Homemade Pizza | The Best Homemade Pizza You'll Ever Eat.

Homemade Pizza | The Best Homemade Pizza You'll Ever Eat.

BY ELISE BAUER.

What to do when your 8-year old nephew comes to visit? Make pizza, of course!

Well, not of course, actually. I didn’t think of it until we exhausted Sorry, Monopoly, and gin rummy. But it did turn out to be a brilliant idea as my father had just received a baking stone for Christmas, and my nephew loves pizza.

I told him if he helped me make it I would talk about him on my website and he would be famous. That seemed to get his attention. He thought the dough was “slimy and gross” but he loved picking his own toppings, and the finished product was “awesome”.

The following method I patched together from recipes in both Joy of Cooking and Cook’s Illustrated’s The Best Recipe. The pizza dough recipe makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas.

Next time I’ll be a bit more patient with stretching out the dough so I can get it even thinner. Look to the end of this post for some excellent links about pizza from other food bloggers.

Pizza dough is a yeasted dough which requires active dry yeast. Make sure the check the expiration date on the yeast package! Yeast that is too old may be dead and won't work.

You can use all purpose flour instead of the bread flour that is called for in the recipe, but bread flour is higher in gluten than all-purpose flour and will make a crispier crust for your pizza.

Cup measurements can vary depending on how you are scooping the flour (we fluff the flour, lightly scoop it, and level with a knife). So I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure out the flour amounts by weight. This is the only way you'll get a consistently accurate measurement.

INGREDIENTS.

Pizza Dough: Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas.
1 1/2 cups (355 ml) warm water (105°F-115°F).
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast.
3 3/4 cups (490 g) bread flour.
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (omit if cooking pizza in a wood-fired pizza oven).
2 teaspoons salt.
1 teaspoon sugar.

Pizza Ingredients.
Extra virgin olive oil.
Cornmeal (to help slide the pizza onto the pizza stone).
Tomato sauce (smooth, or puréed).
Firm mozzarella cheese, grated.
Fresh soft mozzarella cheese, separated into small clumps.
Fontina cheese, grated.
Parmesan cheese, grated.
Feta cheese, crumbled.
Mushrooms, very thinly sliced if raw, otherwise first sautéed.
Bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, very thinly sliced.
Italian pepperoncini, thinly sliced.
Italian sausage, cooked ahead and crumbled.
Chopped fresh basil.
Baby arugula, tossed in a little olive oil, added as pizza comes out of the oven.
Pesto.
Pepperoni, thinly sliced.
Onions, thinly sliced raw or caramelized.
Ham, thinly sliced.
Special equipment.
A pizza stone, highly recommended if you want crispy pizza crust.
A pizza peel or an edge-less cookie or baking sheet.
A pizza wheel for cutting the pizza, not required, but easier to deal with than a knife.

MAKING THE PIZZA DOUGH.

1 Proof the yeast: Place the warm water in the large bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved.

After 5 minutes stir if the yeast hasn't dissolved completely. The yeast should begin to foam or bloom, indicating that the yeast is still active and alive.

(Note that if you are using "instant yeast" instead of "active yeast", no proofing is required. Just add to the flour in the next step.)

2 Make and knead the pizza dough: Using the mixing paddle attachment, mix in the flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil on low speed for a minute. Then replace the mixing paddle with the dough hook attachment.

Knead the pizza dough on low to medium speed using the dough hook about 7-10 minutes.

If you don't have a mixer, you can mix the ingredients together and knead them by hand.

The dough should be a little sticky, or tacky to the touch. If it's too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour.

3 Let the dough rise: Spread a thin layer of olive oil over the inside of a large bowl. Place the pizza dough in the bowl and turn it around so that it gets coated with the oil.

At this point you can choose how long you want the dough to ferment and rise. A slow fermentation (24 hours in the fridge) will result in more complex flavors in the dough. A quick fermentation (1 1/2 hours in a warm place) will allow the dough to rise sufficiently to work with.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap.

For a quick rise, place the dough in a warm place (75°F to 85°F) for 1 1/2 hours.

For a medium rise, place the dough in a regular room temperature place (your kitchen counter will do fine) for 8 hours. For a longer rise, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 24 hours (no more than 48 hours).

The longer the rise (to a point) the better the flavor the crust will have.

MAKE AHEAD FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS.
After the pizza dough has risen, you can freeze it to use later. Divide the dough in half (or the portion sizes you will be using to make your pizzas). Place on parchment paper or a lightly floured dish and place, uncovered, in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. Then remove from the freezer, and place in individual freezer bags, removing as much air as you can from the bags. Return to the freezer and store for up to 3 months.

Thaw the pizza dough in the refrigerator overnight or for 5 to 6 hours. Then let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before stretching it out in the next steps.

PREPARING THE PIZZAS.

1 Preheat pizza stone (or pizza pan or baking sheet): Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 475°F (245°C) for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour. If you don't have a pizza stone, you can use a pizza pan or a thick baking sheet; you need something that will not warp at high temperatures.

2 Divide the dough into two balls: Remove the plastic cover from the dough. Dust your hands with flour and push the dough down so it deflates a bit. Divide the dough in half.

