Grandma Pizza

 3 October 2022

Recipe from Cook's Country, February 2012

Yet another pizza variety, though in this case it is not named for a city. It is a pan pizza from Long Island which gets its name from its humble, make-at-home origins. The thin dough is cooked on an oiled sheet pan and topped with mozzarella cheese with chunks of tomato on top. 

Olive oil was added to water in a measuring cup. This was slowly added to a mixture of bread flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a stand mixer running on low speed. Once the ingredients were combined the speed was increased to medium low and the the dough mixed for about 10 minutes. This was placed on a half sheet pan that had been coated with olive oil and gently stretched into a rectangle approximately 10 by 6 inches. It was covered with plastic wrap and left to rise until doubled at which point it was gently stretched to the edges of the sheet pan. After rising until it was slightly puffed the toppings were added. First, a mixture of grated mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Next a can of diced tomatoes that had been drained and mixed with olive oil, minced garlic, dried oregano, and salt. This was baked at 500° until browned and bubbling. It was sprinkled with chopped fresh basil and served. Total time, including rising, was about 3½ hours.

This was a good pizza. It has a nice, crisp crust with good flavor from the tomato chunks. It was easy to make as the pan helped with the shaping. The crust was a little too thin in places, so thin it had some holes in it, but in the end this wasn't really a problem as these mostly filled in when the dough rose the last time. It was important to spray the plastic wrap that is used during rising with oil to prevent it from sticking to the wet dough. One of the biggest advantages of this recipe is that the pizza that is easy to make in an afternoon. It provided two dinners for the two of us.