My family loves pizza. I mean, we love pizza. We especially love brick oven pizza, but it’s hard to come by in New Jersey (heck it’s hard to find it almost anywhere in the United States!). This recipe comes out like brick oven pizza, I guess because the inside of an Egg is ceramic, and the look on my family’s face when they took that first bite was “oh man, this is soooo good!”
Eggcessories Needed:
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
- 4 ¼ Cups of Flour
- 2 ¼ Teaspoons Yeast or One Packet of Yeast
- 2 Teaspoons Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 ½ Cups of Warm Water
For the Sauce:
- One 28 oz can of Crushed Tomatoes
- One 14 oz can of Tomato Paste
- 2 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 small onion
The following ingredients have no measurements. I’ll explain why in the instructions.
- Basil
- Oregano
- Salt
- Pepper
- Parmesan Cheese
- Sugar
- Olive Oil
For Pizza Making:
- 8 oz block of mozzarella cheese
- Whatever toppings you plan on adding (pepperoni, mushrooms, etc.)
Directions:
Start by making the dough.
Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and lightly mix them together. Put that mixture in a Kitchen Aid mixer bowl with the dough hook attachment.
We have a Kitchen Aid mixer so we used that, but some food processors have a dough hook attachment so you can use that too. For the Kitchen Aid I let the dough hook go around 7 or 8 times. If you’re using a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients 3 or 4 times to mix instead of just turning it on. If you have none of the above you have my permission to buy pre-made dough from the supermarket. 🙂
Turn the Kitchen Aid on at a slow setting.
Slowly add the olive oil. Then slowly add the warm water until a ball forms and is sticky to the touch. Turn off the mixer so the dough can rest for 2 minutes. Turn the mixer back on for another 40 seconds.
Put the dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with a wet towel, and store in a cool, dry place (your turned off oven is a good spot) to let the dough rise. This should take about 2 hours. The dough will double in size.
While the dough is doing its thing, start making the sauce.
As a person who can trace his roots back to Italy (aka Italian-American) I’m going to implore, no beg! that you don’t use jarred sauce. For the love of all that is holy, please don’t use jarred sauce. It is way too sweet, and is lacking in flavor.
Start by mincing the garlic with a garlic press. If you don’t have a garlic press, slice it up with a knife, but cut it really, really small. Then cut up the onion. Use a food processor, if you have, otherwise cut it up really, really small with a knife.
Put a large pot (like a soup pot) on the stove and turn it on to medium high heat. Coat the bottom of the pot with a thin layer of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic. Cook until it is translucent.
Add the crushed tomatoes, and the tomato paste. Stir in the tomato paste.
There are no measurements for the dry ingredients in the sauce. The instructions for the sauce comes from my grandmother, who taught my mother this way, who then taught me this way (after I made a disastrous sauce when I first moved out on my own). Just go with it. 😉
Sprinkle in enough basil to thinly coat the tomato sauce (you should still see the sauce so go light on the coat). Mix in the basil and then do the same with the oregano, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, sugar.
Let the sauce cook for at least 5 hours, but longer is better.
If you plan on having toppings on your pizza, chop them up during the sauce cooking/dough rising processes.
I made the mistake of saving that step for when I was getting ready to assemble the pizza. All it did was slow down the pizza making process. My wife ended up cutting the toppings for me. Grate the cheese now too. Grate the block of mozzarella cheese on the thickest setting of your cheese grater.
After the sauce is done, set your Egg to indirect heating. Place your pizza stone on the grill, and bring the Egg to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Back to the dough!
When it comes to rolling out the dough, if you have the skills to roll it out like they do in an actual pizzeria then go for it.
I can only go as far throwing it back and forth between hands while partially spinning it. After that I’ll end up with pizza dough on my face.
Cut the dough into 4 parts. Flour your counter. Place a dough part on the flour, then flour a rolling pin. Roll the dough out by rolling the pin over the dough once, turn it about a 1/8 turn and roll the pin again. Keep doing this until the dough is about 12- 16 inches in diameter.
