Sebastopol Sweet Stuffed Pizza

[Les]

Sebastopol Sweet Stuffed Pizza

I’ve been making stuffed pizza since I first had Zachary’s pizza in Berkeley many years ago.  But I’ve not made it using any of the “sweet” techniques detailed here:
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1931.0.html

Here’s a quick definition of my concept of “sweet.”  It has nothing to do with sugary sweet, but natural sweetness.  First, it is to try to develop as much sweetness as possible in the dough with no more than 4% sweetener added, and then it’s to use naturally sweet ingredients.  For the dough, the sweetener I use is “white” honey to try to take advantage of its natural enzymes that can break down complex sugars in flour to more simple (and hopefully, taste-able) sugars. 

I also use the “ice” method of kneading dough (i.e., substituting ice for some or all of the dough’s hydration) to work moisture more evenly and fully into the flour, but I’d never tried it with stuffed pizza whose crust ends up sort of biscuit-like.  In dough that is only 69% unbleached white flour and the rest corn meal/flour and semolina flour (as this recipe calls for), I wasn’t sure how much benefit the ice method would offer.  I was surprised to find it created the same sort of airy extensibility it had with regular dough; so much so I was able to stretch this dough by hand (I’d always rolled it out before).  Here’s a close-up of the baked crust:

[Les]

It’s interesting that the proportions of semolina and corn meal/flour to unbleached white flour that I came to settle on over the years matches some traditional percentages.  In the book Pizza Napoletana by Johns . . .

[Les]

. . . she reports on page 80 of her book that “The classic Neapolitan dough . . . has been copied and modified throughout Italy.  One of the most popular modifications is the addition of semolina to the dough.”  And then the recipe she offers contains about 1/8 semolina flour to unbleached white, the same as in this recipe.  Reinhart’s recipe for Chicago  pizza dough on page 130 of American Pie suggests about 1/6 corn meal, which is close to the corn meal/flour percentage in this recipe.  Anyway, I absolutely loved the crust that resulted.

The last aspects of a “sweet” dough technique is to NOT retard the dough in an airtight container since anaerobic conditions bring about not-sweet flavors; to let it retard for two days so the white honey enzymes can work; to use a relatively low hydration rate plus sealing the dough ball so during the two-day wait the dough doesn’t rise so much it has to be punched down; to give the dough a longer pre-bake proof time (at room temp) to develop a lot of gas (this creates more tiny bubbles in the dough which makes the resulting crust lighter), and to stretch the dough trying to preserve that gas.

In terms of “naturally sweet” ingredients, here’s a picture that includes what was used:

[Les]

Think of this pizza as seven layers (counting the dough).  After the bottom layer of dough the second layer is provolone cheese.

The third layer is spinach, sautéed garlic and onion, raw crimini mushrooms, and cheese (fresh asiago in this recipe, but I use dry jack cheese sometimes too).  I think spinach is the sweetest of all greens, and the crimini is both sweet for a mushroom and the most firm when fresh.  I use miniature cippolini onions, but any yellow onion is sweet.  Fresh asiago is a great cheese, and dry jack cheese is very sweet for a cheese.

The fourth layer is the second crust.  You’ll notice I bake it separately before inserting it into the pizza.  (Anybody else do that?)

The fifth layer is roasted, sliced artichoke “bottoms” and mozzarella.  If you can’t roast, you can toast the artichokes on nonstick aluminum foil in your toaster oven by flipping them until they brown.  The bottom of the artichoke is (IMO) is the sweetest part, so that’s why they are in this recipe.

The sixth layer is tomatoes and sauce.  Like my other “sweet” recipe, this one uses grape tomatoes, both fresh and for the sauce, which is the same sauce in the former recipe.  A major “sweet” principle is to cook the tomatoes as little as possible.  The only cooking for the sauce is baking the grape tomatoes at a low temperature; the 6 in 1 ground tomatoes are not heated at the factory, and of course the fresh tomatoes added are not.  (I sure wish somebody here would try the sauce.  I have never tasted such rich, fresh tomato flavor in a sauce.)

