Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day: The Homemade Bread Revolution Continues

277 Pages·2011·5.55 MB·English

by  Jeff Hertzberg

In memory of our first editor, Ruth Cavin (1918–2011), who took a chance on us
and our cookbook idea. Her love of good food inspires us still.

To my mom, who always seemed to have fresh bread in our house.
—JEFF
To my dad, who taught me to live life with a sense of curiosity and adventure.
—ZOË
Table of Contents
Title Page
INTRODUCTION
1 - PIZZA AND FLATBREAD ARE THE FASTEST BREADS WE
MAKE: STORING THE DOUGH MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
2 - INGREDIENTS
Flours
Toppings
Cheeses
Meat, Fish, Seafood, and Eggs
Water
Yeast: Adjust It to Your Taste
Salt: Adjust It to Your Taste
Oils and Solid Fats
Sweeteners
3 - EQUIPMENT
Equipment for Baking Pizzas and Flatbreads
Other Equipment
4 - TIPS AND TECHNIQUES FOR PERFECT PIZZA AND
FLATBREAD MADE WITH STORED DOUGH
Measuring Ingredients by Weight
Weighing Small-Quantity Ingredients
Frequently Asked Questions from Readers
5 - THE MASTER RECIPE
Classic Pizza Margherita
Mixing and Storing the Dough
On Pizza Day
6 - MORE DOUGHS AND GREAT SAVORY SAUCES
Crisp-Yet-Tender Pizza Dough Even Closer to the Style of Naples
Pizza Dough for Throwing
American-Style Pizza Dough
Semolina Dough
100% Whole Wheat Dough
100% Whole Grain Spelt Dough
Cornmeal Olive Oil Dough
Naan Dough
3 Corn Masa Dough
Rustic and Hearty Rye Dough
Gluten-Free Pizza and Flatbread Dough
Chapati (Non-Yeasted Whole Wheat Dough)
Roti or Flour Tortilla (Non-Yeasted Dough)
Corn Tortilla (Non-Yeasted and Gluten-Free Corn Dough)
Injera: Ethiopian Flatbread
Savory Brioche
Tomato Toppings
Bolognese (Meat) Sauce
Homemade Barbecue Sauce
Pesto: Basil or Greens, from Farm to Table
Béchamel: Sauce for “White” Pizzas
Tomatillo Sauce
7 - THIN-CRUST PIZZAS AND FLATBREADS
Fresh Cherry Tomato Pizza
Barbecued Chicken Pizza
Homemade Coleslaw
Pizza with Soppressata and Piave (or Pepperoni and Mozzarella)
Curried Sweet Potato, Lentil, and Arugula Pizza
Brussels Sprouts, Smoked Pancetta, and Pecorino Pizza
Thin-Crusted Zucchini Pie (Flowers Optional)
Rainbow Beet Pizza
Roasted Root Vegetable Pizza
White Pizza with Spinach
Joelein’s Winning Chicken Potpie Pizza
White Clam Pizza
Ancient Greco-Roman Pizza with Feta, Honey, and Sesame Seeds
Sue’s Goat Cheese, Honey, Pumpkin Seed, and Fruit Appetizer
Pear Gorgonzola Pizza with Candied Walnuts
Hawaiian Pizza (Pineapple, Ham, and Macadamia Nuts)
Apple, Ham, and Brie Tart
Balthazar Goat Cheese and Onion Pizzette (Little Pizza-Tarts)
Individual Breakfast Pizzas
Bacon and Spinach Pizza
Provençal Onion Tart with Cracked Egg and Anchovy
Breakfast Pizza with Prosciutto, Cheese, and Egg
Stovetop Pizza
8 - THICK-CRUST PIZZA, FOCACCIA, AND FLATBREADS
Thick-Crusted Sicilian-Style Pizza with Onions (Sfinciuni)
Thick-Crusted Roman Eggplant Pizza
Coca (Catalan Flatbread) with Manchego, Leeks, Sardines, and Red
Pepper
Spanish Galician Potato Soup with Greens and Chorizo (Caldo Galego)
Leek, Herbes de Provence, and Garlic Focaccia
Moroccan Flatbread
Spinach and Ricotta “Piz-zone” (Pizza + Calzone)
Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza
Italian Torta
Pizza Spirals on a Stick
9 - PITA AND DIPS, PLUS FLATBREADS AND SOUPS FROM
AROUND THE WORLD
Pita
Turkish Pita (Pide)
Hummus (Middle Eastern Chickpea Spread) with Lemon Zest
Roasted Eggplant Dip (Baba Ghanoush)
Roasted Red Pepper and Eggplant Dip (Ajvar) from Croatia
Greek, Turkish, or Indian-Style Yogurt and Cucumber Dip (Tzatziki,
Cacik, or Raita)
Greek Garlic, Almond, and Potato Dip (Skordalia)
Caponata (Sicilian Vegetable Side Dish)
French Olive Spread (Tapenade)
Crisp Pita Bread Bowl
Turkish Spiced Lamb Flatbread (Lahmacun)
Turkish Chicken-Stuffed Pita Boats
Baked Naan
Stuffed Naan
Brenda Langton’s Curried Lentil Soup
Mexican-Style Corn Flatbread with Tomatillo, Chiles, and Queso
Campesino
Cuban Black Bean Soup (and a Mexican Pinto Bean Variation)
Scandinavian Rye Crisps (Knekkebrød), Lavash, and Other Crackers
Scandinavian Smoked Salmon Flatbread with Capers and Dill
Scandinavian Fish Soup with Dill, Snipped Chives, and Potato
Gluten-Free Spicy Garlic Beef Pizza
Spicy Garlic Beef
Bing (Chinese Scallion Flatbread Done on the Stovetop)
Sesame Spiral Flatbread
Cheesy Bread Sticks
10 - DESSERT PIZZAS AND OTHER TREATS FROM ENRICHED
DOUGH
Challah Dough
Sweet Brioche Dough
Chocolate Dough
Gluten-Free Sweet Enriched Pizza Dough
Almond Cream
Vanilla Pastry Cream
Chocolate Ganache
Lemon Curd
Braided Challah, Pulla, Tsoureki, or Pletzl Flatbread
Fruit Galettes
Blush Apple Tart
Banana Cream Hand Pie
Skillet Apple Pie
THE SECRET
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ALSO BY JEFF HERTZBERG, M.D., AND ZOË FRANÇOIS
SOURCES FOR BAKING PRODUCTS
SOURCES CONSULTED
INDEX
Copyright Page
INTRODUCTION
Lunch with Jeff and Zoë

