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. 

New Toy...Great Pizza

I read a post one of my bloggers wrote while on vacation who aquired a pizza oven that fit on the grill.  I became a little obsessed with a crusty pie since nothing like it existed in Mexico.

Bed Bath and Beyond carried a few on clearance so I picked one up.

I happened to make a batch of dough a few days earlier and it was in the fridge cold rising so I let that come to room temp before working it into a couple of crusts. I let the oven heat on the grill for 30 minutes or more and it was in the zone around 700 degrees. Now I cannot, for the life if me, get a crust off the peel so I use a bit of parchment to make life easier. The results of the high temp was amazing. Bubbly edges, crusty bottom, perfect pizza. Delish!

I live to eat...in a literal sense

Yesterday after consuming leftovers from Saturday, Brenda noticed a bowl on the counter, covered with a towel. Another pizza crust variation made with the countless varieties of methods for preparing crust. This time it was a Ken Forkish recipe that captured my imagination.

I am unable or unwilling to get my oven hot enough for pizza nirvana but this was close. enthusiasts will take their oven to blast furnace status to achieve the perfect Leopard spotted crust. I am not that brave but I do long for bubbly, chewy perfection.

This is the way my head works... During my rummaging for eats on Sunday I spy leftover meat sauce from earlier in the week which leads to a quick inventory of our cheese situation, 8 ounces of fresh mozzarella, 2 ounces of Monterrey Jack and a bit of Fontina.  Check. The pizza crust from a blog entry I read on a lazy Sunday afternoon. OK. I can do this.

1 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 c warm water
2 t salt
1/8 t yeast. Wait what? Yep 1/8 t. Very long rise.

I mixed flour and water, set the timer for 20 minutes. (Autolyse)

Mix  yeast in a tablespoon of water.

Pour salt and yeast over flour mix. Mix and stretch from the bottom till you can no longer feel salt crystals. Wet your fingers if it gets sticky. Place in an oiled bowl and cover for, well all day or overnight. I put mine in the fridge after 12 hours (18 hours fridge time) and took it out about 2 hours before I spread it into a crust.

I heated the oven to 450 on roast (both top and bottom burners come on) I spread a bit of flour on parchment paper and worked the dough into a 12 inch circle with the help of a bit of olive oil. Spread out my sauce and cheeses then I am ready to bake!

Bubbly, crispy crust but not New York crusty and fine toppings despite the leftover status. Yum.

I will do this again.

Pizza Redemption

I was so disappointed with our pizza the other night I need a fix, badly. Last night I made a family favorite hamburger pizza with my usual homemade sauce. The only real difference is that I used Trader Joe's crust. I love this stuff. Sadly it is everything my crust is not. Brenda actually had a program to attend for work so she wasn't even home. I had this beautiful pie all to myself.


Look at that bubbly crust! So tasty I have to admit I wish my pizza dough was half this nice. I am sure the secret is it is very, very wet. It does not stick tot he bag and I oil it right out of the package, spread it out on a parchment paper and top it. It is so much easier to move to the oven on the paper.

So about 1/2 pound of hamburger, a few mushrooms, 1/2 cup of sauce and a cup of shredded Jack later...voila!

Fool Proof Pan Pizza

I copied this recipe from Slice, a blog I link to on this site. Back in the pizza making mood and I do love cast iron skillets, I am thinking I might give this a shot. I had published a recipe for Nonna's Pizza earlier that has the same premise of a dough that is not kneaded, and then spread and cooked in an obscene amount of olive oil to basically 'fry' the crust. This looks similar. Now my lovely bride is not a big fan of pepperoni. In fact she likes the burger pizza the best but this calls for a lighter hand so perhaps some Sopressata or other salami.  Link is below:

 http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/01/foolproof-pan-pizza-recipe.html

 

 Fool Proof Pan Pizza

Ingredients

• 400 grams (14 ounces, about 2 1/2 cups) bread flour
• 10 grams (.35 ounces, about 2 teaspoons) kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
• 4 grams (.15 ounces, about 1/2 teaspoon) instant yeast
• 275 grams (9.5 ounces, about 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) water
• 8 grams (.25 ounces, about 2 teaspoons) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to coat pans and drizzle
• 1 1/2 cups pizza sauce, such as our New York-style pizza sauce
• 12 ounces grated full-fat, dry mozzarella cheese (see note above)
• Toppings as desired
• Small handful torn fresh basil leaves (optional)
• 2 ounces grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese (optional)