Form two round balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover with plastic and let sit for 15 minutes (or up to 2 hours).

3 Prep toppings: Prepare your desired toppings. Note that you are not going to want to load up each pizza with a lot of toppings as the crust will end up not crisp that way.

About a third a cup each of tomato sauce and cheese would be sufficient for one pizza. One to two mushrooms thinly sliced will cover a pizza.

4 Flatten dough ball, and stretch out into a round: Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a lightly floured work surface.

Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further.

Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter - 10 to 12 inches.

Treat the dough gently!

You can also hold up the edges of the dough with your fingers, letting the dough hang and stretch, while working around the edges of the dough.

If a hole appears in your dough, place the dough on a floured surface and push the dough back together to seal the hole.

Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. Pinch the edges if you want to form a lip.

5 Brush dough top with olive oil: Use your fingertips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings). Let rest another 10-15 minutes.

Repeat with the second ball of dough.

6 Sprinkle pizza peel with corn meal, put flattened dough on top: Lightly sprinkle your pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) with cornmeal. (The corn meal will act as little ball bearings to help move the pizza from the pizza peel into the oven.)

Transfer one prepared flattened dough to the pizza peel.

If the dough has lost its shape in the transfer, lightly shape it to the desired dimensions.

7 Spread with tomato sauce and sprinkle with toppings: Spoon on the tomato sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and place your desired toppings on the pizza.

8 Sprinkle cornmeal on pizza stone, slide pizza onto pizza stone in oven: Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone in the oven (watch your hands, the oven is hot!). Gently shake the peel to see if the dough will easily slide, if not, gently lift up the edges of the pizza and add a bit more cornmeal.

Slide the pizza off of the peel and onto the baking stone in the oven.

9 Bake pizza: Bake pizza in the 475°F (245°C) oven, one at a time, until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes. If you want, toward the end of the cooking time you can sprinkle on a little more cheese.

Elise Bauer.
Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.

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Juli 19, 2020

how to use amaranth

How to Use Amaranth.

Considered an ancient grain, amaranth is a great source of nutrition. It has high fiber at 15%, high protein at 14% and can be used in many ways. It also contains high lysine, an amino acid found in few foods and higher calcium than most other grains. The best reason to eat amaranth is for its high nutritional value, but it also can become a staple food in the diets of people who are diabetic or have celiac because of its low glycemic index value and lack of gluten. Children also benefit from amaranth in their diet because of its high nutritional value. Amaranth is a whole grain and can also be counted as a vegetable. Although amaranth is gaining popularity, it is still not widely used and many people are unsure how to cook and eat amaranth. Knowing how to use amaranth will help you incorporate it into your diet more often.



Part 1 Using Amaranth as the Grain Portion of a Meal.

The Institute of Medicine recommends consuming grains as part of a healthy meal. These grains can be served separately or as a part of a dish. Amaranth is a nice substitute for rice or pasta in a meal and satisfies the grain portion of the meal.

1. Serve amaranth instead of rice.

Use 2.5 to 3 cups of water to 1 cup of amaranth.

Simmer it in a covered pan for approximately 20 minutes.

All the water should absorb and the grains should be fluffy when finished.

You can also toast the amaranth in butter and add some of it into a rice pilaf with rice and other grains.

2. Use amaranth instead of couscous, risotto or orzo in pasta dishes. Amaranth works well because the texture and size are not far off from these pastas or grains. You will want to use slightly less water to cook the amaranth to help it retain its structure.

Make whole grain rolls with amaranth. Amaranth is a nice addition to whole grain breads. It can either be used whole or as flour.

Using it whole, it will add texture and nuttiness to the bread.

If using the flour, you can substitute 5% to 30% of the regular flour with amaranth flour, and the only other change you need to make to the recipe would be a slight increase in water.

It also works well as gluten free flour. When making gluten free rolls, you will need to substitute all the regular flour for amaranth flour, increase the water and add xanthan gum and a starch to help the bread bake correctly.

3. Make amaranth instead of oatmeal.

Amaranth can be simmered in juice for a sweet flavor.

Add nuts, spices and fruit for a healthy and sweet breakfast.

4. Add amaranth to soups or chili. Amaranth flour can be added to thicken up soups or cooked amaranth can be added for flavor and texture.



Part 2 Preparing Amaranth in Dessert.

Amaranth has a mild flavor that lends itself well to many applications, including dessert. Many people describe amaranth as being slightly nutty and toasty.

1. Make amaranth pudding. This is just like rice pudding. You can follow a rice pudding recipe and just substitute the amaranth for rice.

2. Use amaranth to make cookies.

Amaranth seeds add a nice crunch to cookies.

The flour can also be used to make gluten free cookies. You only need to substitute the amaranth flour for regular flour when making a gluten free cookie. This will affect the flavor and give a slightly dryer cookie. To help counter these effects, try adding applesauce to your cookie recipe. The applesauce will add some flavor and retain moisture.



Part 3 Baking with Amaranth.

