I love Pizza. No if's and's or but's about it. Pizza is one of my favorite foods, which is interesting when you consider that I had never even tasted pizza until I was about sixteen and a boyfriend of mine made us a Chef Boy Ardee pizza at our house. It was love at first bite (the pizza not the boyfriend.) Anyways, I have come a long way since then. I no longer use boxed pizza kits. I now prefer to make my own crust.
My friend Monique had told me a while back about this fabulous crust recipe which she uses. She got it from Willow Arlen who adapted it from a recipe by Jamie Oliver. Today I decided to try it out and was I ever glad I did. It was just wonderful!
My oldest son used to work in a pizza place once upon a time and has taught me the tricks of the trade. They had what they called a "Dimpler" which was a tool they ran over the crush after it was stretched out, cutting dimples into the crush, which helped it to rise evenly. They also brushed their crusts with some garlic oil and dusted it lightly with parmesan and pre-baked them for a few minutes to set them prior to putting on the sauce and fillings, which is how I always do my pizzas now. Believe it or not it makes a difference!
One of the reasons I made a pizza today was because the people at Cirio had sent me a tin of their Pizzassimo pizza sauce to try out. I love the Cirio tinned tomatoes and I was really looking forward to trying their pizza sauce. I normally make my ownpizza sauce. I've been making it for years and I have always really enjoyed it.
From the Cirio site:
Bursting with the taste of sun-ripened tomatoes, we very finely chop our finest tomatoes to produce a thick and creamy sauce that is complemented with a finely balanced blend of aromatic Mediterranean herbs: basil, oregano, marjoram and onion. The result is a perfect base to bring the taste of authentic Italian pizza to the table
How would it stack up against my own?
Well, I am happy to say that it is really quite good for a tinned sauce! I'm not surprised really. The people at Cirio have tinned tomatoes down to an art! That is why whenever I want to make a sauce or a recipe where the tomatoes are the star I only use theirs. No offense against the other brands, but . . . Cirio is the best in my opinion. ☺
Because I really wanted to test out the flavor of the sauce, I made a simple Margherita Pizza, with only sauce and cheese on top. Lovely jubbly. It was FAB-U-LOUS! Nothing but the truth and the whole truth, no word of a lie.
And the crust . . . wunnerful . . . wunnerful. Thanks Monique!
*Honeyed Pizza Dough*Makes 3 medium crustsPrintable Recipe
A delicious pizza dough borrowed from Monique, who borrowed it from Willow, who borrowed it from Jamie Oliver.
300ml (1 1/4 cup) warm water (110-115 degrees F)
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP honey
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (one 1/4 oz packet)
400g (about 2 1/2 cups) white bread flour, plus more for dusting
100g (about 1 cup) fine semolina flour
1 1/2 tsp. fine grain sea salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
Measure the water, olive oil and honey into a bowl. Whisk. Sprinkle on the yeast and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until frothy.
Whisk the the flour and semolina together in a large bowl with the salt and garlic powder. Make a well in the center. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and stir with a fork, slowly whisking in more flour from the edges of the bowl as youwork your way around. Once the flour is almost completely incorporated, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kead for 8 to 10 minutes, using flour dusted hands, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Oil a clean bowl. Shape the dough into a ball and tip it into the clean bowl, turning to coat. Cover loosely with a damp towel and set aside in a warm place for one to two hours until doubled in size. Punch out as much air as possible. The dough is now ready to use. You may also store it in the refrigerator for several days, or divide and freeze (properly wrapped) for another day.
Note - If frozen, thaw the dough in the refrigerator the night before. When you are ready to use it, remove the dough from the refrigerator, and divide into balls (recipe makes enough for three to four medium pizzas). Once again, press as much air out of the dough as possible, then roll or stretch the dough into a circle. Allow to stand for 10 to 15 minutes prior to topping and baking.
Many thanks to the people at Cirio for sending me this Pizzassimo sauce to try out! Please note that although I was sent the sauce free of charge I was not required to write a positive review. Two thumbs up!
