Homemade Pizza

If you ask anyone who knows me relatively well what my favorite food is, they will tell you it’s pizza. And I do love it so. 

Sometimes people will ask me what is the difference between good food and great food. Why, when two people are using the same ingredients to create the same dish, will one persons turn out better than the others? The answer is that often there are a few simple things you can do to elevate a recipe from ok to awesome. Pizza is one of those foods that if you go the extra mile it can become exceptional. And it won’t even take that much extra effort. It will take you an extra day though, just a warning. 

The main thing that gives pizza crust and other yeast breads good flavor is actually the yeast. When added to water and given some startch and sugar to eat yeast grows and multiplies. It creates gas which is what makes the bread rise. And the more yeast the better the bread tastes. But we don’t want to just add a couple of tablespoons of yeast, not unless you are trying to recreate The Blob. Instead we want to allow the yeast to grow slowly so once the dough is made it gets stored overnight in the fridge. This gives the yeast a chance to grow and develop a bit of a sourdough flavor for the crust. The cold of the fridge slows down the yeast so it doesn’t burn itself out too quickly. It also prevents Blob problems.

Some Useful Equipment-

There are lots of cool looking gadgets for pizza, but only a few are worth the money.

Pizza Stone- These are made from porcelain and are used to mimic the crunchy bottom pizza gets when cooked in a traditional brick oven. They work by heating up and retaining the heat so that when you put the pizza on it the bottom will immediately start cooking, sames as they would in a brick oven. The best results come from cooking the pizza directly on the stone.

Pizza stones must be preheated for at least 30 minutes, an hour is better. Incidentally this is why those casserole dishes or even cupcake pans made out of the same material are useless, they will actually increase your cooking time because the stone takes so long to heat up. 

When you first buy a pizza stone it will be a light tan or beige color. As you use it it will darken, this means it is absorbing oils and becoming non-stick. You never wash it with soap because it will ruin the non-stick properties and the stone will absorb the soap.

Pizza Cutter- Sure you could just use a knife, but a pizza cutter is so much easier. And don’t worry about getting something fancy, just a wheel with a handle. Although the ones with the larger wheels are nice because it keeps your hand farther away from gooey, hot cheese.

The Pizza Pans with Holes in Them- Often referred to as air baking, basically all those little holes let the hot air of the oven hit the bottom of your pizza and cook it quickly. These are good to use instead of a pizza stone. You won’t get the same result but its still pretty good. And even if you have a stone you are still going to need something to serve the pizza from cause the stone stays in the oven. Just don’t use a metal pizza cutter on the pan if it has a non-stick coating.

Pizza Peel or Paddle- 

This one is a little more optional. If you are going to use a pizza stone you need a way to move your pizza onto and then off of it. A pizza peel is made for this exact purpose. If you really know what your doing then you make the pizza directly onto the peel. A thin layer of cornmeal is spread across the peel and the rolled out dough is placed on top. When the pizza is ready to go into the oven you do this jiggle movement (it can not be described, you just have to learn it) and the cornmeal acts as little ball bearings and the pizza slides off the peel and right onto the stone. 

The easier way is to make your pizza on a piece of parchment paper. Then you just need a flat surface to move the pizza around on. A cutting board, pizza pan, or even a large plate can work. To get the pizza on the stone you just grab a corner of the paper and slide it and the pizza onto the stone. Parchment paper is meant to go in the oven so you just leave it and pull it out when the pizza is done.

However, if you really get into making homemade pizza as often as I do (once a week at least) then getting a pizza peel is worth the investment. Plus it makes a nice decoration in your kitchen. Just hang it up when not in use.

The Dough-

1 cup Warm Water, between 100-110 degrees, or just stick your finger in it, if it’s too hot for you it’s too hot for the yeast

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 package Instant Dry Yeast, or 2 ¼ teaspoons

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

½ teaspoon Salt

Combine water and yeast in a mixing bowl, mix to dissolve the yeast.

Add the flour, olive oil, and salt to the bowl. 

Using a dough hook attachment, mix the dough at low speed for 5 minutes until dough forms a uniform ball.

The dough will still be slightly tacky to the touch. To check gently press a finger to it and pull away, the dough will feel tacky but your finger should remain mostly clean. If it is too wet, your finger gets dough stuck to it, add more flour a ¼ cup at a time until the right consistency is reached.

Remove the dough hook and cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap. If you need the bowl back then just transfer the dough to another large container.

