New York Style Pizza-from scratch

'Ideas are like pizza dough, made to be tossed around.'

Anna Quindlen

Pizza!!

When we were kids, Pizza and Burgers was such an exotic food item. I remember in Kolkata, there was a joint called Corner Cafe that used to sell the first burgers and we as kids thought of it as a big style statement to stand and eat those humongous pieces, along with a sip of Coca Cola, of course!! These American food items was introduced in our vocabulary by the famous Archies comic books and I would wonder how a Hot Dog or Pizza would taste like. 

Here in India, we love to adapt everything(literally)to suit our culture. And so when the Pizza and burger made an entry here, we twisted and turned and changed the recipe to suit our taste buds. (Ditto with the chinese food). Burgers here was available in its Veggie Avataar than the original Beef/Pork ones and the Pizza was nothing like how it looked in Archies!!

Today, is a little different story though, Big Foodie names have arrived with the biggest bang. Now you can very easily get the best Pizza with a range of toppings and can also choose from the variety of crust options.

This months Baking Partners challenge is the New York Style Pizza, which as I learnt is a thin crusted pizza, hand tossed and made from High-gluten Bread flour. I Indianized the recipe(just like how we do everything!!) and substituted bread flour with All purpose flour. I halved the recipe and so could not create the authentic 18" pizza. 

Recipe   suggested by Archana of Tangy Minds adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients:I halved the recipe to get 4 medium sized Pizzas

• 2 1/4 cup All purpose flour
• 3/4 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 cup lukewarm water

Sauce:

• 4-5 medium sized Tomatoes
• 1 onion, sliced finely
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 8-10 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste 

 

Procedure:

Combine flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add olive oil and mix. Knead by adding little water at a time(about 1 cup) to a smooth ball. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and knead till it passes the Window Pane test. 
Cover with a damp muslin cloth and let it rise in a well oiled bowl in a warm place for an hour or place in a zip-lock bag and put in the refrigerator for 1-5 days. If refrigerated, take out 2 hours before baking and allow to rise for 1 hour.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce.
Puree the tomatoes in a blender or grate in a grater. 
Combine butter and oil in a pan over medium heat and add garlic and sliced onions. Cook for a few minutes and add tomato puree, sugar and oregano. Bring to a boil and let it simmer till thickens. Add salt as required. Allow to cool. Can be refrigerated for upto 2 weeks.


Preheat oven to 200 degree Celsius.

Divide dough into 4 balls. Roll each ball to a 5-6"circle, leaving the outer edge a little higher.
Prick with a fork all over.

Transfer to the baking pan and spread 1/4 of the sauce evenly. Add the toppings of your choice. I added capsicum slices, paneer cubes and sweet corn.

 

Sprinkle grated mozarella cheese over it and bake for 15-20 mins or till the cheese on top melts and browns.
Prepare the remaining Pizza in the same manner.

My pizzas about to go in the oven, showing here one with the toppings and another covered with cheese

And here they are, already digged in !!

Pizza Making and Baking is an amazing experience and is a must try for home bakers. 

Happy Pizza Eating
Amrita