Showing posts with label Homemade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homemade. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Secrets to Great Homemade Pizza

A pizza is the sum of its parts; namely, the pizza crust, the pizza toppings and the pizza sauce. Make each one as overwhelming as you can make it and you'll be assured of turning out the best homemade pizza possible. Try out the following secrets when you make your homemade pizza.

Pizza Crust Secrets

Breakfast Pizza

Bake your pizza crust separately: It would be best if you can bake your pizza crust first before you add on the toppings and sauce. There's one good surmise for doing this. If you bake the lot at one and the same time, you may end up with a pizza that has overcooked toppings, burnt cheese and an undercooked, flat crust. Of course, you should not bake your crust fully the first time so that you won't end up with a pizza that has a burnt crust after your final baking stage.

Mixing pizza dough ingredients: Begin by putting in a bowl at least one-tenth of the warm water specified in your homemade pizza recipe. Add yeast gradually to the water, stir and let it stand for a few minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, put the remaining warm water, stir in the sugar and salt (if your formula calls for these ingredients) and the other dry ingredients except the flour, add the water and yeast mixture, stir the lot then immediately add the rest of the ingredients.

Kneading the pizza mixture: Kneading will let air mix with your pizza dough mixture. You should knead the pizza dough only until it reaches the permissible consistency: the dough doesn't stick to the holder and private portions can be stretched without breaking. Over-kneading will succeed in brittle pizza dough. While kneading the dough, use flour to forestall the mixture from sticking to your hands and the bowl, but use as microscopic flour as possible.

Let your pizza dough rise before using it: After kneading your pizza dough, you must give it enough time to rise to your desired thickness. Generally, the longer the fermentation time you allow your pizza, the good the taste of the pizza crust. However, be meticulous not to use too much yeast if you are going to let the dough rise for hours (say you prepared the dough in the morning and let it relax for the rest of the day in establishment for baking by day end).

If speed is of the essence: If you need the pizza dough as fast as possible, you can let it rise faster by adding more yeast to the mixture or by increasing the temperature of the dough. To do the latter, you can heat your oven for a few minutes, turn it off, cool the oven off a bit by leaving the oven door open for a few seconds, put the dough in a covered bowl, put the bowl in the oven and close the door. Let the mixture stay in the warm oven for at least 30 minutes, take it out, softly press the dough down then repeat the "rising" practice for other 30 minutes. other technique that you can apply for a faster fermentation duration is to use warm water. The higher the water temperature, the faster yeast action will be. Just a note of caution, however, the pizza dough which has been allowed to ferment longer using minimum whole of yeast ordinarily results into a better-tasting pizza crust so it's best that you mix and knead your dough hours before you assuredly need it.

Frozen homemade pizza dough preparation: If you have prepared pizza dough the night before and left it in the refrigerator for next day's baking, take it out in the morning and let it rise for at least some hours before you use it. Again, the less the yeast used, the longer the rising duration required.

To make a thin pizza crust: If you are aiming for a thin crust pizza, you will want to use less dough per pan. You can also just stretch your pizza dough more on the pan. Doing this will naturally cut the crust thickness.

To get a thick pizza crust: For a thicker crust, you need to use a pizza pan with a smaller circumference, use more pizza dough per pan or stretch out the dough less. The succeed would be increased crust thickness.

To get a crispy pizza crust: For a crispy pizza crust, it would be best if you cut the whole of water. Drier pizza dough regularly means a crispier pizza crust. Stiffer pizza dough also means crispier crust so it would be best to use flour with high gluten article if you want a crispy crust.

For a soft and gooey crust: To get a soft and chewy crust, you need to add more water to your dough mixture or use less flour. More moist pizza dough means softer pizza crust. To accomplish good results, use flour with low gluten content. You may make gluten-free pizza dough by using gluten-free flour

If you live in a high-altitude location: Be mindful of the succeed of high altitude on pizza dough. A higher altitude means less air pressure so the dough will rise faster, and it means a faster rate of evaporation so the dough will dry out faster. Thus, if you are in a high-altitude location, it is ordinarily advisable to use more water and less yeast in your pizza dough mixture than you would regularly use if you were in a low-altitude location.

Pizza Toppings

Simply speaking, the pizza toppings you should use depend on the type of pizza that you want. Fresh mozzarella cheese is principal if you want to make a New York pizza. New York style pizza is typically minimalist; that is to say, they use as few toppings as possible. On the other hand, a Chicago deep dish pizza is regularly loaded with meaty toppings: pepperoni, beef sausage, pork sausage, ground beef, bacon, ham, etc. You will also see bell peppers, mushrooms, and distinct kinds of cheese on a typical Chicago pizza. Tomatoes, cheese, anchovies, garlic, and herbs like basil and oregano, on the other hand, are typical of Italian pizza. California pizza, on the other hand, is characterized by seasonal vegetable toppings, fruit toppings, chicken pizza toppings, smoked salmon toppings, and other unusual toppings.

For great economy: Use pizza toppings that you already have on hand. Bacon, ham and sausages left over from breakfast, for instance, will make great toppings. Innovate depending on what ingredients you have. Naturally, cooked toppings will require less time in the oven so be sure to take this into account when baking your pizza.

Fresh toppings: It is recommended that you use fresh ingredients for your pizza toppings. Use fresh mozzarella cheese, if possible.

Finger crush herbs: To publish the flavor of dried herbs, it is best to finger crush them before you add them to your pizza.

Drain and dry toppings: To avoid getting a soggy pizza, especially if you are using lots of canned and moist ingredients, you should drain your toppings of excess moisture before you arrange them on your pizza base.

Pizza Sauce

Your pizza sauce will give your pizza its distinctive flavor. In the web, you can find a lot of easy pizza sauce recipes to follow. You can even try production your own trademark pizza sauce.

