meansoybean

So let’s just say you’re on a pizza kick and want to eat it every night for dinner after a horrible day at the office. Most people would probably direct you to the frozen pizzas, or ordering in. Maybe the more DIY people would tell you to cut corners buy getting a store-bought crust. But I say there’s nothing like making it from scratch, and it’s totally possible to do this on a daily basis. And I’m going to tell you how, you lucky person… but first we need to start with the basics.

Don’t be tricked into getting stoned…
Unless you have a fire oven in your backyard, you’re going to have to use your conventional oven. But no fear, you too can enjoy yummy pizza — right in your own home. A lot of sources will tell you to get a pizza stone. I don’t know about you, but I was very reluctant in buying one. A properly thick one would have cost a lot, and you have to be very careful with them, lest they crack. Also, I have a lot of stuff in my kitchen and thought a stone wouldn’t be any much use other than in the oven. That’s when it hit me… a cast iron griddle! How’s that for versatility?

So I promptly got a Lodge cast iron griddle that’s primarily used as a pizza stone in the oven (flat side, of course). I also use it on the stove-top, mainly for weekend pancakes. I wasn’t sure it would work, because I couldn’t find anyone else who had done this, but I’m so glad I took the plunge. As a stone, it’s perfect and I highly recommend taking this route. The greatness of cast iron cookware is unmatched, really.

Did somebody say Super Peel?!
Another handy tool is a pizza peel. I had read that they’re a bit tricky, needing cornmeal or flour as “lubrication” between dough and peel-surface. I was up for the challenge, but couldn’t find a thin peel in my area, no matter how hard I tried. But then I heard about the Super Peel. On a trip across the border I manage to snag one of these babies. Let me tell you, this thing is so amazing. I’m happy I got it as a gift for myself. You don’t need any “lube”, just slide it under your pizza, walk it over to the oven and slide onto your cast iron griddle. There are no spills and no wonky pizza crusts!

Other things you’ll need are a rolling pin, which is pretty standard. I have a simple bamboo “stick” one with no handles. I also like to roll the crusts out on a silicone mat. I don’t have a fancy Silpat. But a clean countertop will do nicely as well.

Come back tomorrow for part two, ya hear? In this last part I’ll be talking about making the pizza, dough and all!