Pichat pizza

Last update 25/Jul/2010 by Mark Seuffert

Ingredients per baking tray

Yummy home-made Pichat pizza

Here are the ingredients for a normal baking tray or two round pizzas:

Dough:	500 g flour
	100 ml good olive oil
	1 package dry yeast (or normal yeast)
	3 TS sugar
	1 big pinch of salt

Toppings:	1 can chopped tomatoes
	1 tube concentrated tomato purée
	200 g cheese (Mozarella or Emmentaler, Cheddar is also fine)
	other ingredients according to taste, e.g. salami, ham, mushrooms

1. Preparation

mix a small part of the flour (3 TS) with yeast and sugar in a big bowl, use a whisk to blend everything nicely, then add warm water until you get an almost liquid pre-dough
put the pre-dough for 10 minutes into a warm oven (ca 40 degrees) or into the microwave (reheat setting). This activates the yeast and a few small bubbles will show in the pizza dough.
add rest of the flour, olive oil and salt, knead until the dough gets smooth (ca 2 minutes), possibly add more warm water. Season to taste with salt, maybe add a little bit extra otherwise the crust tastes too weak in the end
let the dough rest for at least an hour in a warm oven or covered with a kitchen towel. The dough will raise, if it becomes too liquid you can always add some more flour

2. Finishing and baking

slightly oil baking tray or pizza form, add a little bit of olive oil on a paper towel and oil the tray. If you have a coated pizza form you don't need to do this, you get them everywhere and true pizza lovers can't live without them
already preheat oven to 200 degrees. Spread some flour, and role out the dough with a rolling pin or a bottle. Make sure there will be enough of the tasty crust. If there are holes in the dough just fix them
mix tomatoes and concentrated tomato purée, season with salt, a little bit sugar, thyme and some olive oil. Spread on pizza. Don't go over the top with spices, it really tastes better then!
distribute cheese evenly on pizza, yes now and not later
if you want an extra soft pizza let the dough rest for another 30 minutes at a warm place
now add topping according to your taste. Typical ingredients are: salami, ham, mushrooms, black olive stripes, chopped green pepper, onions cut in fine stripes. Also popular are pineapple, banana slices, tuna, artichokes or spinach. Possible toppings are also prosciutto di parma (italian ham) and after backing add some rocket (italian salad).
don't forget to put chili or jalapenos on pizza, hot makes hot!
bake at 200 degrees for about 10-15 min, depending on thickness of topping

Serve the pizza directly from the oven, it tastes best with coke or an Italian red wine. Tips: One baking tray is nearly never enough, doesn't matter for how many people. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and eaten the next day. If you manage to make your own pizza please tell everyone that the recipe was from Mark. Yummy-yummy! :)

Some pictures of tasty home-made pizzas:

Pichat pizza

Ingredients per baking tray

1. Preparation

2. Finishing and baking

3. Enjoy