Procedures

1. 1
   
   Combine flour, salt, yeast, water, and oil in a large bowl. Mix with hands or a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains. The bowl should be at least 4 to 6 times to volume of the dough to account for rising.
2. 2
   
   Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, making sure that edges are well-sealed, then let rest on the countertop for at least 8 hours and up to 24. Dough should rise dramatically and fill bowl.
3. 3
   
   Sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour, then transfer it to a well-floured work surface. Divide dough into two pieces and form each into a ball by holding it with well-floured hands and tucking the dough underneath itself, rotating it until it forms a tight ball.
4. 4
   
   Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in the bottom of two 10-inch cast iron skillet or round cake pans. (See note above). Place 1 ball of dough in each pan and turn to coat evenly with oil. Using a flat palm, press the dough around the pan, flattening it slightly and spreading oil around the entire bottom and edges of the pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough sit at room temperature for two hours. After the first hour, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 550°F.
5. 5
   
   After two hours, dough should be mostly filling in the pan up to the edges. Use your fingertips to press it around until it fills in every corner, popping any large bubbles that appear. Lift up one edge of the dough to let any air bubbles underneath escape and repeat, moving around the dough until there are no air bubbles left underneath and the dough is evenly spread around the pan.
6. 6
   
   Top each round of dough with 3/4 cup sauce, spreading the sauce with the back of a spoon into every corner. Spread evenly with mozzarella cheese, letting the cheese go all the way to the edges. Season with salt. Add other toppings as desired. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter a few basil leaves over the top (if desired)
7. 7
   
   Transfer pan to oven and bak until top is golden brown and bubbly and bottom is golden brown and crisp when you lift it with a thin spatula, 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately sprinkle with grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese. Using a thin spatula, loosen pizza and peek underneath. If bottom is not as crisp as desired, place pan over a burner and cook on medium heat, moving the pan around to cook evenly until it is crisp, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove the pizzas and transfer to to a cutting board. Cut each one into six slices and serve immediately.

Lazy Night at Home....

Last night Brenda had to work late and I had chores to do. I had to make Prosphora for church this weekend and since I am in Dallas tomorrow, I made it to freeze for Sunday. Sunday is Ben's birthday and I usually make the bread for the kids around their birthday's.  While I was making dough I made a bit more of the last batch and set it aside for pizza.

I love making pizza but sometimes the results are less than stellar but last night was an exception. I picked some spinach and mushrooms at the market, a pound of Monterrey Jack and a can of Glen Muir diced tomatoes.  I decided I wanted a sparse sauce rather than the usual Contadina that I use and Brenda does not seem to care for. The sauce choice made all the difference. Fresh and delicious I have to remember to make it this way from now on.

I drained the tomatoes, and simply added some garlic, basil, a bit of Penzy's Pizza Spice, Red pepper flakes and pepper. A few glugs of olive oil and that's my sauce.

 I cooked the spinach quickly in a bit of olive oil and some chunky chopped garlic and sauteed the mushrooms till golden. It was great. I pre baked the crust as usual but docked it this time to prevent the large bubbles from forming in the center. I brushed it with olive oil and added some of the shredded jack cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach. More cheese on top with some mozarella added and a bit of Romano. Bake till bubbly. Great stuff.

Pizza night....and a consistent crust

Lately I have been still making pizza but not nearly as often due to the high carb count. I have been experimenting with smaller dough amounts since it's just the two of us lately. Last night after work I mixed up a quick batch. Brenda worked late and I did not want a cooked pizza just sitting around waiting for her so I made a small dough batch, divided in half and made two smaller crusts, almost personal pan size but a little larger. Since it was Wednesday, I used mushrooms for the topping of choice, a smattering of sauce and Red Pepper flakes ( a generous quantity on mine) with some cheese blend from Kraft.

I started with just a scant 2 cups of flour and my food processor. I have  Cusinart 7 cup with a dough speed that just makes this so easy. 1 teaspoon of yeast, 1 teaspoon of salt and a good glug of olive oil. Enough warm water to just make the dough ball clean the bowl. Let it run for a short bit then set the timer and let it rest 20 minutes. Pulse it again after the time is up for a few times then put it in an oiled bowl to let it rise. I placed mine in the oven in "Proof" mode covered with plastic.

