September 2009 - Kimbesa's Homemade Pizza

Pizza – an easy Sunday night supper

Posted on September 20, 2009September 20, 2009 by kimbesa

I’ve found it’s so easy to have pizza for a Sunday night meal, having made it often for so many years.

Homemade pizza

You can make the pizza crust late in the afternoon, and let it rise on the back of the stove, with a clean dish towel or cloth over the bowl to keep down the drafts. Then go off to finish the laundry, do homework, or any of those other tasks that will get your week off to a good start.

Pizza’s flexible that way. It fits around the rest of your life.

Or, if you make the dough further in advance, such as in the morning, put it in the refrigerator and let it rise more slowly. If you make an extra batch or two, you can even freeze some ahead. Wrap them well and date them. Just take them out of the freezer to thaw for a few hours before you’re ready to use them.

The other pizza components, such as sauce and toppings, keep well and you can have them as pantry staples. This is one reason we like canned mushrooms, though fresh mushrooms are great on pizza, too.

The cheeses, such as mozzarella and parmesan, are great to have on hand as refrigerator staples. The extra richness of flavor that you get from fresh grated parmesan and fresh mozzarella make up for their shorter shelf life.

When you’re ready to make the pizza, just preheat the oven, prepare your baking stone if it needs that, stretch out the dough, top it and bake.

Then you’re ready to pour your favorite drink and settle in with your favorite Sunday night TV shows. Or, just relax and enjoy a hot fresh pizza as you get ready for another week of activity.

Pizza for lunch

Posted on September 3, 2009September 3, 2009 by kimbesa

Lunch has been pizza a lot lately. The meal starts early, as soon as the homey smell of yeast-rising dough drifts through the house. My own homemade pizza is a special occasion, even for lunch.

Pizza close up To start a pizza, I get the flour bins out of my antique Hoosier cupboard. The flour is Hoosier, too – from Indiana. I haul artisan flour from two water-powered grist mills – Greenfield and Bonneyville – that have been grinding local wheat for more than 100 years. The flours have names: New Wrinkle and Hard Red Whole Wheat. These flours have more substance than the ordinary store brands, and when you knead a lot of dough, you develop a feel. The silky white bread flour and rough whole wheat will become a hearty pizza crust.

Besides flour, the dough takes salt, dry yeast, olive oil and water. I can almost make pizza dough in my sleep because I’ve practiced the recipe for nearly 30 years. I stir the ingredients together in a heavy crockery bowl, and then turn it out onto the floured counter top for kneading.

Kneading is rhythm. It is art. Kneading done well means you put your whole body into the rhythm of pushing forward with the heal of your hand, leaning gently back, then folding the dough over on itself and pushing forward again, over and over. If it’s too sticky, add more flour. Knead some more.

As soon as I begin kneading, the yeast blooms with that wonderful bread smell, like my grandmother’s special bread drawer. Soon the lump of wet flour turns into the smooth satin stuff of bread. I can tell by feel when the dough has enough flour and when it’s been kneaded long enough. Poke it and it springs back. It feels as alive as it smells.

Homemade pizza is a leisurely lunch. After kneading, the dough rests and rises for at least half an hour. As it rises, more subtle bread aroma drifts through the house.

When the crust finishes rising, I stretch it out on my Hartstone baking stone. The crust is pleasantly warm and bouncy under my fingers, with a mind of its own. I top it quickly with sauce, Parmesan, mushrooms and mozzarella.

The single pizza ingredient I like the best is the sauce. My heart is set on Pastorelli, a Chicago brand. It’s rich red and thick with crushed fresh tomatoes, Italian spices, and a zip of Pecorino Romano cheese. It has twang. If I can’t have this sauce, I’d rather not make pizza.

My pizza bakes in a 500-degree oven to give it a crisp crust and lightly browned cheese. High heat lifts essential oils from the spices. A savory mingling of crust, sauce, cheese and spices inspires my kitchen.

In 13 minutes, it’s done. My pizza rules as good food, alive and energetic, seasoned with satisfaction of making it myself.

Cooler nights, pizza time

Posted on September 3, 2009 by kimbesa

Kimbesas homemade pizza It was in the 40s the last couple of nights. Not too far out of line, with September in Michigan. Time to stoke up the oven and make a pizza.

In order for the crust to rise, it’s good to put it in a warm place, and put a clean kitchen towel over top of the bowl. I’ve left crust to rise for three or four hours and it’s just fine. If you want to leave it longer, then put it in the fridge.

I’ve been leaning toward thinner crusts these days, which means I cut down on the yeast, and leave out the oil.

If I was wanting a flavored crust, I’d put back the yeast and oil, because I think they help the flavor come to the fore. By flavor, I mean Parmesan cheese or a tablespoon of Italian seasoning.

I can only imagine how great some fresh oregano would be. But that test will have to come later.

Also, I wouldn’t want a flavor that would fight with the sauce. I have not found one that I like better than Pastorelli, a brand out of Chicago. I’ve been using it for years, even when I had to bring it back from a city I visited where I could buy it, and the city I lived in, where you could not buy it.

Nowadays I can get it locally, though I keep my eye on my sources.