Place dough in the fridge. Every 30 minutes go back and punch the dough down by removing the plastic wrap and pushing it down until it is half its size. This is an important step if you want to avoid the Blob in your fridge. As the dough cools the yeast will slow down and eventually stop rising, at that point you no longer need to punch it down and it can be left un-watched overnight.

Leave the dough in the fridge for at least 8 hours or up to one week. The longer the dough sits the better it tastes.

Making the pizza-

Remove the dough from the fridge and separate into two equal sized dough balls. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

While the dough warms, preheat your oven. Move oven rack to the center position and place a pizza stone on it. Preheat oven to 450.

My pizza stone is 10 years old, nothing sticks to this bad boy anymore. And yes, it is supposed to be that dark.

Pizza Sauce

1- 8 oz can Crushed Tomatoes

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 tablespoon fresh Basil, chopped (can substitute fresh with freeze dried)

Combine ingredients for sauce in a bowl, mix well.

After your dough has sat for an hour and warmed up you can go ahead and shape it into your crust.

On a large surface spread out a thin layer of flour. Begin to shape the dough by pressing it out into a circle using the heel of your hand. 

You can form the crust completely by hand by continuing to press it out using your palms and fingers.

Rolling pins work too.

If you happen to know someone who knows how to toss pizza dough you could ask them to teach you. And yes, I do know how :)

How big do you make your crust? As big as your pan or pizza stone.

Once your crust is ready transfer it to a piece of parchment paper (if using pizza stone) or to your pizza pan. Don’t shape the crust directly onto the pan, the dough will get stuck in all those holes.

It’s okay of the pizza is a little bigger than the paper, as long as it’s not bigger than the stone.

Spread the sauce over the crust in a thin layer.

Sprinkle with cheese. Don’t go over board, because extra time was taken to make the crust taste good the pizza will actually not need as many toppings. It doesn’t need extra cheese to make up for a tastless crust.

Perfect.

No put your favorite toppings on and it’s ready to cook.

This pizza is on a pan. You can place the pan right on the stone and it will still develop that nice crispy crust.

To cook on a stone- Using a pizza peel or other flat surface, move the pizza to the oven and position about halfway over the stone. Grab a corner of the parchment paper that is furthers from you and gently pull on it. Slide the pizza off of the peel and onto the stone. The parchment paper will allow you to re position the pizza so that it sits in the middle of the stone.

Bake pizza for 10 to 12 minutes, about halfway through rotate the pizza. All ovens have hot spots. If you ever want to figure out where the hot spots in your oven are, just bake a large flat thing, you’ll find out real quick.

Pizza is done when the cheese is bubbly and the bottom is golden brown.

To get the pizza off of the stone just get the peel or other flat thing and us a spatula to lift up a corner. Slide the peel under the pizza and just use your fingers to tug it off the stone and onto the peel. 

Serve immediately.

And call me, cause I’m coming over for dinner. :D

Julia

#Homemade Pizza#from scratch#pizza stone#Julia's eats#step by step#pictures of food#pizza sauce#recipes

The Classic Cheeseburger

Ah, summertime. The time when people pull out their grills and cook up burnt hockey pucks and try to pass them off as a hamburger.

I’m just kidding, some people get those pre-made patties of flavorlessness instead.

Today I just want to address how to make a really good cheeseburger. There are lots of recipes out there that tell you how to make fancy burgers with exotic toppings. But if your patty is dry and bland, no amount of tasty toppings are going to save it. So I’m going to take you through the whole process of how to make a juicy, delicious burger.

First lets address the ground beef itself- 

If you want a really good burger, you need really good meat. Ground, dry-aged chuck is the best burger meat. And the best place to get it is from an actual butcher. Not the grocery store butcher, I’m talking about a real, old school butcher shop. They are becoming rare but just because you don’t know where one is near you doesn’t mean there isn’t one. I often mention to people that I get my meat from a butcher and over half admit to me that they had no idea there was a butcher shop in the city. To find out if there is a butcher shop near you just hit up google. I typed in -butcher shop near me- and 3 shops immediately popped up. Granted I live in the middle of cattle country, you may not get as many options.

Warning- Once you start buying your meat from a butcher you may not be able to go back to grocery store meat again. Also, you won’t be able to order steak at a restaurant again, it will just taste flavorless. Unless you’re at a fancy steak house.

