Zook Pizza Recipe

The dough:
3 cups (709.8 cc) of Bread flour
11/2 teaspoon (5 - 7.5 ml) of salt
1 cup (236.6 ml) very warm water
1 to 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) maple syrup (or honey)
1 packet of yeast


Method:
1. Mix flour and salt together with a long tined fork. Dissolve the syrup in the water and then add the yeast, allow this to sit until it has developed a good froth.
2. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and then pour in the aqueous stuff. Stir it with the long tined fork until all of the flour has been wetted then put it on a bread board and knead it for 12 minutes.
3. Let it rise at least once for an hour or longer. Coat the pan with olive oil and apply a generous sprinkle of coarse ground corn meal.
4. After the dough has risen, roll it out and place it on the pan. At this point I coat the surface of the dough with garlic saturated olive oil*. The dough can be allowed to rise again or used at once.


Sauce and toppings:
1. A basic sauce can be made from canned crushed Italian-style tomatoes. Add basil and quite a lot of oregano , crushed between your hands, garlic, and salt to taste.
2. Simmer for about 45 minutes. If it tastes bitter you can add a bit of sugar. Extra sauce can be frozen for future pizza.


For a Chicago-style sauce try this:
1. Drain two 28 oz. (795 gr.) cans of peeled plum (Italian style) tomatoes. Cut off any green parts, slice them in quarters, and scoop out the seeds. Keep just the fleshy parts, press them and try to squeeze out extra water (you can save the watery stuff for soup), then add chopped fresh basil and crushed garlic (4-8 cloves).
2. Mix it together with your hands, and crush the tomatoes. Put half of the cheese under this tomato mix and the rest on the very top.


This size Pizza requires 12 oz. (340 gr.) cheese. Use mainly mozzarella with maybe a bit of parmesan or something exotic like feta, fontinella, or gorgonzola, if you wish.
Be careful about vegetables, they can make your pizza soggy. It is recommend to bake skewers of mushrooms for 30 - 45 min.. Slice them in half when done and salt and pepper to taste before putting them on the pizza.


Cook the pizza on the bottom rack of a very hot oven (500 to 550 F, 249 to 265 C, or 422 to 438 K). Every oven is different so keep an eye on it. Rotate the pan once but be careful not to let too much heat out of the oven.


Note: This a basic single recipe and will make a pizza to feed 3 to 4 people. It should fit on a normal size pan (170 sq. inches or 1,096.8 cm2).