Anyone who knows me well can confirm I hate soccer. I have gotten to learn about it because that’s life, but liking it… no, not at all. On the other hand, I am realistic, sensible, and conscious that the most expected tournament around the globe is that one which happens every 4 years, and even us, who hate this sport will sit down with gusto, excited and proud, and even wear the colors of our national team. Now, truly I have to admit that being far away from my homeland makes me shiver when I hear the melody of Mr. Jaime Nunó and to belt out the lyrics by Mr. González Bocanegra in the National Anthem. Thus, needless to say, we go fancy for every match played by the Mexican team, and even when they have already been eliminated, here are some of the delicious dinners we prepared to sit down before the T.V. set and scream in just the same way real fans do so, even though the delicacies were from elsewhere.
I wanted to prepare something easy and tasteful, so I bought several pre-cut pizza dough packages to extend them and add my favorite ingredients. My secret that day was the tomato sauce I used, however, here is also how to prepare the dough from scratch.
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 60 ml (4 tbsp) warm water
- 11 g (2 1/4 tsp) dry instant yeast
- 500 g (4 cups) All-Purpose Flour, (have an extra 1/4 cup to dust as needed)
- 9 g (2 tsp) salt
- 240 ml (1 cups) fresh water
- 45 ml (3 tbsp) olive oil
For the Pomodoro Sauce
- 1 Kg. (2 lb) tomato
- 1 (1) onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove (1 clove) garlic, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 1 pinch (1 pinch) dry oregano
- 1 (1) bay leaf
- 1 pinch (1 pinch) thyme, fresh or dry
- 1 pinch (1 pinch) sugar, if the tomatoes are too acid
- 1 dash (1 dash) olive oil
To Prepare
Prepare the Pizza Dough
- In a small bowl mix the warm water and the instant yeast. Use a spoon if necessary and let it rest for 5 minutes in order for a sponge to be formed.
- Meanwhile, mix the flour and salt in the stand mixer at low speed.
- Add the yeast sponge, the water, and the olive oil and work the dough with the hook for about 5 minutes. You can, if you'd rather, work the dough by hand, but you in this case, you will have to work the dough for about 10 minutes.
- On your clean work surface, dust a little flour and make a dough ball. Then smear the big bowl with olive oil and put your dough to rest and ferment. Cover with the clingwrap or your clean and dry kitchen towel and let it double its volume. This shall take about an hour and a half to two hours.
Prepare the Pomodoro Sauce
- In a medium pot add a little olive oil at medium heat. When it comes to temperature, add the onion and sweat it. Give it a hand by adding a pinch of salt.
- When translucent, add the garlic, and almost immediately add the tomato cut in medium chunks. Season with salt and pepper, as well as the aromatic herbs. The cooking should take about 10 minutes approximately. To make it into a sauce, I generally use the immersion blender and do it directly in the pot, being careful of the hot contents. However, if you don't have one, you may use your blender and pour the tomatoes already blended when raw. There will be little difference. I prefer a chunkier sauce, but if you think it's too thick, you may add a little water. However, should I think it's too runny, I add some additional crushed canned tomatoes to thicken the sauce. Also, if you think the flavor is too acidic, correct it by adding a pinch of salt, if not, just leave as is.
- Once ready, smear to "dress" your pizza with whichever ingredients you selected.
The Pizza
- When the dough has doubled its volume, then it's ready to be used. Equally divide it into 4 portions with your Chef's knife on your flour-dusted work surface.
- Use your hands to extend the dough delicately to a thickness of about 1/2 an inch. and transfer to a baking sheet with parchment paper and dress your pizza as you wish.
Cooking the pizza
- If you have a pizza stone, preheat your oven to 350 °F (180 °C) with the stone inside. If not, just preheat your oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
- If your pizza will be cooked on a pizza stone, transfer it using the pizza peel. My recommendation is that you do it with the parchment paper. This will make the process much easier. If you are not using a pizza stone, then put it in the oven directly in the baking sheet you put it while preparing it.
- Cooking the pizza will only take about 12 minutes, but it is important that all toppings are cooked beforehand. If not, it is highly possible that your ingredients will come out raw out of the oven and it may be harmful to your health.
- When serving pizzas I like to sprinkle a little freshly grated parmesan cheese or a few fresh basil leaves.
