Turkish Pizza ~ Pide

I bookmarked pide, the Turkish pizza bread when Pavani posted it during last month marathon and wanted to try it sooner before it got buried in my bookmarked folder. I decided to try it yesterday as my daughter was at home and she couldn't fathom the fact that her favorite pizza was getting a makeover in terms of shape. She thought it was plain weird though she forgot about it when it was time to taste it.  
I came across pide in all sizes and shapes over the web but a long canoe shaped one seems to be the popular one. The texture of the pide crust was soft, more like a bread. As in pizza, the toppings can change according to one's preference and I noticed that vegetables were added while baking and an egg went about 5 minutes before 
the final stages.
 
The toppings can be arranged leaving about 1/2 inch around the edges and then pides can be shaped. Pavani had suggested that shaping the pides after spreading the toppings would be easier and I tried following that method but I goofed up while shaping them. My daughter was going crazy chanting that she was hungry and I did not bother to look how it was shaped. I did not realize that I was supposed to just pinch the edges and somehow ended up overlapping the edges slightly over the toppings, resulting them to open up slightly instead of staying put, while baking. If the edges are pinched together not bringing the toppings in contact with it, the shape would retain. It doesn't mean that my pide ended up with another shape other than oval one or the toppings spill over. I would make the pides less wider next time and keep the rims thinner. My daughter didn't like the thick rim even though it had a soft, bread kind of texture and just left them out. I would also recommend making 3 instead of 2 pides for these measurements.

 Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1&1/3 cup wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 & 1/4 tsp. rapid rise yeast
2 tbsp. yogurt
2 tbsp. oil
3/4 to 1 cup water (I had to use about 1 cup + 3 tbsp. water.)
2 tbsp. milk (for brushing)
1 tbsp. seeds (Optional. Caraway, Sesame, Nigella or Mustard can be used. ) 
Toppings of your choice

Method:
* Combine all the ingredients except the milk and seeds, in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Start with about 3/4 cup water and add extra water as needed to form a soft, pliable dough. (Add water in small increments and I had to add almost 1 & 1/4 cup water.)
* Knead the dough for about 6 minutes on a stand mixer or about
10 - 12 minutes by hand.
 
* Transfer the dough to a large, lightly greased bowl, cover and leave aside in a warm place for about 1 to 1½ hours or until it doubles in volume. (During winter, I preheat the oven at the lowest setting and turn off the oven. I leave the dough in the warm oven.)
* Gently deflate the dough and then knead the dough slightly. Divide the dough into 2 balls and shape them into oval shapes. Pinch the edges to form a rim, almost bringing it to a canoe shaped one.
 
 
* Cover the loaves and set aside for another 20 minutes to rise a  little more. (I totally forgot to notice this step and somehow ended up rising them only for about 10 minutes.) 
* Preheat the oven to 450 deg F and place the pizza stone or a couple of greased baking sheets in the oven.
* Brush the loaves with milk and sprinkle with seeds if using. (I skipped this step.)
 
* Fill the inside with the choice of toppings and slide each pizza onto the hot baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. (I applied pizza sauce and topped them with low fat mozzarella cheese. My daughter wanted just olives and the husband wanted hot peppers and that's what they got.)
* Serve them hot.


Check the blogging marathon page to see what my fellow marathoners are cooking for BM#52.

Comments

Veggie Wednesday ~ Eggplant Pizza

Time sure flies by. It seems like yesterday when I finished the month long marathon based on global cuisine and it's time now for another month long marathon. For the uninitiated, we, a group of bloggers post a dozen 'theme' based recipes each month and do 'month' long blogging during April and September months. The blogging marathon event is the brainchild of Srivalli's and anyone interested to learn more / participate in the future events can check the link below for the details. This time the group chose to go with the 'baking' theme - 'Fire up your oven' and Valli decided not to impose any sub-themes to make the participants' lives easier. However bloggers are free to come up with their own themes for this event as long as they stick to baking.

