Pizza fans are really spoiled for choice when it comes to matching a beverage with pizza. Wine and beer both match perfectly and if you can lay your hands on a really good drop of red, or an all grain brew, you will be in gustatory heaven.
I spent the day starting a big batch of Shiraz though. Leaving early, we drove to nearby Willunga and picked up 350 kilos of nice grapes, perfect in fact. On the way down, I read in the paper that 2010 is said to be one of the best vintages for years, which was very fortuitous!
After spending hours and hours manually destemming a trailer full of grapes (hiring a crusher with a de-stemmer next year!) we ended up with 300 litres of grape must, ready to add potassium metabisulphate before pitching the yeast tomorrow. Incidentally if anyone is into wine-making, I found the most useful collection of calculators ever at this site.
We are making the main batch a bit lighter by leaving it on the skins for just 4 days or so – this should be quite drinkable in 18 months or less. I am also doing a small batch using a technique called extended maceration, which means leaving the wine on the skins for longer. The idea is that this produces a more full bodied wine, but the drawback is that it will need longer cellaring before it is ready to drink. I think though that this will be wonderful in 2-3 years from now, and I am already thinking about what pizza flavours to match it up with
I cooked a bit of an unusual pizza recently on a whim, and it turned out pretty well! I was inspired by a new (to me) cheese that I found at the markets. It’s called Stracchino, and is a soft cows milk cheese. It has a lovely delicate flavour with a hint of sweetness combined with a little tangy-ness. It melts amazingly, turning into a soft, sticky and creamy puddle. Read more…
Last night I planned to fire up the wood fired oven for a pizza party. I had my dough balls and ingredients ready and laid out, and even made a new peel for the occasion! The only problem was that when it came time to cook pizzas, my oven was too wet from all of the rain we’ve been having (I should really stop procrastinating and render the oven so that it doesn’t get waterlogged in the rain, but that’s another story). Read more…
This pizza recipe is a bit of a different combination. You wouldn’t quite call it a dessert pizza, but is quite light and sweet and can definitely finish off a meal. I make my own plum sauce from our trees, and my sauce is quite light and tangy. If you can’t make your own, try an asian style plum sauce. Read more…
This is a new version of a gluten free pizza base that I have been working on and I think it’s finally ready to share! I’m quite excited about this base – you would be hard pressed to pick it as gluten free and it tastes delicious. The key is to give the shaped base time to rise before topping and baking. Read more…
This pizza, as you might expect, is great if you have any leftovers for breakfast. The problem is trying not to finish the whole thing for dinner! Read more…
Pizzaiolo competitors in the Pizza Olympics lend a certain mystique to the art of shaping pizza bases, spinning them into shape between their legs or behind their backs blindfolded. But stretching out a nice pizza base is a straight forward process and you will get great results in your own kitchen. This method is for non gluten free doughs, as gluten free doughs may not have enough elasticity to handle in this way. Read more…
Kneading is the process of working dough to help proteins join together and form gluten, which gives dough its strength and elasticity. The most common method of kneading is to press the dough flat, fold it over itself, squash flat again, and repeat. Read more…
Shaping your pizza dough into balls before use is an important step. If shaped correctly the balls will tend to expand evenly as they rise, rather than slumping into puddles and sticking together in your tray. They will also be easier to stretch into a nice round pizza base. Read more…
It’s sometimes easy to get carried away and cover your pizza with every topping you like. And fair enough, everyone has a good memory of the supreme from their favourite takeaway.
The problem with using a lot of toppings on a thin style base is that the base doesn’t support a lot of weight. It can also get soggy if overloaded. Read more…
Wood fired ovens have two characteristics that really influence the pizzas that they produce. First, they are usually extremely hot – often 400 degrees Celsius or more. This burst of heat makes the pizza cook extremely quickly, and the quick cooking time means that a lot of moisture remains in the dough after it is cooked. This produces a lovely moist, chewy crust with a crisp outside. Read more…
The strength of this pizza is it’s simplicity and the combination of a small amount of powerful ingredients. The subtle sweetness and texture of the onions is lovely against the bitey blue cheese and the rosemary. Read more…
A pizza peel is a kind of wood or metal paddle, used to slide a pizza into the oven, move and turn it while cooking, and take it out again when it’s done. Pizza peels allow you to make a pizza in advance, then slide it directly onto a pizza stone to cook, without damaging the base or disturbing the toppings. Read more…
Having a few friends and family members on gluten free diets, a good gluten free pizza recipe has been a bit of a holy grail for me over the last few years. This recipe is the closest that I have come – and it is quite delicious! Read more…
A great pizza sauce is probably the easiest part of the pizza. This sauce can be made in minutes and has a wonderful freshness and a little hit of acidity to make it stand out without being overpowering. Read more…
This is a simple veggie pizza that packs a flavour punch. The earthy mushrooms work nicely with the sweet zucchini, and the smoky cheese is complemented by a little squeeze of fresh lemon. Read more…
Sometimes the need for a pizza just comes out of nowhere and you need to whip up a dough at short notice. All is not lost, the dough will not have such a complex flavour as one that has rested overnight, but you can still make a perfectly serviceable dough and go from mixing it to baking it in an hour. Read more…
The most important trick for making a delicious pizza is to let the dough age for long enough. The basic idea is to make the dough, then put it in the fridge overnight. For many people this is actually more convenient than making dough the same day, as you can just pull your premade dough out of the fridge and start making pizza! Read more…
Recent Comments