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Sous Vide Scrambled Eggs

Published on April 30, 2012 in How to's, Recipes and San Diego. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Those of you who have never had the privilege of eating perfectly cooked scrambled eggs, may just over look this post because you don’t know what you are missing. Lots of people associate scrambled eggs with being over cooked with the texture of rubber, but for those who have had them cooked properly know how amazing they can be.  A few years ago I dined at Joel Robuchon @ the Mansions and one of the 16 courses we had was asparagus 3 ways.  This was one of the moments where you’re like holy shit what kind of scrambled eggs have I been eating over the past years.  I had this dish almost 3 years ago and I still remember it to this day. To achieve a professional-standard creamy scrambled eggs you have to cook them in a bain-marie, involving nearly half an hour of vigilant stirring.  Very time consuming.  By contrast cooking them to the same level of quality by sous vide simply requires a gentle cooking on a low heat and an occasional massaging of the bag with your hands to scramble the eggs. Just another reason why sous vide cooking needs and should be adopted by home cooks.

Recipe (adapted from Heston Blumenthal)

Serves 2

6 Large Eggs

25g Whole Milk

20g Heavy Cream

pinch of salt

20g Unsalted butter, melted

20g Brown Butter

1oz Caviar (optional)

Preparation:

Pre-Heat the water-bath to 75c

In a bowl, blend the eggs, milk, cream and salt with a hand blender or a whisk, then stir in the melted butter.

Divide the egg mixture in half and pour into two sous-vide bags. Seal under full pressure. For those that do not have a chamber vacuum (I don’t) you can use your regular food sealer. Pulse it to remove as much air as possible without sucking the liquid into the machine and seal.

Place the bags in the water bath and allow to cook for 15 minutes, massaging the eggs every 3-5 minutes. Mine took about 20 minutes but I think it was due to still having air in the bag. They are done when you can see the eggs starting to slightly come together.

To serve, remove the scrambled eggs from the bags and top with caviar and a drizzle of brown butter. Enjoy the best scrambled eggs you will ever have.

 

Porchetta di Testa

Published on March 11, 2012 in How to's, Reviews and San Diego. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

I have been wanting to make porchetta di testa for awhile now.  I finally decided to go for it last week. I followed Chef Chris Cosentino video and recipe on the process. Video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nByH6yPWYj8.

Pig Head

After removing the meat from the head, roast the skull in the oven to make a rich flavorful stock.

Pig face

Tuck the fat part of the tongue under the snout.  Fold ears through the eye holes. Season heavily with salt, and spices.  Place in fridge over night.

All tied up

Vacuumed sealed and ready for it’s 14hr water bath at 87.5c

14# pig head just fits inside the sous vide supreme.  After its finished cooking submerge in ice bath and let cool.  Place in fridge for 1day to let fat congeal and for porchetta to set.

Remove from bag and carefully peal gelatin and fat away.  After you get as much off as you can with your hands, rinse under water and pat dry. You are now ready to slice.  This is something that needs to be sliced very thin so a slicer is much needed but it can be done by hand.

The finished results were good but not where I want them to be.  I’m going to give it another try in the next few weeks with a new plan of attack.  After deboning I am going to brine the meat overnight in a pork brine. I will then season it more heavily than this time, roll and tie and let it sit in the fridge for two days before finally cooking it sous vide at 87.5c for 14hrs.  I think that the brine and longer dry cure is going to help build the intense flavors you want and expect from a porchetta.

 

Free Form Raviolo

Published on March 6, 2012 in How to's, Recipes and Reviews. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

We received two new pasta dies for our Rosito Bisani extruder the other day, lasagna sheets and penne.  The lasagna die was a little confusing at first. Lets just say that we made a nice hand torn pasta dish with the scraps. Once I figured out you could change the thickness of the sheets it turned out great results. This  is going to be an essential die for production of lasagna sheets & pappardelle. Below is a dish we came up with after we figured out what we were doing.

Free Form Raviolo
Mushroom, Fresh Ricotta, Egg Yolk, Brown Butter

Cioppino Recipe

Published on December 30, 2011 in How to's and Recipes. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

I have received some requests for my cioppino recipe that I made on Christmas eve so I went ahead and posted it for everyone.  This is a great stew and is better when you make a lot.  It would also go really well over a fresh pasta but I prefer to have it as a stew with lots of toasted ciabatta on the side.  Buon appetito!

