A Tale of 2 Pizzas

Last night with Brenda working late I got creative and experimented with pizza. Toppings are always a fluid element in pizza and I didn't get too freaky. I have left over sous vide cooked sirloin to a beautiful medium rare, grilled onions and mushrooms. A jar of Cheez Whiz, steak sauce, blue cheese and Monterey Jack. I made a quick batch of dough. I had about 4 hours...

A Philly cheese steak came to mind of course. Onions and sliced beef with Cheez Whiz (don't get your shorts in a knot, its actually quite traditional)  and I have made the steak pizza before to mixed reviews but I had a craving for it so....

Half and half Cheese Steak and Steak

Bubbly perfection, could have stood a few more minutes and got a bit browner.

Pizza Dough by the weight method

I only make dough by weight now so I can control the hydration precisely. 70%-75%  You know me, I have made a million pizzas and am never quite satisfied with things. This method makes me happy. I can cook it inside or outside. The crust is perfectly chewy and has a lot of nice holes in it.

300 gms flour
210 grams water
1 teaspoon of yeast
1 teaspoon of salt
about a tablespoon of olive oil

This is mixed quite quickly and makes a nice sticky dough. Mix it up and let it sit for 40 minutes then toss it again. I never touch it, I just use a spatula cause it is so sticky.  Let it rise until you are ready to assemble. You could also put it in the fridge over night if you wanted. It will slowly rise there.

I use a piece of parchment paper, dump the dough out, spread a bit of olive oil on it and press it out to about 12-14 inches with a nice rim. Preheat the oven to 400 and use your stone or steel or cast iron like I do. Bakes for about 10-15 minutes. The paper makes it easy to move the dough to the hot oven.