KBB#19: Pizza

this month KBB is having its third birthday! hip hip hurray! :)

Happy Birthday, KBB! may you always enlighten all the Indonesian bakers anywhere we are. live long! well it can be say that i'm a newbie in KBB, but this club makes me feel comfortable and i always love doing every challenges that i have given. this month, we were asked to celebrate KBB's birthday by doing any recipe from all of the challenges so far. i definitely chose a challenge that has already exist before i joined KBB. it was so hard to choose one of all those tempting recipes and i have to think twice or maybe more to decide one. finally, i chose Pizza. why? because in my house, we all love pizza especially with our own selection of toppings. haha. 

making pizza doesn't create a lot of mess but it does take some of your time. first, you have to make the pizza sauce (you can cheat on this one, though. use a store-bought one, however i prefer using the homemade and made it a day in advance). second, you have to make the dough from yeast which leads to a proofing time. third, assembling all those veggies and meat on top of it (but this is the most fun part!). since i was little, i have always been loving to see people making pizza. i love the way they toss the dough up to the air and catch it again, then they put much sauce on top of the dough, place the toppings artfully, and in the end they put it in the rustic oven. they look so skillful! however, i wasn't doing all of the process like them, i just did it all amateurishly. haha.

don't be intimidated with all the processes, do it happily and you'll get an exciting result too. i was so thrilled with the result and directly put this recipe in my favorite recipes' list. thanks to KBB who finally encourage me to make pizza and giving such a wonderful recipe for the dough. it's really a super tasty recipe. for the sauce, i got it from my Italian food cookbook and for the toppings, just choose whatever you'd love to be on your pizza. i used pepperoni, canned champignon mushroom, mozzarella cheese, sausages, and garnish them with freshly grind pepper and dry oregano. you can add more vegetables to it, i didn't put much because my little brother is so picky with veggies.

Pizza
serves 2 pans

pizza sauce:
from 'Mamammia Hidangan Itali'
makes approx 250 ml

500 gr ripe red tomato
1.5 tbsp butter
1.5 tbsp olive oil
75 gr onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried italian seasoning
2 tsp tomato paste

directions:

1. prepare a bowl of cold water, set aside. boil water in a saucepan, make a thin cut on the skin of each tomato (make a scratch). blanch the tomatoes in the boiling water until the skin looks a little translucent then drain the tomatoes and rinse them in the cold water. when the tomatoes has cool down, carefully peel its skin. cut the tomatoes and remove its seeds. mash the tomatoes.
2. heat butter and olive oil in a pan. sautee the garlic and onion until fragrant.
3. add the mash tomatoes into the pan, add in salt, pepper, italian seasoning, and tomato paste. cook over low heat, bring to a simmer until thicken. remove from heat, reserve.

dough:
Source: The Perfect Cookbook. David Herbert. Viking. Victoria,Australia. 2003

1 sachet (@ 7g = 1/4 oz = 2 tsp) dry yeast

1 tsp sugar
2 ½ cups bread flour (high-grade flour)

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbs olive oil

directions:

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in a small bowl with 200ml (6 ½ fl oz) of tepid water. Stir well and set aside for 10 minutes, or until the mixture froths.
2. Place the flour and a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture and olive oil. Mix until a firm dough forms.
3. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5-7 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 1-1 ½ hours, or until the dough has doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 210C (415F, Gas Mark 6-7).
4. Punch down the dough with your fist to release the air. Divide into two or three equal portions and roll out or press to a thickness of 4-5mm (¼ in). Transfer to lightly oiled pizza trays.
5. Top with pizza sauce and your favorite choice of toppings, cook for 15 minutes. Then slide the pizza off the tray onto the oven shelf and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, to crisp up the base.

quite intimidating, isn't it? but really there's no need to be afraid. go on and try it happily, you'll be craving for more and more. it isn't that hard anyway! 

thanks for reading everyone, good day!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY KBB! :)