PPppppiiizzzza

I have been following a local food blog called Dinner with Julie. I love that she lives in Calgary, where as most of the food blogs I keep tabs on are in the states. My friend Gayle told me about her blog after I started the Crazy Kitchen. Gayle has been letting me in on some good finds lately! Julie blogs about baking, dinner, and local restaurant reviews, as well as ones afar. I am now a loyal follower of hers.

A few weeks ago Julie posted about a new revolutionary bread that requires no kneading. What? No kneading!? The post was of a pizza dough version of no-knead bread . She praised the recipes superior crumb and chewy goodness...victoriously stating it was even better than regular pizza dough !

That is powerful statement to make. Better than regular pizza dough recipes?

I have made bread regularly for awhile now. And I love making fresh homemade pizza's. My favorite pizza dough recipe is from the joy of cooking (my first cook book!). My only adaptation to Julies recipe was to add a little more salt, because The joy of cooking version has more, and a bit more yeast, because salt eventually stops the yeast from working it's magic (or so I've heard).

Julie raved about this recipe in every factor: taste, texture, and ease, I figured if it was that good, I'm going to make it 100% with whole wheat. That will be the true test to see if it is the end all be all recipe! Haha! I honestly thought I was going to make it fail.

Was I ever surprised! It surpassed my expectations. My husband always complains when I make things with 100% whole wheat, because it's too healthy (he's a wonderfully honest taste tester). He took a bite, knowing full well going in it was whole wheat. Not too happy about it...Until he bit into the chewy crust.

His taste buds arose from their slumber.

He looked up at me, surprised.

“This is really good”

This recipe is easy as 1-2-3, the only thing is you need to do is plan one day ahead. The secret is in the waiting. So plan pizza for dinner tomorrow. Try this new technique, you might find that like me, you may never look back at your old pizza recipe again.

No-Knead Pizza Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (I used whole wheat and it passed the husband test)
1/2tsp. active dry yeast (instant or regular)
1 Tbs. salt

In a large bowl stir together the flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups of water, and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap and let it rest on the countertop for 18-24 hours at room temperature.

After that time the surface of the dough will be dotted with bubbles. Generously flour a work surface and scrape the mixture out onto it, gently folding it over itself once or twice, then transfer to a rimmed baking sheet that has been sprinkled with flour or cornmeal. Spread it out with your fingertips until it’s a rough oval or rectangle (you may need to sprinkle the top with a little flour too, to keep it from sticking to your fingers), and set it aside while you get your toppings together and preheat the oven to 450°F.

*I spread it out even more by generously rubbing my rolling pin with flour and rolling it on top of my preheated pizza stone. Watch out the dough is sticky. Keep rubbing flour on the rolling pin when you notice it catching on the dough. When your done press your finger tips in the dough to prevent bubbling.

Spread the crust with tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, pesto or anything else you’d like to sauce it with, then top with your choice of toppings and grated cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly and golden.

I made this pizza with a side of Waldorf salad (rehashed my way of course!)

1 fuji apple diced

2 celery ribs diced

½ cup of grapes sliced in half (I used table grapes)

½ cup of cucumber sliced and cut in quarters

Dressing:

2 Tbs of mayo ( I used hellmans light, do not use miracle whip)

2 Tbs of sour cream (I used 5% mf)

1 tsp of Mista salad dressing (posted earlier, a staple in my home)

“Mista” Italian Salad Dressing

3 lemons juiced
2 Tbs White wine vinegar
3 Tbs Light tasting olive oil (Presidents Choice Spanish olive oil is great, or 1 1/2 Tbs of olive oil mixed with 1 1/2 Tbs canola oil)
2 ts of Dijon mustard
1 Garlic clove pressed
½ ts 'Greek' spice
½ ts sugar
1/8 ts salt & pepper



-Juice lemons, add the rest of ingredients and whisk. Presto! The best salad dressing.