1.25.2005

Pizza, Lean 'n Thin

I usually don't write about what I ate last night. But, this was kind of interesting. I usually have a lump of dough in the fridge from the baguette recipe. Recall, that's a lean dough, about 3 grams fat (veg shortening) per 500 grams of dough; much less than my pizza dough which has about 25 grams fat (olive oil) per 500 grams (and a little honey). I keep the baguette dough in the fridge (up to a couple days) so we have something on hand to add something special to an otherwise skimpy meal.

Last night Mom was out wining and dining a job candidate and it was me and the kid home for dinner. Table for two and I had no plan. After a brief panic, I took my lean dough, warmed it a bit, and decided to make a couple personal pizzas out of it with some fresh tomato (ugly ripes™, the best!), mozzarella and a bit of Reggiano. Seemed like a promising fix. But would that lean a dough work for a crust? I like my pizza crust with the oil and trace of honey to give it a tender interior, crispy exterior and amber color.

To my (and Frankie's) pleasant surprise, it worked quite well. A bit more chewy than usual but since we let the topped pies rest a good 10-20 minutes (diaper change between pizzas) before shoving them in the 550-deg-F furnace, they bubbled up nicely and were adequately tender. Frankie ate mostly my crusts, a couple pieces of orange and a crayon (purple, I think). She likes sauce more than fresh tomato but the different dough was a nice change.

The image is one just out of the oven and one about to go in on my two peels.