Flour your wooden pizza peel well, and place the rolled out dough on it. Make sure you flour the wooden peel well or the pizza dough will stick to it making it harder to slide the uncooked pizza onto the pizza stone.
Pour a ladle full of sauce in the middle of the dough and spread it toward the outer edge in a circular motion. Be sure to leave about an inch of dough sauceless (that’s right, I just made up a word!) so you get that nice outer crust.
Now would be the time to add any toppings you want. Liberally cover the sauce area with that topping. If you’re going plain, skip to the next step.
Liberally sprinkle the grated cheese over the sauce area of the dough. The sauce should be completely covered. If you’re going for extra cheese add another round of cheese (you may need to buy 2 blocks of cheese if you’re making extra cheese).
Slide the pizza from the wooden peel to the pizza stone and cook for 15 minutes. Use the aluminum pizza peel to slide the pizza off the pizza stone.
It ain’t pretty, but darn if it ain’t tasty!
Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
You'll Never Need a Pizzeria Again
Ingredients
- 4 ¼ Cups of Flour
- 2 ¼ Teaspoons Yeast or One Packet of Yeast
- 2 Teaspoons Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 ½ Cups of Warm Water
- One 28 oz can of Crushed Tomatoes
- One 14 oz can of Tomato Paste
- 2 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 small onion
- Basil
- Oregano
- Salt
- Pepper
- Parmesan Cheese
- Sugar
- Olive Oil
- 8 oz block of mozzarella cheese
- Toppings (pepperoni, mushrooms, etc.)
Instructions
Start by making the dough.
Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and lightly mix them together. Put that mixture in a Kitchen Aid mixer bowl with the dough hook attachment. Turn it on at a slow setting.
Slowly add the olive oil. Then slowly add the warm water until a ball forms and is sticky to the touch. Turn off the mixer so the dough can rest for 2 minutes. Turn the mixer back on for another 40 seconds.
Put the dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with a wet towel, and store in a cool, dry place (your turned off oven is a good spot) to let the dough rise. This should take about 2 hours. The dough will double in size.
While the dough is doing its thing, start making the sauce.
Start by mincing the garlic with a garlic press. If you don’t have a garlic press, slice it up with a knife, but cut it really, really small. Then cut up the onion. Use a food processor, if you have, otherwise cut it up really, really small with a knife.
Put a large pot (like a soup pot) on the stove and turn it on to medium high heat. Coat the bottom of the pot with a thin layer of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic. Cook until it is translucent.
Add the crushed tomatoes, and the tomato paste. Stir in the tomato paste.
Sprinkle in enough basil to thinly coat the tomato sauce (you should still see the sauce so go light on the coat). Mix in the basil and then do the same with the oregano, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, sugar.
Let the sauce cook for at least 5 hours, but longer is better.
Chop up any toppings (if needed), and grate the block of mozzarella cheese on the thickest setting of your cheese grater.
After the sauce is done, set your Egg to indirect heating. Place your pizza stone on the grill, and bring the Egg to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Back to the dough! Cut the dough into 4 parts. Flour your wooden pizza peel. Place a dough part on the flour, then flour a rolling pin. Roll the dough out by rolling the pin over the dough once, turn it about a 1/8 turn and roll the pin again. Keep doing this until the dough is about 12- 16 inches in diameter.
Pour a ladle full of sauce in the middle of the dough and spread it toward the outer edge in a circular motion. Be sure to leave about an inch of dough sauceless (that’s right, I just made up a word!) so you get that nice outer crust.
Now would be the time to add any toppings you want. Liberally cover the sauce area with that topping. If you’re going plain, skip to the next step.
Liberally sprinkle the grated cheese over the sauce area of the dough. The sauce should be completely covered. If you’re going for extra cheese add another round of cheese (you may need to buy 2 blocks of cheese if you’re making extra cheese).
Slide the pizza from the wooden peel to the pizza stone and cook for 15 minutes. Use the aluminum pizza peel to slide the pizza off the pizza stone.
Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
Notes
EGGcessories Needed:
ConvEGGtor
Baking Stone
Aluminum Pizza Peel
Wooden Pizza Peel
