Pizza! A sure candidate for the Surf Dude Food Hall of Fame.

Does anybody not love pizza?  I think if there is a such a person, I would not like to know him or her.

I love pizza.  I could eat pizza every day.  Seriously, I could.  Pizza is Surf Dude Food for sure -- it's usually pretty cheap. You can pick it up on the fly.  And it's delicious.  Recently, after a session at Hollister in Santa Monica, I grabbed a couple of slices from one of my favorites, the Joe's Pizza on Broadway just east of Ocean Avenue (www.joespizza.com).  As you can see below (one pepperoni, one cheese) I couldn't wait to take a bite before snapping a pic.  But I think I mentioned being in the water makes a person hungry, especially if you do a lot of paddling.

Of course there's lousy pizza in the world, but there's so much good pizza too. (Oh, and speaking of pizza in the world, something on the bucket list is a trip to Naples, pizza's birthplace, to do an eating tour.  Plus, I hear there actually is surfing in Italy so that would be cool to check out).

Today, however, we're talking pizza made at home, which is a process, I will admit. Just like it's super hard learning to be the surfer I want to be, it's not easy learning to make good pizza at home.  As with surfing, however, persistence and dedication are key -- keep at it, and you will improve, even if progress can be slow.  Plus, you feel a real sense of accomplishment when you get it right.  Kind of like if you have a good day in the water.

I've been through a lot of trial and error when it comes to making pizza but I've finally gotten results that are pretty f'n good. Now if I only had that outdoor wood-fired pizza oven I've been daydreaming about.  But you don't really need a wood-fired oven.  A pizza stone works well, and those are cheap and easy to find.  A wood pizza peel (one of those paddle like things) is nice, but not necessary either. However, a good crust recipe is vitally important. I'm a thin, crispy crust person.  If you like thick crust pizza…sorry.  I went through numerous crust recipes before I found the right one, which comes from Jim Lahey, of New York's Sullivan Street Bakery.  He's a genius, as mentioned in the cookie post.  You can read more about him here:  www.sullivanstreetbakery.com.  I came across this recipe in Bon Appetit magazine, but I had heard of Lahey because he developed a recipe for no-knead bread that Mark Bittman wrote about in the NY Times.  Here's good news:  you don't have to knead this pizza dough either, so it's easy to put together. The one thing you have to keep in mind is it's a 24 hour rise, so you need to plan ahead a little (for last minute pizza makers I have a back up crust recipe that rises in a couple of hours but we'll save that for another time).

I've tried numerous sauces as well, but I think it was in a Saveur magazine piece on pizza that I first discovered using just crushed really good quality canned tomatoes, and salt and pepper.  You don't need to cook this sauce or add anything else to it (okay some people might want to add dried oregano but that's okay too). And, of course, you'll need cheese.  Some will argue you should use fresh mozzarella. That's sometimes fine, but if you're looking for pizzeria-slice kind of pizza you need to use the non-fresh variety -- it's less watery, and it melts better.  I like to add a little grated Pecorino or Parmigiana, but it's not necessary.  Sometimes I'll do half mozzarella, half Fontina.  It's your pizza so it's all up to you!.  Then, of course, you can add whatever toppings you like.  Roasted eggplant's good.  Sausage is great. Pepperoni of course. Whatever you like, pretty much.  So here we go.  Let's make pizza!

For the crust: (adapted from Jim Lahey and Bon Appetit Magazine).

3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups water*
*in a slight departure from the recipe I use slightly warm water…just a little warm.  Too hot, and you'll kill the yeast.  I just think it helps get things moving.

1. In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt and yeast.
2. Slowly mix the water into the flour.  You will have a wet, somewhat shaggy dough
3. Form dough into a rough ball.  Transfer to a clean bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature until surface is covered with tiny bubbles and dough has more than doubled in size, about 18-24 hours.

Here's a couple of pictures, of the stirring together of the ingredients, and then after the addition of the very barely warm water.

Don't worry if the dough isn't smooth.  It's fine!  Below is the dough in a clean bowl, ready for it's 18-24 hour rise.

You'll notice that bubbles not only form on top, but all through the rising dough.  This is good!  It makes for a crust that will be crisp but also light and airy.

Look at you, Dude! All I did was plunk you in a bowl, and you have risen!  Right on, brother!