If you can’t find a butcher or just don’t want to go that route, then there are plenty of good options at your local grocery store. Most stores have ground chuck, you can also get 80/20 ground beef or 85/15. The numbers mean that the meat is a mix of 80% lean and 20% fat (85% lean, 15% fat). Do not go any lower or higher on the ratios. If the meat is too fatty the patties will just shrink down as the fat cooks out, plus you with get huge flare ups as all that fat catches on fire. If the meat is too lean it will be dry. 

To ‘dry age’ your grocery store beef, remove from packaging and place in a strainer or on a cooling rack. Place that in a container or over a pan, something to catch the drips. Let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight (overnight is best). The extra liquid will drain out of the beef, thus allowing more beefy flavor to come through. 

Make sure the package states that the meat is 100% beef/Chuck or Organic so you can avoid Pink Slime. Though this additive is considered safe for human consumption it will water down the flavor of the meat. And it just sounds nasty, in my opinion. For more information about avoiding pink slime,go here.

Another option is to get a chuck roast and ask the butcher at the grocery store to grind it into hamburger for you. Most of the nicer groceries have butchers and they are more than happy to do this for you for free.

If you can’t find 100% beef or chuck and the store doesn’t have a butcher, might I suggest you  leave said store and go somewhere else?

Any questions? 

Let’s move on to the actual making of the burger.

Step 1

2 lbs ground Chuck or 80/20 ground Beef

salt and pepper

Using a food scale divide meat into 6 balls of equal weight, about 6 oz.

I cover my scale with plastic wrap to keep it clean.

Press balls out into patties. The patties should be about ½ inch bigger around than the buns you plan to use. Here’s a helpful illustration-

The patties will shrink when you cook them, so you want them to start off bigger.

In the center of each patty make a slight indentation with your fingers.

When working with raw meat I like to wear food prep gloves. This keeps the germs from the meat out of any cuts or abrasions. It also allows you to take the gloves off and have clean hands for emergencies like answering an important call or chasing one of your kids down because you see them doing something horribly unsafe. 

Step 2

6 slices of your favorite Cheese for Cheeseburgers

Heat your grill to medium-high heat. Place the patties on the grill, leaving a few inches in between each patty. Cook patties for 4-5 minutes, flip burgers and cook for another 2 minutes.

Do not put too many on your grill at once, it will cause huge flare ups and burnt, hockey pucks.

That’s not even the worst flare up I’ve ever gotten.

If your flare ups get out of control just squirt them down with a spray bottle filled with water.

Place a slice of cheese on each patty and allow to cook for 2 additional minutes. 

The burgers will still have a slightly pink center, which is what we want. It means you haven’t over cooked the meat and it is still juicy and flavorful. As long as you have handled your meat properly, keeping it below 40 degrees until ready to cook, it will be safe. Even though the center is a bit pink the meat has been heated through enough to kill most bacteria. 

Step 3

6 large Hamburger Buns

Condiments of your choice.

While cheese is melting on your patties, toast the buns over the grill. Immediately transfer the patties onto the bottom half of a bun, leaving the top part off.

The patties will release juice as they sit and the bun will soak up all that goodness. If you don’t want the buns to get too soggy, spread a layer of mayo on the bun before placing the patty. It creates a barrier and tastes great mixed with the burgers juices.

Serve your burgers immediately by piling them high with your favorite toppings.

Then pig out!

See, it’s just a little pink, hardly even there.

Enjoy!

Julia

Hash Browns, Latkes, and Tater Tots

Hash browns, Latkes, and Tater Tots

I have decided to combine these 3 recipes together because they all start out the same and end up being fried in one way or another. Oh, and they’re easy.

Let’s begin….

Base Ingredients-

2 lbs Russet Potatoes, peeled and rinsed

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Shred the potatoes. 

Fill a large microwave safe bowl with cold water, dump the shredded potatoes into the water and swish around to rinse all the starch off of them. 

Strain the potatoes and let sit for a minute to let the extra water drain out. Rinse out the bowl to reuse.

Rinsing the starch off is an important step. The starch is what causes the potatoes to begin to brown almost immediately after being cut. It also hinders ability to get a really crisp exterior on your finished product.

Return potatoes to the cleaned bowl, add salt and pepper, toss to combine.

Cover, tightly, with plastic wrap. Microwave for 4 minutes. Without removing plastic wrap, toss potatoes around in the bowl to redistribute. Return to microwave and cook an additional 4 minutes. Carefully remove plastic wrap and dump potatoes out in the strainer again. Let them sit for 5 minutes to cool and allow any liquid to drain out.

