Read Online Passionate About Pizza: Making Great Homemade Pizza by Curtis Ide - Free Book Online
Authors: Curtis Ide
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first!
Unfortunately, I have not seen the particular brand of serving tray I bought in stores recently. After some persistent searching, I have found a similar type of pizza pan that works for serving, too. This pizza pan has a perforated bottom, but instead of a plastic tray, it has several small “feet” punched into the pan that holds the pan above the surface on which it sits. This ought to provide the same benefit of keeping the pizza crust crispy, although without the benefit of containing the mess. In practice, the feet are not tall enough to provide as much airflow as the pizza needs to keep the bottom from getting moist. Luckily, I have also found a plastic serving tray that has bumps to support its contents above the bottom of the tray. The combination of the pan with the holes and the tray with the bumps works like the plastic tray I first found. However, you have to buy the pan and tray as separate items and put them together yourself. I have also recently seen a metal pizza pan with large dimples to keep the pizza supported. Evidently, I am not the only person looking for solutions like this. Keep your eyes open and your creative juices going and you will find the solution that works for you!
Utensils
All the utensils you really need to make pizza are the same things that you would generally have available in your kitchen for other types of cooking: a mixing bowl, some measuring spoons and cups, a work surface, a sauce pan, and a pan to cook the pizza on. In addition to the items already discussed in this chapter, there are a few utensils that might make your pizza making easier, but really do not affect the taste of your pizza.
A few frequently used utensils are:
• Cheese Grater
• Dough Scraper
• Garlic Press
• Heavy Duty (Wooden) Spoon
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Mixing Bowls
• Serving Spatula
• Wire Whisk
Cheese
You can use almost any cheese on your pizza. In fact, you do not need to use any at all! Go ahead and express your freedom of choice. The flavor of the cheese you use has a big impact on the flavor of the pizza. By using different varieties of cheese like Mozzarella, Provolone, Romano, Parmesan, and all the other varieties, you are in control of the taste of the pizza. Choose cheese flavors that complement the other pizza toppings you use or choose cheese that brings a distinctive punch to the pizza. Get the best quality cheese you can afford or the brands that you trust so that you pizza comes out great. You may notice some cheeses melt differently, some produce oil as they cook, or the cheese’s texture may vary. Make notes or remember your preferences.
I do want to point out one thing. I have found that if you purchase cheese that has been shredded or grated before being packaged, it has less moisture in it. This fact can be used to your advantage. When baking a pizza with a lot of moisture in it (such as one with diced, fresh tomatoes), you might want to use pre-shredded cheese. When baking a pizza with little moisture, you might prefer to grate the cheese yourself.
Fat
I do not mean body fat; I mean fat in your food. Everyone is fat-conscious these days and the idea of pizza with cheese and sausage or pepperoni on it can turn off some people.
Well, I refuse to give up pizza even while I cut the amount of fat in my diet and you do not have to give it up either! If you look at it, a slice (one eighth of a pizza) of New York-style Pizza (cooked using my recipe) has just slightly over one ounce of cheese; this is the only significant source of fat in the recipe other than the optional toppings.
The way I see it, you can tailor your recipes to your low fat diet by not adding any oil to the dough, making toppings that use little or no oil, and reducing the amount of cheese on the pizza. You can even find low-fat or non-fat cheese and cheese substitutes to use. By the way, you can choose to use high-fat
Unfortunately, I have not seen the particular brand of serving tray I bought in stores recently. After some persistent searching, I have found a similar type of pizza pan that works for serving, too. This pizza pan has a perforated bottom, but instead of a plastic tray, it has several small “feet” punched into the pan that holds the pan above the surface on which it sits. This ought to provide the same benefit of keeping the pizza crust crispy, although without the benefit of containing the mess. In practice, the feet are not tall enough to provide as much airflow as the pizza needs to keep the bottom from getting moist. Luckily, I have also found a plastic serving tray that has bumps to support its contents above the bottom of the tray. The combination of the pan with the holes and the tray with the bumps works like the plastic tray I first found. However, you have to buy the pan and tray as separate items and put them together yourself. I have also recently seen a metal pizza pan with large dimples to keep the pizza supported. Evidently, I am not the only person looking for solutions like this. Keep your eyes open and your creative juices going and you will find the solution that works for you!
Utensils
All the utensils you really need to make pizza are the same things that you would generally have available in your kitchen for other types of cooking: a mixing bowl, some measuring spoons and cups, a work surface, a sauce pan, and a pan to cook the pizza on. In addition to the items already discussed in this chapter, there are a few utensils that might make your pizza making easier, but really do not affect the taste of your pizza.
A few frequently used utensils are:
• Cheese Grater
• Dough Scraper
• Garlic Press
• Heavy Duty (Wooden) Spoon
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Mixing Bowls
• Serving Spatula
• Wire Whisk
Cheese
You can use almost any cheese on your pizza. In fact, you do not need to use any at all! Go ahead and express your freedom of choice. The flavor of the cheese you use has a big impact on the flavor of the pizza. By using different varieties of cheese like Mozzarella, Provolone, Romano, Parmesan, and all the other varieties, you are in control of the taste of the pizza. Choose cheese flavors that complement the other pizza toppings you use or choose cheese that brings a distinctive punch to the pizza. Get the best quality cheese you can afford or the brands that you trust so that you pizza comes out great. You may notice some cheeses melt differently, some produce oil as they cook, or the cheese’s texture may vary. Make notes or remember your preferences.
I do want to point out one thing. I have found that if you purchase cheese that has been shredded or grated before being packaged, it has less moisture in it. This fact can be used to your advantage. When baking a pizza with a lot of moisture in it (such as one with diced, fresh tomatoes), you might want to use pre-shredded cheese. When baking a pizza with little moisture, you might prefer to grate the cheese yourself.
Fat
I do not mean body fat; I mean fat in your food. Everyone is fat-conscious these days and the idea of pizza with cheese and sausage or pepperoni on it can turn off some people.
Well, I refuse to give up pizza even while I cut the amount of fat in my diet and you do not have to give it up either! If you look at it, a slice (one eighth of a pizza) of New York-style Pizza (cooked using my recipe) has just slightly over one ounce of cheese; this is the only significant source of fat in the recipe other than the optional toppings.
The way I see it, you can tailor your recipes to your low fat diet by not adding any oil to the dough, making toppings that use little or no oil, and reducing the amount of cheese on the pizza. You can even find low-fat or non-fat cheese and cheese substitutes to use. By the way, you can choose to use high-fat
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