Comments on: Pizza chic, pizza cheap: No-knead pizzas, cheek to cheek

By: Dorian

Dorian — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:31:28 +0000

Posted under the review before I realized this was also here. I make the dough with whole wheat instead of the maize. I’m thinking of trying this with some sourdough starter next time. After this weekend, I don’t think I’ll ever use a tomato sauce again. My wife’s new favorite was just an odd experiment I tried. After first bake, I brush the crust with butter, spread the mozzarella, then top with sliced tomatoes marinated in balsamic vinegar, sliced onions caramelized in marsala wine, and sliced Italian sausage that I grilled on the Weber. Not sure we’ll ever order out for pizza again. Made this for friends and they couldn’t believe how good the crust was!

Oh, Dorian… what a great “odd experiment”! I’ll have to try the butter option for sure, and those toppings… OOH-la-la! PJH

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:03:23 +0000

How would a sourdough version of this work, or would it?

Give it a try, Jeremy - sourdough is just about half and half flour and water, so you can figure it out pretty easily. Let us know how it goes! PJH

By: Mike F.

Mike F. — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 03:22:04 +0000

Will you guys ever carry the Hartstone Pottery baking stones? My wife threw away all of our Pampered Chef ones this weekend in favor of a Hartstone Pottery stone she bought online. The thing is soap and dishwasher safe, unlike every other one I’ve seen. They are made in the US (Ohio, I think). Just a thought. Thanks for all your tips! Mike and Kathie

Mike, we used to carry a nice range of Hartstone, and since have carried it off and on over the years. It was always a tough sell, as it’s more expensive than most, albeit, as you say, great quality. I’ll pass this along to our merchandise team. Thanks for you input - PJH

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:15:23 +0000

We tried the pizza this past weekend and will keep trying till we get it right. I try to use as much whole wheat as I can get away with, so I’ll keep experimenting till we find something everyone likes. I topped one with roasted cherry tomatoes (frozen from our garden), mozzarella, oil and garlic and we loved it. We always have one sauce, pepperoni and olive pizza for our little one. My husband I loved the chewy texture and crust but I think it was a bit too much for our 4 year old. I have some 30 jars of tomato sauce from the garden (I started with 50) waiting to be used for our movie and pizza nights.
Thank you for injecting some variety into or pizza repertory.

By: Gail

Gail — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:40:54 +0000

I have made a no knead pizza dough for years. I dont even measure. I put 1 packet of yeast in 1 cup of warm water, add a smidge of salt and sugar and let it set, later add a little olive oil a few cups of flour to make a soft dough, stir the dough use then or cover and let it set until ready to use,an hour or hours later. I like to use a cast iron griddle. I coat with olive oil, add dough and heat on top of the stove while I am adding all toppings except the cheese. I use pesto instead of a tomato based sauce. When you can see the dough starting to puff up around the edge its time for the oven. This makes a great bottom crust. I bake and add the cheese at the last. This works great using a pizza stone also.

Hi Gail, Thanks for sharing your techniques. I love pesto on pizza too, especially as the end of the summer. Enjoy! ~ MaryJane

By: Kimberly D

Kimberly D — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:27:43 +0000

Do you have to bake the dough first? Or can you put toppings on the uncooked dough?

You can put on uncooked dough, Kimberly - see what happens. Hope cheese doesn’t burn, but should be OK if there’s enough sauce and other stuff to insulate it. PJH
It also works to put on toppings, bake most of the way, and just put on the cheese during the last 5 to 10 minutes of bake time. Susan

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 14:10:32 +0000

This was AMAZING. It was kind of reminiscent of our very favorite pizza crust that I grill. It had that same tender interior and perfect crunchy outside. But I didn’t have to go outside in the mixed precipitation to get it.

We did a make your own pizza bar, I roasted some garlic ahead of time and also had Bar-B-Q chicken on hand. It was quite a hit with the kids and a very fast meal.

By: Josh E

Josh E — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:17:54 +0000

Wow, this was fantastic. Pricking the dough early on is a must. I did this with olive oil, chopped garlic (1 large clove), red pepper flakes and three kinds of cheese (mozzarella, gruyere, and hard chevre), finished with fresh chopped herbs from my garden. Outstanding, one of the best pizzas I’ve ever made…and I’ve made quite a few.

By: Debra

Debra — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 05:43:25 +0000

What kind of bona fide italophile would I be if I couldn’t spell prosciutto right! Of course part of the reason for making my own pizza instead of going and buying it (besides the fact that it tastes a thousand times better) is so I can afford to go back there this fall!

thanks again for this great recipe, I sent it along to several people I know and I hope they enjoy it as much as I did, with whichever flour they use It’s almost too easy to be true, but it is!

Great endorsement, Debra - glad you found a winner here. PJH

By: Debra

Debra — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 02:53:03 +0000

Made the crust with my high-protein whole wheat flour tonight. Came out AWESOME. just topped with some good sauce, mozzarella, and prosciutto. Maybe it was the whole wheat flour or maybe the dryness of living in the San Fernando Valley, but I didn’t have trouble with this dough at all. It didn’t rise that much overnight (think my yeast may not be great even though it’s got a 2010 date on it), but it didn’t seem that wet and I had no problem using a well-floured rolling pin, which allowed me to get it nice and thin. really delicious and so easy! Thank you!

Good show, Debra - glad it worked out well for you. Whole wheat does make a nice, thinn, tasty crust. And congrats on something else - spelling “prosciutto” right.. AMAZING the number of menus that have it spelled wrong - that’s how I judge the quality of a menu, by how they spell prosciutto. (Can’t help it, I was an English major…) PJH