It has been a month since my last post, and I apologize. Ever since I moved back to London for the final term of my program, it has been rather busy. I have something kind of fun to share though!
Today, I did a microteaching session for my Information Literacy class where we were required to teach "something" to a group of 3-4 MLIS/PhD LIS students for 20 minutes. Since we had the option of doing something creative rather than what would be considered academic, I tried to come up with a topic that I was passionate about, but could only come up with something to do with music or badminton. P, listening to my flurry of confusion over the phone, said something along the lines of, "well, you like food..." to which I replied, "I do like food..."
The end result? I taught the class about the different components to a good pizza! I had a lot of fun with it, especially considering how I got to make pizza~
I made 3 different pizzas - one made with regular wheat flour and yeast, one with wheat flour and baking powder, and one with gluten-free flour (therefore xanthan gum as well) and yeast!
All 3 were baked at the same temperature (450 F) for 15 minutes. I decided on a classic margherita, because well, it's one of my favourites. A margherita pizza is essentially made up of a pizza dough, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil. Delicious. Also, just a few days ago, I purchased my first plants ever, which included a basil plant!
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| Hazel (the basil) and Phil (the dill), my new roommates. |
What I have learned today about pizza:
- A good pizza is actually really easy to make! All it takes is flour, yeast, olive oil, salt, and then your choice of toppings!
- The taste and texture is substantially better if you leave the dough to rise overnight in the fridge as opposed to just baking it after 1 1/2-2 hours of rising.
- To give your pizza crust some real oomph, you can knead in some herbs like oregano! (I actually didn't learn this today - I learned it from my roommate, Kaitlyn who lived with me for the past 2/3 of my school year!)
- Fresh basil is the way to go. Dried basil is okay, but if you have fresh basil, it makes a huuuge difference!
- While pizza dough can be made with gluten-free substitutes, and you can kind of make it with leavening agents other than yeast, it just isn't the same...
- The yeast in bread products isn't what gives it the air pockets! It's the agitation done either through mixing or kneading. By doing either of these things, you are incorporating air and creating gluten, making the dough more elastic and flexible, and making more space for it to expand!
- It's not just in grade school. Pizza tastes good cold or hot!
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| This was what the "dough" from the gluten-free pizza looked like. Really, it was more like a batter than anything. In order to form the shape, I had to wet my hands with water and pat and spread it. It resembled something like hummus, especially when I drizzled olive oil over top...perhaps it could have turned out better if I had more experience with gluten-free baking/cooking... |
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| The gluten-free pizza. Made with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour, yeast, eggs, salt, and olive oil. Taste was okay, but moreso because of the toppings. The dough was kind of cakey - not ideal for a pizza crust. It seemed that it just never crisped up. |
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| The baking powder pizza dough. This took a lot of molding. Since there was still gluten in the dough, you could sort of knead it, but it broke kind of easily, and just didn't feel as nice in your hands (or mouth) :( |
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| The baking powder pizza. Doesn't look so bad after baking. Taste? Eh...edible, but not the same... |
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| The dough for the regular pizza. This was the funnest to work with because it was the real deal! I wasn't daring enough to throw it in the air and catch it while shaping it into a flat circle...maybe another day? |
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| The best for last! A real, classic margherita pizza. Mmm...perfection (or at least pretty close). |
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| The best part about making 3 pizzas to teach a lesson is that you have to test all 3 pizzas. Score. Can you tell which one is which? :P |
In case you're interested, below are the accompanying slides from my microteaching session, (although they don't have as much content as my actual presentation did, because I tend to explain things a bit more myself and just use the PowerPoint as a visual).
And last but not least, the recipe...
A Good, Old, Classic Margherita Pizza (adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction)
*Makes ~4 personal-sized pizzas*
1 package quick rising yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (plus extra for kneading, rising, and drizzling on top)
1 tsp sea salt
Tomato sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh basil leaves
1. Preheat your oven to 450 F, and line a 6-8 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
2. Meanwhile, add yeast, warm water, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved, and cover with plastic wrap. Leave for 10-15 minutes or until foamy.
3. Stir yeast mixture a bit, then add flour, olive oil, and sea salt, stirring until combined.
4. Lightly oil your hands, and knead the dough for about 7-8 minutes until you can form a smooth, round ball.
5. Lightly oil the inside of the mixing bowl, place the dough ball in the center, and cover with plastic wrap. Leave for at least 1 1/2 hours in a warm place until doubled in size. (It's better to leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. Believe me.)
6. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Take one piece and gently stretch and shape it into a circle to fit your cake pan. Drizzle the top with olive oil, and brush to coat evenly.
7. Add tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and basil to your liking.
8. Bake for 15 minutes until the crust is browned and a bit crispy.
9. Remove from oven, slice, and enjoy immediately.
**You can choose to bake the other 3 right away, but they freeze very well. Simply wrap each piece in plastic wrap and stick in the freezer for up to 1 month. To thaw, leave in the fridge overnight until pliable, and continue from the second part of step 6.
Buon Appetito!
-M