Easy pizza sauce recipe: There should be canned, pre-mixed pizza sauces ready in your local supermarket. On the other hand, you can use spaghetti sauce as your pizza sauce. other easy alternative would be to sauté some onions and garlic in extra virgin olive oil, add tomato sauce (chunky tomato sauce is fine or tomato paste/puree diluted with some water), add salt (and crushed pepper if preferred), let the sauce simmer then add basil and oregano. You can even add some balsamic vinegar if you wish. You can also add some cooked ground meat to your sauce if you prefer.

Thicker sauce is better: Use thick pizza sauce on your pizza. Too watery pizza sauce means a soggy pizza. If you are using canned pizza sauce, evaluate the thickness. If too thin, let the sauce simmer before using it on your pizza.

Pizza sauce on top: When cooking your pizza, it is advisable to put the sauce on top. This will forestall your cheese and other ingredients from burning.

Secrets to Great Homemade Pizza

Relate Link le creuset enameled cast iron 5 piece all clad copper core 2 quart saucepan

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

How to Make Your Own Homemade Pizza Crust

There are many different styles of pizzas out there. Thick, thin, stuffed crust and calzone style just to name a few. In this record I will focus on one of the most important factors, freshness. Homemade pizza crust is fun and easy to make. If you have kids that enjoy helping in the kitchen this could be a fun house project.

I have been development pizza crust at home for many years. The major ingredient of procedure is flour and if there's one thing I've noticed is that there is a huge dissimilarity between brands. Of procedure there are many types of flour, but I have found that bread flour or high gluten flour is the best for development pizzas. The taste dissimilarity between brands is usually not noticeable, until you try King Arthur flour. You'll pay a minute more but you'll find a huge dissimilarity in taste. So my first secret tip is to start with King Arthur bread flour. If you have entrance to a restaurant provide company, or want to order online I would pick up King Arthur high gluten flour. It's called Sir Lancelot.

Breakfast Pizza

The next major ingredient is yeast. There are many different types of yeast out there for starters. The most popular are the instant dry that you can find in any store, usually in a singular serving packet. Baker's yeast or commonly known as cake yeast is fresh and needs to be refrigerated. If you can find this type of yeast I would recommend experimenting and adjusting according to your taste buds. Nothing can turn the flavor of your dough more than yeast. You can also hunt online for pizza starters. It's astonishing to me how much you can modify the flavor in any type of bread with yeast.

The other ingredients do not literally ensue the taste all that much. Salt, sugar, oil and water pretty much are the same anywhere. There are some experts out there that will argue water is the secret ingredient. Most New York style pizzerias swear it's the water. I would argue more so flour and yeast and how long you let the dough set. There are lots of other substitutes for salt and sugar that I have seen. Some folks use sea salt or honey but I have not found a noticeable difference.

In a bowl you want to consolidate 2 1/2 cups of flour, a tablespoon of sugar, a teaspoon of salt. Depending on what kind of yeast you use you could also add the yeast with the other dry ingredients. If you're not using instant yeast I would recommend mixing the yeast with a cup of warm water. The water climatic characteristic usually needs to be between 100 and 105°F. Any hotter and you could kill the yeast and any cooler the yeast will activate. If you're using dry instant yeast just add it to your other dry ingredients.

I like to use a kitchen aid style mixer with a dough hook, it just makes life easier. You can knead the dough by hand and the results will be just as good. Add all the ingredients into the mixer and I usually like to add a tablespoon of olive oil. This is optional, but it does seem to add a minute hint of flavor. Allow the ingredients to mix for a good 10 minutes. Someone else trick you can experiment with is to add the flour and the water, or literally most of the flour say 2 cups and let it sit for 15 minutes prior to adding the other ingredients and mixing.

While the dough was kneading in the machine, grab a small bowl and drop about a teaspoon of oil into the bowl rubbing it all around. Add a minute oil to your hands and turn the mixer off. You will know when the dough is done kneading when the mixer is keen it around in one solid clump. The dough should be slightly sticky, not too wet and not too dry. You may have to add a minute flour or a consolidate drops of water to get things right.

I like to take the dough out of the mixer and halt kneading by hand. I finally get the dough in the shape of a ball and put it in my bowl. Place a piece of Saran wrap tightly around the bowl and put it in the fridge for at least four hours. I usually like mine to sit overnight.

Well there you have it, a basic formula with a consolidate of secrets. Go ahead and give it a shot it is not hard. Soon you will have your own homemade pizza crust house formula and your friends and house will beg you to make them pizza.

How to Make Your Own Homemade Pizza Crust

Relate Link anolon advanced bronze 12 inch covered

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Recipes For Easy Homemade Pizza

Pizza is one of those foods that you can get pretty creative with when designing a recipe. Sure you need to get things right with the base, but as far as the toppings go, you can get creative and invent some tasty pizzas. This report will look at some ways ideas to help you get creative with your pizza recipes, and hopefully give you some guidelines to avoid disasters.

What makes a good Pizza?

Breakfast Pizza

For me pizza is a very much a personalised food. Sure it was invented by the Italians, and many of the acceptable pizza recipes have a very Italian feel about them. But for me the real fun, and recompense comes when you get creative and try to generate you own recipes, with your own personal touches. When designing a pizza formula I like to think of it this way, if you enjoy a type of food, any particular dish or style then you can probably make a tasty pizza out of that concept. Lets look at some examples:

Mexican

I love Mexican food. I love tacos, and nachos. So how can we turn these flavours into a pizza. My Mexican pizza has a tomato sauce on a thin and crunchy base. I ad some chilli beans, and small chopped up chucks of beef (or mince) and use taco seasoning to give it that Mexican flavour. I add cheese and cook the pizza. When the pizza comes out of the oven, I sprinkle corn chips on top, and add a dollop of sour cream, salsa and guacamole to the centre. This pizza is scrumptious, and very Mexican.

