My First Daring Bakers Challenge: Peter Reinhart's Pizzas!

My first Daring Bakers challenge - and what a week for it to be in! I've been hectic trying to sort out my itinerary and organising work stuff. So I'm a day late in getting this posted - apologies Rosa!

Rosa of Rosa's Yummy Yums is the host of Daring Bakers this month, which is to make Reinhart's Basic Pizza dough with our own toppings. This idea was originally from Sher who tragically died earlier this year. She was supposed to be co-hosting with Rosa for this October challenge. Rosa honoured Sher by using her idea, and hosting the challenge alone.

I have completed the challenge - and, wow, I did love it. The crispiest pizza crust imaginable, with just enough of a chew. And so easy to make - a bit of prep the night before, a couple of hours rest, then only minutes to prep and cook each pizza at the very top of my oven.

The tossing took a bit of practice. I would say probably more practice than I've given it so far. I draped it over my fists, and did a few tentative moves... by which point it was basically ready! Paper-thin in the middle, but with no tears. The edges were a fair bit thicker - I evened this out by picking up the edges and gently shaking the dough towards the middle. Scientific? Maybe not... but it was successful! I loved this dough - it was as good as any pizza I've paid money for. And substantially better than my last attempt - which was about an inch thick when it came out the oven!!

I had a mini-pizza party with a few friends, and decided to go down the traditional route. A slow cooked tomato sauce, made with smoked garlic and passatta, a touch of dry herbs for depth, and a dab of sugar for balance. Soft jamon serrano, crisped up at the exposed edges; spicy salami against the crunch of sweet red peppers; caramelised red onions, finished with a dash of balsamic truffle syrup; and herby roasted chicken thighs, crispy skins sneaked into hungry mouths before the dough was ready. A mix and match of pizza toppings, each pizza different from the last.

Five pizzas, several beers and a couple of bottles of wine later - satiated and full, we fell asleep on the sofa. A success, methinks!

Spicy Salami with Sweet Red Pepper

Roast Chicken with Caramelised Onions and Mushrooms

Jamon Serrano with Mushrooms, Rocket & Slow Roast Tomatoes

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH
From The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart Makes 6 (25cm) pizza crusts

I couldn't find my instant yeast, so I improvised by activating dried yeast before chilling.

• 4 1/2 cups of flour, chilled
• 1 3/4 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of dried yeast
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 cup of ice water
• 3/4 cup tepid water
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE
1. Mix together the yeast, tepid water and sugar, and leave for 10 minutes until foaming. Pop in the fridge until cold. Mix together the flour, and salt in a big bowl. Add the oil and cold water and mix well in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are distributed. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently roll each piece into a ball.

2. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan lined with parchment paper and coated with cooking spray and mist the tops generously with cooking spray. Cover with plastic. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to three days.

DAY TWO
3. Remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1.3cm thick and 12.7cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow them to rest for 2 hours.

4. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, preheat the oven as hot as possible (500F/260C).

5. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with cornmeal. Flour your hands. Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss until it reaches the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter) place it on the back of the prepared jelly pan.

6. Lightly top it with the toppings of your choice. Slide the garnished pizza into the oven and bake for about 5-8 minutes.

7. Once the crust is cooked and the cheese is browned, take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. Allow them to cool 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Tossing!

Oh yes! And we were supposed to get some pics of us tossing the dough. Well. I've never seen so many awful photographs of me in my life...

Tossing the dough? Or dropping it... It's an action shot one way or t'other ;)

As you can see, I'm communing with my dough in a big way.... Mmmmmmm.... I luuurve my pizza...........

Hey, who cares - they tasted fab!

Thanks to the awooga man for being photographer extraordinaire - and hi to the awooga man's mum - thanks for reading!

Berber Pizza! And a Mini Travelogue...

Three years ago I went for a two week trip to Morocco with a friend of mine. After a few days in Marrakech, Fes, Casablanca, we went on a road trip, driving over the Atlas mountains to the Sahara.

As you can imagine, food played a big part of my trip - and was one of the things I had been most excited about. But I had been somewhat disappointed by the choice in the cities - the ubiquitous cous cous with 7 vegetables along with chicken or lamb tagines seemed to form the bulk of many menus. We did manage to eat well - but it wasn't quite as easy as I had hoped!