Amaranth works well in baked applications, especially for gluten free baked goods. Using amaranth in baked goods increases the nutritional value, mainly the fiber and protein. Also, amaranth has a low glycemic index and people looking to keep blood sugar stable while still enjoying baked goods can do that with amaranth.

1. Substitute a portion of regular flour or whole wheat flour with amaranth flour. By substituting no more than 30% of the flour with amaranth you can still follow most recipes, with the exception being the amount of water. You may need more water when using amaranth flour because it absorbs more liquid than regular flour.

2. Make gluten free baked goods. Going gluten free in baking requires more changes to recipes because you need a way to build air structure in bread without gluten. The way this is overcome is by using xanthan gum and a starch. When making cookies or baked goods that don’t require much air cell structure, you may be able to substitute 100% of the flour.

3. Add whole amaranth for flavor and texture. You can toast the seeds before you use it or just add them raw to many bread and cookie recipes. Toasted amaranth seeds go well in items like biscotti because they add flavor and crunch.



Part 4 Making Amaranth Part of a Healthy Snack.

Healthy snacking is part of a balanced diet. Ideally, when snacking you want carbohydrates and protein to help satiate you until the next meal. Amaranth provides carbohydrates and protein and can be added to many snack foods.

1. Pop amaranth into a crunchy snack. Amaranth will pop easily and creates nice “puffs” that can be eaten alone or added to a snack mix.

To pop the amaranth, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of amaranth to a very hot skillet.

Stir the seeds continuously until they pop and while they are popping.

Once most of the seeds have popped, quickly remove them from the pan to avoid burning them.

Try drizzling honey and cinnamon on popped amaranth for a sweet snack.

2. Add course ground amaranth to smoothies. This will boost the nutritional value of the smoothie while giving it a thicker texture and nutty flavor.

3. Finished.



Question : How do you make popped amaranth?

Answer : Making popped amaranth takes a little getting used to but once you've mastered it, you'll be able to do it quickly and easily. It is popped without oil or other additions, which may feel odd at first, but it's a great low calorie way to make a treat. For step-by-step instructions on making it, check out the wikiHow: How to Pop Amaranth.

Question : How do you pronounce amaranth?

Answer : Depending on your own accent, it is pronounced "am-uh-ranth". A brief online search for "how to pronounce amaranth" will provide you with a sound file to listen to so you can perfect it!

Question : Should vegans eat amaranth?

Answer : Absolutely! Amaranth is a good choice to add to a vegan or vegetarian diet because of their high protein content and complete protein profile. Not only are they healthy but they're a tasty addition to a vegan diet that will help to keep you feeling full.

Question : What is a pseudocereal?

Answer : A pseudocereal refers to a plant that has starch-filled seeds or fruits that we treat as a grain. The reason such seeds or fruits are called "pseudocereal" is that they do not meet the botanical requirements to be considered a true cereal grain but they get used in much the same way for our diet (e.g., as a cereal, as flour, etc.). Many pseudocereals were staples in ancient cultures, like amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat. In general, they have highly nutritious profiles, which is why many of them are getting "rediscovered" in current times and are thought by agricultural experts to be an underappreciated source of future nutrition (Rosentrater and Evers 2018). Another name you might find these seeds and fruits referred to is "pseudograin".

Question : Can you eat amaranth leaves?

Answer : Yes, the leaves of amaranth are edible, the Aztecs used to boil the leaves and eat them as a vegetable. If you want to enjoy amaranth as a vegetable, use either any leaves from a young amaranth plant (or even the whole plant if you can spare it) or just go for the fresh growing tips of larger, older plants. If the leaves have spines, these need to be scraped off before boiling.

Question : Is amaranth healthy?

Answer : Yes, amaranth is a healthy grain. It contains around 27 grams of protein per cup, making it one of the best sources of grain protein. It is also a complete protein. Other nutrients include manganese and iron. It is a good source of dietary fiber as well.

Question : Can it be eaten raw?

Answer : You should cook amaranth before eating it because it contains components in its raw form that block the absorption of some nutrients in the digestive system.

Question : Can I use amaranth to make porridge to feed a toddler?

Yes, you can use amaranth to make instant porridge. Add some hot milk and sugar/jaggery to amaranth puffs. Allow it to stand for a few minutes before serving. You can make the porridge as runny or as thick as you want by adjusting the amount of milk you use.

Question : Can I find this product in Bangalore?

Answer : Amazon India and several other websites sell online to customers all over India. You can also get it in large grocery stores or organic food stores in Bangalore.

Question : What does an amaranth plant look like?

Answer : Amaranth plants are highly variable in leaf size and color, also in overall plant height. Some are tiny with solid green leaves and few seeds (pig weed), while others are over 6 ft/ 2 m tall with bright orange/red/green leaves. If you type "amaranth plant" into Google and click on Images, you'll see plenty of examples.



Tips.

Purchase and taste some products made with amaranth before committing to cook with it or use it regularly. This will help you determine if and how you want to use amaranth.

Use tea strainer (fine mesh) to rinse amaranth, and dry well before use.

The USDA recommends at least 51% of grains come from whole grains and amaranth counts towards the whole grain recommendation.

Februari 23, 2020