“Jeff and Zoë have an ideal friendship: They share an obsession with food, and
they’ve managed to turn it into their work. I should know, because I’ve spent the
better part of the last eight years slipping around my kitchen floor like a pizza
pie on a floury paddle (Jeff is my husband). I sat down for lunch with Jeff and
Zoë recently and they started talking about their favorite subject: pizza.”—
Laura Silver
L: Is either of you willing to claim a favorite pizza?
Jeff: I love them all, but especially anything with roasted red peppers and
eggplant—something caramelizes in the skin and transforms the flavors.
Zoë: I have to say the Turkish lamb pizza. You sprinkle the spiced meat with
parsley and onions and squeeze lemon over it and then roll it up like a crepe. It’s
unlike any pizza I’ve had and it’s fun to eat.
L: Is there one particular place you can find the best pizza, do you think?
Zoë: Naples.
L: That was a quick answer.
Zoë: The pizza was incredible.
L: And why was that?
Zoë: Well, for one thing, the setting is so dramatic. And it’s their food. Pizza is
what the people actually eat. We went to a restaurant that had nothing on the
menu but two pizzas: Margherita (tomato, basil, and mozzarella) and marinara
(tomato, no cheese). That was the whole menu, and there were lines out the door.
It’s a $2.50 meal. The crust was delicate and really salty, which I love.
L: How about you, Jeff? Where do you think you can find the best pizza?
Jeff: I wish I could say it was a pizza joint near where I grew up in New York,
but …
L: But that wasn’t such great pizza, was it?
Jeff: No, it wasn’t. But I worked there, delivering pizzas in high school, so it’s
my sentimental favorite. I loved what Zoë said about the setting—and the
memory of the time and place. I don’t even know if we really remember the
flavor of food we ate years later. Food is so wrapped up in what you’re doing,
who you’re with, what you’re drinking—the whole experience, not just the
direct effect on your taste buds.
Zoë: That’s right, setting is everything. In Naples there are laws about how these
pizzas are made, but they didn’t taste the same from one restaurant to the next—
even though they had these crazy guidelines that they had to follow. So the chef,
the oven, the weather, the people you are with—they all make a difference.
Jeff: I’m not entirely convinced that Italy’s pizza is better than American. I
haven’t been to Italy in twenty years but we had pizza in Rome that we thought
was great. I remember the setting, I remember walking around with it, I
remember being with Laura, but do I remember what it tasted like? I have no
idea—until I go back, all I can tell you is that American pizza has become
world-class.
Zoë: When I was a kid we’d visit New York City and get Ray’s (there’s one on
every corner) and I absolutely loved that style—dripping with cheese, and soft,
with a fluffy crust. I really love almost all pizza.
Jeff: So do I!
Zoë: That’s why this is a perfect book for me—I’ve gotten to eat pizza three
times a day.
Jeff: What I love about pizza is that it doesn’t have to be taken seriously. It’s not
a serious person’s food.
L: Talk about how you collaborate. Do you each develop recipes separately?
Jeff: Yes and no. We’re in touch constantly and coordinate our recipes as they
develop, and then we get together at the coffee shop to sample our creations,
critique them.
Zoë: We give each other criticism and encouragement. And more criticism.
We’re a good pair because we bring very different things to the table, literally.
L: What do you each bring?
Zoë: Jeff came up with the five-minutes-a-day concept and he was not confined