And what an irony! It turns out that going with sub-themes is more stress free. I kept procrastinating until the last minute being not able to decide what to cook. Lists were made only to come up with a new one each day. And I was so fed up that I finally decided to bake some dishes that I thought my family would love and come up with themes based on those and it seemed to work somehow. I have yet to bake 1/3 of the dishes and hopefully I would be able to present the dishes in the way I have planned.

The first one in the series is going to be these eggplant pizzas. One idea that kept popping in my mind was 'flour-less baking' when I was planning for this event and around the same time I came across these on MSN website. A little google search enlightened me that the idea/ recipe has been in circulation for years or decades now. I prepared these keeping my husband in mind since he is an ardent fan of that vegetable while the rest at home are not so enthusiastic about it. It is a gluten-free and less guiltier option over the traditional flour based pizzas. They look cute as single serving appetizers or can go in a sandwich and are a treat for eggplant lovers. 

The original recipe mentions to use 1 inch thick eggplant slices but  I used 1/2 inch thick slices. To see how 1 inch ones work, I cut a couple of slices in that size too. And my recommendation is to go with less than 1/2 inch ones. I skipped spinach leaves as my husband is not fond of those and used a basil - oregano tomato sauce. The base is not going to be very crispy but can still hold the fillings and the sauce.

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, sliced a little thicker than 1/4 inch (I had about 14 slices and updating the info.)
1/2 - 1 tsp. salt to taste
8 oz. tomato sauce 
Mozzarella cheese as needed
14 - 15 grape tomatoes, sliced
Chili flakes (optional)

Method: (Details in the parenthesis are my recommendations.)
* Preheat oven to 425 deg F.
* Arrange the eggplant slices on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle salt over the slices and bake them for about 15 - 20 minutes. (Eggplant slices can be lightly brushed with olive oil before placing in the oven. Flip them halfway through baking.)
 
* Remove the baking sheet from the oven and turn on the broiler setting. Spread about a tsp of sauce over the eggplant slice and sprinkle cheese over it. Arrange the grape tomato slices evenly (and any other vegetables you want to use as toppings) over the cheese. Sprinkle chili flakes if using.
(If you feel the eggplant slices are not going to be cooked perfect, they can be baked until the cheese melts instead of broiling.)

* Broil for about 3 to 4 minutes. Keep an eye while broiling as they can burn pretty fast.
* Serve warm immediately, sprinkling some more red chili flakes if needed.

Check here to learn what other marathoners are cooking during this blogging marathon.

An InLinkz Link-up

Comments

V for Venezuela ~ Cachapas

 
Event: BM #44, Around the world (A - Z Series)  
Choice of Country: The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Capital City: Caracas
Official Language: Spanish 

I am moving to Venezuela today for the "Around the World in 30 days", an alphabetical based global culinary tour. It is a South American nation situated on the northern side of the continent and it's cuisine is influenced by it's indigenous people and the European ancestry. The cuisine is varied and greatly reflects the climatic contrasts and the diversity in culture among it's people. Food staples include corn, plantain, yams, rice, beans and meat. 

During my recipe hunt for this marathon, I realized that plantains, yuca and corn are an integral part of Latino cooking. And so I made it a point to cook three dishes based on these ingredients which were simple and kid-friendly - Yuca fries, patacones and these cachapas. Like baleadas, these pancakes were a super-hit with my  
daughter.
 

Cachapas are fresh corn pancakes topped with cheese and they are a popular street food in Venezuela. These traditional pancakes are made using fresh corn dough or wrapped in dry corn leaves and boiled. They are served at breakfast or as an appetizer at homes. The most common and simple variety is made by grinding fresh corn into a thick batter. These thick, lumpy pancakes are traditionally eaten with a soft cheese from Venezuela called Queso de Mano and occasionally with fried pork. Mozzarella or feta cheese can be substituted in absence of Queso de Mano. Cachapas may also include different kinds of cheese, cream or jam.
(Source:Wiki)

Ingredients: (makes 4)
2 cups corn kernels (I used frozen)
Salt to taste
3 tbsp masa harina (I substituted it with corn flour.)
Oil to make cachapas
1 cup Venezuelan cheese / shredded mozzarella cheese

Method:
* Grind corn kernels and salt to a thick, coarse paste in a food processor. Add masa harina / corn flour and pulse to incorporate.
* Heat a nonstick pan and pour a ladleful of batter. Don't spread but just using the back of the ladle, shape into a circle.

