Thursday, October 30, 2008

Pizza, an old friend

Duncan at Syrup and Tang first showed me how to make one successfully, many moons ago. Since then, I've stuck by the same recipe through thick and thin. Until... what's all this? The tossing method?! And...uh... putting it in the fridge overnight??

The dough presented little change from what I was used to, if a little saltier. I dutifully wrapped my kneaded ball of dough in plastic, I whipped it in the fridge. And lo.. the next day, it had doubled in size! Was that supposed to happen? I'm still not sure.

pizza dough wrapped

Then came the tossing. Much flour was spent. I tossed and I tossed, but alas, my ball of dough lengthened beyond the width of my oven, let alone my pizza tray. It just wouldn't go round. Out came my trusty rolling pin (minus the handles - I lost them years ago), and the dough was coaxed into shape.

My topping was not the most original idea, but I'd never tried it before myself. Prawns, feta and mozzarella, with a bit of fresh rosemary from the window garden box. The whole thing cooked fairly happily in the oven, a bit longer than prescribed given the thickness of my dough.

pizza finished

Lessons learnt:
1. Never freeze unshelled prawns. They're a bugger to unthaw and unshell!
2. Remember that when you're pizza comes outta the oven, it's ready for eating, whether your guests have arrived or not!
3. Taking photos of your pizza before you eat it requires a clean surface in the kitchen after the chaos of cooking is over! Not as simple as it sounds...

- Harry

No comments: