80's Puck Pizzza
from wolfgang puck cookbook: : Recipes From Spago, Chinois, And Points East And West
each recipe makes 4 pizzas
INGREDIENTS
For the pizza dough
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup cool water
1 package fresh or dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
butter
For the Pizza With Smoked Salmon + Golden Caviar
pizza dough, divided into 4 equal pieces
3 to 4 oz sliced smoked salmon
tbsp minced chives
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 tbsp sour cream or crème fraîche
4 heaping tbsp golden caviar, we like caviar from Caviair
1 heaping tsp black caviar, we like caviar from Caviair
For the Spicy Chicken Pizza
pizza dough, divided into 4 equal pieces
2 to 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 chicken, skinned and boned, cut into finger-size "stripes"
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch "stripes"
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus a little additional for garnish
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp olive oil or chili oil
1 cup grated Fontina cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella or sliced fresh mozzarella
1/2 cup sliced scallions
DIRECTIONS
Place the flour in a food processor. Combine the salt, honey, olive oil, and the 3/4 cup cool water in a small bowl or measuring cup. Mix well. Dissolve the yeast in the 1/3 cup warm water and let proof for ten minutes. With the motor running, slowly pour the salt and honey liquid through the feed tube. Then pour in the dissolved yeast. Process until the dough forms a ball on the blade. If it is sticky, add sprinklings of flour. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth. Place in a buttered bowl and allow the dough to rest, covered, for thirty minutes. Divide the dough into four equal parts. Roll each piece into a smooth, tight ball Place on a flat sheet or dish, cover with a damp towel and refrigerate. One hour before baking, remove the dough the the refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Lightly flour a work surface. using the fleshy part of your fingertips, flatten each ball of dough into a circle, about six inches in diameter, making the outer edge thicker than the center. Turn the dough over and repeat. Lift the dough from the work surface and gently stretch the edges, working clockwise to form a seven to eight inch circle. Repeat with the other three pieces. Place the circles onto a wooden pee or on baking sheets. Notes: to make the dough in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, place the flour in the bowl and add the ingredients in the same order as when using a food processor. Knead the dough in the machine until it forms a smooth ball. Place the dough into a buttered bowl and allow it to rest, covered for thirty minutes. To prepare by hand, place the flour on a work surface and make a well in the center. Add the wet ingredients and proofed yeast. Slowly incorporate the flour into the wet ingredients working from the center outward. When a dough forms, knead it on a floured surface until smooth. Place in a buttered bowl and allow the dough to rest, covered, for thirty minutes. You can also roll out the pizzas with a rolling pin, then inch up the edges with your fingers to form a little ridge. Before you are ready to bake the pizzas, preheat the oven with pizza stones inside of it to 500 degrees for thirty minutes.
For the Pizza With Smoked Salmon + Caviar, knead two teaspoons of the minced chives into the pizza dough. Roll or stretch the dough into four eight-inch circles. Place the pizzas on the lightly floured wooden peel. Brush the centers of the circles to within one inch of the edge with olive oil. Slide the pizza crusts onto the stone and bake eight to ten minutes. When they are golden brown, transfer them from the oven to a serving plate. Spread with the sour cream or crème fraîche. Arranges slices of salmon decoratively over the cream. Place a spoonful of golden caviar in the center of each pizza, then spoon a little of the black caviar into the center of the golden caviar. Sprinkle the salmon with the remaining chives.
For the Spicy Chicken Pizza, heat a large sauté pan and add half the olive oil. Add the chicken, jalapeño, shiitake and bell pepper and sauté over high heat, adding more oil as needed, until the chicken is a little pink inside. (it will cook more in the oven). Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cilantro. Pout off any excess oil and set aside to cool. Roll or stretch the dough, a quarter at a time, into a seven to eight inch circle and place on a lightly floured wooden peel. For each pizza, brush the dough with olive or chili oil, then top it with a quarter of each of the cheeses. Arrange a quarter of the cooled chicken mixture over the top, and top it with a quarter of the scallions. Assemble the three remaining pizzas in the same way. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone and bake for ten to twelves minutes, or until the cheese is dancing. Garnish with more cilantro.