Smoked Salmon

I love smoked salmon breakfast bagels. My local cafe makes one that is Bagel, tomato, cream cheese, pesto with slices of Smoke Salmon. It is a tasty breakfast. I turned this meal into a pizza, but I failed first time colse to by cooking the smoked salmon. My final formula complex cooking the pesto on top of a thin and crunchy base. Once fully cooked I pull out the base, and plainly add all the other ingredients cold. This pizza is truly outstanding, and wouldn't be out of place in any high road restaurant. Ok, so I hope you got the idea. pick a food or dish that you love, and see if you can make it into your own glutton pizza. Development your own pizza in this way is both rewarding for you the chef, and anything who you share your meal with. Enjoy.

Recipes For Easy Homemade Pizza

Relate Link le creuset enameled cast iron 5 piece all clad master che'f 2 6 quart saute pan

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Homemade Pizza Dough

Do you want to make homemade pizza dough from scratch with your favorite toppings? What about some garlic butter or butter parmesan crust just like at the pizza parlor? Worried that you won't be able to make your own crust and have it taste as good as the restaurant? You can - and it won't even take that long. This picture is the pizza we had for dinner tonight!

Making good food is trial and error, especially when you're going to make something from scratch. I've made homemade pizza hundreds of times. I've made it using frozen pizza crust, boboli (pre-made and baked) pizza crust, and (dry mix) pizza crust in the box. I've even made homemade pizza crust with wheat, semolina, and white flour. This recipe is a combination of all I've learned over the last 25+ years of making pizza at home. This recipe makes 2 large pizzas.

Breakfast Pizza

What you'll need:

* 4 packets/boxes of (dry) pizza crust mix (and brand)
* 2 cups warm water (about 115 degrees)
* 1 Jar pizza Sauce
* 3 packets Sargento's Sun-dried tomato and basil mozzerella shredded cheese
* garlic powder
* Italian seasonings
* minced garlic
* Pizza toppings (pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, onion, green pepper, whatever you like!)
* 2 large pizza pans - preferably with small holes throughout for aeration.
* 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

When you buy store bought pizza crust what usually happens is you mix each dry mix crust with some hot water into a ball, and then let that stick mess rise, then you smash it onto a cookie sheet and bake it with sauce, toppings, and cheese for about 15 minutes. What you get is a more like a "bread pizza" because it's so darn doughy. I've also made pizza crust from absolute scratch too - but that can take time. I've developed a hybrid of these two things that is still pretty quick, but yields a pizza crust that is just about as close as you can get to the pizza parlor as possible.

Get a large mixing bowl and put the 4 packets or boxes of dry mix pizza crust in. You can use any kind you like, Robin Hood or Jiffy are both great. Next add about 2 tbsp of garlic powder to the bowl (if you like garlic - we do!), and then add 2 tbsp of Italian seasonings. Mix up these dry ingredients, and then begin to add the 2 cups of water. The water can't be more than 120 degrees or you'll kill the yeast, but it shouldn't be so lukewarm that it doesn't grow fast enough. A good indicator is the water should be hot enough to be able to stick your finger in it - but just barely. Add the water bit by bit until it's all added and the mix in the bowl is in a ball. Spill a cup of flour out onto the counter. Place the doughy mixture on top of that on the counter, and then spill the remaining cup of flour on top.

You're going to knead the dough with the balls of your hands, push, flip, push, flip, working in the loose flour until it's all gone. It usually takes about 5 minutes to knead the flour in, and then continute to knead an additional 3-5 minutes and the dough with be a bit elastic like play-doh. Sprinkle extra virgin olive oil around the large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and roll over and over until coated. Wrap the bowl in saran wrap and then place a kitchen towel over the top. I usually pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees and place the bowl on top for 30 minutes, rotate 180 degrees, and then leave another 30 minutes. In that 60 minutes the dough will double in size.

When it's ready, remove the towel and saran wrap - and punch down the dough one time in the middle of the towel. Cut the dough in half with a sharp knife. Take one half of the dough and begin to stretch it in your hands from the middle out to the edges as you slowly rotate it bit by bit 360 degrees over and over. Be careful to do it evenly and not stretch any way to thin as to make holes. Once you have it stretched to about 3/4 the size of the pizza pan, place it on the pan. Then, lifting up the edge, pull outward and stretch it towards the edge of the pan while rotating the pan around until the crust covers the entire pizza pan. Make sure that it's even all throughout the pan, and then empty 1/2 of the pizza sauce jar onto the crust, and thin it out covering the pizza with the back of a tablespoon. Use the other half of the dough and do the same with the other pizza crust and the remaining sauce.

Pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees. Prepare your pizza toppings (cut your onion and green pepper if necessary, Canadian bacon, etc). Use 1 and 1/2 of the packets of cheese on both of the pizzas. I like the Sargento cheese that's already seasoned with basil and sun-dried tomatoes - it gives the pizza a great flavor! Add your toppings, and then the remaining cheese on top.

Cook in the oven 10 minutes, then check. If the cheese is not all the way melted it may need an additional 2-3 minutes. Be careful - 500 degrees is very hot and required to get a crust like the restaurant, but just a minute or two too long and you can burn it!

Once the pizzas come out of the oven - we melt 3 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp minced garlic in the microwave for 45 seconds, and drizzle over the crust. You can do grated parmesan instead of the garlic if you like!

Homemade Pizza Dough

John Pratt writes on his blog JTPratt's Blogging Mistakes, but his love of cooking keeps him writing for Free Online Recipes by Kieli! Pictures for Homemade Pizza Dough are here!

My Links : all clad ltd double burner griddle

Saturday, May 21, 2011

How to Make an Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce

Millions of Pizzas are devoured across the globe, especially on weekends. If you have ever wanted to make your own homemade pizza, it is very simple to do and can be a great bonding experience with your kids as they pickup great kitchen tips from you.

Since pizza is easy, tastes great and cheap to make, it is a favorite food for many and is one of the most popular foods ever invented...

Breakfast Pizza

A perfect combination of crust, sauce, cheese, toppings and spices can make a homemade pizza a wonderful meal. Many Pizza places across the land define themselves by the pizza sauce recipes they use, which may have have been handed down through generations and guarded closely from competitors...

