500 Pizzas & Flatbreads

This cookbook is packed with plenty of delicious detailed recipes from around the world. Recipes range for the very basic of pizzas and flatbreads to the traditional and gourmet. There are invaluable tips and room for bakers... the home cook, to expand and have success making dough every time. 

The cookbook begins with the pizza basics... equipment and sauces, and moves to pan pizzas, thin crust pizzas, rustic pizzas and calzoni, International pizzas and flatbreads from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America and finally sweet pizzas and flatbreads. The book offers traditional and unique recipes to entice anyone, regardless of where you sit on the culinary scale, and with the many pizza recipes it is great for pizza lovers too. The recipe for the Coconut Roti I posted about last week came from this cookbook.  

Pizza can be a quick and an easy lunchtime or dinnertime meal. With a multitude of ingredients and culinary flair creating a healthier option has never been easier. 

Basic Thin Crust Pizza

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"This crust rises only once and bakes in minutes, making it the quickest crust to make. It can be made into three 12 inch (30-cm) pizzas, as described below, or divided into six individual 6-inch (15-cm) pizzas. Baking time remains consistent." 

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 and 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon quick-rise yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 and 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup very warm water

To prepare the pizza dough, combine 2 cups of the flour with the sugar, yeast, and salt in a bowl of standing mixer. Set aside.Combine olive oil and warm water. With paddle attachment, slowly stir the water and oil into flour mixture until well combined. Mix in 1 cup flour.

Change to dough hook attachment and knead on low for 4 to 5 minutes, until dough comes together as a ball and is smooth and elastic. If not using a standing mixer, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 10 minutes.

Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and cover with clean paper towel. Set aside in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 3 hours, until dough as almost doubled in volume.

Once dough has risen, use a sharp knife to divide the ball into 3 equal pieces. Shape each into a ball, and flatten to form a disc. Using fingers or rolling pin, stretch out each disc to 12 inches (30cm) rounds and very thin - about 1/12 inch (0.5cm) 

I am including the Fig, Ricotta & Honey Pizza recipe from the cookbook as well and which uses the basic thin crust pizza. However, if you have a favourite pizza crust recipe you already use then go with that when making this recipe. If you have a pizza stone great. If not, then use a regular pizza pan. 

Fig, Ricotta & Honey Pizza

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2/3 recipe basic thin pizza crust  

1/2 cup ricotta 

2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

4-6 ripe figs, sliced lengthwise

3 tablespoon on honey

Place pizza stone on middle rack of oven and preheat to 450ºF (230ºC).

Roll pizza dough out to two 12-in. (30-cm) rounds. Lightly flour pizza peel. Place first pizza crust on peel.

In large bowl of standing mixer, combine ricotta and sugar until smooth. Spread half the ricotta mixture over each pizza crust, leaving a 1/2 inch (1cm) border. Arrange half the fig slices and drizzle half the honey on the pizza. Gently shake pizza from peel onto baking stone.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until crust is slightly puffy and golden brown. 

Remove pizza from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool. Repeat with second pizza.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! - JD