In Search of the Perfect Vegan Pizza...

I WILL perfect a vegan pizza.

I was 99.9% there with my last try. I'm hoping this new cheese will seal the deal.

First, I must rave about this pizza dough recipe from the book "Entertaining for a Veggie Planet" by Didi Emmons. Here is a gratuitous link to Amazon:




The key to this recipe is to start it the night before you want to make pizza and double it, triple it, or quadruple it so you can freeze some dough for later!!! This is such excellent pizza dough. It is delicious and well worth the 2 days of rising, punch, rolling and hair-pulling. Trust me!

This recipe is based on a "poolish" sour-dough starter (which means Polish, but it's a lot tastier than the San Francisco way IMHO). You start by mixing some dry yeast with warm water and flour, then let it sit in a warm place for 6-8 hours to create the starter. Then you mix and knead the dough and let it rise again. (This is why I say start the night before :-) )

Here is the recipe modified for my practical usage - doubled so that once you go through all this trouble you can freeze some for later. The unmodified recipe claims that it makes enough for six 8-inch pizzas. In my own experience, I have found that it makes enough for one 16-inch jumbo pizza. My inner math geek says that is really only 64(pi) square inches versus the claim of 96(pi) square inches of covered surface area. Maybe I just like my crust a little thicker or perhaps the author was confused about how long 8 inches really is. (I used the ruler that was handed out as a promo at the Kinsey movie premier.)

1/2 packet of active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 cups white flour (organic, unbleached preferred in our house)

In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Add the flour and mix until fully combined. Cover with a dishtowel or plastic wrap and let stand in a mildly warm place for 5 to 6 hours or until tripled in size and bubbly. (I usually cover it with a dishtowel and put it in the bathroom with the heat lamp turned on. You'll know it's working when it's getting bubbly and smells like a brewery.) After 5-6 hours, mix this into the dough recipe below.


Dough

6 1/2 cups white flour (organic unbleached, and I like to use half spelt flour, plus extra for rolling)
1 cup whole wheat flour (organic)
1/2 cup semolina, plus extra for stacking. (I like to use masa meal here)
2 Tablespoons salt
the other 1/2 package active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
2 Tabelspoons olive oil

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (except the yeast). Mix well. In another large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and stir to dissolve. Add the Poolish from the above recipe and the olive oil and stir until the poolish is broken up. Add the flour mixture and stir with a big wooden spoon or spatula. Use a cutting motion to bring the dowl together. You can also use a dough hook on an electric mixer, but I like to do it old school and give my arms a work-out. It's more interesting in texture as well.

Now, cover it again with the trusty dishtowel and return it to the warm place for 45 minutes to an hour or until it rises and doubles in size.

Take the big fluffy dough and turn it out onto a large floured surface. Beat the crap out of it for a while then give it a good massage. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it bounces back easily.

Guess what now? Back to the bowl. Cover and return to the warm place. If you are done for the evening, you can let it rise for an hour and then refrigerate it as is in the bowl overnight. If you're an early bird and it's just now breaking noon or you don't expect to eat this pizza 'til after midnight, let it rise for another 5 hours.

Are you ready to roll out the dough yet? Divide the dough in half. If you are only making one super pizza, freeze half of the dough. I just stick it in a ziplock freezer bag and throw it in there. When you are ready to use it, just take it out the night before, throw it in the fridge and then pick up here the next night.

On a large floured surface, roll the ball out to a round large enough to exceed your pizza pan by about 1/2" around. Use a lightly floured rolling pin. Sprinkle the top and bottom with semolina. Lay it in the pizza pan, roll the edged inward to make an edge and press down. Send it to the warm place again to rise, this time for only 30 minutes.

Top and bake!! For a thinly topped pizza 10-15 minutes at 500 degrees is superb. For a heavily topped veggie lover you can do 20 minutes at 450.