Since the sauce is a critical ingredient, the success of the pizza pie can hinge on the mixture you create with this basic recipe. We intentionally do not include measurements as we believe the best recipes are created through experimentation and taste preferences of the cook. With that in mind, each of these ingredients can be combined in various amounts to create your own version and who knows, label and sell it at the local grocery...

Enjoy!

To make a great homemade pizza sauce, you need to start with the basic ingredients listed below:

garlic cloves, mincedOnion Olive oil Can of tomato puree Can of crushed tomatoes Rosemary/Basil/Oregano Salt Sugar
 
Optional Ingredients

Crushed red pepper Onion Powder Touch of Red or White Wine Black Pepper Brown Sugar Garlic Powder

Once the desired ingredients are selected, you can follow the steps below:

1. Saute garlic and/or onion in olive oil.
2. Add tomato puree and crushed tomatoes into a food processor (the Cuisinart DLC-10S does a great job...) and blend mixture for about 10 second.
3. Add remaining ingredients and continue mixing on low for desired consistency.

You can also make more than enough and freeze the rest for future meals. With a little bit of tweaking, this sauce recipe can also be used to compliment stuffed shells, cabbage or lasagna.

After the crust is rolled out, add the sauce mixture with a ladle. Spread the sauce in a circular motion until the entire pizza crust is covered. Add a layer of fresh mozzarella cheese. The authentic Italian restaurant will use sliced mozzarella, but shredded will also do.

Place the pizza in a preheated oven set at about 350 for about 12-14 minutes. When the cheese is bubbling and the crust is turning to a golden brown, the pizza is ready. Slice into eight pieces and enjoy.

How to Make an Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce

Cooking does not have to be a chore. Turn on your passion for creating healthy Recipes for the entire family.

See more ways you can cook easy meals in minutes Easy-Home-Cooking.com

Related : all clad copper core 14 piece cookware set kitchenaid gourmet essentials 2 quart tea kettle all clad lasagna pan

Friday, May 6, 2011

How To Make a Homemade Pizza

I don't know about you, but I love good pizza. I can honestly say that if I haven't had it for a while I even love bad pizza. The better part of my adult life I have been searching for a better way to make a great homemade pizza.

I grew up in New York City a long time ago (Remember those big old yellow checker cabs?) Back when I was a kid I remember going around the corner to Sal's pizzeria and for twenty five cents I got the largest, most delicious slice of pizza you could imagine. If you got it right out of the oven all of the cheese and sauce would ooze out of the sides as you gave yourself third degree burns to the insides of your mouth. Oh, it hurt so good.

Breakfast Pizza

I have moved around the country a lot since I left and discovered that not all pizza is created equal. When I first went to Chicago I was shocked to see that people there actually ate their pizza with a knife and a fork and even claimed to have invented it. In Conneticut, brick oven fired, Neopolitian style is king and in California you're lucky if you can find the cheese with all of the various toppings they use (Tofu, pinapple, lobster pizza anyone?)

The point is good pizza is good based on where you come from. I can't think of any other type of food that can be so different and still be called by the same name.For me, I set out to make my own pizza to see if I could get close to the taste I remembered as a kid.

At first I went the boxed Chef Boy-Ar-Dee route and all I could say was Ugh-h-h-h. So much for trusting that jovial old Italian chef on the box cover. It was the first time I knew what cardboard must actually taste like. Even the cheese was terrible. I mean it was powdered cheese in an envelope for crying out loud.

Undeterred, I pressed on in my quest to make a decent homemade pizza. I decided to go to the local grocery store where I bought some fresh dough (Now we're cookin), some Ragu Pizza sauce and some shredded mozzarella cheese. I even splurged for one of those pizza stones. Now I was ready to make my masterpiece.

The first thing I did was set the store bought dough in a bowl and put aside to warm up. Then I turned on the oven with the pizza stone inside. I remember that in the old days those pizza ovens we're pretty hot, upwards of 500-600 degrees. I wasn't going to do that with my old Kenmore electric oven but I set it at 475 and hoped it wouldn't smoke too much. At least not enough to set off the smoke detectors.

I also remember that when the pizza guys worked they had everything right in front of them, so I pre-cooked my sausage and laid all of the other ingredients out in front of me. Now I was ready to start preparing the dough.

Throwing a little flour on the cutting board, I plopped down the dough and started to smack it around and knead it just like I remember seeing at Sal's. After about 3 minutes of doing this along with singing a few verses of Che La Luna, I realized my crust was about 3 inches wider than it was than when I started. Three more minutes of this activity gained me another 2 inches but my hands were starting to bruise up and sting just like they did back in th 4th grade when Sister Mary Needaman smacked me with her ruler for not having my homework. This was not going to work. It was time for the rolling pin.

Now, traditional pizza makers would probably just shake their heads and snicker at this activity, but I was getting desperate, never mind hungry (Remember the cooked sausage sitting in a bowl next to me?)

Rolling it actually got me closer to the size I was looking for but alas the crust was no longer round, in fact you would be stretching the truth to even call it elliptical. It was at this point that I made my second fatal mistake.

Back at Sals, the pizza guy would throw the crust way up in the air with a spinning motion and make a spectacular catch to the O-o-o's and A-h-h-h's of all who observed.

I said to myself, "Why not? I can do that".

Smart guy that I am, I realized that it was the centrifical force that stretched out the dough and made it circular. I started out carefully, only throwing it up a few inches and everything was fine. Getting a little cocky now I gave it a more of a twist as I tossed it even higher. After five or six of these I was ready for the pizza maker Olympics. Starting a new chorus of Che La Luna, I gave it a big twist and hurled it up to the ceiling.

Here in Buffalo we have a saying we use to describe anything that goes wrong. It goes back to the missed field goal that allowed the N.Y. Giants to win the Superbowl a few years back. We say things like "That guy is just a little bit wide right" or "I won't be at work today because I'm feeling a little wide right".