Recipe: 

Tomato Confit

Ingredients:

2 28-oz cans whole San Marzano Tomatoes, or if it’s tomato season 2 pounds fresh tomatoes peeled

1 tablespoon fresh thyme (minced)

1 bay leaf

extra virgin olive oil (enough to cover tomatoes)

salt & pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 250F.  Remove tomatoes from can and reserve the juice.  Gently arrange tomatoes in a Dutch oven.  Add the thyme and crush the bay leaf over the top.  Add enough olive oil to just cover the tomatoes.  Add the salt and pepper.  Bake for about 4 hours, or until tender.  Increase oven temp to 450 F and bake for 5-10 minutes, or just until browned.  Make sure to watch them at this point, they can burn very quickly and it will give the tomatoes a bitter flavor.  Remove from oven let cool slightly.  Strain the tomatoes from the olive oil and reserve oil.  Place tomatoes in a blender and blend until smooth.  Set aside or cover and refrigerate.

 

Cioppino Sauce

Ingredients:

extra-virgin olive oil (use the oil that you strained from the tomato confit)

3 medium yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, sliced

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1-2 tablespoons capers, preferably salt-packed capers rinsed and soaked for 30 minutes

4 anchovy fillets, preferably salt-packed anchovies rinsed and soaked for 30 minutes

½ c dry white wine

3 cups seafood stock

tomato confit (from above) and the reserved tomato juice from cans

chili flakes

Preparation:

Heat a small stockpot over medium heat, add the olive oil, onions and garlic sauté for 10 minutes, or until soft.  Add vinegar and cook until the pan is almost dry.  Add the capers and anchovies and sauté until the anchovies break up.  Add the wine and cook until the liquid has almost evaporated.  Add the seafood stock and bring to a boil, add the tomato confit and tomato juice.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat.

 

Cioppino

Ingredients:

3 dozen mussels, scrubbed and debearded

2 dozen manila clams, scrubbed

2 pounds rock cod

1 ½ pounds calamari, cleaned

1 pound shrimp, cleaned and deveined

1 pound bay scallops

½ cup fresh basil, chopped

¼ cup tarragon, chopped

¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped. Plus more for garnish

toasted ciabatta

Preparation:

Add the cioppino sauce (from above) to a very large soup pot or Dutch oven (6-8 quarts) and bring to a gentle boil (a shorter, wider pot is better than a tall narrow one, because it is easier to gently stir the seafood and shellfish.)  Add the mussels and clams (throughout, treat the stew gently to avoid breaking the fish) Reduce heat to a simmer cook for 3 minutes.  Add the rock cod, scallops and shrimp cook for another 2 minutes.  Finally, add the calamari making sure to submerge it in the sauce.  Simmer just until calamari is cooked through and warm, 1-2 minutes.  Add the chopped herbs and gently stir to incorporate everything together.  Let stew sit over very low heat to keep warm and allow the flavors to come together, about 5 minutes. Salt to taste.

Ladle the stew into shallow bowls.  Give it a good sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.  Serve with toasted ciabatta and enjoy.

 

How a soffritto should look..

Published on November 11, 2011 in How to's. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

A soffritto is the Italian version of a mirepoix.  It is used as a flavor base for stocks, soups, stews and sauces and is the key to a flavorful bolognese sauce.

Here is the before pic.

8 cups onion

4 cups carrot

4 cups celery

and the finished result after 3 hours of cooking

3 cups of soffritto

STFT Burgers

Published on September 4, 2011 in How to's, Recipes and San Diego. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

STFT Burgers (www.stftburgers.com) is a burger concept I came up with about 6 years ago. It was before the huge burger craze took over the country. I spent a lot of time and money trying to get this concept going, unfortunately the economy went to shit when it was time to look for investors. Trying to raise capital for a restaurant is hard enough nevermind in a recession. I still love this concept and plan on launching it in the future but will have to keep it on the back burner for the time being. Here is what would have been the signature burger of STFT.

