Pizza has become a popular comfort food for people sticking close to home due to COVID-19.
For many pizza restaurants, like Famous Peppers in P.E.I., pizza orders shifted significantly to online ordering sales from the more traditional phone-in or walk-in sales, says David Mitchell, who helps with the day-to-day operations at the Famous Peppers family of restaurants.
“Our foot traffic in the restaurant has decreased significantly, but the community has really supported us throughout with contactless delivery orders and curbside pickups,” he says.
Pizza places, like other restaurants, have had to rethink the way they do business and have come up with some creative ideas on how to keep the public well-supplied with pizza.
For example, Famous Peppers partnered with Copper Bottom Brewing in Montague to sell some U-bake (already cooked and frozen) options out of its online store, which Mitchell says has been a great way for people to enjoy Famous Peppers pizzas in the comfort of their own homes.
Jamie Toulany from the House of Dough in New Minas, N.S. has been preparing make-your-own pizza kits to sell to customers that include dough, cheese, and pizza sauce. He says it’s been a great seller and is still available.
Starts with the dough
When making your own pizza at home, Mitchell says it really comes down to dough, sauce and mozzarella cheese.
“If you can master these three parts of your pizza, as well as throwing on some of your favourite toppings, the outcome will be delicious,” he says.
Bob Arniel, a Canadian certified chef and owner and operator of Chef To Go in St. John’s, N.L. says you can’t go wrong starting with the original famous Italian Neapolitan Pizza. It has fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil and mozzarella cheese on a thin, crisp crust. This is the gold standard for pizza, he says.
A good pizza starts with the dough, and for the best results, you need to make your own. Arniel suggests making a yeast dough, so a strong bread flour, high on gluten, works best. For some recipes, he adds, all-purpose flour will work.
Jenny Osburn, from Burlington, N.S., likes to use an incredibly easy and fast no-knead dough and greases the pan with plenty of olive oil.
“My best advice is to let the dough rest a while if it is resisting your efforts to spread it out. It will relax after a few minutes, making your job so much easier,” says Osburn, who is the author of two cookbooks, the Union Street Café cookbook and the Kitchen Party Cookbook.
If looking for a gluten-free option, Osburn suggests using Valley Kitchen’s all-purpose blend.
“Unlike other gluten-free crusts, which have to be pressed thin, you can make a chewy, thick crust with it if that’s what you like. And it’s locally milled,” she adds.
Another tip is to increase the hydration in the dough by making it with more water, so you end up with a dough that is quite sticky. This type of dough isn’t rolled out; rather it’s put into a well-oiled pan and is pressed to fill its receptacle, explains Ilona Daniel, a chef instructor at The Culinary Institute of Canada in P.E.I.
With a good foundation, fresh, good quality ingredients are essential, says Arniel. Sometimes, he says, less is more.
“A cheese layer that is an inch thick is unpleasant; opt instead for a small amount of fresh mozzarella instead. You will be amazed how the adage, quality over quantity really sings true,” says Daniel.
Unique toppings
Mitchell says Famous Peppers has many interesting toppings for a number of their pizzas. The taco pizza, for example, is topped with Doritos to give the pizza an extra flavourful crunch. Or, try a pizza topped with crunchy dill pickles. And since they are in P.E.I., Famous Peppers also serves a couple different pizzas with freshly sliced, oven roasted potato slices.
Pizza is a great way to introduce new flavours to kids, and yourself, adds Osburn. Over the years she ran the Union Street Café in Berwick, N.S., she tried pizzas with a variety of seasonal tastes like roasted squash and pear, broccoli raab, fiddleheads and fresh basil.
“The familiar package of a crispy crust with melty cheese can help turn an unfamiliar food into a new favourite,” she says.
Now cooking in lunchrooms around the Annapolis Valley, helping to create healthier meals in schools, Osburn has seen a lot of brave kids get to love new tastes by introducing them on pizza.
This time of year, Osburn suggests trying lightly cooked asparagus, fiddleheads, beet or dandelion greens or even stinging nettles, along with caramelized onions and salty feta cheese or crumbled sausage.
“Try making one half of the pizza fairly tame, like with tomato sauce, pepperoni, sweet peppers, and the other a bit wild. It’s nearly as easy to make two or three different pizzas as it is to make one, so everyone gets what they like but can experiment, too,” she suggests.
Once your pizza is out of the oven, try topping it with fresh, lightly dressed salad greens or chopped ripe tomatoes, says Osburn, for a wonderful contrast in temperature and texture.
Daniel also suggests adding fresh herbs on to pizza.
“I give a generous smattering of fresh herbs when the pizza is finished cooking; it adds such a bright dimension to the pizza,” says Daniel.
“In Nova Scotia we love dipping pizza in donair sauce,” says Osburn.
But, another way to add that irresistible sweetness is with a drizzle of honey, maybe spiced up with some chili flakes. Or, Daniel suggests drizzling cooked pizza with honey that has been fermented with garlic.
“This is a game changer,” she says.
Cook it hot
When it comes to cooking your pizza, Arniel says a hot oven and pizza stone or steel is critical. Wood fired pizza ovens can range from 700 - 900F, so don’t be afraid to have your oven as hot as it will go, he says.
Osburn agrees, saying she sets her oven to 500 degrees and opens some windows.
“Some of the best pizza is baked on a sheet pan in a screaming hot oven. It only takes 10 minutes to bake, and I set off the smoke alarm once in a while,” she says.
Instead of cooking pizza solely in the oven, try a different method. Pellet-burning outdoor pizza ovens can now be purchased, or you can try building your own backyard pizza oven.
Paul Hutten, from Kentville, N.S., says anyone who wants a wood-fired oven but are slightly less ambitious can hack their own barbecue by placing in a stick of firewood next to six bricks. The bricks can take much more heat than a pizza stone, and pizzas can be cooked right on top of clean bricks.
Another fun type of pizza to experiment with is a dessert pizza. Mitchell suggests topping dessert pizzas using local fresh fruits and berries. Or, try a play on Famous Peppers’ s'mores pizza: smear Nutella on top of a homemade cookie and top it with marshmallows, homemade caramel and chocolate sauces.
RECIPES
Jenny O's Pizza Dough
This dough is forgiving: let it rise 30 minutes or 2 hours or even overnight in the fridge. It doesn't care. It just wants to make life easy for you.
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon yeast
2 cups white or whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (ish) olive or other vegetable oil
In large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water. Stir in the flour and salt with a wooden spoon. When the going gets tough, switch to your hands and combine until smooth. Cover with a towel and leave to rise until you're ready for it. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment if you have it and pour the oil into the centre of the pan. Plop your dough on that and use your fingers to squish and spread. When it resists, let it rest for a few minutes and try again. Continue until the dough meets the edges of the pan. You're now ready to top and bake!
Dandelion and Feta Pizza
This pizza features a quickly made batch of caramelized onions in place of the more traditional sauce. The sweetness of the onions is really delicious with the sharp greens!
1 prepared pizza crust, as above
2 large handfuls dandelion, stinging nettle, or other greens, washed well
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese or cooked crumbled sausage
1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and throw in the greens. After a minute, drain them well, squeeze out excess water, and chop roughly. Heat a pan over medium heat and add the oil, onions, and salt. Cover and cook for a few minutes, then uncover and cook, stirring often, until tender and browned, about ten more minutes. Add the garlic and remove from the heat. Spread the onions over your pizza crust, and do your best to distribute the chopped greens evenly over top. Sprinkle with the mozzarella. Bake 10-12 minutes, until bubbling and browned.