Divide the dough after a doubling and roll it our to a 10-11 inch circle. I know, I rolled it. Whatever. I place it in a screaming hot oven (400) on the cast iron pizza stone (or regular one, they are both in the oven). The dough puffs and bubbles nicely and gets just a slight color then remove it to a wire rack for assembly. About 7 minutes or so.

I cannot seem to make a raw finished pie slide off the peel to save my sorry soul, therefore I prebake and it is great. No more topping cooking other than on the crust and it seems to make no big difference to the pie. The crust is thin and crunchy and delicious.

Since Brenda worked till 630 I simply asembled hers when she said she was on her way home, popped it in the oven and it was ready by the time she got settled.  Yum!

Homemde Marinara....thanks to the Italian Dish

Marinara Sauce

makes 2 cups

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1/8 cup grated carrot
• 1 28-ounce can San Marzano Tomatoes
• 1 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoons dried thyme
• a few fresh basil leaves (optional)
• 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

In a large heavy pot, gently heat olive oil, onions, sea salt and a little freshly ground pepper (and the chili pepper, if using) and saute over low heat until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add carrots and saute another 5 minutes. Add the San Marzano tomatoes and their liquid and break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon (or just crush them with your hands, like I do). Add the herbs and sugar, if you are using it. Simmer gently, uncovered, for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
Puree the tomato sauce either with an immersion blender right in the pot, or transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth.

Pizza!

A Pizza night here. Hamburger and Mushrooms with fresh mozzarella. Crispy but thicker than I had planned. I used the new recipe I posted a while back that had half and half and baking powder besides yeast. The crust was tasty and the stones I have crisped it nicely, just should have made 3 pizzas instead of 2.  I pre baked the crusts as I had errands to run for the birthday girl (Mackenzie) for about 10 mins at 400. I let them cool and finished later closer to mealtime.  I still use my cast iron pizza pan. I love it. Try the new recipe and let me know what you think.

Cook's Illustrated Pizza recipe....this one is different

Researching high hydration doughs. Doughs that are not kneaded and almost pourable at first make for airy and light crusts that can be rolled thin. Here is one from America's Test Kitchen that has 1/2 and 1/2 in it. Odd.  It is made for freezing in tin pans and then baking whenever.


DOUGH
1½ cups half-and-half, heated to 110 degrees
½ cup water, heated to 110 degrees
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
1 envelope (2¼ teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sugar
1½ teaspoons salt
SAUCE AND TOPPINGS
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for brushing
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ cup half-and-half
1. MAKE DOUGH: Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 200 degrees. When oven reaches 200 degrees, shut it off. Grease large bowl. Combine half-and-half, water, and oil in liquid measuring cup. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix flour, cornstarch, yeast, baking powder, sugar, and salt until combined. With mixer on medium-low speed, add half-and-half mixture in steady stream and mix until dough comes together, about 1 minute. Continue mixing until sticky strands form around exterior but center of dough is uniform in texture, about 5 minutes. Transfer dough to prepared bowl, coat lightly with cooking spray, cover with plastic wrap, and place in warm oven. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
2. MAKE SAUCE: Pulse tomatoes in food processor until coarsely ground. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Cook tomato paste until just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic, basil, oregano, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add pulsed tomatoes and simmer until reduced to 1½ cups, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and let cool.
3. CONSTRUCT PIZZA: Remove dough from oven and divide in half. Following the photos, transfer each half to 12-inch disposable aluminum pizza pan and, using oiled hands, press dough to cover pan. Combine mozzarella, Parmesan, and half-and-half in large bowl and stir with rubber spatula until well combined. Top each pizza evenly with half of sauce and half of cheese, leaving ½-inch border around edges. Wrap each pizza tightly with plastic, then aluminum foil. Freeze up to 1 month.
4. BAKE PIZZA: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Discard foil and plastic and remove frozen pizza from aluminum pan. Place pizza on large square of parchment paper and brush edges of dough lightly with oil. Transfer parchment and pizza to hot pizza stone. Cover pizza loosely with greased aluminum foil and bake until underside is golden brown and cheese is starting to melt, about 25 minutes. Discard foil and bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is completely melted, about 5 more minutes. Serve.

Thanks for printing this recipe. Visit AmericasTestKitchenFeed.com for fantastic recipes, cooking tips, gear reviews, and plenty more.

