In a pizzeria far, far
away from Utah, square pieces of pizza are being devoured; and I am full of
envy and want. This is the second
installment of pizza making - Sicilian Pizza, also known as The Square. For those of you who happen to travel to the
New York City area, go into one of those older, authentic Italian pizzerias and
make sure you order correctly. If you
want to try a slice of the Neapolitan, or round pie, you say you want “a
slice”. If you want to try Sicilian, you
want “a square”. If you just say you
want a “piece of pizza”, you will be asked, “Youwana slice or a square?” Capisce?
(pronounced cah-PEESHis - an Italian word that is used in American slang
to say "got it" or "understand."?) Now you are thoroughly prepared to order.
What exactly is Sicilian
Pizza? This type of pizza originated in
the Palermo region of Sicily. This is a
thicker dough than used in the round type of pizza (Napolitano (for Naples))
and baked in a heavy aluminum rectangular pan. In the United States, it is mainly seen in New
York and New Jersey pizzerias, and whether the cheese goes under the sauce or
on top is dependent on each individual pizza maker.
“Tomato Pie” is a Sicilian pizza that has a
thick layer of sauce over the cheese and is topped with a layer of diced or
thinly sliced Roma tomatoes. Why eat
something so loaded with tomatoes?
Tomatoes have a wealth of vitamin and mineral content: Calcium,
Potassium, Phosphorus, Vitamin C, Vitamin K1, Folate (Vitamin B9), Lycopene,
Beta Carotene, Naringenin and Cholorgenic Acid
The last four are Antioxidants which have been found to be necessary for
good heart, skin and joint health.
Enough with the lecturing,
let’s get to making Sicilian and Tomato Pies.
Since the “crust” is very thick, like a nicely baked bread, I will also
tell you how to make French Bread Pizza.
Now you can make it fresh at home, and not have to buy that frozen
product at the store.
Sicilian Pizza
How to Make the Dough
Ingredients:
2 (.25 oz.) packages of
active dry yeast
4 cups flour
½ cup warm water (about
110F)
1 tsp. salt
1 cup cool water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Preparation:
In a small bowl, combine
the yeast with a ½ cup of flour and the warm water; cover with plastic wrap and
allow proofing for 15 minutes; stir afterwards to deflate.
In a large bowl, combine
remaining flour, salt, cool water and yeast mixture. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and
knead for 15 minutes. Clean the large
bowl, lightly dust with flour and return dough to it; cover with plastic wrap
and let rise for 1 ½ hours.
Preheat oven to 450F. Brush the bottom and sides of a 17 ½” x 11 ½”
x ¾” heavy aluminum baking pan. Punch
down the dough, return to floured board and roll out slightly. Place dough into pan and stretch out to all
sides, leaving a lip all around. Let it
rest for 15 minutes before adding toppings*.
Bake for 30 minutes or
until crust is golden brown.
Makes 12 servings.
*Note: toppings would
normally be a layer of sliced mozzarella cheese and an evenly spread layer of
sauce; other toppings such as meats and/or vegetables can then be placed over
the sauce.
Tomato Pie
Ingredients:
12 slices thinly sliced
mozzarella cheese
2 cups homemade pizza
sauce
2 cups diced or thinly
sliced Roma tomatoes
1/3 cup grated cheese
Preparation:
Lay out the slices of
cheese onto the pizza dough; evenly spread out the sauce and then the tomatoes.
Bake for 30 minutes or
until crust is golden brown. Remove pie
from oven and sprinkle grated cheese over top of pizza.
Makes 12 servings.
Now I could have made this
Pizza Trilogy into a quad, but why drag out a good thing, right?
French Bread Pizza can be
found easily in the pizza section of the frozen food aisle; but making it from
scratch is just as easy. Honestly
though, would you not rather make it yourself? The frozen product has preservatives, oven
needs preheating, let it bake for 20 minutes and it is sometimes an
unsatisfactory product. Monticello’s
food market, Blue Mountain Foods, sells loaves of, what they label French
bread, but looks like a very soft version of Italian bread. I like to use it when in the mood for pizza,
do not have the dough handy, but want it now! When it comes to spontaneous cravings for
pizza, sometimes you truly have to get creative.
How to Make French Bread Pizza
Basically there are three
main ingredients: loaf of the wide French bread, a block of mozzarella cheese
and pizza sauce. Cut the loaf in half lengthwise to create two half loaves; then
cut these in half through the width. If
you want a rectangular look, cut off the heels first; save them to grind up and
make bread crumbs. Place the four pieces of bread, crust side
down, on a large jelly roll pan.
Spoon sauce over the
interior side of the bread; I use about 1/3 of a cup, but like a lot of sauce
on my pizza. While homemade sauce is
best, use what you have handy. Like I
said before, sometimes when it comes to cravings, you have to be creative. Now
cut slices of the mozzarella, about 1/8" thick and lie them side by side
until the bread is covered. I find the sliced
cheese melts better and creates gooey texture on the bread.
Bake in a preheated 425F
oven, center rack, for about 12-15 minutes.
Cut into thirds for easier picking up and eating, or just go for
broke! This will make four French bread
pizzas.
Of course you can add
other ingredients - meats, veggies, whatever you like, but make sure the meats
are cooked thoroughly before using.
Also, mix the meats and/or veggies with shredded mozzarella cheese
instead; that way the cheese will melt all around the pieces.
Whether you are making
this for yourself, other adults and/or children; have fun with it!
Mary Cokenour