BLTA Burger

Pork & Bacon Patty stuffed w/ Apple Wood Smoked Gouda

Arugula/Slow Roasted Tomatoes/Avocado Crema/Brioche

BLT’s and burgers are two of my favorite things and I wanted to come up with a way to combine them into one. This is how the BLTA burger was born.

Making the perfect french fry turned out to be one of the most difficult things to accomplish. I wanted a lightly golden and crispy fry. Most of the time they were coming out soggy and dark. I tried every temp and technique possible, fry them twice, etc. Sometimes they would come out perfect and you would think you had figured it out until you tried to do it again. It wasn’t until the wonderful people at Serious Eats who were having the same issues as I and I’m sure most people who make fries at home had. They did a much more in depth review that you can read here http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-perfect-mcdonalds-style-french-fries.html

French Fry Recipe

  • 2 pounds russet potatoes (about 4 large), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch fries (keep potatoes stored in a bowl of water)
  • 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 quarts peanut oil
  1. Place potatoes and vinegar in saucepan and add 2 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 10 minutes. Potatoes should be fully tender, but not falling apart. Drain and spread on paper towel-lined rimmed baking sheet. Allow to dry for five minutes
  2. Meanwhile, heat oil in 5-quart Dutch oven or large wok over high heat to 400°F. Add 1/3 of fries to oil (oil temperature should drop to around 360°F). Cook for 50 seconds, agitating occasionally with wire mesh spider, then remove to second paper-towel lined rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining potatoes (working in two more batches), allowing oil to return to 400°F after each addition. Allow potatoes to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Continue with step 3, or for best results, freeze potatoes at least over night, or up to 2 months
  3. Return oil to 400°F over high heat. Fry half of potatoes until crisp and light golden brown, about 3 1/2 minutes, adjusting heat to maintain at around 360°F. Drain in a bowl lined with paper towels and season immediately with kosher salt. Cooked fries can be kept hot and crisp on a wire rack set on a sheet tray in a 200°F oven while second batch is cooked. Serve immediately.

How to make the perfect macaron.

Published on August 14, 2011 in How to's and Recipes. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

I LOVE/HATE MACARONS!

My love/hate relationship with macarons all started a while back when we were making fresh egg yolk pasta almost everyday, and since I’m big on deserts, I had to get creative with all of the leftover egg whites and decided to give macarons a try. Little did I know, these little bastards were a pain in the ass to perfect…but my unwillingness to accept failure has led me to these little labors of love. It took patience, determination, pounds of almonds, and weeks of practice until I made a batch that was finally up to par. I’m still not claiming that each batch I do turns out perfectly but dammit I try! (And in my opinion they’re as good as the macarons I’ve tried at any fancy French bakery)

There are far too many tips and tricks to making the perfect macaron to mention here but I will try my best to explain each step I take thoroughly. The shells of the macarons are made from two basic recipes for meringue: French and Italian style. I use the Italian style because I find the end result to be more consistent and superior. (It is best to avoid baking these when the weather is especially damp or humid.)

 

MACARONS: (Makes about 50 macarons)

3  2/3 cups (450 grams) Confectioners’ sugar

4 cups (400 grams) almond flour or finely ground blanched almonds

9 large egg whites, at room temp.

2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar

½ cup (125 grams) water

 

First and foremost: MISE EN PLACE! It is very important to measure and to have every ingredient and utensil all ready to go before starting. (This includes grinding the almonds if using whole almonds, separating the eggs, fitting the piping bag with a #8 tip, lining trays with Silpats, and preheating the oven to 300*F convect….etc.) I normally grind my own almonds (or pistachios) and measure everything in grams to ensure precision and consistency.

MAKE THE MACARONS (Strawberry)

Preheat the oven to 300*F Convection. (325*F for a non-convection oven)

Sift together the almond flour and the confectioner’s sugar over a large bowl. Stir in 4 of the egg whites, until the mixture is smooth and lump-free. (You can add 7 tablespoons (44 grams) of Dutch processed coco powder in this step to make chocolate macarons, and pair them with ganache)

 

With a candy thermometer handy, combine the granulated sugar and ½ cup (125 grams) water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. (Do not stir)

While sugar is cooking, put the remaining 5 egg whites and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. (Make sure the bowl of the mixer is clean and free of any oils)

Once the sugar reaches 220*F on the candy thermometer, start beating the eggs on high speed. When the sugar reaches 240*F Pour it into the eggs in a slow and steady stream, with the mixer running on high speed, down the side of the bowl. Once the sugar mixture is incorporated, lower the speed to med-high and continue beating until the meringue is thick and shiny and the bottom of the bowl is no longer hot to the touch (About 4-6 minutes) If adding any food coloring, this is the time to do so.

