This sauce is lightly herbed with oregano and basil, yet the basic tomato taste is allowed to shine through. Some pizza aficionados prefer an even simpler sauce than this, or they will use one of the recipes which I have already given to go with pasta but you will like the colours and bouquet this sauce adds to your pizza.
Ingredients (Makes about 2 quarts of sauce)
2 Tbsps. butter
16 oz. can of tomato puree
3 Tbsps. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
¼ tsp. black pepper
3 large onions, fine dice
1 tsp. whole oregano
2 qts. canned whole Italian tomatoes
1 tsp.-whole basil
ü In a Dutch-oven, or large skillet, melt the butter with olive oil and slowly, but completely, sauté the garlic and onion.
ü Add the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes with a potato masher.
ü Continue to mash, stir, and simmer partially covered until the sauce reaches the consistency of a rich soup.
ü Set the sauce aside to cool, or refrigerate before applying to your pizza dough
Saucing, Cheesing, Topping and Baking Your Pizza
The method I use and strongly suggest that you do as well; is to arrange the toppings, usually three or four items, so that they don’t overlap. Apply the sauce, which is already cooked, and the cheese a little more than halfway through the baking process. By adding the cheese when the crust is just lightly browned, you can tell when the topping is sufficiently cooked and also avoid over browned, leathery cheese and soggy undercooked crust. Those toppings that don’t need much cooking, like blanched spinach or asparagus, paper thin prosciutto, pepperoni, salami, or steamed shellfish, also go on at half-time, along with the cheese.
Some people, usually the ones that use a rim-less pan, also use a different procedure here. They often ladle about 7 to 8 oz. of sauce onto the middle bottom of the dough shell.
· Spread the sauce evenly over surface of the dough, leaving about ¾ to 1 inch of the dough uncovered. This exposed “margin” of dough around the circumference of the pizza will allow the crust to rise and crisp more quickly than the covered dough; creating the classic puffed up edge one sees on commercial products The sauce, melted cheese and toppings will be better retained on top of the pizza, not over the edge, seeping under the pan causing burning or over the pan edge into the oven.
· Next layer the shredded cheese or cheeses of your choice, about 2 cups for a 12 inch pizza, over the sauce, creating an evenly distributed bed of cheese on which to arrange your toppings (it is well to have another cup of cheese too, for finishing off the top of the pizza).
· Most pizza lovers already know their favourite toppings but for you that don’t. Just let your eyes, nose, creativity and taste buds take over and remember also that pizza is an excellent way to make use of left-overs.
Following are some basic recommendations for quantities and combinations of toppings for your pizza. Naturally, the more kinds of toppings you use, the smaller the quantities of each you’ll want to add to the pizza. Some toppings (fresh vegetables, certain cheeses, and fatty meats) are higher in moisture and fat content. These liquids will be released quickly during the baking process. If the liquid contents are too high and do not evaporate during baking, pooling will occur in the middle of the pizza. This often results in the prevention of the dough bottom from cooking through and a soggy pizza centre.
Pizza Sauce-Veloute sauce, any tomato based spaghetti or BBQ sauce, or canned condensed cheddar or mushroom soup can be used as a pizza sauce.
Plain Cheese Pizza-Simply add cheese but try combinations of Mozzarella, Provolone, Canadian Cheddar (Armstrong is an excellent choice), Feta or other varieties to your taste.
Pepperoni Pizza-Cover bed of cheese wall to wall, with layers or thinly sliced pepperoni sausage.
Beef: 1 pound lean ground beef, cooked
Veggie Pizza- Evenly distribute ¼ cup each of diced onion, green peppers, mushrooms, and black or green olives one topping at a time over the bed of cheese. Add an additional finishing of cheese sprinkled over toppings, if desired.
Other Popular Toppings- Canadian Bacon, Caramelized Onions, Shrimp, Side Bacon, Sirloin Steak, Ham, Italian Sausage, Salami, Summer Sausage, Chicken, Tomato, Pineapple, Hot Banana Peppers
Bake pizza in a very hot oven 475 F. on heavy baking sheets, and preferably on a baking stone. Check pizza during baking and rotate it if it appears to be cooking unevenly. Lift the crust to see how it’s cooking underneath. If the bottom is still pale while the top seems almost done, turn the oven temperature down and leave the pizza in longer.
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