This week on Hive top chef we have the theme "crust". The first thing that came to my mind was pizza.
I always want pizza but I am making it on top of the stove these days. The bottom element on my oven is still unrepaired. I just grill things with it.
It's surprising how good a pan cooked pizza can be but I know it doesn't equal wood burning pizza oven.
Pizza dough
4 to 5 cups flour
1 package instant yeast
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups water
For the flour I wanted to use only all purpose. I only had a small bit. I had a full bag of flour and realized that I accidently bought pastry flour. It was a tough decision but I decided rather then go to the store to get proper flour I would just see what happens if I mix the pastry flour together with what I had.
I started by mixing the ingredients and proofing for a while until the dough puffed up. Then I punched it down and kneaded it again. I let it rise once more. It was definitely different and less tough then regular flour dough.
After the second rise I rolled it flat and stretched it carefully. This dough required more care. I gently placed it in a large non stick skillet. The temperature was high.
I covered it and turned the heat down to medium high. After a few minutes I flipped it over.
Of course if I had baked it, the toppings would have already been on it.
The sauce was a basic marinara that I had made last week with fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, carrot, celery, seasonings then blended.
I browned some bell pepper and onion to add on top. I don't consume dairy, and I could have added a store bought vegan mozzarella, but I don't really care for those cheeses so I opted for no cheese.
I had a jar of marinated artichokes so I chopped them up and sprinkled on top.
One of my favorite pizza toppings is olives. Kalamata are my favorite for pizza.
I can't have pizza without hot peppers so I used some marinated hot peppers. These were not as spicy as I thought they would be but the flavor was good.
In the end the pastry flour was fine to mix with the other flour but I noticed a difference. It was good all the same. A pizza snob may disagree. My partner Marc said he didn't notice the difference.
I topped it with some vegan cashew cream. I made it from around 2 cups soaked cashews, juice of a lemon, 1 tablespoon cider vinegar and nutritional yeast.
I cut the pizza into six slices.
I took a piece and went to the sofa to eat it. When I went back for a second slice, Marc was about to take the last piece. I said to him "so I guess I only get one slice." He didn't realize I only had one, so I made him give it up since he already had four slices. The nerve!
Thanks for stopping by!
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