So after the 24 hour rise, it's time to divide the dough and let it rest.  Here's something else to note: this is actually 1/2 of Lahey's original recipe, which made something like six smallish pizzas.  What I do is make one medium size 8 slice pie, and with the rest of the dough I make Calzones or a smaller pizza a few days later.   So to continue:

1. With lightly floured hands, remove dough from bowl onto a floured board.  It might seem sticky and slightly wet.  Do not worry.  This is normal.  Just keep your hands floured and shape it into a rough rectangle, about 9 inches long.
2. Divide the rectangle into two pieces, one about 6 inches, and one 3.
3. Now grab opposing ends of the rectangle, fold them in and form it into a ball. Set the ball on the floured board seam side down.  Dust with flour, cover with plastic and let rest about 2 hours.  Form the smaller piece into a ball, but wrap this one well in plastic.  You can refrigerate it for up to three days and it will be fine.

Now here's what the dough looks like as a rectangle and then divided:

While the dough rests, make the sauce.  Here's what you need:

1 14 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes*
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Dried oregano, optional
*Tomato note:  there is a difference in canned tomatoes.  Imported San Marzanos cost a little more, but they're totally worth it.

1. Separate the tomatoes from liquid.  Set the liquid aside.
2. Place the tomatoes in a blender or food processor, or if you have one, an immersion blender.
3. Puree the tomatoes.  Then add about 1/4 cup of the reserved liquid.  The sauce should have some body and not be too thin, so add the liquid slowly.
4. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
5. Add a half teaspoon of dried Oregano if you like.  That's it…not hard, huh?

Now, onto the the cheese.  Like I said, if you're looking for pizzeria-slice style pizza you want the non-fresh mozzarella because it's less watery.  So, for the cheese blend:

1/2 pound low-moisture Mozzarella (part-skim or whole milk).

1/4 cup grated Parmigiana or Pecorino.

1. Shred the Mozzarella on a box grater.  Mix with the grated Parm or Pecorino.

Okay, so, now time to put it all together. About an hour before you want the pizza to go in, put your pizza stone in the oven and crank it up!  You want your oven and the stone as hot as you can get it, so set it at 500, or higher if you can.

Now pay attention because here's one of the best home-pizza making tips I ever found -- use Parchment paper!!  Seriously, you'll see some pizza recipes that want you to be like a pizza chef who's been making pies for decades -- they'll say you can throw the dough in the air and form it and then flick it off the peel into the oven? I'm here to tell you you can't!  Don't try.  What will make your life so much easier is this: begin to form the pizza on your floured board.  Then lay a sheet of parchment right on the peel, and if you like sprinkle it with cornmeal (this will make your crust even crispier).  Now, transfer the dough to the parchment and continue pressing and pulling gently to form the size pie you want.  When you're done it will like like this, and for this eight slice, slightly oval pie, its about  16"x14" :

Time for sauce.  Start with about a cup.  Ladle on a thin layer of sauce -- too thick and it will weigh the crust down.  Layer on your cheeses, and then whatever toppings.  For this pizza I used some Zucchini and eggplant from the garden, which were brushed with olive oil and roasted until just starting to brown.

Now, open your super hot oven.  Slide the parchment paper and pizza right onto the hot stone.  Close the oven and wait!  Depending on how hot your oven can get, it should take about twelve minutes.  You want the crust brown -- maybe even blackened in spots -- and the cheese melted and caramelized.  If you want, after about five minutes, open the oven and pull the parchment out so the pizza rests right on the stone.  This will help with crust crispiness.

So here is the finished product:

It was really delicious.  Trust me.  But the bonus is still to come. As I said, sometimes we have Calzones a few days after pizza but that's for a different post. This time I made a smaller pizza to have for lunch, basically a Margarita, with just tomatoes, cheese and fresh basil.  Note that when you want to use your bonus crust, remove it from the refrigerator a couple of hours before you plan to use it.  Let it rest on a floured board, covered with plastic, for those couple of hours and all will be well.

Here is bonus lunch pizza:

And sliced:

Yeah, I ate it all, but it was pretty small and the Beagles got some too.  Stay tuned for more pizza posts. Now go for a surf, or a swim or a run or a spin, or a bike ride, or whatever, and then make pizza at home.  Practice, just like you do with the sports.  You'll get really good at it.   C'mon, try!