So we didn’t roast a turkey like every other Canadian did for Thanksgiving weekend but we did try the wood fired pizza again with our good pals Barb & Brett instead. The recipe I used produced an OK pizza. It wasn’t the best ever and like anything, it will take practice to master. So thanks go out to Barb, Brett, Alex, Heather and Kalyna for truly being Guinea pigs once again!
The dough was easy enough to make but I must admit, I think with the humidity of Singapore alone caused the “yeasty beasties” to go nuts and well what was meant to be a thin crust pizza, ended up being about half way to a Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizza instead. The dough also needed some pizzaz as a result. Too much of it, though it came out fine, there was just too much! Next time I intend on seasoning the dough with more salt, pepper and herbs from the garden. A good helping of dried oregano also gives any pizza a slightly more authentic flavour.
The recipe I followed was none other than Meathead’s Roman Style pizza dough. Click here for the recipe and instructions. I mean it is easy as “Pizza” pie to make but next time instead of using two halves, I’ll split the finished and proofed dough into thirds and roll it out thinner than I did. That said, if you’re firing these pizzas up on a Big Green Egg at 500 degrees, you only need about 9-10 minutes (or less with a thinner crust) but more on that later.
Now pizza lends itself incredibly well to creative license. The topping choices and combinations are virtually endless so have fun with it. For the sauce I simply took two small tins of tomato paste, stirred in some pre-roasted garlic and then added freshly chopped up thyme, oregano, tarragon and a bit of rosemary. That’s it and it was tasty enough to be sure! On the first pizza we laid down some olive oil, the homemade tomato sauce, some roasted garlic, caramelized onions, Japanese hiratake mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, and smoked chorizo sausage. On the second pizza, we placed the oliv oil, sauce followed by artichoke hearts, black olives, a handful of hiratake mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and parsley. I also sprinkled some dried oregano on top (and should have done more to be honest!)
I preheated the Big Green Asian Egg to 500 degrees F with the platesetter inserted (legs down.) I then placed the 12″ pizza pan directly on top of the plate setter for 10 minutes for each pizza. The next time I try this, I’ll actually put the plate setter with the legs up and rest the pans on the grate instead, just want to see if that makes any difference with charring the bottom of your crust. Mine came out a bit black in some spots.
Anyway, the result, good hearty and slightly too crusty pizza that could be improved upon the next time we try this. I will definitely try this again and may go back to the original BGE recipe for pizza dough. It called for 1.5 cups less flour and I think that may have something to do with a thinner crust.
So in the spirit of Canadian Thanksgiving, thanks for reading, thanks for following and thanks for trying out some of these recipes. I know that I’m thankful for the family and friends that I have and that my friends is what makes cooking so special for me…it makes them happy! On that note, here’s wishing you all a very happy and healthy Canadian Thanksgiving!
Roman
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Overall Heather Rating: 6/10