The last layer is tree-ripened green olives and minced garlic in oil mixed with reggiano parmesan.  If you haven’t had tree-ripened green olives, you won’t know how sweet they are. They are nothing like the typical olive, which are picked before they are ripe (to get crunchiness) and cured in ways that end up not-sweet.  Ripened green olives are not just psuedo-sweet, but truly sweet.

You will notice the oil used throughout this recipe, from the dough and the sauté for the spinach mixture, to the final garlic-reggiano-olive topping is unrefined sesame oil.  You guessed it, I think sesame oil is sweeter than olive oil, and so you can confidently assume that is why I use it.

Here’s the pans I use for stuffed pizza:

[Les]

Obviously you can use any deep pan or dish you please, but this technique relies on All-Clad braiser pans.  I use the 2 quart normally, and the 4 quart when cooking for several friends.  They represent a substantial investment, but if you make deep dish pizza a lot, you will love them (they are great for casseroles and paellas too).  These pans are now permanently part of my technique for making stuffed pizza.  The lid allows you a lot of baking versatility, like say if you want to let the bottom brown more than the top, or for keeping the dough from drying out while you give it a rise after stretching; also, it’s good for keeping the pizza warm, away from bugs if eating outside, etc.  The slanted angle on the side of the braiers makes them easier to get stuffed pizza out of the pan too.

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/prodlist.asp?BrandID=5&LineID=7&FamilyBD=16

The grill pan is used to grill the artichoke bottoms (and sometimes I grill the onions as well) to add a little smoky flavor.  It’s one of my very favorite All-Clad pans, an anodized steel, non-stick grill pan (the surface won’t interact with food).  At $50 it’s the best bargain I’ve ever found in a pan.  It is heavy, cleans in seconds, grills evenly and really fast.

http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=167201

Finally, a most important factor is getting all your layers dry.  Be ready to go through a bunch of paper towels squeezing out and patting dry every bit of moisture you can from spinach, artichokes, olives, and tomatoes.  Don’t worry the resulting pizza won’t be moist, it will be; but if you don’t dry everything, this stuffed pizza will turn out slop.  Here’s the pile of paper towels I used for drying the spinach:

[Les]

 . . . and that was after extensively pressing the moisture out through a colander.

Speaking of spinach, I use frozen, chopped spinach.  If your area carries the 16 ounce size, it is about perfect for the 10 inch pizza:

Three 10 ounce boxes (as pictured in the original “ingredients” picture above) is just right for the 13 inch pizza.

Okay, here we go.

[Les]

The dough

Make the dough two days before you are going to use it.

 These proportions are for the 2 quart braiser, which is 10 inches in diameter across the top of the pan, and 8 inches across the bottom of the pan.  If you were to make this for the 4 quart braiser--13/10 inch diameters top/bottom of the pan respectively--you would double every thing except the dough, which you increase by 2/3 to 500g.  (These figures will work for the traditional 10 inch or 12-13 inch deep-dish pizza pans.)

Weight by grams • Baker’s Percentages
•300g total • 100%
   • 207g King Arthur Sir Lancelot unbleached flour (69% of the total flour)
   • 36g semolina flour (12% of the total flour)
   • 39g whole corn flour (13% of the total flour)
   • 18g fine-grind whole corn meal (6% of the total flour)

•6g sea salt • 2% • (1 rounded tsp)
•4g instant yeast •1.3% • (1 tsp)

•156g filtered water/ice  (52% total hydration)
   •  90g filtered water plus 66g crushed ice (approx. 60% water, 40% ice)
•12g white honey • 4% • (1 tsp)

•24g unrefined sesame seed oil • 8% • (2 Tbs) 

1. Combine unbleached white flour, semolina, corn flour and meal, salt, and yeast in the mixer bowl. 

2. Dissolve the white honey in the water (first coat your spoon with oil), add to dry ingredients.

3. Mix for a minute and then add the ice.

4.  Knead until ice is nearly melted, then add the oil and knead until dough reaches 65° and is smooth.

5. Divide dough into 2/3 and 1/3 portions, shape into dough balls, and soak very liberally in unfiltered sesame oil (this oil will be patted off before baking).

(Use the dough ball sealing technique found toward the end of the page here: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1931.0.html )

6. Place the oiled dough balls in small bowls, cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap (not airtight), and cover the container tops with folded wet paper towels.  IMPORTANT:  Containers are NOT to be made airtight.  In the picture I have, you can see I’ve altered inexpensive plastic bowls by cutting out the middle of the covers.  This allows the wet paper towels to stick easier.

