Thibeault's Pizzeria

 I baked bread on Wednesday with dough that was made on Tuesday.  I saved enough to make a pizza.  The difference between a crust made with fresh dough and one that has been given a long cold fermentation is night and day.

The crust on last night's pizza was perfect, if I do say so myself.

This was not  specifically a pizza dough either.  I used the French Baguette dough. 

My all time favourite pizza came from a little Italian restaurant in Thornhill, Ontario. Dantes. (Just north of Toronto).    They put black pepper in their crust.  I'm a serious black pepper fan.  I even carry a pepper grinder in my purse.   Anyway, for over 20 years I have judged all pizzas by Dante's standards.

Because I like to bake large pizzas and because my stone is only 16 X 14, I usually start the pizza on a large 17" inch pizza pan just to firm it up, before sliding it directly onto the stone.

The dough was sprinkled with fresh ground black pepper ,
then shaped,

sauced

 and  baked for about 5 minutes before being dressed with the cheese and other toppings.

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to pizza and prefer just a few basic toppings.

Last nights was topped with just mozzerella, lots of sauted mushrooms and chorizo. (I can't find decent pepperoni).

 Once dressed it was slid back into the oven, directly on to the stone (which was preheated to 510°F) for approximately 8 to 10 minutes.

I let  the pizza rest for a couple of minutes before slicing.

My Pizza Sauce
===========

1 28 oz can quality Italian Tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
fennel seed
oregano
Basil
2 to 3 Tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

Puree tomatoes with the minced garlic.  Grind the fennel seeds.  Add the seeds and the oregano, basil, and the olive oil and mix together.


NOTE:  I use a stick blender and blend all of these ingredients right in the can.