Yesterday, I shared how to make pizza crust. Once you mastered the basic pizza, you can use the same crust to make other variations.
Stromboli
Roll out your pizza dough. Place toppings on dough. Roll up the dough jelly roll fashion and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 425. Length of time will depend on the size of your stromboli.
Personal Pizzas
Great party idea - especially for children. They love to roll out and place toppings on their very own pizza!
Divide your dough into 6, 8 or more pieces. Roll the dough thinly. Place on a baking sheet. Add sauce and toppings. Bake.
Calzones or Hot Pockets
Make a batch of pizza dough and divide it into six balls. Then roll out each ball very thinly (1/8 inch). Spread on sauce and desired toppings. To keep from overfilling, I only place the toppings on half of my dough circle. You can have each person fill their own calzone. Just mark the tops somehow so you know which one is which after they bake. Now fold the dough into a half circle, covering the toppings. With a fork, squeeze the dough together. For an extra precaution, I folded the edge up again and again pressed it with a fork. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. If you don't overfill, children can pick them up with their hands and eat them like a sandwich. They would also be great frozen and reheated for lunches.
Bread Sticks
Roll out dough and place in desired pan. Brush with melted butter or olive oil. Sprinkle with desired seasonings. We like garlic powder, Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese, and Mozarella cheese. Bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes. Slice into thin strips. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping. We love these and they are so simple to make.
If you want a fun dose of inspiration, check out Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart. This guy knows his pizza and has traveled widely looking for great pizza. The website is new but every week they are adding new webisodes, recipes and tutorials. A few minutes at this site has me drooling and longing to get back in my kitchen to make pizza!
Thanks so much for the website!! We also make stromboli, but have never done personal pizzas I will have to give that a try my children would love to be able ot personalize their pizzas! Thanks so much for the recipes and this series!!!
ReplyDeleteJoy
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks for the site link. I have really enjoyed all of Peter's recipes that I've tried. Best flavor of any bread I've made at home. We have done the personal pizzas with the kids and it was a hit! What a great idea for calzones and strombolis and breadsticks! Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas!
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten about doing some of these things...I've been in a rut cooking wise, so this will be fun for my family!
Thanks!
Love your sight and recipes! Question regarding your 100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe the soy lecithin 2 T is that the liquid form? Also when I make my bread with fresh ground wheat it seems to be a bit dry and crumble and suggestions?
ReplyDeleteGod Bless you
Sharlene
Sharlene -
ReplyDeleteThe soy lecithin that I use is from the health food store and is a dry granule. I find that the soy lecithin, vital gluten and Vit C in my whole wheat bread. (found here http://homejoys.blogspot.com/2009/01/our-daily-bread-100-whole-wheat-bread.html) help the texture of the bread immensely. But they are necessary if you can't find them.
Also, many people add too much flour. Whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid then white flour but it does so at a slower rate. Often when using whole wheat flour I add less than I think I need and allow the dough to sit for 15 minutes or so to completely hydrate. I then knead the bread and add any additional flour if needed.
Hope that helps!
Gina