7. Refrigerate the dough for 48 hours.

[Les]

Baking Day

In the morning of the day you are baking, take frozen spinach out of the freezer and let thaw in a covered bowl.

Set up the dough

1. Four hours before you are going to bake, take the dough balls out of the refrigerator, flip upside down and transfer to wider, flat bowls (like pasta bowls so they can expand).  Make sure to replace the plastic wrap onto them:

[Les]

The first picture (above) shows the dough just out of the refrigerator, the second picture (below) is how the dough looks after proofing four hours; it has endured 48+ hours since kneading and never been punched down!   Notice the dough still hasn’t over-risen, and how the bubbles are small and uniform.  Perfect for creating a light, crunchy crust.

[Les]

2. About 1 1/2 hours before you want to bake, stretch both dough portions; stretch the larger portion to about 12 inches. 
Coat the braiser with butter and then place the large dough portion inside.  Put the lid on the brasier (use aluminum foil if you aren’t using covered cookware).  Don’t be afraid to stretch and shape your dough inside your pan, it won’t stick after baking.

[Les]

3. Stretch the smaller portion of dough to 10 inches, place flat on a pizza pan or screen, and cover with plastic wrap. 
Set aside both dough portions to rise while you now prepare the various layers.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Prepare the provolone layer

Shred 2 ounces of provolone.

Prepare the spinach mixture

Ingredients:
15 ounces frozen, chopped spinach
35g cippolini onions (or 1/4 cup of any type onion)
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp unrefined sesame oil
35g crimini chopped mushrooms (1/2 cup)
3 ounces fresh asiago or dry jack cheese
salt and pepper

Press moisture out of spinach in a colander, and then use all the paper towels you need to thoroughly dry.  Set aside.

1. Gently sauté garlic in the sesame oil on medium low (notice the great little garlic tool in the picture the Genius Garlic Cutter . . . it’s awesome).

[Les]

2. After a couple of minutes, add the onion and sauté until just tender.
3. Remove from heat, stir in spinach, cheese, and mushrooms.
4. Salt to taste, pepper generously.

[Les]

Prepare the cheese-artichoke layer

Ingredients:
50g roasted, chopped artichoke bottoms (1/3 cup)
4 ounces shredded mozzarella

1. Slice artichoke bottoms in half and squeeze out moisture with paper towels.
2. Roast artichoke bottoms on both sides.  Chop.

[chiguy]

Hey Les,
You sure do find the coolest kitchen supplies. I can get an idea from the books in the background of reply #1 what you may have done for a living,but i think you may have missed your true calling, a CHEF . Your recipes and techniques are always very inspirational. Especially the vegetarian aspects.        Chiguy

[Les]

3. Add to mozzarella.

[Les]

Prepare the tomato-sauce layer

Ingredients:
300g fresh grape tomatoes, chopped (approx. 1 pint)
90g sweet grape tomato sauce (approx. 1/2 cup)

1. Pulse chop tomatoes in food processor.

[Les]

2. Add sauce. (Sauce recipe found here: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1931.0.html )

(If you don’t have access to grape tomatoes for your tomato topping, just use a 28 ounce can of chopped tomatoes, drained.  Add some chopped fresh romas, garlic, basil, oregano, and a pinch of ground anise seed.  If you do have access to grape tomatoes, but don’t want to make the sauce, use 400g chopped grape tomatoes, and then spice as recommended.)

[Les]

Prepare the olive/garlic/cheese layer

Ingredients:
3 ounces grated reggiano parmesan
50g Santa Barbara tree ripened green olives (1/3 cup)
1 extra large garlic clove (or two small ones), minced/crushed
1 tsp unrefined sesame oil

1. Cut olives in half, and pat dry.
2. Add minced garlic to oil and mix thoroughly

[Les]

3.  Add garlic/oil to all the other ingredients and stir until the cheese takes on a somewhat crumbly texture.

[Les]

Assemble Pizza

1. Bake the smaller pizza dough circle at 400° (on the pan or screen) until you see just a tinge of brown (about 6 minutes).