Cocoa and Lavender: Homemade Pizza: A Safer Slice

Last summer, we attended a reunion for employees of a history museum where Mark worked in the Dark Ages (the 1970s and 1980s). I tagged along for the ride, but did not attend the reunion itself. (Me and 300 historians is not a good mix...)

The night before the reunion we gathered with a few friends for dinner in Marylou and Steve's beautiful garden at their home in Woodstock, Connecticut. Aside from them and the two of us, we were joined by our cousin Cathy and her partner Heather, plus several of their old friends and colleagues from the museum.

Marylou, being smart and knowing that the next two days would be stressful and full of activities (she was one of the event organizers), decided to order pizzas for dinner and serve them with a nice salad.

As a guest, being served pizza strikes fear to my heart. Literally, into my heart. Yep, it's that old garlic allergy of mine coming back to bite. Pizza in the United States almost always has garlic, although I know there are exceptions and I seek them at every turn.

But, in lil' old Woodstock, we weren't sure we could find pizza safe for me to eat.

When we decided that I would join him for the trip, Mark suggested to Marylou that I could make the pizzas, thus ensuring an allium-free dinner for me. Aside from topping lavash or flatbreads with tomatoes, cheese, and basil (or whatever we had on hand), I had little experience in pizza making. But, hey - I love a challenge and immediately started looking for crust recipes.

Knowing I would bake in an unfamiliar kitchen, I did my test run using ingredients I knew could be found anywhere, and limited myself to the most basic batterie de cuisine imaginable. As in, no pizza stone. Just cookie sheets.

I confirmed that out hosts had a food processor, so I began my search for a crust dough made in the processor. One from Wolfgang Puck surfaced, and I had heard good things about it from other bloggers, so that is what I used.

For the topping, I went basic with a Margherita pizza - probably my favorite. It is so classic, simple, and uses just a few ingredients - San Marzano tomatoes (when available), salt, olive oil, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil leaves.

For the test baking before the trip, I bought fresh mozzarella thinking that it would be the best option. My first tactical error. It wasn't. It was chewy - and not in a good way. So I checked in with my two friends who work in pizza parlors and was told by both that they use a dry mozzarella, as it melts beautifully at the high temperatures. The good news is a dry mozzarella will be much easier to find in a small town!

I had to assume that Marylou and Steve didn't have a pizza peel, so I tested the recipe using a large smooth wooden cutting board. It basically worked, although I made sure it was well floured, otherwise it wouldn't slide easily into the pan. Also, once the dough is on the board/peel I found I must work quickly, as the moisture from the dough will rapidly cause it to stick to the board.

The pan. One thing I have read about over and over is that you need to slide your pizza onto a preheated pan (or stone) to achieve a nice, crispy crust. When using a rimmed baking sheet, this isn't easily accomplished, so in the end, I didn’t slide from my improvised peel; I spread the dough directly into the cold rimmed pan before adding its toppings.

While pizza dough is sturdy, it still can easily absorb liquids, so don't top your pizza until you are ready to pop it in the oven. This will help to keep your pizza from getting soggy.

Another way to get a nice crisp crust is the set the pizza in the top of the oven - about 4 inches from the top (with heat coming from below; don’t broil it!).

Finally, when making something like this from scratch, your end results will always be better when you use the highest quality ingredients available: flour, yeast (makes sure it hasn't expired!!), tomatoes, olive oil, cheese and fresh basil.

The good news? It was easy - the garden party was a huge success, and the guests raved about the pizzas! Making so many pizzas was fun, and I am eternally grateful to Heather for being in the kitchen with me and keeping me laughing!

This dough is so easy to make but I ended up testing and re-testing, only to combine several techniques with this set of ingredients. It is best when the dough is made several days ahead and then refrigerated. It rolls/stretches easier, and I ended up with a thinner, crispier crust. The nice thing about making it several days ahead is that you can come home from work, and have pizza within minutes – giving you time enough to watch a movie (we chose Moonstruck) while you eat your pizza.

Sorry about the cell phone shot - I didn't have my dSLR at hand!

So grab a slice, fire up the DVD player, pop the cork on a nice Italian wine, kick back, and enjoy!

Pizza Margherita

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

3 to 2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes, drained

(juices reserved for another use)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 pound dry mozzarella cheese, sliced into 16 slices

30-40 fresh basil leaves

Mix together the water, olive oil, yeast, and honey in a small bowl or measuring cup. Place 3 cups flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse once or twice. Then, with the machine running, pour in the yeast mixture. Process until the dough forms a ball on the blades. If it doesn’t form a ball, add more flour – up to 1/2 cup – until it does. Remove the dough from the processor and knead it on a lightly floured surface for a couple of minutes, adding flour as necessary, until it is smooth and elastic.

Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly oiled bowl, rounded side down first, then flip it so the rounded side is up. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and leave it in a warm spot to rise for 30 minutes (you can leave it for up to an hour). The film of oil and plastic wrap trap moisture, keeping the dough from drying out, so it remains elastic and can rise. When it is ready the dough will stretch as it is gently pulled.

Divide the dough into 4 equal balls. Shape each ball by gently pulling down the sides of the dough and tucking each pull under the bottom of the ball, working round and round the ball 4 or 5 times. Then, on a smooth, lightly floured surface, roll the ball around under your palm until the ball feels smooth and firm, about 1 minute. Put the balls on a large plate, cover with oiled plastic wrap, and leave them to rest/proof in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 days. Go about your business and dream of slices of pizza...

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After days of anticipation, when it's finally time to make the pizzas, place the rack in your oven at the second highest level - about 4 to 5 inches from the top. Place a pizza stone on the rack and preheat the oven to 500°F for about 45 minutes.

In the meantime, press out the dough. Place one ball of dough on a lightly floured surface. While turning the dough, press down on its center with the heel of your hand, gradually spreading it out to a circle 12- to 14-inches. With your fingers, form a slightly thicker raised rim around edge of the circle. (You can also use a rolling pin.) Transfer dough to a pizza peel that has been liberally dusted with cornmeal or semolina flour. If you don’t have a pizza stone preheating, you can transfer the crust to a rimmed baking sheet at this point.

Purée the San Marzano tomatoes with the oil and salt. Spread 1/2 cup puréed tomatoes over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border. Top with a quarter of the basil leaves and four cheese slices (per pizza). Season with salt.

Slide your cookie sheet into a preheated over, OR slide the pizza from the peel onto the pre-heated stone. Bake until the cheese topping is bubbling and the rim of the crust is deep golden brown, about 8-9 minutes.

Use the pizza peel to slide the pizza from the stone to a cutting board. Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut the pizza into slices and serve immediately.