Spanish Pizza Recipes

Steps:

• Place oven rack in lower third of oven.
• Heat oven to 450F.
• In medium bowl, stir together flour, yeast and garlic salt.
• In measuring cup, combine water, olive oil and honey; stir to dissolve honey.
• Stir water mixture into flour mixture until ball forms.
• On floured surface (use about 1/4 cup flour), knead dough 3 to 4 minutes or until resilient and no longer sticky, working in flour from counter as necessary to prevent sticking.
• Cover dough with inverted mixing bowl; let stand 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, lightly grease 14-inch pizza pan; dust with cornmeal.
• On lightly floured surface, roll dough into 15-inch round (dough will shrink slightly when lifted).
• Place on pizza pan.
• Spread with sauce; top with bell pepper and onion.
• Bake 8 minutes.
• Sprinkle with cheese; top with chorizo and green olives.
• Bake an additional 4 to 6 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown around edges.
• Chorizo is a highly seasoned pork sausage; for this recipe, use the smoked links.
• Chorizo can be found in the meat department of the grocery store.
• If you can't find it, substitute any spicy or garlicky smoked sausage.

Steps:

• Brush pizza pan with melted butter or oil.
• Make crust: Combine yeast, sugar and 1 /14 cups flour in large bowl.
• Add warm water and oil.
• Beat with electric beaters for 3 minutes.
• Stir in as much remaining flour as you can.
• Knead dough on lightly-floured surface until smooth in elastic.
• Place in a greased bowl; cover and leave in warm place to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled.
• Make topping: Rinse spinach; do not pat dry. Cut into shreds.
• Place into saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Drain and cool. Squeeze out excess moisture.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Heat oil in medium saucepan, add garlic and onion. Cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and pepper; simmer gently for 5 minutes. Drain.
• Punch down dough and knead on lightly-floured surface for 2-3 minutes.
• Roll or pat dough onto prepared pan.
• Spread dough with spinach. Top with tomato mixture; sprinkle with olives.
• Bake 25-30 minutes.
• Cut into small squares. Serve warm or cold.

Steps:

• Make the base: Put the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well, pour in 200ml warm water and the olive oil and bring together with a wooden spoon until you have a soft, fairly wet dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 mins until smooth. Cover with a tea towel and set aside. You can leave the dough to rise if you like, but it's not essential for a thin crust.
• Make the sauce: Mix the passata, basil and crushed garlic together, then season to taste. Leave to stand at room temperature while you get on with shaping the base.
• Roll out the dough: if you've let the dough rise, give it a quick knead, then split into two balls. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into large rounds, about 25cm across, using a rolling pin. The dough needs to be very thin as it will rise in the oven. Lift the rounds onto two floured baking sheets.
• Top and bake: heat the oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 8. Put another baking sheet or an upturned baking tray in the oven on the top shelf. Smooth sauce over bases with the back of a spoon. Scatter with cheese and tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil and season. Put one pizza, still on its baking sheet, on top of the preheated sheet or tray. Bake for 8-10 mins until crisp. Serve with a little more olive oil, and basil leaves if using. Repeat step for remaining pizza.

Steps:

• Make the dough a day or two before you want to bake; the recipe makes enough for three pies. Combine the flour and salt in your largest mixing bowl. In another mixing bowl, combine the water, butter, olive oil and yeast. Mix well.
• Use a rubber spatula to create a well in the center on the flour mixture, and add to it the liquid from the other bowl, stirring with the spatula and scraping down the sides of the bowl to bring everything together. Mix it all together until it is a large, shaggy ball of wet dough, cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
• Uncover the dough and, with floured hands, knead it until it is uniformly smooth and sticky, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Move the dough ball into a clean mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 3 to 5 hours at room temperature, then refrigerate, at least 6 hours and up to 24.
• The morning you want to make the pizzas, remove the dough from the refrigerator, divide into 3 chunks of equal size (about 600 grams each) and shape them into oblong balls. Use olive oil to grease three 10-inch cast-iron skillets, 8-inch-by-10-inch baking pans with high sides, 7-inch-by-11-inch glass baking dishes or some combination thereof, and place the balls into them. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature, 3 to 5 hours.
• Make the sauce. Place a saucepan over medium-low heat, and add to it 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, until it is golden and aromatic, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and a pinch of chile flakes, and raise the heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is glossy and just beginning to caramelize.
• Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil, then lower heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Take sauce off the heat, and stir in the honey and salt, to taste, then blend in an immersion blender or allow to cool and use a regular blender. (The sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator or freezer. It makes enough for 6 or so pies.)
• After 3 hours or so the dough will have almost doubled in size. Stretch the dough very gently to the sides of the pans, dimpling it softly with your fingers. The dough can then be left to rest for another 2 to 8 hours, covered with wrap.
• Make the pizzas. Heat oven to 450. Gently pull the dough to the edges of the pans if it hasn't risen to the edges already. Use a spoon or ladle to put 4 to 5 tablespoons of sauce onto the dough, gently covering it entirely. Sprinkle the low-moisture mozzarella onto the pies, then dot them with the fresh mozzarella and the pepperoni to taste. Sprinkle with the oregano and lash with a little olive oil.
• Place the pizzas onto the middle rack of the oven on a large baking sheet or sheets to capture spills, then cook for 15 minutes or so. Use an offset spatula to lift the pizza and check the bottoms. The pizza is done when the crust is golden and the cheese is melted and starting to brown on top, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.