Well that's where that crust went, wide right. It looked like a frisby sailing across a field on a tranquil summer's day. Boy, was it beautiful. My dog must of thought so too because he came right out of the sleeping position to 3 feet off the ground and snagged that crust in mid air. Lucky me, here I thought It was going to hit the dirty floor.

I got it back, minus a few puncture marks and one large U-shapped hole. No harm done (My wife wasn't home.)

At this point I had had quite enough so I took the stone out of the oven and placed it on a pan holder (You see, I'm not a complete moron), pieced the torn up dough back together on the hot stone, very carefully I might add, and added some sauce and cheese. Everything now was getting somewhat back to normal and I was feeling a little happier about the whole situation. I wasn't back to singing yet, but I was getting there.Working quickly so as not to let the stone cool too much, I added some oregeno, basil, pepper and salt. Then I topped with my sliced sausage and sprinkled some olive oil on top. Voila, I was ready.

Into the oven it went. I cooked it for around 25 minutes and it was done. I have to say except for that single lava stream of sauce and cheese which was erupting from the side of the broken crust it looked pretty good. It tasted pretty good too, but it wasn't the same as I remembered.

Since that time I have been looking on how to improve my pizza making. The internet has made it a lot easier to find resources on how to make a homemade pizza. I continued making improvements over the years but it wasn't until a few months ago that I stumbled upon a resource that taught me how to make the best pizza I have ever tasted.

Like I said earlier, I'm from New York City and that is the style of pizza that I personally crave. I know most of you folks don't come from New York City but if any of you have ever tasted this type of pizza while while visiting, you know what I'm talking about. If you've never tasted New York City pizza before but would like to without actually having to travel there, this is your chance. I can now also make many other styles of pizza like Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis and Sicilean. Over the years I've learned how to make great pizza, I wish I could say the same about my singing.

How To Make a Homemade Pizza

If you would like to learn not only how to make a pizza at home but actually make the best pizza you ever tasted just follow my link.

[http://www.usfreeads.com/1183032-cls.html]

Do yourself a favor and not only skip the mess I made in the kitchen but, start right off making the best darn pizza you ever had - right in your own kitchen! See some of the secrets the experts use and learn pizza making the right way. This not just a receipe book. The FREE DVD actually shows you professional pizza making from start to finish. Since I've learned how to properly toss the dough into the air, the only one who's sorry that I ordered this is the dog. He really misses the edible frisbee.

Thanks To : presto 8 quart pressure cooker cuisinart chefs classic 10 piece cookware set kitchenaid gourmet distinctions 16 1 2 inch

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough

When it comes to making a homemade pizza, the dough making is the hardest part. If you are like me, you don't like the taste from store bought pizza crusts so you make your own. This recipe is the one I like to use and it does take some time to make but, it will be well worth your efforts. I think it tastes just as good as the crust you get at your local pizza shop.

Pizza Dough Recipe

Breakfast Pizza

1 1/8 cups of warm water (not hot)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons powdered milk

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

2 teaspoons butter, softened

2 teaspoons of active dry yeast

Pizza toppings of your choice

nonstick cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, powdered milk, granulated sugar, salt and softened butter. Make a well in the center of your dough and place the active dry yeast down into the center of the well, covering the well with additional dough. Let sit for 1 minute and then add in the 1 1/8 cups of warm water. It is very important to make sure your water is warm and not hot as you don't want to kill the yeast. Mix up the ingredients in your bowl using only your clean hands for approximately 3 minutes.

Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and a clean dish towel. Place bowl in a warm area of your kitchen and allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes. Remove dough from bowl and knead for 1 minute. Cover with a clean cotton towel and allow it to rest for an additional 15 minutes.

Lightly flour your dough board and roll out into a large circle or rectangle (depending on the shape of your pizza pan). Lightly spray your pan with nonstick cooking spray and place your crust on top. Prick your crust with a fork in several places. Top your crust with sauce and your favorite toppings.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbling hot.

How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough

Shelly Hill has been working from home since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. Shelly enjoys cooking and baking for her family and friends and trying out new recipes. You can visit Shelly online at http://www.workathomebusinessoptions.com or at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com for additional free recipes and cooking tips.

Thanks To : anolon advanced 10 piece cookware set

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Low Cholesterol Tips For Homemade Pizza

One of the biggest complaints about pizza is the high amounts of cholesterol. That can be easily fixed by changing your choice of toppings. Instead of pepperoni and sausage, try this delicious caramelized onion pizza. It is full of the sweet flavors of onions, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese. To make it even lower in cholesterol, they are made on pita bread rounds, making them super fast and easy to make. Caramelized onions can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator. All you need to do is a quick reheating to make them ready to serve. Every few days, just caramelize some onions while you are doing kitchen chores and keep them in the fridge for whatever recipes you feel like making later.

The trick to leaving behind all those cholesterol-laden foods is to choose alternatives that have flavors you enjoy. This is one reason why this caramelized onion pizza recipe works so well. The flavor imparted by those slow-cooked onions is incredibly good. Do not go for bland when you can go for flavor!

Breakfast Pizza

Do not use those bland tomatoes from the grocery store, either. Visit your local farmer's market and pick out some tasty tomatoes that were picked that morning, ripe off the vine. If you have never eaten a tomato fresh from the vine where it has ripened gradually and been kissed by the sun, you have never eaten a real tomato. The intense flavor is amazing. By filling your recipes with fresh foods that are picked at their peak of flavor, you will not miss a single taste of that cholesterol.

Recipe for Caramelized Onion Pizza on the Grill
These little pizzas are full of flavor.

What You Need

1 large red onion, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tablespoons olive oil 4 6-inch whole wheat pita bread rounds 1 large tomato, quartered and sliced 3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded 1/4 cup Romano cheese, finely shredded 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, shreddedHow to Make It

Cook onion slices in a medium pan over medium heat until they are golden and tender. Stir as needed. This takes some time to do properly, so do not rush it. Set aside.

