Windsor Pizza
My husband and I spent this past last weekend of summer in beautiful Chicago. The weather was perfect, the drinks nice and cold, the shopping great! The only thing that disappointed was the pizza. I’m sorry Chicagoans, pizza shouldn’t need to be consumed with a straw. And I don’t want to have to be wheeled out of a restaurant after one slice. I will pass on the deep dish pizza.
In case you were wondering about this diatribe, let me explain. I am a Windsorite. And the one thing all Windsorites have in common is the knowledge that our pizza is the best. New York, Chicago, even Italy- you have nothing on us. I am not exaggerating. Windsor pizza is actually the best. I challenge you- try a slice from a proper Windsor establishment end tell me I’m wrong. Won’t happen!
True Windsor pizza has several distinct characteristics.
#1 The Crust- Windsor pizza is a thin crust pizza with cornmeal dusted on the base.
#2 The Sauce- It has a bit of spice and is not too thick.
#3 The Cheese- Mozzarella, and not too much of it. You don’t want to overload a thin crust pizza. It should remain light. The specific type of Mozzarella matters. Great Windsor pizza places all source their cheese from a specific vendor- Galati’s. The best part- this store sells their cheese to anyone, meaning you can recreate great Windsor pizza at home!
#4 The Pepperoni- Windsor pizza has pepperoni thinly sliced/shredded into thin strips
#5 The toppings- Peppers and onions need to be pre-cooked to get rid of moisture. Again the toppings shouldn’t be overloaded. And for those of you from Ottawa, please put the toppings on top of the cheese. They are called toppings for a reason!
The result- perfection!
For those of you who do not live in the Windsor area, you can still enjoy great thin crust, Windsor-style pizza at home. Believe it or not, homemade pizza is a cinch to make. This pizza dough comes together in ten minutes and rises overnight in the fridge. The pizza itself is quick enough to serve for a weeknight meal. With a bit of pre-planning, you can have pizza for dinner in less time than delivery.
Windsor-Syle Pizza
Dough
1 ¾ – 2 cups (8 ¾ to 10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
½ tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
½ tsp honey
½ tsp table salt
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cup warm water (110 °F)
Pulse 1 ¾ cups of the flour, the yeast, honey, and salt in a food processor (fitted with a dough blade, if possible) until combined, about 5 pulses. With the machine running, pour the oil and then the water through the feed tube and process until the dough forms a ball, about 30 seconds. If after 30 seconds the dough is sticky and clings to the blade, add the remaining ¼ cup of flour 1 tbsp at a time. Turn the dough out onto a work surface.
Divide the dough in half and place each piece in a gallon-size, heavy duty ziplock bag and seal. Refrigerate overnight or up to 48 hours.
Pizza Sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tsp)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup of chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried oregano)
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Pulse the tomatoes in a food processor until smooth, about 5 pulses.
Heat the oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes; bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Season with oregano and salt and pepper to taste.
To Make the Pizza
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (preferably from Galati)
Pepperoni, chopped finely into 1/8 inch strips
One hour before baking the pizza, adjust an oven rack to the lowest position, set a pizza stone on the rack, and heat the oven to 500 degrees (or basically as hot as your oven will go).
On a skillet on the stove, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and peppers and cook for approximately 10 minutes, or until they are soft and have released most of the their moisture.
Remove the dough from the plastic bags. Set each piece in the center of a lightly floured large sheet of parchment paper. Cover each with two 18-inch lengths of plastic wrap, overlapping them in the center. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Setting one piece of dough aside, roll the other into a 14 inch round with an even thickness, using the tackiness of the dough against the parchment to help foll it. If the parchment wrinkles, flip the dough sandwich over and smooth the wrinkles with a metal bench scraper.
Peel the plastic wrap off the top of the rolled dough. Spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce to the edges of the dough. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese, pepperoni, onions and peppers.
Slip the dough with the parchment onto a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet (the back of a regular baking sheet will also do the trick!). Slide the pizza, parchment and all, onto the hot pizza stone. Bake until a deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven with a pizza peel or pull the parchment with the pizza onto a baking sheet/ Transfer the pizza to a cutting board. Cool for 2 minutes until crisp, cut into wedges and serve.
While the first pizza is baking, roll out and top the second pizza. Allow the baking stone to reheat for 15 minutes after baking the first pizza before adding the second pizza.