 

THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP: THE MACARONNER!

With a Silicone spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture in 2 increments.  Move your spatula from the bottom of the bowl to the edges with one hand, using your other hand to rotate the bowl. But do not incorporate too much air into the batter and DO NOT OVER-MIX! AND DO NOT UNDER-MIX either, however it’s better to under mix because you could always mix it a bit more but once it’s over mixed, there’s no turning back. got it? lol) . The mixture should flow like a ribbon when you hold up the spatula. Its best to test a dollop of the batter on the silpat…if it slowly flattens then you’re good to go. If it’s too stiff and stays in place, continue to mix a few more times. If it flattens quickly and spreads way too much, then you’re SOL! This is the most crucial step of the entire process and requires a lot of practice.

Spoon the batter into the piping bag with a #8 tip. Pipe the batter into quarter-size circles on prepared baking sheets, making sure to leave 1 inch of space between macarons so they will not touch each other while baking.

It is important to tap the baking sheet on the counter a few times to eliminate any air bubbles and to smooth out the peaks that form on top. If tapping does not get rid of the peaks, this just means the batter should have been mixed a little more, however they will still taste just as good!

It is also very important to let the piped macarons sit out at room temp. for 15 minutes before baking, until a skin forms. This will transform into a beautiful crust on the finished macarons so DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!

Bake the macarons for 6 min, then rotate and continue baking for another 7 minutes (bake for a total of 13 min.) Let the macarons cool completely before taking them off the trays. The oven temp. and time is the also one of the most important steps for achieving the perfect macaron. (+-1min. or 25 degrees can make a dramatic difference) This is the step that made me fail time and time again! Infact, just when I thought I had them down, I decided to press the “self clean” button on the oven…biggest mistake EVER! The next batch I made was completely unrecognizable and exploded on the top. I had to start from scratch figuring out the new temp. and time necessary for macaron perfection. Thus it is always best to test a couple of macarons at different temps and times until they are perfect texture and refrain from cleaning your oven for as long as you can. Ultimately the perfect macaron should not stick on the bottom of the silpat once cooled, and they should have a slightly firm crust on top but should still maintain their “melt in your mouth” texture.

The filling is also a very important component of making the perfect macaron. Here I’ve just made a basic buttercream and added a jar of strawberry preserves at the end. This buttercream is adaptable too; you could add any flavor of jam or even lemon curd or chocolate ganache in the end for different flavors. Some of my other favorite fillings for macarons are just pure Lemon Curd…(great for using the left over egg yolks), Chocolate ganache, Caramel filling, Nutella, Raspberry jam, almond filling, and my all time favorite…Pistachio filling!

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM (makes 4 cups)

4 large egg whites

1 ¼ cups sugar

3 sticks (1 ½ cups) unsalted butter, room temp, cut into tablespoons

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

MAKING THE FILING:

In a heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine the egg whites and sugar. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch. (about 160*)

Attach the bowl to the mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg white mixture on high speed until it holds stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until mixture is fluffy and cooled, about 6 minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment. With the mixer on med-low speed, add the butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (if the frosting appears to separate after all the butter has been added, beat on med-high speed until smooth again, 3-5 min more.) Beat in vanilla. Beat on lowest speed to eliminate any air bubbles, about 2 min. Stir in 1 cup of your favorite jam, lemon curd or chocolate ganache.

 

ASSEMBLE THE MACARONS:

Turn half of the macarons over so that the flat side is facing up.

Place a nickel-size amount filling in the center of the macarons that are facing up. Gently press the remaining macarons over the filling, to make small sandwiches. Try to match the size of the two halves as closely as possible.

Store the macarons in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. (They are best eaten the day after they are made (this allows for the texture and flavor to set) but they also freeze really well without compromising too much of their flavor and texture. Plus they take no time to defrost.

