Roma Pizza & Pasta Flour (Farina Tipo "00")

The other day whilst I was very busy beavering away at some important task or other I decided to allow myself 30 seconds to check Twitter for updates.  A little tweet from Damien Mulley informed any Irish Foodies who might be interested in receiving some Pizza & Pasta Flour from Roma that they need only send an email for their wish to be granted.  Being a lover of all things pizza and pasta related I thought to myself sure why not, and hit send.

A couple of days later the lovely Adam from Roma sent a little parcel my way.  When I openend the door to the postman it was like Christmas, there he was brandishing 2 lovely parcels for me, 1 from Roma and the other, my Amazon order.  When I opened the parcel it contained the flour as promised and also some Roma pasta, a lovely little storage tin and a recipe card containing recipes for calzone and ravioli.  I had great intentions to make the calzones last Friday but then 'stuff' cropped up and there was no time for that, a very busy bank holiday followed chock full of eating out and entertaining at home so that was the weekend gone. 

When I woke on Tuesday I was more than a little tired and possibly a little grumpy, but with only myself and my shadow in the house I can neither confirm or deny that.  Things started to look a little brighter when I opened the fridge, there staring back at me was a pack of parma ham.  We had a little chat and the general consensus was that the ham was prepared to sacrifice itself for the good of mankind and the love of pizza.  Now, I know what yiz are all thinking.  Pizza. For dinner. Of a Tuesday.  I know, I know but I was tired, I'm weak and I love pizza so I gave in to temptation.

As I hadn't planned on having pizza I hadn't removed my sourdough starter from the freezer and so needed a quick fix recipe for a thin and crispy base.  A little googling yielded the recipe I used.  It is quite similar to the original pizza recipe I posted a few weeks back, in it's texture.  The main difference between the 2 is obviously the inclusion of yeast in this one.  It did however have the advantage of a thin crispy outer crust.  Mr Boo ate the lot, my ahem little tummy could only manage 3/4's of mine, but it was yum and great if you need a quick fix recipe that doesn't require forward planning as is the case with the sourdough recipe. 

Roma's Pizza and Pasta flour feels slightly different to regulair plain or cream flour.  When I looked at it in the bowl it looked a little 'fluffier' (sorry, that's the only word I can think of to describe it) to me so naturally I wanted to stick my hands in to investigate further.  As I lifted the flour in each hand and allowed it to fall back into the bowl it felt much softer than regular flour.  The flour mixed to form a nice elastic dough and the base when cooked was crisp around the edges and light and airy under the toppings.  I will definitely use this flour again when making pizza and will see how it compares when used to make my favourite sourdough base.  I am also looking forward to making some ravioli with it.

*Roma Pasta & Pizza Flour (Farina Tipo "00") is available from Dunnes Stores and Superquinn.

Thin and Crispy Pizza Base
(yields 3 x 11" bases)

•500g Roma Pizza & Pasta Flour (Farina Tipo "00")
•4 tbsp Olive Oil
•1 tsp Salt
•300 ml lukewarm Water
•2 tsp (1 x 7g sachet) Dried Yeast
•1/2 tsp Sugar 

 
1.  Place the flour in a large bowl.
2.  Mix the yeast with the sugar and 50ml of the lukewarm water and stir, allow to sit for 10 minutes until it develops a nice foam on top.

3.  Add the olive oil and salt to the flour.

4.  Now add the yeast mix to the flour, oil and salt and add the rest of the lukewarm water (250 ml). Mix with your hands and knead until you have a smooth dough.

5.  Cover the dough with a clean, dry tea towel and let it sit for an hour.

6.  Once the dough has risen preheat your oven to 250C/481F/Gas Mark 9.
7.  Break off 1/3 of the dough and roll it with a rolling pin until you are happy with the depth of the dough (mine was approximately 5mm).

