early investor in the popular social-networking site Facebook


Apparently he foresaw the economic crisis.

Paul Krugman... super smart

Prionailurus viverrinus

The Fishing Cat

"A species can't be declared nearly extinct
until it has been declared totally cute"

Prionailurus viverrinus (Fishing Cat) has been declared endangered by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature.
And it has just been declared totally cute.

Neopolitan Pizza on the Grill

Is a bad idea:

1. You'll burn the house down.
2. You'll break your pizza stone.
3. You'll burn the pizza.

It's a good idea:

1. You just might make a great pizza that you can't make in the oven.

Pizza on the Grill

In late June I thought I had a major pizza-making breakthrough. I began cooking Pizza on the grill. My initial results were quite good. I fumbled around following several different recipes that called for grilling the dough first and then adding toppings. this ended up being far too dry, and definitely not the type of pizza I'm trying to make.

I then began identifying the keys to a successful pizza on the grill.

1. Get the coals as hot as possible. I mean really friggin' hot.
-Use a crap-ton of coals and keep the lid closed for 15-20 minutes before sliding the pizza on. If cooking multiple pizzas, have coals started on a chimney on the side and toss them on top in between pizzas.

-Open the lid just enough to slide the pizza in, and then close immediately .

I don't have the kind of thermometer that can measure the actual heat in my cheap-o grill. i'm holding out till I allow myself to buy the Electronic Specialties ESIEST 65 - Laser Guided Infrared Thermometer. I'm sure the temperature isn't nearly as hot as my goal of 800 degrees, but it has to be hotter than the 500 degree oven I had been using.

A poem about yeast

- At a pizza party
- We danced in the kitchen
- Saccharomyces-the most sensual fungus

- Sporulating feelings divide and grow
- Fermenting our love into eternity
- First in the bowl, then in the dough
- The aerated dough softens and rises
- Yeast eats sugar, producing CO2 bubbles (France 1966)

Thoughts on Presidential Dynasties from a Slice of Pizza

I wish I made this.

Mt. Pizza, the glorious place where kings dine.
Mt. Pizza, the mysteries will leave you lost
till eternity finds you with cheese in your beard.
Only the true and able can venture on your greasy slopes;
only the pure taste and know of real pizza hope.

EU declares Pizza Napoletana a "Regional Specialty"

The EU, in an effort to ensure the survival of regional producers in the global marketplace, protects certain local products by recognizing them as a "Regional Specialty". Recently, Pizza Napoletana has been labeled a regional specialty, protecting the local producers and it's originators of Naples.

Pizza Napoletana, often called Pizza Margherita is said to be named after Queen Margherita, who in 1889 requested a pizza with the colors of the national flag; a red tomato base, white mozzarella, and green basil.

The European Union’s Committee of the Regions enforces the designation of "Regional Specialty" by inspecting anyone within the EU who sells pizza called Pizza Napoletana to ensure it meets the standards defined by the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana.

• The diameter must be no more than 35 cm (14 inches) in diameter and no thicker than 1/3 of a centimeter at its center
• The tomato base must be made from the San Marzano variety of tomatoes
• San Marzano = from the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius
• The olive oil used must be extra virgin
• The cheese topping is buffalo mozzarella
• All ingredients must be from the Campania region
• The oven must be wood-fired, and the pizza must cook in less than two minutes
  

Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana offers certification training ($1,300 for 3 days, $2,200 for 1 week).

The European Union’s Committee of the Regions is dedicated to promoting local products regional markets. Regional marketing helps rural areas by "enabling a link to be forged between the product and a region's landscape and culture" and "protecting (regional products) sometimes means that a culinary heritage, contributing to regional identity, can preserved".


How to make Pizza Napoletana

Behind the scenes

Pepe's Pizza in New Haven, CT

44 days till I eat their pizza

Pesto Pizza

Last night I made a pretty kick-ass pesto pizza - California-style thin crust pesto with mozzarella and tomato. It was pretty easy, and there are some obvious ways I can make it better next time. I'm very excited about my future with pesto pizza.

** Before I begin, I must warn you that this post is intended for the serious Pete-za followers who are interested in playing along at home**
** Also, send in your Pete-za party photos and stories. I can make you a pizza blog superstar**

1. Pesto Pizza

Oftentimes, I inspire myself to do great things. I had made some brilliant pesto the other day using frozen basil leaves. It turned out so incredible, I had to use it on a pizza and blog about it.
Based on my years of pizza eating, I thought a thin crust would be most appropriate. I hadn't intentionally made thin crust before, so I picked up some tips from a recipe I found on the internet for a California-style thin crust, and combined these tips with the standard dough recipe I had written about previously.

1.1 Dough

There are 4 important deviations from my previous dough recipe to make the crust thin. (use a rolling pin, dust dough with flour while rolling it thin, "dock" the dough with a fork, and pre-cook the dough without toppings)

1.1.1 Combine 1/2 cup of warm water with 2 tsp yeast in a mixing bowl. Stir to prevent yeast from clumping. Let stand for 10 minutes. It should be foamy and cloudy.

1.1.2 Add olive oil, 1 cup of warm water, some salt, and beat in 2 cups of flour with a wisk. Ideally, you should use a high gluten flour (bread flour). I used all-purpose flour, since it was what I had on hand, but will try to keep bread flour on hand.

1.1.3 Switch to a wooden spoon , and add flour 1/2 cup at a time and mix. Keep adding flour until dough forms a ball, but is still moist and shaggy.

1.1.4 Cover bowl with Saran Wrap; let stand for 15 minutes.

1.1.5 Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth, adding flour to keep from sticking to your fingers. The dough should still be moist.

1.1.6 Put the dough in a bowl that has been coated with olive oil. Turn the dough over to make sure all sides are coated with olive oil.

1.1.7 Cover again and put the bowl in a warm place and let it rise for an hour. It should double in size. Ideally, the dough should rise slowly over a 24 hr period in the refrigerator. However, I'm not so good at planning ahead.

*Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees*

1.1.8 Return the dough to the floured surface and knead until smooth. Dust the dough and rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough out flat, making sure to continuously dust the dough and counter with flour. Flip the dough over several times. Thin-crust pizza dough should be somewhat dry and dense. You will need to dust the dough with flour several times as you roll it out in order to incorporate more flour into the recipe. This also helps ensure that the dough will not stick to the countertop and your rolling pin.

1.1.9 Carefully place the dough onto a pizza pan, making sure to cut off excess dough. I screwed this part up my first time. The dough fell apart, and I had to ball it up and start again. My second attempt was a success.

1.1.10 Using a fork, prick the dough thoroughly. This prevents the dough from bubbling up. This is called 'docking' and there is actually a 'docker' tool you can use, but a fork works just fine.


1.1.11 Place the dough in the pre-heated oven for 4 minutes. This prevents the ingredients from weighing down the dough before it can crisp.

1.1.12 Add toppings and return to oven for 12 minutes, or however long it take to get good and crisp, but not too crisp.

1.2 Pesto

Using a large food processor, I processed the following ingredients. I have no idea about the quantities. I continuously tasted the outcome and adjusted the ingredients accordingly.

• Basil
• Olive Oil
• a couple handfuls of Walnuts
• misc. mixed greens
• Parmesan
• salt and pepper
• garlic
• lemon

frozen basil looks really gross, but it's packed with flavor

It should also be noted that I used top-shelf fresh mozzarella from Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor. I firmly believe that if you're going to splurge on one ingredient it should be fresh mozzarella.