Arrange your medium-hot coals around the perimeter of the grill. Test the center for medium heat. Toast the bread on one side right over the coals for a minute. Remove. Place the onions, sliced tomato, and cheeses on the top and return the pita bread to the center of the grill over indirect heat. Cover the grill.

Let the pizzas sit inside the grill for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Remove the pizzas from the grill and top with shredded basil before serving.

Low Cholesterol Tips For Homemade Pizza

Resource Box: Do not be afraid to play around with the various types of pizza. Use an English muffin or a pita bread round for a crust. Experiment. You can make a delicious dessert from a fruit pizza recipe. Be sure to use the fruit that is available seasonally to get the best flavor and sweetness.

GreatPizzaRecipes.com You Make the Pizza, We Help You Make It Great!

See Also : all clad stainless 12 quart stock pot all clad master chef 2 14 piece cookware set calphalon unison 10 piece set

Friday, March 11, 2011

Homemade Pizza - Tips and Tools For the Best Results

Pizza is popular, no doubt about it. It's a simple food that evolved from the fast flatbreads, or focaccia, eaten in Italy as a quick meal.

We used to have it at home on Saturday nights, or even for lunch on school days. In those days, the pizza was made from a box mix. Those remain available. You can also buy frozen dough and canned sauce separately.

Breakfast Pizza

We like to make our dough from scratch, and use a canned sauce for convenience. After making thousands of pizzas over the years, we've learned some tips and tricks!

For a great homemade pizza:

Coat the dough lightly with olive oil before putting it in a bowl to rise. This prevents the surface from drying out. Use fresh ingredients, especially the cheese, meat and peppers. We like meat on pizza, but it can make it too greasy. To avoid this, precook the meat and drain well on paper towels before adding to your pizza. Bake in a hot oven, 500 degrees or hotter if your oven goes that high. Those lucky enough to have an outdoor, wood-burning oven, trying baking your pizza there. Be sure to turn the pizza during baking for even cooking. Use double potholders or thick oven mitts to handle the hot pizza, especially if you're using a ceramic baking stone.

If you cook much, you probably have most of the tools in your kitchen to make a pizza already. In addition to measuring cups (liquid and dry) and measuring spoons, here are tools that will help if you're just starting with homemade pizza:

Bowl - Use a heavy Pyrex glass or ceramic bowl to retain warmth and allow your crust to rise evenly Cover - A clean cloth or dish towel keeps out cool drafts, and prevents the dough from drying out on the surface Ceramic pizza stone - best for even baking Metal baking sheet - light weight and easy to store Pizza cutter - Choose a model with guarding between the handle and the blade to prevent cuts

Armed with a few tools and easy techniques, you'll be making great pizza at home in no time!

Homemade Pizza - Tips and Tools For the Best Results

If you liked these suggestions, please visit our blog at http://diaryofadishie.com - for more info on tools, tips and recipes (pizza and others) on cooking from scratch, using vintage cookware, and mixing vintage and new dinnerware, china and glassware in creative table settings. Plus, tales from our dish-hunting travels at Kimbesa's Closet.

Recommend : t fal signature hard anodized 12 piece cookware

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Perfect Homemade Pizza Tips - Making Pizza at Home Can Be Easy!

I have to admit I am a pizza snob. I have spent most of my life searching for the most delicious pizza. Along my never ending journey I have come up with some must haves when making the perfect pizza. The most important thing I learned is that freshness counts. Whether it's the dough, sauce or the various toppings you prefer, you will always be a winner with fresh ingredients. The fresher the ingredients the better the taste of the pizza.

The most overlooked part of the perfect pizza is the dough used to make the crust. It doesn't matter if you prefer thin or thick crust. It just has to have flavor. I find that many pizza places these days use frozen dough they just roll out and serve. The crust is the foundation of the pizza and must not be overlooked. A pizza with a flavorless crust will be a disappointment to all who taste it.

Breakfast Pizza

After you have your dough, it is on to the sauce! Here you can choose a nice red sauce or go crazy and use a white sauce with garlic. It is all about the flavors you like. Taste, taste, taste, until you have the sauce you want. I like adding a little bit of garlic, oregano and sugar to my red sauce. That combination really makes my taste buds go wild.

Next we have the cheese we will use. To most people this would seem to be the easiest part. I have found that you actually need a good mixture of a few cheeses to get the right taste and texture for a perfect pizza. I hate it when I grab a slice and the cheese rips off the toppings of all the other slices. If you mix different kinds of cheese you will get a mix that actually breaks instead of stringing together. The combination I like to use is one half mozzarella, one quarter provolone, and one quarter jack cheese.

Last but not least, the toppings. This is actually the easiest part. All you have to do is choose the things you want on your pizza. Whether you are as simplistic as just cheese, or you like to spice things up with jalapenos and pineapple, you can't go wrong with what you like. The only tip I have for toppings is to make sure you spread them out evenly so that every bite has the same delicious taste you crave.

Perfect Homemade Pizza Tips - Making Pizza at Home Can Be Easy!

Click here to make the best pizza you've ever tasted - HomeMade Pizza Secrets!

Recommend : calphalon unison 10 piece set anolon advanced 12 inch open round griddle

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Secrets to Great Homemade Pizza

A pizza is the sum of its parts; namely, the pizza crust, the pizza toppings and the pizza sauce. Make each one as wonderful as you can make it and you'll be assured of turning out the best homemade pizza possible. Try out the following secrets when you make your homemade pizza.

Pizza Crust Secrets

Breakfast Pizza

Bake your pizza crust separately: It would be best if you can bake your pizza crust first before you add on the toppings and sauce. There's one good reason for doing this. If you bake the lot at one and the same time, you may end up with a pizza that has overcooked toppings, burnt cheese and an undercooked, flat crust. Of course, you should not bake your crust fully the first time so that you won't end up with a pizza that has a burnt crust after your final baking stage.

