Pizza, Pizza Dough, White Potato Pizza

My neighborhood pizza restaurant sold out.

No, I mean, really sold out--the Egyptians (!) who owned it, and made their dough without oil from scratch, and their sauce with olive oil from scratch--sold to a Hispanic owner who first used frozen crusts then discontinued pizza altogether.

Bummer. I asked at some of the nearby pizza places and can't find one who doesn't use soy. I called Papa John's and they very nicely sent me their ingredient list and it is chockablock with soy. So now, if I want pizza, I have to go downtown into Washington D.C., or make it at home. Going to New York is good, too, but not convenient.

My husband and I have been experimenting with pizza for years. Some of ours have been good, but none have been great. You just can't reproduce that 800-degree oven effect at home. But our latest experiment approaches it. We preheat the oven to 450 with a cast-iron griddle ($12 at Good's Clothing and Hardware in Lancaster County) in it, then slide individual pizzas onto the griddle and bake for 10-15 minutes. We use Barilla marinara sauce with a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes added to it, part-skim mozzarella, and any of a variety of toppings:
-- sauteed onions and peppers (if you put them on raw, they get watery)
-- black olives
-- canned or sauteed mushrooms (ditto for the raw ones getting watery)
-- Canadian bacon (good with mushrooms and pineapple, though I can't believe I like this.)
-- pepperoni
-- cooked Italian turkey sausage
-- jalapeno slices

Pizza Dough in the Bread Machine

1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour, or use all bread flour
1 1/4 cups water
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp Italian herb mixture (optional)
1/4 tsp garlic powder or 1 tsp chopped garlic (optional)
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast

Process on dough mode.

Pizza

1. Cut the dough into 4 pieces and roll each one into an 8" (or so) circle.
2. Put onto a cutting board sprinkled with cornmeal and put on sauce, then half the cheese, then toppings, then the other half of the cheese.
3. Slide however you can onto the hot griddle in the 450-degree oven.
4. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges are crunchy.

White Potato Pizza
Had this in Connecticut one time. Another one I can't believe I like.

Pizza dough
Light sour cream
Gruyere, or emmethaler, or Monterey jack cheese, grated
Cooked sliced red potatoes with the skin on
Red onion slices
Broccoli florets

Roll out the pizza dough as above, and spread with sour cream. Sprinkle with the cheese, and add toppings. Bake as above.