It had been a while since I last made pizza. Until a year ago, come rain or shine, every Thursday I would enjoy making the dough and letting it rise to perfection to achieve a satisfying result by the end of the day, which I would vary each time. Then, for various reasons that I’m not going to explain here to avoid boring you too much, I abandoned this healthy and good habit. Today, I finally got my hands back in the dough and I must say that dinner was the highlight of an entire week! There’s no price for the pleasure of making at home what we often consume outside out of necessity, laziness, or convenience. Most of the time we don’t even know well the ingredients of what we eat, while homemade is an absolute guarantee! I often alternate the classic pizza dough with the one my mother often makes, adding potatoes, which I tell you is spectacular, and I will soon post the recipe! The topping of this pizza was a spur-of-the-moment inspiration, but without wanting to brag, I must say it was exceptional: this yellow cherry tomato sauce combined with grilled pleurotus mushrooms simply dressed with a drizzle of oil and plenty of oregano is literally mouth-watering!!! There’s only to remain in reverent silence and enjoy! Bon Appetit everyone!
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Moderate
- Rest time: 3 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients for the dough:
- 4 cups Type 0 or Manitoba flour
- 1 cup Lukewarm water
- 1 oz Fresh yeast
- 4 tbsps Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 10.5 oz Pleurotus mushrooms
- 8.11 oz Yellow tomato sauce
- to taste Oregano
- 5.3 oz Sliced Emmenthal
- to taste Extra virgin olive oil
- to taste Salt
- 6 Black olives
Preparation
Heat the water in a small pot, being careful not to let it boil. Make sure it is lukewarm, not hot. Pour some into a glass (about half a glass) and dissolve the fresh yeast cube in it with the sugar, stirring well until it is completely crumbled and dissolved. At this point, pour all the flour into a large salad bowl and create a well. Pour all the oil around the edges, while the water with dissolved yeast goes in the center (fig. 1).
Mix everything with a wooden spoon, then gradually add the remaining water. This way, you can adjust if you need a bit more or less than 1 cup of water (fig. 2).
Start kneading by hand. Only halfway through this process – when the dough has gained a certain consistency – will you add the salt. Do not do this earlier, as yeast in contact with salt would compromise the rising. Work the dough for at least 15 minutes (your hands should be warm) until you obtain a homogeneous and elastic dough ball (fig. 3).
Vigorously slap it on the work surface a couple of times and place it back into the previously oiled mixing bowl, then cover it with cling film to create the right warmth for rising (fig. 4).
Place the bowl in the turned-off oven for at least 3 hours or until the dough ball has doubled in size (fig. 5).
Once this time has passed, remove the film and divide the dough ball in two with the help of a dough scraper (fig. 6).
You can spread them directly in the previously greased and parchment-lined baking trays, gently pressing with your fingertips to gradually stretch the dough and make it adhere to your tray, or roll it out with a rolling pin on a floured work surface to obtain thin disks or to your taste (fig. 7).
The 2 rolled-out bases, before going in the oven, should be covered with a clean cloth for another 30 minutes for a second rise. Then, preheat the oven to 428°F and start covering the bases with yellow tomato sauce (fig. 8).
Lower the temperature to 392°F and bake for about 25 minutes. Cooking times may vary from oven to oven, so I recommend always checking your pizza. Midway through cooking, add the pitted olives, the mushrooms previously grilled on a hot pan and seasoned with oil, salt, and oregano. A few minutes before removing it from the oven, also add the Emmenthal slices and let them melt in the oven.
And voilà… your pizza with yellow tomato sauce, pleurotus mushrooms, and olives is ready to be enjoyed!Bon Appetit from Fefè’s kitchen!
