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).

Individual Pizza Crust low-fat

3/4 c - lukewarm water
1 ts Honey
1 tb Dry active yeast
1 1/2 c All-purpose flour
1/2 c Semolina
1/2 ts Salt
1 ts Olive oil
1/2 c Cornmeal
Light vegetable oil cooking - spray

Mix the water and honey together in a medium stainless steel bowl.
Sprinkle the yeast on top and set it aside for about 20 minutes to proof, until bubbles form on the surface.

Put the flour, semolina, and salt into the bowl of a food processor.
Turn the machine on and slowly add the yeast mixture through the feed tube.

Process for about a minute, until a dough ball forms, drizzling a little additional water into the feed tube if necessary. Continue to process for another 2 minutes.

Rub the surface of a large bowl with the olive oil. Transfer the dough ball to the bowl and roll it in the oil to coat. Cover with a towel and set the bowl aside in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Remove the dough to a work surface that has been dusted with the cornmeal and roll out evenly to a thickness of about 1/4 inch.
Cut out eight 5 1/2-inch circles, using a sharp knife and a saucer of that circumference.

Spray a cookie sheet with Pam spray and place the pizzas onto the sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes or until golden in color. Remove the baked crusts from the oven and add the toppings of your choice.

Pizza Dough

2½ cups plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 sachet (30g) dried yeast
¾ cups lukewarm water
3 tablespoons olive oil


Method:


1. Sift flour and add in the salt.
2. Add in the sugar and the dried yeast, mixed thoroughly.
3. Make a hole in the middle of the mixing bowl, and add in water and the olive oil.
4. Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
5. Put the dough into a buttered bowl, cover it, and let it double in bulk for about an hour. Place the bowl at a warm place all the time.


Tomato sauce:


1 kg ripe red tomatoes
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 basil leaves/ fresh springs of oregano
salt and freshly ground pepper

Deep Pan Chicago Style Pizza

1 c Warm tap water (110-115 deg)
1 pk Active dry yeast
3 1/2 c Flour
1/2 c Coarse ground cornmeal
1 ts Salt
1/4 c Oil

Filling:
1 lb Mozzarella, sliced
1 lb Sausage, removed from the -casing and crumbled
28 oz Can whole tomatoes, drained -and coarsely crushed
2 Garlic cloves, minced
3 ts Dried oregano -or- 5 fresh -basil leaves, shredded
4 tb Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Crust:

Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl and dissolve the yeast with a fork. Add 1 c of flour, all of the cornmeal, salt, and vegetable oil. Mix well with a spoon. Continue stirring in the rest of the flour 1/2 c at a time, until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Flour your hands and the work surface and kneed the ball of dough until it is no longer sticky.

Let the dough rise in an oiled bowl, sealed with plastic wrap, for 45 to 60 minutes in a warm place, until it is doubled in bulk. Punch it down and kneed it briefly. Press it into an oiled 15-inch deep dish pizza pan, until it comes 2 inches up the sides and is even on the bottom of the pan. Let the dough rise 15-20 minutes before filling.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Cook the crumbled sausage until it is no longer pink, drain it of its excess fat. Drain and chop the tomatoes.

When the dough has finished its second rising, lay the cheese over the dough shell. Then distribute the sausage and garlic over the cheese. Top with the tomatoes. Sprinkle on the seasonings and parmesan cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes at 500 degrees. Then lower the temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 25 to 35 minutes longer. Lift up a section of the crust from time to time with a spatula to check on its color. The crust will be golden brown when done.

Serve immediately.