Lisa Pizza

That’s what my sister Kathi always has called me.  You can see her beautiful face on my followers list.  Did I mention that she’s my older sister?  And she will always be.   Yeah for me!   This is the two of us when we were younger, from the late 60’s or very early 70’s.   Can’t you see the spark of trouble in her eyes?   That same spark is still there today.

This next photo is one I ‘borrowed’ from her facebook page without her permission.  (Well, she lives in a time zone 3 hours earlier than me and I didn’t want to call her at bedtime as I’m working on this post.  So, I’m hoping she’s okay with my deftly acquired blog material.)  She recently graduated with her Bachelors degree after years of going to night school following her full-time job as a computer something or other (very technical.)  Way to go, sis!

I’m so glad to have her as a sister, even though we live on opposite ends of the country.   We, ourselves, are total opposites in many ways, but our common beginning of our life stories and all of my free cell phone minutes keep us close.

One striking way that we are different is our approach to cooking.  She’s the artist and I’m the engineer.  She happily experiments with flavor combinations and measurements, while I nervously cling to the safety of a cookbook or recipe card.   She’s the yang to my yin, in the kitchen at least.

Well, I am proud to report that I have taken a walk on Kathi’s side of the cooking street with a new pizza crust recipe.  As you might recall, my friend (and blogging inspiration) Brooke in Utah shared her new recipe for pizza crust.  When I received a written copy of it,  I noticed that it was entitled the “Best Pizza Crust Ever.”  I tried it a month or so ago, but ran into difficulties. 

See, it included the ingredients, but no technical instructions.  The first try yielded a tasty yet poorly executed crust.  But I persevered last night by researching and experimenting, just like Kat would do.  (Kat is my pet name for Kathi, which she abhors, but answers to anyway.)  We had an excellent ‘Friday pizza night’ as a result.  I will share my techniques, but know I’m not an expert on pizza making.  At least I’m trying to be like my sister, though, by relaxing and enjoying the process.  Friday pizza night definitely should be enjoyed! 

By the way, it is the best pizza crust ever.

Best Pizza Crust Ever  from Brooke

1 1/2 cups very warm water

2 tsp yeast

2 tsp sugar

16 ounces (about 2 3/4 cups) bread flour (I used all-purpose and it was alright)

3 1/2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) semolina* flour

1 tsp salt

[I let the yeast proof in the water for about 5 minutes and then mixed in the rest of the ingredients.  My semolina, when measured, weighed less so I used the weighted amounts instead of the cup measurements for both flours.  I mixed the dough with my dough hook until the dough clung to the hook, adding a bit more flour to do so.  Then I kneaded with my mixer and dough hook for 5 more minutes.  The dough still was quite sticky.]

Let rise in well-oiled bowl until double, about an hour.  Oil pan(s) and sprinkle with extra semolina flour.  Knead and roll out dough to fit pan.  (I found it easier on my second try to roll out just once in the pan - and not on the counter first.)  Top with pizza toppings and bake at 450 degrees until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Makes 2 medium thin crust pizzas or one large, thicker crust pizza.

I make my own easy sauce.  I use an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce and mix in Italian seasoning, garlic pepper and salt to taste.  Spread sauce on the rolled out crust sparingly with a rubber mixing spatula.

*Semolina flour, I found out, is finely ground cornmeal.  I found it in the bulk section of the health food area in my grocery store.

half the dough for a medium thin crust

with sauce

before baking

 

out of the oven