<< Back to Article: Shaping Up Frozen Pizza

Pizza! Pizza!

Wednesday night I tried a recipe form Ezra Poundcake's blog for "Grandma's Pizza" actually known as "Nonna's Pizza" in any good Italian family. A Sicilian style crusted pizza, made in a pan with cheese and tomatoes. The toppings are sparingly applied but the result is fantastic.

Rising Dough

Baked to perfection.

So first the crust. It did not sound as if this would be enough but I followed the instructions and sure enough it covered the pan. This was yummy and I will make it again. Very fresh tasting and light.

Dough:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups (8 1/4 ounces) bread flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:

• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1. For the Dough: Measure 2 tablespoons olive oil onto a rimmed baking sheet (18″ by 13″), and use your fingers to coat the sheet with oil.
2. Measure water and remaining 1 tablespoon oil into a liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt on low speed. With the mixer running, slowly add water mixture, and mix until dough comes together, about 1 minute.
4. Increase speed to medium-low, and mix until dough is smooth and comes away from sides of bowl, about 10 minutes.
5. Place the dough on the oiled baking sheet, and turn to coat. Stretch dough to 10 by 6-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Stretch dough to corners of pan, cover loosely with plastic, and let rise in warm place until slightly puffed, about 45 minutes.
6. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, and heat oven to 500 degrees F.
7. For the Topping: Place tomatoes in colander, and drain really well.
8. In a medium bowl, combine drained tomatoes, oil, garlic, oregano, and salt. Set aside.
9. In a second bowl, combine mozzarella and Parmesan. Set aside.
10. Sprinkle cheese mixture over the dough, leaving 1/2-inch border on all sides.
11. Top with tomato mixture, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake until well browned and bubbling, about 12 minutes. (If the oven starts to smoke, lower the temperature or move your pizza up a rack.)
12. Slide pizza onto a wire rack, sprinkle with basil, and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve.

*Cooks Note:  I would pre bake the crust a bit next time as it came out of the over softer than I like on the bottom. A good 10 or 15 minutes (watch carefully) before the toppings might bake it a bit longer before the topping gets too brown.

Pizza Pizza

A new crust recipe...too much hydration (for the crust) and a new flour. Perhaps too much new for on meal. The dough was made Monday evening in anticipation of a Tuesday meal. It rose a LOT in the fridge. Shoulda been the first clue. I could not get it to flatten out well. One of the crusts had its share of holes.  Topped with burger on one and chicken pesto on the other, both made relatively good pizzas but....not great. 

I found a whole wheat, cooks like white,  flour with a high fiber content at WalMart. I used the bulk of that flour. Perhaps it was too much and should have been mixed 50/50 with regular flour? I don't know but my family will suffer though many experiments now!  Also I added too much water and the dough was more like a very thick batter than a dough. I have been experimenting with hydrated doughs so wet that they can't be kneaded in a conventional fashion. The Prosphora I made for church on the 30th was like this and it came out rather well so I pushed the envelope a bit. I like my breads dense and a little moist (apparently so does everyone else at church judging from the comments) rather than dry or dry and fluffy. The loaves are a little on the heavy side ( not rocks,  but they have weight to them) so I can tell there is still a fair amount of water. As always, I use a thermometer to get to over 200 degrees less it be gummy in the center (an altar server's nightmare).

Brenda ordered me a new toy for Father's day. A Lodge Cast Iron Pizza pan. Can't wait to try it out. It can be used on the grill or replace one of my faithful oven stones (by now looking very dark from oil and spills).  Speaking of stones, mine have never cracked even though I left them in the oven during the cleaning cycle once (a LOT of smoke) and they reverted to their original selves, clean and sparkly. (I don't recommend this as I mean a LOT of smoke) It did not take them long to regain their crusty appearance but I never take them out of the oven.

Steak and mushroom pizza

One of my personal favorites but the family....not so much.

Leftover rare steak on a bed of steak sauce, mozzarella, halved cherry tomatoes and mushrooms sprinkled with blue cheese. Yum...my favorite speciality pizza.

Yet...another dough

While I am still experimenting in the food processor and the cold rise here is afellow that likes a similar mixture and a warm rise....

