So I’ve been trying to make pizza lately. I found a good recipe online that involves no yeast, and after a few modifications I’ve got myself a lovely crust. Pizza making also meets my requirements for speed: it takes an hour to prepare from the time I enter the kitchen to the time when I pull the finished product out of the oven.
I fixed a homemade pizza earlier this week, and it was quite delicious. Today, I glommed some of my brother’s frozen pizza, and it was… not all that. I definitely like my pizza better than the frozen variety. My next move is to make my pizza as good as or better than pizzeria pizza. Mainly, I want to know what spices I should add. So far, all I’ve had luck with is fennel. I tried some generic “Italian Seasoning” on this pizza, but it didn’t taste right. Any suggestions?
Garlic (fresh, salt or powder), onion (fresh, dehydrated or powder), oregano, basil and red pepper flakes are the most common “pizza flavors”. Basil gives you a nice “bright” sometimes sweet flavor and oregano a “dark” deeper spicier tone. Of these, oregano is the most prominent, and is sometimes called “the pizza herb”.
I personally like marjoram, which is closely related to oregano, but with a sweeter, almost citrusy flavor. That’s not what you’re likely to find at pizzerias, though.
I’d like to suggest http://pizzamaking.com for all your pizza making knowledge. For me, one of the most important things in getting the dough to taste great, is making the dough at least the night before and letting it come to a long, slow rise in the fridge. As for herbs/spices, I don’t generally use any other than salt and sometimes fresh basil. Oregano is the other obvious one, but I tend to avoid it unless I’m making Chicago style pizza (either thin or deep dish) which are usually more heavily seasoned. I also like fresh garlic in the sauce (which for me is just plain San Marzano tomatoes) and perhaps some pepper flakes.
That looks like great pizza! Would you mind sharing the recipe. I’m curious how you did it without yeast. Does that mean you didn’t have to knead, either?
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tablespoons oil (so far I’ve tried olive and corn oil, butter is next)
3/4 cup water, milk or white wine (the wine is really good)
Mix the dry ingredients, and the wet ingredients, stir into a dough ball, knead for 2 minutes or so, then break out the wax paper and rolling pin.
I have tried oregano on top, but I had it mixed with that Italian Seasoning blend. I’m pretty sure something or things in that threw off the flavor.
How do you make your sauce? It’s important not to pre-cook it. It looses its vibrancy if you cook it twice, so just cook it once on the pizza. Keep it simple. Use the spices other people recommended. A bit of red wine vinegar would be ok too.
If you really want pizza perfection, use a yeasted dough. I can’t imagine how a non-yeast dough can possibly compete. The good news is that a yeasted dough can be just as easy; you just need to give it time to rest. Put it in the fridge and take it out an hour or so before you make the pizza.
It looks like you are making a Chicago style deep-dish pizza. I don’t know much about that specific style, although I do make Chicago stuffed pizza. Chicago-style pizzas in general are fairly easy to make, especially with home ovens. I second the recommendation to use the pizzamaking site, it’s a great source of information.