Mixing pizza dough ingredients: Begin by putting in a bowl at least one-tenth of the warm water specified in your homemade pizza recipe. Add yeast gradually to the water, stir and let it stand for a few minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, put the remaining warm water, stir in the sugar and salt (if your recipe calls for these ingredients) and the other dry ingredients except the flour, add the water and yeast mixture, stir the lot then immediately add the rest of the ingredients.

Kneading the pizza mixture: Kneading will let air mix with your pizza dough mixture. You should knead the pizza dough only until it reaches the proper consistency: the dough doesn't stick to the container and individual portions can be stretched without breaking. Over-kneading will result in brittle pizza dough. While kneading the dough, use flour to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands and the bowl, but use as little flour as possible.

Let your pizza dough rise before using it: After kneading your pizza dough, you must give it enough time to rise to your desired thickness. Generally, the longer the fermentation time you allow your pizza, the better the taste of the pizza crust. However, be careful not to use too much yeast if you are going to let the dough rise for hours (say you prepared the dough in the morning and let it relax for the rest of the day in preparation for baking by day end).

If speed is of the essence: If you need the pizza dough as quickly as possible, you can let it rise faster by adding more yeast to the mixture or by increasing the temperature of the dough. To do the latter, you can heat your oven for a few minutes, turn it off, cool the oven off a bit by leaving the oven door open for a few seconds, put the dough in a covered bowl, put the bowl in the oven and close the door. Let the mixture stay in the warm oven for at least 30 minutes, take it out, softly press the dough down then repeat the "rising" exercise for another 30 minutes. Another technique that you can apply for a faster fermentation period is to use warm water. The higher the water temperature, the faster yeast action will be. Just a note of caution, however, the pizza dough which has been allowed to ferment longer using minimum amount of yeast generally results into a better-tasting pizza crust so it's best that you mix and knead your dough hours before you actually need it.

Frozen homemade pizza dough preparation: If you have prepared pizza dough the night before and left it in the refrigerator for next day's baking, take it out in the morning and let it rise for at least several hours before you use it. Again, the less the yeast used, the longer the rising period required.

To make a thin pizza crust: If you are aiming for a thin crust pizza, you will want to use less dough per pan. You can also just stretch your pizza dough more on the pan. Doing this will naturally reduce the crust thickness.

To get a thick pizza crust: For a thicker crust, you need to use a pizza pan with a smaller circumference, use more pizza dough per pan or stretch out the dough less. The result would be increased crust thickness.

To get a crispy pizza crust: For a crispy pizza crust, it would be best if you reduce the amount of water. Drier pizza dough usually means a crispier pizza crust. Stiffer pizza dough also means crispier crust so it would be best to use flour with high gluten content if you want a crispy crust.

For a soft and gooey crust: To get a soft and chewy crust, you need to add more water to your dough mixture or use less flour. More moist pizza dough means softer pizza crust. To achieve better results, use flour with low gluten content. You may make gluten-free pizza dough by using gluten-free flour

If you live in a high-altitude location: Be mindful of the effect of high altitude on pizza dough. A higher altitude means less air pressure so the dough will rise faster, and it means a faster rate of evaporation so the dough will dry out faster. Thus, if you are in a high-altitude location, it is generally advisable to use more water and less yeast in your pizza dough mixture than you would normally use if you were in a low-altitude location.

Pizza Toppings

Simply speaking, the pizza toppings you should use depend on the type of pizza that you want. Fresh mozzarella cheese is necessary if you want to make a New York pizza. New York style pizza is typically minimalist; that is to say, they use as few toppings as possible. On the other hand, a Chicago deep dish pizza is usually loaded with meaty toppings: pepperoni, beef sausage, pork sausage, ground beef, bacon, ham, etc. You will also see bell peppers, mushrooms, and different kinds of cheese on a typical Chicago pizza. Tomatoes, cheese, anchovies, garlic, and herbs like basil and oregano, on the other hand, are typical of Italian pizza. California pizza, on the other hand, is characterized by seasonal vegetable toppings, fruit toppings, chicken pizza toppings, smoked salmon toppings, and other unusual toppings.

For great economy: Use pizza toppings that you already have on hand. Bacon, ham and sausages left over from breakfast, for instance, will make great toppings. Innovate depending on what ingredients you have. Naturally, cooked toppings will require less time in the oven so be sure to take this into account when baking your pizza.

Fresh toppings: It is recommended that you use fresh ingredients for your pizza toppings. Use fresh mozzarella cheese, if possible.

Finger crush herbs: To release the flavor of dried herbs, it is best to finger crush them before you add them to your pizza.

Drain and dry toppings: To avoid getting a soggy pizza, especially if you are using lots of canned and moist ingredients, you should drain your toppings of excess moisture before you arrange them on your pizza base.

Pizza Sauce

Your pizza sauce will give your pizza its distinctive flavor. In the web, you can find a lot of easy pizza sauce recipes to follow. You can even try making your own trademark pizza sauce.

Easy pizza sauce recipe: There should be canned, pre-mixed pizza sauces available in your local supermarket. On the other hand, you can use spaghetti sauce as your pizza sauce. Another easy alternative would be to sauté some onions and garlic in extra virgin olive oil, add tomato sauce (chunky tomato sauce is fine or tomato paste/puree diluted with some water), add salt (and crushed pepper if preferred), let the sauce simmer then add basil and oregano. You can even add some balsamic vinegar if you wish. You can also add some cooked ground meat to your sauce if you prefer.

Thicker sauce is better: Use thick pizza sauce on your pizza. Too watery pizza sauce means a soggy pizza. If you are using canned pizza sauce, evaluate the thickness. If too thin, let the sauce simmer before using it on your pizza.

Pizza sauce on top: When cooking your pizza, it is advisable to put the sauce on top. This will prevent your cheese and other ingredients from burning.

