Pizza Crust French Style Food

PISSALADIèRE

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour and salt. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed just to combine.
• Gradually drop in cubes of butter, with the mixer beating on medium-low speed. Once the butter clumps are no bigger than the size of peas, stream in cold water one teaspoon at a time until a compact dough forms. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, pressing down on the dough to create a disc shape. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• In a medium pan, add the olive oil and warm over medium heat. Add the onion slices and sauté until translucent.
• Sprinkle the sugar all over the onions and cook until the onions have caramelized (about 10 to 15 minutes longer).
• Turn off the heat and stir in the chopped anchovies. Temporarily set this mixture aside.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Roll the pastry dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out into an approximate 12" square. Trim off the uneven edges. Take a fork and prick all over the pastry, except for about a 1" border along the edges, which you'll leave bare.
• Spread the onion mixture all over the prepared pastry square, leaving the border bare.
• Bake the pissaladiere for approximately 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden throughout. Top the pissaladiere with the sliced olives (and extra anchovies, optional) and bake for another minute.

THE BEST PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar; add yeast and whisk until dissolved. Let stand until bubbles form on surface. In a large bowl, whisk 3 cups flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and, if desired, dried herbs. Make a well in center; add yeast mixture and oil. Stir until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead, adding more flour to surface as needed until no longer sticky and dough is smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a large greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes; transfer bowl to refrigerator and chill overnight. Allow dough to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before rolling.

FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F with one rack positioned at the bottom of the oven and another at the top.
• Cook the sausage in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon, until some of the fat has rendered and the sausage is brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the pizza sauce, garlic and thyme to a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat to let the flavors infuse while the sausage and onions cook.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and arrange the bread on top, cut-side up. Spread the tops evenly with the pizza sauce, then sprinkle with the mozzarella. Divide the sausage mixture among the bread pieces, then top off with the green and red bell peppers and Parmesan.
• Bake on the bottom rack of the oven until the bread is crisp and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F and move the baking sheet to the top rack. Continue to bake until the cheese is bubbling and the peppers are browned in spots, about 7 minutes.
• Serve immediately with crushed red pepper flakes and granulated garlic on the side.

PRIME-TIME PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the sugar in 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F). Sprinkle the yeast on top and let stand 10 minutes, or until foamy. Add the olive oil and salt, then use the dough hook to mix in the flour until the dough starts to come together. Allow the machine to knead the dough until smooth. (If you don't have a stand mixer, you can pulse the dough in a food processor until it is smooth and elastic. Or combine by hand in a large bowl.)
• Turn out the dough onto a floured board and knead 2 to 3 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat the surface. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it in half for 2 large pizzas, or into 4 pieces for small individual pizzas. Form into smooth, tight balls, cover loosely with plastic wrap or a well-floured kitchen towel and set in a warm place to rise again, 30 to 45 minutes. (If you're not using the dough right away, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days or freeze up to 1 month.)
• Set a pizza stone in the oven and sprinkle a pizza peel lightly with flour. (If you don't have a stone, you can bake your pizza on a pizza pan or baking sheet sprinkled with flour.) Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Press the dough with your fingers until it's as flat as possible, then drape it over both of your fists and gently pull the edges outward while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size and thickness, place it on the pizza peel (or on the prepared pan). Top the pizza as desired and slide it from the peel onto the hot stone (or transfer the pan to the oven).
• Bake 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness, or until the crust is crisp and golden.
• Guy's Favorite Topping Combos
• The French Pig (pictured above)
• Cooked pancetta, sauteed leeks and apple, brie, balsamic vinegar
• The Motley Que
• Pulled chicken, barbecue sauce, red onions, cilantro, fontina
• Spicy Hawaiian
• Canadian bacon, pineapple, red jalapeno, marinara sauce, mozzarella
• Au Naturel
• Parmigiano-reggiano, fresh rosemary, olive oil, cracked black pepper, sea salt

FRENCH BREAD PIZZAS

Steps:

• For the pizza base: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Lay the rolls cut-side up on a large baking sheet. Top each half with marinara sauce (or pesto for the tomato basil pizzas), followed by the mozzarella. Then add your toppings of choice. See below for directions for assembling specific pizzas.
• Once the pizzas are assembled, put the baking sheet on the lowest rack for 8 to 10 minutes. Then turn up the heat to 425 degrees F and put the sheet on the highest rack until the cheese starts to bubble a bit and turns golden. Remove and serve immediately! Cut the pizzas in half right across the middle so there are mini French bread pizzas for everyone.
• Pizza Varieties:
• For the Canadian bacon and pineapple pizzas: Top with the Canadian bacon slices and pineapple and bake according to the directions above.
• For the Greek salad pizzas: Leave off the sauce and brush the sliced rolls with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with the mozzarella and bake according to the directions above.
• While the pizzas are baking, toss together the olives, feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Top the cooked pizzas with the chopped Greek salad.
• For the pepperoni and jalapeno pizzas: Top with the pepperoni and jalapeno slices and bake according to the directions above.
• For the tomato basil pizzas: Use pesto instead of the marinara sauce, and top with the tomato slices. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake according to the directions above. Top the cooked pizzas with basil leaves.
• For the hamburger pizzas: Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper and saute until the beef is no longer pink. Top the rolls with the sauteed ground beef and bake according to the directions above.
• For the hamburger taco pizzas: Top with the Cheddar and ground beef and bake according to the directions above. Top the cooked pizzas with the chopped lettuce and tomatoes.

PISSALADIèRE (FRENCH PIZZA)

Steps:

• Preheat your oven and a pizza stone to 500°F (or up to 550°F if your oven can go higher.)
• While the oven preheats, gently heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Add the onions, thyme, bay leaf, garlic, salt and pepper, stirring to evenly coat with oil, and cook gently over medium low to low heat (lowering if necessary to prevent over-browning) for about 20 minutes, until the onions are softened and just lightly browning around the edges. Do not caramelize the onions completely or they will scorch in the oven giving a burned taste to the final product. Remove the bay leaf from the caramelized onions.
• Dust your work surface with flour and gently stretch your pizza dough into a circle. Use a floured rolling pin to stretch the dough out until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Generously cover a pizza peel with semolina or cornmeal.
• Spread the onion mixture (including the oil) to within 1/4-inch of the edges of the crust. Arrange the anchovies and olive halves over the top of the onions. If you're using the red bell pepper strips, arrange those artfully among the anchovies. Give the peel a gentle shake to be sure the dough isn't sticking. If it is, carefully lift that area and sprinkle more semolina or cornmeal underneath to fix it.
• Slide the dressed dough onto the hot stone and bake for between 8 and 15 minutes, depending on the heat of your oven, or until it is evenly browned and crisp underneath. Use the peel to transfer the Pissaladière to a cutting board.
• Cool for five minutes, cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine the bread flour, sugar, yeast and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and combine. While the mixer is running, add the water and 2 tablespoons of the oil and beat until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth, firm ball.
• Grease a large bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, add the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm area to let it double in size, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cover each with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes.

WORLD'S BEST PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast and sugar in water.
• Beat in ½ flour.
• Add salt, oil and rest of flour (add more if needed to make handle-able dough).
• Rise in oiled bowl.
• Place on greased pan.
• Add sauce, cheese, etc.
• Bake at 450 20 -25 minutes (til brown).