Why are we straining these potatoes so much? There is actually a really great reason. Potatoes, like all vegetables, contain water. And when you cut them up you break cellular walls and release the water which will cause a pool of liquid to gather at the bottom. The liquid waters down the binder (flour) which can cause your potatoes to fall apart. This is especially true for the tots. The extra moisture will also make your oil spit and pop.

Hashbrowns-

Hashbrowns don’t require a binder because they don’t stay stuck together, instead you fry them up with a little oil to finish cooking the potatoes and get some browning on them.

In a medium sized sized skillet, heat ¼ of oil over medium-high heat until oil is shimmering. Use a neutral flavored oil such as vegetable or canola, or just fry up some bacon in the pan before hand then use the bacon grease. :)

Spread out half off the potatoes into the pan in an even layer. Press the potatoes down with a spatula, allow to cook for about 5 minutes or until underside is a dark golden brown.

Flip potatoes over, they will separate, it’s okay. Press down potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes until dark golden brown. If they seem dry you can add a little bit more oil to the pan. 

Slide hash out of pan onto a plate. Cook the remainder of the potatoes in the same manner.

Serve with some eggs, maybe some corned beef cut into cubes and sauteed in oil. And remember, breakfast isn’t just for mornings. 

Latkes-

Also known as potato pancakes, these make a great breakfast, brunch or dinner item. Excellent served with some ham or polish sausage.

Additional Ingredients-

1 medium size Onion, shredded

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 Tablespoons Flour

Add the onion to the shredded potatoes before microwaving. This cooks the onion flavor into the potatoes.

After microwaving and while the potatoes are in the strainer, combine flour and egg in the reserved bowl. Beat until smooth.

Those chunks you see are just a few pieces of potato I didn’t get out. The flour and egg are nice and smooth.

Add in microwaved potatoes and stir to combine.

Heat ¼ cup of olive oil in a large skillet. Using a large scoop or a ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop out portions of the potato mixture.

Place each portion in the heated pan and pat down with a spatula to make the cake.

Cook for 2-3 minutes until dark golden brown, flip and cook and additional 2-3 minutes.

Remove from pan and place on a paper towel in a warmed oven. 

Cook remaining potato mixture.

Can be served with applesauce, ketchup, sour cream, or caviar. I’ve never tried the caviar one, little outside my budget, but I hear it’s good.

Tater Tots-

I saw an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives where Guy Fieri kept going on and on about how hard it was to make tater tots at home. And I was all like, ‘Pfft, how hard can it be?’ The answer, not hard at all if you already know how to make a great latke. Which I do.

I took out the onion for these, since they are a kid food and kids don’t always appreciate onion flavor. However, if you would like to make these a little more grown-up then add back in the onion as well as a pinch of garlic powder and cayenne pepper.

Additional Ingredients-

1 Egg, beaten

¼ cup Flour

Same as the latkes, combine the egg and flour then mix with your microwaved potatoes. 

In a large, heavy bottomed pan (I like to use my dutch oven), heat about 2-3 inches of oil over medium-high until it reaches 350 degrees.

Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out potato mixture and carefully drop into oil. You can tuck in the little potato pieces that stick out from the scoop if you want. I personally like them sticking out cause they fry up super crispy.

That pan is not my dutch oven, it’s just a small pan I was using while trying to figure out the exact measurements for this recipe.

Do a test tot to start. If it breaks apart then you need more binder. Add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time, mixing well with the potatoes, until the tots stay together when fried.

Be sure not to crowed out your tots. When ever you’re deep frying you want to do small batches so you don’t cool off your oil too much, it actually can slow down the cooking process when you do large batches.

Ah, there’s my dutch oven. Hello beautiful. This baby weighs in at 15 lbs, is cast iron, and covered in an enamel to prevent it from reacting with acidic foods. Excellent for frying and oven cooking because once it heats up it maintains an even temperature. (Some bloggers brag about their kids or pets, I brag about my kitchen equipment)

Fry the tots until they are golden brown. Drain on a paper towel lined sheet pan or plate. Serve with ketchup.

I didn’t get any shots of the finished tots, I was trying to feed a bunch of kids at the time and there were no leftovers. So if you want to see their golden deliciousness you’re just going to have to make them yourself.

Enjoy! -Julia

P.S.

I felt I should make 3 separate recipe cards, so here they are-

#Hash browns#tater tots#potato latkes#homemade#Julia's eats#frying#bacon grease#step by step#pictures of food#easy recipes