My torrid love affair with these macarons definitely gave me grief in the beginning but all that time and frustration was well worth it in the end! I cannot imagine my morning coffee without my little clouds of love! I would recommend that everyone give these a try, however if you don’t have the time or patience, they will be available to savor and enjoy at Ariccia Italian market opening in La Jolla very soon!

 

 

These are a few of my favorite things…

Published on August 2, 2011 in How to's, Recipes and Reviews. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Tomatoes are one of my favorite summer foods and I’ve been trying to come up with a new salad presentation. This was inspired by a dish I had at L’atelier de Joel Robuchon back in May. Hopefully he would be proud.

Heirloom Tomato Salad
Basil, Golden Lemon Thyme, Nasturtium, Nunez de Prado Olive Oil

Another one of my favorite summer foods is the French berries from Chino farms. These berries are so fragrant and flavorful. It’s everything you think a strawberry should taste like x100. The smell alone fills the air at the stand. Amazing!

French Berries from Chino Farms

This next dish has nothing to do with summer but is just two of my favorite things, uni and lardo. This combination is a match made in heaven. Thank you Michael White for the inspiration.

 

Ricci di Mare

Local San Diego Sea Urchin topped with Lardo

How to make fresh agnolotti..

Published on October 27, 2010 in How to's and Recipes. 3 Comments

Agnolotti pronounced ah-nyuh-LAHT-tee, meaning “priests hat” is a stuffed pasta. Traditionally using ricotta or left over cooked meats. It is roughly similar in size to a ravioli or tortellini. The difference being agnolotti is folded over to seal the filling, where as ravioli you place a second sheet of pasta a top the filling and seal it that way. The Piedmont region of Italy is well known for their agnolotti recipes, today it’s becoming increasingly more popular  and you will see many chefs putting there own spin on it.

Pasta Dough

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups “00″ flour

6 large egg yolks

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1 tablespoon milk

Put flour onto a clean work surface and make a well in the center.  Make sure that the well is wide enough to hold all the eggs without spilling over.  Pour the egg yolks, egg, oil and milk into the well.

Use your fingers to break the eggs up.  Still using your fingers, begin mixing the eggs in a circular motion.  Make sure not to break the well as to not let the liquid ingredients spill out or over.  Make sure not to incorporate the flour to quickly or your dough will become lumpy.  Keep the eggs moving while slowly incorporating the flour.  The mixture will thicken and become too tight to continue mixing with your fingers.

From here start incorporating the rest of the flour making sure to fold it into the dough.  You can use a pastry scraper to help cut it into the dough, I prefer using my hands.

Bring the dough together into a ball, it will still be flaky but will hold together.  Knead the dough by pressing it, in a forward motion with the heels of your hands.  Re-form the dough into a ball and repeat the process several times.  The dough should feel moist but not sticky.  Let it rest for a few minutes while you clean the work surface of the scraps that didn’t make it into the ball.

Dust your work surface with a little flour.  Knead the dough by pushing it in a forward motion with the heels of your hands.  Form into a ball again and knead it again. Keep kneading till it becomes silky smooth.  The kneading should take between 10-15 minutes.  Even if you think you are finished knead for another 5 minutes.  You cannot over knead this dough.

Once finished double wrap in plastic wrap to ensure it does not dry out.  Let rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour before rolling it through the pasta machine.  The dough can be made a day ahead, wrapped and refrigerated.  Make sure to bring it to room temp before using.

Once the dough has rested, slice a 1/4 of the ball off and begin putting it through the pasta machine.  I use the kitchen aid attachment which works great.  Start off on the lowest setting passing it through a few times.  If the dough starts becoming to narrow or wide fold it onto it self and pass it through that setting again, you should only have to do this in the very beginning.  You want to run it through each setting twice going from 0-7.  My pasta roller goes up to 8 but I find that 7 is perfect for stuffed pastas.

Once you have you pasta sheets done keep them covered with plastic wrap, you have to work fast with fresh pasta so that it doesn’t dry out.  Lay one sheet at a time on a clean and lightly floured work surface, trim edges so that they are straight.

Place filling in a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch plain tip, a zip loc bag with the corner cut off works fine.  Make sure not to make the whole to big though. Pipe a tube of filling across the bottom of the pasta sheet, leaving a 3/4 inch border of pasta on the bottom, as seen in the first picture.