8.  Place onto a floured baking sheet and dress with sauce and toppings of your choice.

9.  Place into the preheated oven and bake for between 10 and 20 minutes (depending on how thick you roll your base you will need to adjust cooking times, my 5mm base was ready after 10 minutes so check at regular intervals after 10 minutes).
10. Enjoy!

When the Moon Hits Your Eye, Like A Big Pizza Pie...Part Deux

If you read my original pizza post earlier in the week you will know that I planned a follow up.  I like a thin and crispy pizza base so have been rolling my yeast free base to a thickness of 5mm, which has been yum.  Last Sunday I visited the new Saturday and Sunday market at the O2 in Dublin.  Having strolled around and purchased some culinary delights for the store cupboard Mr. Boo and I decided it was time for a little bite to eat.  We were undecided between calamari and pizza from Dick and Dave's.  As we couldn't decide the only option was one of each.  We joined the pizza line and queued and queued and queued and then we queued a little more.  This had to be a good sign right?  The pizza must be good if so many people wanted some. 

While we were queueing I had my little eagle eyes on red alert watching all that was going on behind the counter.  The guy making up the pizzas was pulling small balls from a large mound of soft white dough.  I verbalised to Mr Boo that I wondered what sort of a dough base these professionals were using and he swiftly pointed to a rather large sign heralding the use of sourdough bases.  OK, so my eyes were having a bit of an off day. 

We placed our order with the very friendly guy busy making up boxes in a vain attempt to keep up with demand.  I was instructed by Mr Boo to stay put while he popped behind us to get some Calamari before he collapsed from the hunger (honest to God).  He returned mere moments later proudly clutching a bowl of (rather delicious) calamari and chorizo for us to munch on while we waited (yep, still waiting) for our pizza.  Just as he polished off the last of his starter his name was called and Mr. Boo stepped on small children and grannies to get to it.  We found a little spot at a picnic table and sat down to enjoy it and got plenty of envious looks from people who had opted for alternatives.  As we happily tucked in Mr Boo declared that the sauce wasn't up to much and that mine was so much better. Ah, I really do loves him.  He was right, it was watery and bland.  The base however was light and crispy and just perfect for my taste so I knew that I was onto a winner and would just have to try it out during the week.

Cue reindeersp and her idea for a twizzaparty having seen pizza recipes emerge from more than one Irish Food Blogger over a couple of days.  The idea was for any of the Irish Food Bloggers who wanted to participate to make homemade pizzas and tweet ideas and photos last night.  Perfect, I could try out my new dough and not feel guilty, as I was contractually obliged to do so.  Well, maybe I wasn't exactly contractually obliged but it sounds much better than just eating pizza for the 3rd time in one week because I am a little porker!  The dough was perfect and as if I didn't love him enough already Mr. Boo declared, unprompted, that it was MUCH better than Dick and Dave's as he inhaled slice after slice.  I am a very happy bunny, I have a new favourite pizza base that is so light and yum, and I have a gorgeous man who loves me, and my pizza.  Life is good.

The following is a basic sourdough recipe, which makes one loaf, but if divided into six pieces will make 6 (approx 9") thin and crispy pizzas.

Sourdough Bread

For the sourdough starter:
2tsp dried yeast (1 7g sachet was exactly 2tsp for me)
300ml/10floz water
240g/8&1/2oz Strong White Flour

1.  Sprinkle the dried yeast onto the water and stir until dissolved.
2.  Stir in the flour, cover and leave to ferment for 2 days at room temperature. 
3.  Stir a couple of times a day.

Make the starter in a much bigger bowl than you think you will need, as it will rise as it ferments.  Once the starter is ready you can make the dough.

