Wednesday, Oct 20 - Wholewheat BBQ Pizzas - Marguerita, Veggie Salami and BBQ Smoked Tofu

BBQ Smoked Tofu Pizza - cooked

D used a new dough recipe this time.  He wasn't happy with it compared to the one we have been using lately.  I thought it was fine.  Wholewheat will definitely not have as smooth a texture as the all White.  I think if anything really affected the dough was the mix up with the flours. D is used to having one flour in the house: White, Unbleached, All Purpose.  Enter me and I have since stuffed our pantry Bread Flour, Rye, Cake Flour, Wholewheat Flour.  For some odd reason, D has a mental block between the Cake the Bread.  He cooks alot. He does at least half the cooking in the house so it's not like he's a culinary luddite.  He definitely has better technique than I.  But he has asked me what the difference between the Cake and Bread Flour is everytime he goes in for the flour.  This was 1 of 2 times this same week D has accidentally swapped the Bread for the Cake or vice versa.  The recipe D wanted to test out called for Bread Flour.  He used the Cake.

While describing to him that Bread has higher gluten and adds chewyiness and structure to breads, he tells me I'm wrong, it's meant to make it tender.  I tell him no, that's what Cake flour does. It's then he had the forehead smacking moment of, 'Oh crap!' used the wrong bag, even though the name and the description is written right on the bag :^P.  He swapped half way through but it definitely made the crust a bit cripier at the thinness we always roll it out too.  We always roll crack thin.

D used a dough recipe from a magazine D used to have a subscription to called 'Cook Illustrated'.  Each edition tests and perfects a particular recipe.  Well, I would say, 'tries' to perfect.  As I've said, it isn't quite our favourite Pizza Dough. As well, D bought their recommended Garlic press and I find the inserts very niggly and hard to clean.  As well, D's made a couple other of their recommends and while they're pretty good, I don't always buy the reasons in the write up for their elimination and variations. So feel free to experiment on your own and don't feel bad if their 'perfect' recipe doesn't work for you.

Here are our previous Pizza Dough recipes.  You can BBQ or bake.  If you are baking in the oven, preheat the oven to 450F with a rack in the bottom third.  Place the dressed dough on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.  This is based on rolling out to less then 1/8th inch or the thickness of 4-5 sheets of paper.

If you are BBQing, place the rolled dough, undressed, directly on the hot grill with the lid down for 2 minutes.  Dress the cooked side and place back on the grill for about 2 minutes.  The dough is fairly thin so becareful not to char.  It was raining today so D brought the half cooked pizza inside to dress.

Vegetarian Salami Pizza

Vegetarian Salami

(based on a 15"x8" pizza)

1/4-1/3 Plain Tomato Sauce
1 t fresh Oregano or 1/2 t dried Oregano
8 slices Vegan Salami
4 Button Mushrooms, sliced
2 T sliced Red Onion
1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper
1/2 c Mozzarella Cheese

BBQ Smoked Tofu Pizza - dressed

BBQ Smoked Tofu

1/3-1/2 c BBQ sauce (your preference but the vinegary Carolina style won't work very well)
1/2 block Smoked Tofu, sliced
1/3 c fresh Cilantro,chopped
1/2 c Mozzarella or Jack, shredded

Marguerita with Articoke Hearts

1/2 c Red Sauce, plain
2 Bocconcini (fresh Mozzarella Balls - Tennis Ball sized) - My FAVE!!!
8 Basil Leaves, or 1/2 t -1 t dried basil
4 Artichoke Hearts, halved
1-2 Tomato, sliced

My favourite was the BBQ Smoked Tofu.  D normally does this one with Chicken for those who are not big on Tofu.  These three could serve 4-5 people.  Or the two of us with two large lunches :^)