Secrets to Great Homemade Pizza

Sean Lannin
http://www.homemade-pizza-made-easy.com/

Visit : all clad master chef 2 6 quart saute pan circulon classic 14 piece cookware set all clad copper core 14 piece cookware set

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Easy Homemade Eggs Benedict Recipe For Breakfast

If you're looking for that special dish to add zing to your brunch, holiday breakfast or supper, Eggs Benedict should be your choice. This dish is sure to brighten up your loved ones' meal. Enjoy this legendary dish that was supposed to have first been served in the very first fine dining restaurant of the United States, way back in the 1860's! Here's how I make it.

What you'll need for this recipe:

4 eggs
Two English Muffins, cut into two halves horizontally
Canadian Bacon - 4 slices; you could also use baked ham
2 tsp of Fleur De Sel Salt or kosher salt
2 tbsp of distilled white vinegar
Hollandaise sauce

To garnish

Parsley leaves or chives

How To Make Hollandaise Sauce

Prepare this sauce just before you start on the main dish so that it remains warm.

Combine yolks of three eggs with a tbsp of fresh lemon juice and beat it around in a saucepan over a slow flame. To this mixture, add half a cup of white wine and a quarter pound of unsalted butter and keep stirring till the butter melts. Now add a tbsp of white vinegar, pepper and salt and keep stirring till you see the sauce getting thick. If you feel the sauce is coming apart, you could add two spoons of water and keep whisking till you get a creamy texture.

How To Make Eggs Benedict

First, toast your English muffins till they reach a crispy golden brown colour. Take them off the broiler or oven and spread a teaspoon of butter evenly on the toasts. Take a frying pan and cook the Canadian bacons or ham slices till they get brown. Now, place a slice of this on each muffin toast.

Next, we have to poach the eggs. Grease a deep pan with oil; then fill it with water. Make sure there's enough water to keep the eggs fully immersed. To this water, add salt and vinegar to enable the eggs to retain their shape. Let the liquid boil; then simmer the heat just before you add the eggs.

How To Add The Eggs

Take small sized bowls and break each egg into a bowl. Hold these bowls just below the surface of the liquid to let the egg yolks flow out into the water. Now switch off the heat and close the pan with a lid. Let the eggs rest in the liquid for at least three minutes. You can adjust this duration according to the firmness of the yolk.

Next, carefully pick up each egg from the water with a slotted spoon; hold for a while to let excess water drain off and place a poached egg on each of the toasted muffins. Add Hollandaise sauce over the eggs, garnish with chives or parsley and serve.

This recipe's good for four servings.




If you want to see what the completed dish looks like, check here: http://www.eggrecipe.net/featured-photo-gallery/eggs-benedict-by-thebittenword-com/

Related : le creuset 9 piece cookware set anolon professional 12 piece nonstick cookware set

Sunday, October 31, 2010

How to Make a Homemade Pizza From Scratch

When it comes to making a homemade pizza from scratch, it is pretty easy...just a little time consuming. However, making one from scratch ensures you are controlling the ingredients and they just taste better.

This is the recipe that I like to use when I make homemade pizzas for my family. I don't use a round baking sheet, I make oblong shaped ones on my cookie sheet. This recipe will feed 6-10 people.

Pizza Dough Ingredients:

1 package dry yeast

1 cup water

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon melted shortening

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

vegetable oil

Mix the dry yeast in 1 cup of warm (not hot) water in a large bowl. After 1 full minute, stir in the sugar and 1 1/2 cups of flour. Mix in the melted shortening and salt. Stir in the remaining flour. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). This dough will be very firm. Place in a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size (about 45 minutes). Remove cover and punch dough down. Cover again and place into the refrigerate until cold.

Grease an oblong baking sheet lightly with vegetable oil. Roll out the dough onto the sheet.

Topping Ingredients:

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon basil flakes

1/2 teaspoon ground oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of black pepper

1/2 cup fresh sliced mushrooms (if desired)

1/4 cup finely chopped onions

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup of your favorite cheese (we use Mozzarella)

1/4 lb. Italian sausage, chopped

10 slices of Pepperoni

Brown the sausage in a frying pan and set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the tomato paste, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Spread the sauce across the top of your dough crust. Sprinkle the grated and shredded cheeses on top of the sauce mixture and then place meat and vegetables on top of cheeses.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until done.




Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. Shelly enjoys cooking and baking from scratch for her family. You can visit Shelly online at http://www.workathomebusinessoptions.com or her recipe blog at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com for additional free recipes.

Related : all clad copper core 10 fry pan simply calphalon nonstick 10 piece set

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

Most of the time, a homemade dish is always fresh, nutritious, healthy and much better than any hotel food. Like any other food, pizza too can be made at home and thus we need not spend time ordering or buying from shops or hotels. We can make one that is delicious and healthy in the comfort of our kitchen. You need not worry where to get pizza recipes as there are variety in the Internet.

Ingredients required for pizza dough will include; 180g of plain white flour, full table spoons of salt, dried yeast, olive oil, half table spoon of caster sugar, 120ml warm water and Polenta for dusting. On the other hand some of the cookware needed are; a spoon, rolling pan, sieve, rounded tray for baking the dough,two bowls and a cling film. The time required to make one is about 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Now that we've gathered the cookware and ingredients that we require, the next step is cooking process. To begin with, mix some flour and sieve it as you put it in a bowl, add salt, yeast and caster sugar. Create a whole in the center, add a mixture of olive oil and warm water, then merge the mixture with hands to make an uneven paste.

Put the dough into a fat bowl and cover it with stick film for about 2 hours, uncover it when the dough size increases and shake over some flour on it. Roll the dough on a smooth plane and keep dusting with flour when turning. Add some flour on the base of the baking tray and move the dough over the tray. Press it from the outer side for rolling. With this few steps you've a delicious baked pizza.




Peter Gitundu Creates Interesting And Thought Provoking Content on Pizza. For More Information, Read More Of His Articles Here PIZZA SAUCE If You Enjoyed This Article, Make Sure You SUBSCRIBE TO MY RSS FEED!

Friends Link : kitchenaid 10 piece cookware set circulon classic 14 piece cookware