Where was the the spice, the variety and the depth of flavours that I had been looking forward to?
As we drove over the mountains, I found it... Berber food!

Our guide took us into the Sahara, where we rode camels through the moonlight to reach our camp. The fire was already roaring when we got there, with some people playing music whilst others cooked dish after dish of stunning Berber fare. It was all vegetarian, and no two dishes were even approaching similar. As different from 7 veg cous cous as you could imagine!

Me and A. We called our camels Dave and Ian. They had really long eyelashes!

That night we slept in hessian Berber tents (you could see the stars through the tent material), snuggled under about six blankets (it got REALLY cold!!). And at about 5am we were woken to watch the sunrise over the sand dunes. Neither words, nor my photograph can describe how beautiful that was.

Sunrise over the Sahara

So we then trekked back through the desert before meeting our guide. We then had a long drive back, stopping to buy carpets (about a third of the price of those in Fes!), visit a film studio and look round a 6th century mud built town.

Like our Berber headware??

So, by the time we got to a silverware workshop we were almost faint with hunger. After a prolonged haggling session and 3 gorgeous purchases later, I had the most welcome invitation of my holiday... our guide informed us that the silversmith and his wife would like to invite us to stay for lunch!

As we sat down I asked what we were having, to which our guide responded... Berber pizza!

I was bemused - there was nothing that I had seen in Moroccan restaurants or cookbooks that even remotely resembled pizza. Then it arrived - a large round calzone type affair. When he cut into it, the juice from the meat poured out - it was one of the best things I ate all holiday!

The original Berber Pizza!

So when I found out that this month's blog party over at Dispensing Happiness was a Pizza Party, and started trying to decide what to make, the idea of Berber pizza popped into my head... and refused to go. Despite the fact I couldn't find a recipe anywhere! Then, after a few hours of detective work, I finally found this recipe. It is called medfouna - which means 'buried', and is basically stuffed bread! I seem to remember being told that they used to cook this by burning a fire in the sand, putting it out, then burying the medfouna in the hot sand to cook. I haven't been able to find a source to back this up though! I have made a few changes, but only to make it more like the original one I had! I also used half fillet/ half rump steak to cut the cost down.

As for a drink to go with it - Morocco is all but dry, so no alcoholic beverages for me. So instead I think I'll serve this with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice - the Djemaa el Fna was full of vendors selling the best OJ you've EVER tasted... all for about 25p a glass!

Medfouna - or Berber Pizza!

• 2 tsp active dried yeast
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 175ml lukewarm water
• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 large stick celery, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli finely chopped
• 1 handful flatleaf parsley, chopped
• 1 small handful cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 200g fillet steak
• 200g rump steak
• salt and pepper
• 1 beaten egg, for brushing
• sea salt flakes
• cumin seeds

Start by activating the yeast for the dough - add the yeast and sugar to the warm water and mix to dissolve. Leave for about 10 minutes until the foam starts to form on the top of the yeasty water.

I made the dough in a mixer with the dough blade attached - but you could do it by hand if you like! Place the flour, salt and caraway seeds into the mixer and pulse a couple of times to mix. Add the yeasty water and mix for a couple of minutes - until the dough forms one big ball and the sides of the mixer are clean. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead for five or six minutes.


I accidentally forgot to divide the dough at this point - it still worked ok, but it was harder to get a uniform shape! So, divide the dough into two equal pieces and place in bowls. Cover the bowls and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. In a pan, fry the onion, celery and chilli for a few minutes until they start to soften (I didn't fancy leaving the onion raw!). Using my mixer I pulsed the meat a few times - I wanted it still to have some texture.

Mix the onion mixture with the parsley, cilantro, coriander, ground cumin and meat into a bowl. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well.

To build the medfouna, roll out both risen portions of dough into large rounds about the size of a dinner plate. Place one of the dough rounds onto an oiled baking tray. Place the filling on top and spread evenly, leaving a 2cm edge. Brush the edge with a little egg wash. Place the second dough round on top and press the edges gently together to seal the bread.

Brush the top with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with sea salt and cumin seeds.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes at 180c (350f), or until golden-brown.

Serve in slices and enjoy your Berber pizza!