Pepperoni Pizza

rachelhammer

The magic of the Whidbey MFA residency passed too quick! I have the post-residency blues akin to the post-pizza blues—too good, too much, too fast. And although right now I feel as if I shall be full for weeks, tomorrow, I’ll already be hungry for more.

Love is half a longing possession does nothing to mitigate—this line from the prophet M. Robinson is perhaps my life mantra.

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Pepperoni Pizza

Adapted from Baking Illustrated

INGREDIENTS for the Basic Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water (about 110°)

1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp.) instant yeast

1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting (used all-purpose)

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

olive oil or non-stick cooking spray for greasing the bowl

For the Extras
3 cups pizza sauce, I use marinara

4 ounces mozzarella, shredded

8 ounces sliced pepperoni

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS

  1. Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room temperature water and stir to combine.
  2. Add flour and salt to the liquid ingredients. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Press the dough to deflate it.
  3. Shape into smooth round ball and cover with a damp cloth. Let dough relax for at least 10 minutes (no more than 30 minutes)
  4. Brush rolled out dough round with oil. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce even over dough round, leaving ½ inch border. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella, and cover with pepperoni.
  5. Slide on peel (covered with corn meal) onto pizza stone (which should have been heated for at least 30 minutes at 500 degrees) and bake for 8 to 12 minutes. Remove pizza from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan or more mozzarella.
  6. Repeat with the two other rounds.

So thrilled to have joined my mother for a mother-daughter weekend retreat in Woodinville, WA at the Matthews Estate Winery. Tomorrow, we hike the spring green hills from tasting to tasting. Tonight we brought one another up to date on each of our most recent theories of knowledge, of self, of love. We ate crab and steak at Purple Cafe. It feels luxurious to be so seen and heard by the one who has undoubtedly invested more of herself in me than any other person on the planet. In many ways, conversations with Mom are dialectics with a flattering mirror.