For the dough:
1tsp Dried Yeast
200ml/7floz Water
60g/20z Rye Flour
300g/10oz Strong White Flour

1.  Sprinkle the dried yeast onto the water and stir until dissolved.
2.  Sieve the flours in to a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
3.  Pour in 250ml/9floz of the starter (reserve the rest for a future loaf) and mix in the flour from the sides.
4.  Stir in the yeast water until you have a sticky dough.
5.  Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic.
6.  Place the dough in a bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm room to rise for 2 hours. (I left mine in the airing cupboard)

7.  Knock back (knead) the risen dough, punching out all of the air, and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
8.  Shape into a round loaf, place on a lightly floured baking tray and cover for 1&1/2 hours to allow it to prove. Alternatively if using as pizza dough at this stage divide the dough into 6 pieces, shape into balls before placing onto the baking sheet and returning to the airing cupboard for 1&1/2 hours.

9.  If baking as a loaf at this stage place into an oven that has been preheated to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7 for 1 hour.  When cooked the loaf should sound hollow when you tap the base.  Leave to cool on a cooling rack.
Alternatively, on a floured surface roll out the individual dough balls to a thickness of 5mm or less.  Place on a floured baking sheet and dress with sauce and toppings of your choice and bake in an oven preheated to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7 for 10 minutes.

This might all seem like a lot of hard work but each of the stages takes between 5 and 10 mins and it was definitely worth it for the results.

Mojito anyone?

This one was just for the lovely Italian Foodie

(Nutella dusted with a little icing sugar)

Other Irish Food Bloggers who participated in the twizzparty are:

Musings of a Med Student (who was responsible for the event, so a big thank you)

Gluttony For Beginners

Babaduck Babbles

Dinner du Jour

I Can Has Cook

Bibliocook

An American In Ireland

Italian Foodie (expert judge on the evening)

Now don't be rude, go on off and say hello to all of these lovely people. 

When the Moon Hits Your Eye, Like A Big Pizza Pie...

I think it was The Glutton who mentioned homemade pizza on Thursday afternoon.  I had a huge longing for that exact thing earlier that day but as it was Thursday and as I try to eat healthy meals on weekdays I banished all such yummy thoughts from my head.  Then she just had to go and dangle it in my face again.  A little discussion arose on Beaut.ie with some of the lovely ladies advising that as it was homemade it couldn't be all that bad for a person and to go on ahead and indulge myself.  I held my resolve though and decided no, not a morsel of pizza would pass my lips before the officialdom of the weekend.  A request was then submitted for a pizza base recipe which I duly posted and on Friday morning I was informed by Emz that she had made said pizza and twas yum and munched with great appreciation from her Mr. I caved and decided that instead of waiting until Saturday night as I had resolved to do I would have to, HAVE TO, have pizza on the menu for Friday instead.  It was gorgeous, so much nicer than any shop bought, frozen or takeaway options. Which brings me smoothly on to the best pizza I have ever eaten.

We are gonna have to take a little stroll over to New York for this one peeps, so pop on your most comfortable walking shoes.  On our first trip stateside, Mr. Boo and I, travelled with a group of friends, one of who is a professional holidayer (it is a word before you go off and check, well maybe not, but it is now).  He researches everything, checks out all of the best restaurants and bars and does a little map recy so he knows exactly how to get everywhere with minimum hassle and time.  This is the best type of person to make a virgin voyage to New York with in my humble opinion.  It is such an overwhelming place that an out of towner could feel a little intimidated by it's size and pace and miss out on so much.  So with our tour guide at the helm we were bound to find some greats whilst there.

On our 1st night, weary from travel and time zone changes we decided to ease ourselves in with his recommendation, John's Pizzeria in Greenwich Village.  We ordered 3 pizzas between 8 and in all my life as a little Irish cailin I had never seen pizzas as big, well except in Friends and the like.  They were mahoosive, and oh so yummy.  We filled our tummies and were reenergized for the rest of our holiday.  Almost as good as the pizza themselves is the atmosphere that is always present.  The place is a hive of activity, always, and the graffitied wooden wall panels fit it just perfectly.  John's has remained our 1st night haunt every time we have visited since.