Basic Pizza Dough 
Yield: enough dough for two pies baked in 13x18-inch rimmed baking sheets
3 3/4 cups (500 grams) bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons (10 grams) instant or active dry yeast
3/4 teaspoon (5 grams) salt
3/4 teaspoon plus pinch (3 grams) sugar
1 1/3 cups (300 grams) water
Extra Virgin olive oil for pan
In a bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add the water, and using a spoon, your hand, or a baker's plastic bench scraper, mix together until blended -- about a minute (Jim says 30 seconds but mine took a bit longer). You don't want to mix or knead this dough too much, or else the gluten will develop and you won't be able to shape it in the pan. But you want to mix in all the lumps of flour. In the end, you'll arrive at a stiff dough.
Cover the dough and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours. (If your room is cold, put it in the oven with a pilot light to warm up a bit, or in a closed cabinet).
Dump out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut it in half. Use both pieces, or save one in the refrigerator (I use a zip lock bag) for up to 1 day. Oil a 13x18 inch rimmed baking sheet liberally with good extra virgin olive oil (yes, pour it on). Then gently plop the dough on the pan and stretch and press it out to the edges. If it springs back (that's the gluten working) wait five minutes and then proceed. I found the gluten weak enough to spread it fully over the pan. The dough is very thin. If it tears, piece it back together.

Deep Dish Pizza

An experiment today. I am making a laminated pizza dough for a deep dish pizza. I have mushrooms and fresh spinach left over in the fridge and it is a meatless day so  time to make a pizza. Firstly though, for Ben, we made him some smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese.  Ben cooked the sauce and there's plenty left for seconds in the days ahead.

hot out of the oven

lots of oozing cheese and fresh veggies

Ok...that was great! Chicago style deep dish stuffed with fresh mushrooms and spinach on a bed of mozarella and topped with a freshly made sauce. All very easy but I do need to buy a better pan. This is killing my good Wilton cake pans. Time to visit Sur La Table. The crust was perfect, tender,  flakey and browned, crisp edges.

So how do you do it?

The crust:

3 c flour (all purpose)
1/2 c cornmeal
2 t yeast
1 1/2 t salt
2 t sugar
2 T melted butter
1 1/2 c water  room temp

I used the Kitchen Aid and a dough hook, mixing the dry ingredients first then adding the water and butter. Pull it into a soft dough and let the mixer knead it for 5 minutes or so. It will be soft. Olive oil the bowl and place the dough in to rise till double. (about an hour)

Once risen, roll it out to a 15 x 12 rectangle and spread 3 more tablespoons of soft butter. Roll up tightly, flatten the roll into a 4 inch wide 18 inch long shape. Cut in half. Take each half and fold in thirds, pinch edges closed, form into a rough ball then place in oiled pan covered to the fridge till double. (about 40 minutes)

When ready, roll the dough ball into a 13 inch circle. Place a tbl of olive oil in a 9 inch cake pan. Lay the rolled dough and press into the corners and 1 inch up the side.  Fill with 2 c of shredded mozzarella, fresh spinach, fresh sliced mushrooms and top with sauce. Bake 450 for 30 mins. Yum.

The sauce:

2 tbl butter
1/4 cup grated onion
2 garlic cloves thru a press
2 cans of Fire Roasted tomatoes (14 oz each)
1 t sugar
1 t salt
1/2 t oregano
1 t basil
1 T olive oil
pepper to taste

Cook the onion in the butter for a few minutes, add the garlic then tomatoes. Add the spices and sugar, oil. Allow to cook for 10 - 15 mins. Sauce is ready.

The Pizza Crust

Well....it was OK. Not as crisp as I like. I like to prebake my crust on a non stick pan then move them to the stone after topping. That would make it better. It was thin and chewy and one of them (on the bottom rack) was crisp. The top one was a bit doughy, like bread but still good. Had a good flavor and certainly was easy to follow. Look on the Slice blog I added and the recipe was under Cooks Illustrated trials. Here is the link to the direct recipe:

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/01/cooks-illustrateds-thin-crust-new-york-ny-pizza-recipe.html#continued

I used the leftover "gravy" from the cacciatore and buzzed with the stick blender. Pretty good, not your typical sauce. I like a lot of fennel but my family does not care for it so I leave it out. I've tried and made alot of sauces in the day. Canned sauce by Contadina is my personal favorite when I'm lazy. San Marzanos made into a homemade sauce is great if you can afford San Marzanos in Omaha.

Enjoy!