* Add 1/2 tsp of oil around the edges, cover and cook until golden brown spots appear on the bottom side. 

* Uncover the pan and carefully flip the cachapas without breaking.

* Cover and cook again until it turns golden brown on the other side too.
* Top with about 1/4 cup of cheese and cover until the cheese has melted.

 * Repeat the process with the remaining batter and serve immediately.
 
Comments

An InLinkz Link-up

Pizza Rolls

 

Here is one more yummy snack idea for the "Pizza" themed week of BM #43. I had used the dough that I posted on yesterday's post to prepare these yummy rolls which were a hit at home. Homemade or store bought pizza dough can be used. Even puff pastry sheet / bread dough can be substituted for the pizza dough. One can add their favorite toppings and seasonings. I am just giving the general directions below.

Ingredients:

Pizza dough

Pizza sauce

Mozzarella cheese

Any pizza seasonings (optional)

Cornmeal for dusting

Method:

* On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle, make dimples with your fingers and brush the surface with olive oil.

* Then spread pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and seasonings if

using. Roll it into a tight log.

 

(At this point I chilled  the log for about 20 minutes as my pizza dough was very soft and I had read somewhere that it would be easy to cut the rolls without them falling apart when chilled.)

* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Sprinkle cornmeal over the baking sheets.

* Cut the log into one inch slices and place on the cornmeal sprinkled sheet.

 

* Place them in the oven and bake until slightly browned or for about 15 - 20 minutes.

Comments

Veggie Pizza

I was contemplating to go with a dessert pizza for the final post until I realized that kids were least interested in the option and I would end up eating the whole pie by myself. And so I pulled back from the sweet version and stuck to one of the favorite pizzas at home - a vegetable based one. This hearty, filling pizza uses a whole wheat based crust but you can go with any crust of your choice. Also you can go with your choice of quick cooking vegetables for the toppings.

I was preferring a crispy crust and so first baked the crust for about 7 minutes and spread the sauce and toppings later and baked again for 17 minutes.

Ingredients:
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup luke warm water
1 & 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp olive oil  / canola oil / vegetable oil + extra for greasing
6 - 8 Tbsp pizza sauce
8 oz / 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Vegetables for topping - I used seeded & sliced capsicum, thinly sliced red onion, olives, diced zucchini, diced and sliced tomato

Method:
1. Preparation of pizza dough:
* Combine water, yeast, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir just until everything is dissolved. Cover and set aside the mixture for about 5 minutes at room temperature. The mixture would usually bubble and foamy by the time.
* Stir in both flours and the oil. Work dough back and forth with the heels of your hands on a floured work space. Knead until smooth and elastic for about 8-10 minutes. If the dough is dry while kneading, add extra water in 1 Tbsp increments. 
* Grease a bowl and place the dough in the prepared bowl. Turn the dough so that all sides are coated with oil. Cover and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

2. Assembling and Baking:
* Preheat the oven to 450 deg F.
* Grease a large baking sheet or a pizza tray.
* Punch down the dough and knead briefly. Place the dough on the baking sheet and dimple the dough with fingertips until its a flattened circle. Then pull and press it until it forms about 14 inch circle or 12 by 7 inch wide rectangle, of about 1/8 inch thickness. (I used half the dough here.)

* Spread the sauce evenly over the crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border at it's edge. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the sauce and top with vegetables. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper or red pepper flakes if desired.

* Bake until the cheese has melted and just started to brown, about 17 minutes. 
* Remove and transfer the pizza onto a wire rack to slightly cool before slicing it.

This is my Day 3 post under "Pizza" theme and check this page for other marathoners who are doing BM #35.

Comments