We started our honeymoon in New York and as always had planned a trip to John's on arriving.  We were both pretty whacked; understandably, we had just planned a wedding and had the most hectic week of our lives.  I decided a quick shower to freshen up was the order of the day and then a little 'rest' on the bed while Mr. Boo showered.  When he emerged form the shower I was out cold and no amount of prodding or poking from him could wake me.  We both woke the next morning, me feeling completely refreshed, him feeling a little off colour.  That evening he was still not 100% but would not hear any suggestions from me that we head back to the hotel and order room service so he could rest. No, he couldn't come to New York and NOT visit John's so off we went.

We were seated in a booth along the wall.  Next to us was a long table with a large group of friends, and we both remarked how it was reminiscent of our own group on that first trip.  Our pizza was delivered to the table and perched atop one of those stands usually reserved for an order of two pizzas.  We both ate a slice but it was clear Mr Boo would not be able for anymore.  He reached for his drink and as he did so he knocked the pizza from it's stand and sent it flying through the air.  We both looked on open mouthed as it flew up into the air and then came crashing to the floor with a very large bang, smearing it's toppings down the jacket of the man sitting with his back to us.  Not good.

At this stage everyone was looking at us, except one person who was looking at his jacket.  Oh no, I was wrong, now he's looking at us too.  Crap!  Our waiter was at our side in a jiffy, cleaning up the mess and apologising.  We were blushing horrendously and apologising.  Your man was attempting to clean his jacket and scowling.  Our waiter then declared he would be back shortly with a replacement and would not take no for an answer.  We just wanted to leave.  Mr Boo could not face eating another bite and now he was going to have to eat at least two slices to be polite.  Your man was still scowling and making exaggerated attempts to clean his jacket.  OK, OK we know we just destroyed it, we're sorry.  A couple of pitchers of beer sent to their table by means of an apology and it would seem we made a friend for life, no more scowling and a very warm goodbye as he left.  Phew!  Now we just had to worry about how we would get through a fresh pizza.  We managed it, we ate enough to be polite, left a very generous tip for our kind waiter and have returned since to enjoy the hospitality and our pizzas, event free, thankfully.  So there you have it, my favourite pizza ever comes courtesy of John's Pizzeria, but the ones that are made in my own kitchen are definitely my second favourite, hands down.

Yeast Free Pizza Base

425g Flour
1tsp salt
2tsp baking powder
200mls milk
80mls olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7.
2. Combine all of the ingredients and knead the dough for 3 mins.
3. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with cling film and rest for 20 mins.

4. Divide the dough in half.
5. Roll out the dough to 5mm thickness.

6. Place on a baking tray.
7. Dress with toppings of your choice.
8. Place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Tomato Sauce
(this recipe will yield enough to cover the 2 pizza bases from the above dough recipe)
This recipe is not from a book, it is just one that I have made to accompany the base and is to my taste.  Feel free to make any adjustments to suit your own tastes.

2tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
2tsp Dried Rosemary
350ml Tomato Passata
1tsp Sugar
Salt and Black Pepper to season

1.  Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and when it is warm add the garlic and rosemary.
2.  Allow the garlic to cook for a couple of mins to release it's flavour and then add the tomato passata.
3.  Add the sugar and stir to ensure it is evenly distributed.
4.  Turn up the heat and allow the passata to bubble, reduce the heat again and leave to simmer for at least 5 mins.
5.  When the sauce has thickened slightly taste and season with salt and pepper if required.
6.  When ready to dress the pizza base spoon on some of the tomato sauce and spread evenly over the dough stopping approx 5mm short of the edge.

I dressed my pizza with buffalo mozzerella, parma ham, black olives, green olives stuffed with pimento paste, capers and sundried tomatoes.  You can choose toppings of your choice.

Stay tuned peeps as I plan a follow up to this post over the next few days.  I'm sure you just can't wait.