Friday, February 19, 2010

to market to market to buy a fat pig

It's Friday and for me that means a trip to Central Market in downtown Lancaster. My title is misleading though, because i will not be buying a pig from the Amish butcher this trip. No, I don't think I will be eating pork for a very long time due to an uncomfortable bout with food poisoning last week. The pig was not the culprit, but it remains in the contaminated category -guilty by association.

On a tastier note, I want to share a great recipe for Pizza Dough in case, like us, you are without a good pizza place nearby. We adapted a recipe from a cookbook classic, "More-With-Less" by adding cornmeal as suggested by Mark Bittman's "How To Cook Everything."

Combine in large bowl:
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon or 1 package of yeast

When dissolved, add and beat until smooth:
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoon vegetable oil (or olive oil)
1 1/4 cup flour

If you are using a kitchen aid mixer, attach your bread hook at this point, or if you are doing this by hand, then knead away and add:

1/2 cup of cornmeal
1 1/2 cups of flour

Once you've added the cornmeal, started kneading in the additional flour 1/2 cup at a time. Allow time in between each scoop to make sure the dough needs the full amount. You may also add more flour if it is needed. The dough should be fairly smooth and elastic to the touch and should separate from the sides of the metal bowl. This should take between 5 to 10 minutes of kneading.

Place dough ball in greased bowl (I use olive oil), and let rise until doubled. Place in warmer place for a faster rise and in a cooler place for a slower one. On average allow 45 minutes to an hour.

Then, take dough and divide to form two dough balls. Pat and stretch to fill 2 greased pizza pans. For me, this is the most difficult part. Let rise 10 minutes.

Now you can move on to your toppings. The cheesier and the saucier the better!

To cook pizza, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes. Just check the bottom to see if it is as brown as your desire.

2 comments:

  1. Oh to have a fun market near-by!! I tried a similar pizza dough recipe but with whole wheat flour (not full replacement, mixed with the regular). I think it will take a few tries to get the texture right, but the ww makes for really rich flavor, and the extra bit of fiber doesn't hurt :)

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