Perhaps The Best Pizza I’ve Baked So Far? May Be

However hard I try, I’m never able to stick to my blogging routine – about two weeks since I posted one. Well, it’s better late than never :-)

It goes without saying that I’m sort of obsessed with pizza making – probably the reason why I write so much about it; people, I’m on the quest for perfecting this “perfect dish” every other time. Initially when I developed a taste for pizza or started making it at home, I never thought it could turn out to be so versatile; the scope of experimentation is immense.

It could be the yeast, the weather conducive for fermentation or the secret ingredient - I do not know, but a couple of weeks back was one of those proud moments for the pizza chef in me. When he came home after work that day, I greeted him at the door with the statement, “baby, it may have happened that I just made the best pizza ever!” Later when we sat down for dinner, we both went on saying “mmmhhh” with every bite. It was adequately seasoned, moderately crispy, beautifully chewy and irresistibly soft – exactly how a sensational pizza crust would taste and feel like!

To me, every time you cook up a sensational crust, you make the best pizza ever! Everyone has their “best” pizza dough recipe and it seems like, I have got mine. That doesn’t mean I will stop experimenting, I certainly will continue my quest.

Let me tell you, this is not one of the simplest bases, but it is not the hardest either. A simple extra step is what it took to transform my usual go to “pizza dough recipe” to the best I have made till date. Again, it can be a little messy and sticky, but your love for pizza will surely help you find the way through.

Now about the secret ingredient - well, it's mashed potatoes. Potato is my all-time favourite; give it in any shape, size and form, I will not say NO. Probably that was my potato craving day and I just wanted to use it in the pizza. As usual, I googled and could see some reference of potato pizza topping. But knowing him, I thought it wasn’t a good idea to keep something he doesn’t appreciate right there in front, I would rather conceal it and give. Hence the potato pizza base! It was way too hard to get any recipe for this online, finally I bumped into one for potato bread, which could be replicated for pizza dough and gave it a try. I kind of played around with measurements and guess what, it came out sort of perfect!

So, the best pizza I’ve made till date has potato base to it –
 

Mashed Potato Pizza (Dough) Recipe (makes 3 medium size pizzas)
 

YOU NEED:

Mashed potatoes, 1 ½-2 cups

All-purpose flour, 2 cups

Instant dry yeast, 1 pkt (about 2 teaspoon)

Warm water, ½-1 cup

Sugar, 2 teaspoon

Salt, to taste

Garlic powder or roasted minced garlic, 1-2 teaspoon, optional

Italian herbs, 1-2 teaspoon, optional

Pizza sauce, recipe here

Pizza topping, recipe here 

HOW TO:

In a large bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of water and yeast. After about 5 minutes, add sugar, mix and let it rest until yeast turns bubbly and thickens slightly.

To this add the mashed potatoes, flour, salt, garlic powder and herbs. Mix well and later transfer it to floured surface and knead to make a smooth ball. As I said, the dough will be sticky than usual, take care to add water little by little, otherwise dough will be too sticky and messy.Let it rest for an hour or more.

When ready to make, preheat oven at 250 degree Celsius.

Divide the dough into three equal parts, transfer each part into a well floured surface, slightly knead to form a firm ball. Since this dough is sticky, I recommend not using the rolling pin, but use your hand to stretch it. Transfer the ball in to parchment or butter paper and using your hand push and stretch it from the middle, flipping the sides from time to time and dusting with floor until you get it to medium size.

Now that you have the base ready, brush some olive oil over it, spread pizza sauce, followed by cheese, your favourite toppings and then again with cheese. I used 3 cheeses – Parmesan, mozzarella and smoked cheddar.

Once ready, transfer it to oven and bake for 12-14 minutes.

Slice and serve when hot. Relish every bite! :-)

Mashed Potato Flat Bread

With the 3rd part of the dough, I made a simple flat bread that is by baking it without any sauce or topping, but just a sprinkle of cheddar.