Pizza Sauces صوس للبتزة

So as I said in a previous post making pizza is not only fun but very easy. I made a veggie pizza and a Thai crunch pizza (CPK knock off). I noticed that it is rare for me to like EVERYTHING about a pizza so this is a good way to get whatever i wanted in my pizza...and more.

Toppings for the Thai crunch pizza: Peanut sauce, sesame seeds, mozzarella cheese, shredded carrots, cilantro, chicken and bean sprouts

Toppings for a veggie pizza: thinly sliced red onions, tomatoes, thinly sliced peppers (any color) and fresh mozzarella. Fresh basil to top when the pizza comes out would be great (i did it the next day with leftovers) and additional toppings are mushrooms (fresh not canned) and olives. Recipe for sauce below.

In a medium saucepan saute a medium onion and 4 cloves of garlic in some EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Once the onions are transparent add in oregano and basil. If you have fresh herbs i recommend those although the dry ones work well as a substitute.

Add in a can of diced tomatoes (san marzano work well but any tomato works)

Let the sauce cook for about 5 minutes on high and then add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and stir in.

Continue to cook until the sauce is thick and reduced. When you draw a line with your spoon you shouldn't see water come out but instead some of the oil.

MMMMMMMMM (seriously people some fresh basil in here was SOOOO good)

For the Thai pizza top with peanut sauce and cheese and sesame seeds and chicken and cook until the pizza is completely cooked, when it comes out add the cilantro, carrots and bean sprouts.

Written recipe for tomato pizza sauce:

1 can of diced tomatoes (san marzano if you can find)

1 medium onion diced

4 cloves of garlic crushed

1 tablespoon of dried oregano

1/2 tablespoon of dried basil

salt

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

2 tablespoons of EVOO

Written Recipe for peanut sauce:

3 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter

3 tablespoons brewed tea

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons chili oil or cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions for peanut sauce:

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well OR in a blender

PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA dough

Pizza Dough...mmmmm why buy pizza when you can make your own at home..it really is very easy just whip up some dough in the morning or the day before and you can have pizza whenever you decide! Also its good to have a good pizza dough recipe because you can use it for so many other dishes like monkey bread, crazy bread, flat breads...the list could go on and on. Here is a very simple pizza dough recipe.

First i Add my yeast in the bowl that i want mix my dough in, you can do this either by hand or with a kitchenaide mixer

Add in warm water (it should feel warm to the touch but not too warm or it will kill the yeast) and i add honey to feed the yeast.

After about 5 or 10 minutes depending on the kind of yeast you have (instant or not) it should foam up like this, now you can finish your dough.

Add in flour (either bread or all purpose) and some extra virgin olive oil. Mix until everything is well combined. Once everything is combined you can either knead the dough with your machine or by hand. I find that by hand work well for me when there isn't a big amount. Another thing i want to point out is the hook on the kitchenaide, in the picture i used a paddle hook because this is a very small amount of dough but normally you would use a dough hook which is one curved line.

After the dough has been kneaded enough (it should be smooth and elastic) place it in a greased bowl for 2 hours and let it double in size.

I ended up baking two batches because i didn't think it would be enough (but for us 3 it was more that enough) So after the dough has risen you COULD use it now but if you want a really good dough i would let it rise one more time. The more it rises the chewier the crust. Another option would be to refrigerate the dough overnight and then 2 hours before you want to make pizza you take it out and let it rise.

And it is as easy as that to make pizza dough...i know it might seem like alot but trust me all you do is mix for a few minutes and the rest of the time it is just sitting there rising. Try it this dough came out very chewy and nice. When you cook the dough, if you want a crunchy chewy crust like a pizza oven then either use a pizza stone OR place it on a baking sheet with cornmeal or flour at the bottom and place it at the bottom of your hot 450 degree over for about 5 to 8 minutes (until the bottom is lightly brown) and then move the pizza to the middle of the over and let it continue to cook for 10 more minutes.

Written Recipe:

1 teaspoon yeast

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water (105 to 110 degrees F)

1 1/2 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus 1 tablespoon for coating