Pull the bottom edge of the pasta up and over the filling.  Seal the agnolotti by carefully molding the pasta over the filling and pressing lightly to seal the edge of the dough.  Don’t run your finger down the pasta to seal as you will run the risk of tearing it.  You then want to pinch the filling in 1-inch increments, making about 3/4 inch of “pinched” area between the agnolotti.  If you don’t allow enough space between you run the risk of them coming unsealed when separated.  It should look like the second picture.

Next is to fold it over the sealed edge as shown in the 3rd picture.  Once folded over gently press the spots were you pinched the filling to secure the seal.  Run a crimped pastry wheel along the top edge of the pasta sheet to make even.  Then run the pastry wheel through the center of the pinched area.

Place cut agnolotti onto a baking sheet that is lightly dusted with semolina or cornmeal, this will help prevent the sticking,  Don’t let them touch each other, or they may stick as well.

Repeat with remaining pasta sheets.  Either cook the agnolotti immediately, or place baking sheet in freezer.  Once frozen you can keep them in an air tight freezer bag for several weeks.  Cook agnolotti while still frozen.

Buon appetito!

How to make the perfect pizza at home..

Published on October 23, 2010 in How to's and Recipes. 3 Comments

Due to the lack of good pizza places here in San Diego I made it my mission to figure out how to make a great pizza at home.  After reading recipe after recipe, watching countless videos of different techniques and preparation, and constantly researching, I think I finally have it down.

The first thing you will need is a Pizza Pan or a cast iron skillet can work as well.  Par cooking the dough before adding the toppings allows you have a nice crisp crust but still having some chew to it.  This is usually something that is difficult to consistently do at home.  Next is letting the dough cold ferment for 3-5 days.  Doing this gives the crust a nice airy, light texture.  The last thing is stretching the dough.  The only way to get good at this is to practice.  I’ve added links to the videos that I found helpful..

Stretching Dough

Using a pizza peel

Enzo Coccia Makes Pizza at Donatella’s

Pizza Dough

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups “00″ flour

1 1/4 cups warm water (95F)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/4 oz package active dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons salt

Semolina for dusting

Click pictures for larger version

I get my “00″ flour from a site called Forno Bravo located out of Marina, CA.. Here is the link http://www.fornobravo.com/store/Caputo-Flour-5-Pack-p-16133.html)

Whisk warm water, yeast, and sugar together in a bowl(above pic bottom left) Let stand in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until the yeast is foamy(above pic bottom right)

Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix well.. With mixer on low, add the yeast mixture and then the olive oil, mixing well.  Continue to mix and gradually increase speed to medium high, until the dough becomes elastic.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead by hand to finish.  It will be slightly sticky.  Transfer to a well oiled bowl and cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours, until doubles in size.

Punch down the dough and give it a few turns by hand on a well-floured work surface. Divide it into 4 pieces and shape each one into a ball.  Transfer each ball to a well oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap, place in refrigerator for 3-5 days.. The dough pictured above bottom right was after a 3 day fermentation..

Remove dough ball from fridge, punch down and give it a few turns by hand, shape into ball and let stand at room temp for about 2 hours.  Pre heat pizza pan on stove top till smoking hot.  Stretch dough on a well floured surface making sure not to over work the edges..  Transfer dough to the preheated pizza pan and cook until bottom develops nice color and charing. Remove and let cool. The crusts from this point can be kept in the fridge for about 2 days wrapped well in plastic wrap or frozen.

White Pizza Ingredients

1 Par Baked Pizza Crust

1 Fresh Mozarella Ball

Thinly Sliced Onion

Roasted Garlic

White Anchovies

Parmigiano Reggiano

Espelette

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pre heat oven to its highest temp with the pizza pan on the highest rack.  I set my oven to 500 convect roast and then switch it to 500 convect broil right before adding the pizza.  Top the pizza with the onion, garlic, white anchovies, and the mozzarella.  Drizzle with a little olive oil before placing in oven.  Cook until the crust develops nice blisters about 5-7 minutes. Remove and let stand for a few minutes.. Grate Parmigiano over the top and sprinkle a little espelette, cut into slices and enjoy.