Translate

Friday, August 27, 2010

Let Them Eat Bread






Pissaladiere Recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated.

My favorite food is pizza, flat bread covered with different ingredients and cooked quickly.
This recipe for Pissaladiere, a French version of pizza, without tomatoes, is my second choice. You can add anything else, actually.  My second picture shows one with grilled vegetables, including tomatoes.

The crust comes out crisp on the outside, but chewy on the inside.

Ingredients for Dough:
2C bread  or multi-purpose flour plus extra for dusting work surface
1envelope of instant yeast
1teaspoon of salt
1 Tablespoon of olive oil, plus additional oil for brushing dough and greasing hands
1Cup of warm water

Ingredients for Caramelized Onions

2 T olive oil
2 pounds of yellow and red onions, sliced
1/2 t. of salt
1 t brown sugar

Cook your onions at high heat, with salt and sugar, stirring frequently, until browned. Lower the heat, cover, add a tablespoon of water if needed, and continue heating for another ten minutes. Cool.

Soften the yeast in a cup of warm water and wait for ten minutes, until the yeast has had a chance to form bubbles.  In a big bowl, pour the flour and make a dent in the middle. Pour the water with yeast, a bit at a time, stirring the flour until all incorporated and still soft and sticky.  Remove the dough to a bread board and fold it into itself a couple of times, enough so the dough is smooth.  Wash the bowl with hot water. Dry it. Drop a tablespoon of olive oil and rub it on the bottom. Rub your hands with olive oil and pick up the dough. Fold it in the oil, cover it with a towel, and let it rest in a dry, warm place for one-two hours until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 500F while you cook the onions.

If you have a pizza stone, you'll be cooking directly on the stone:
On a pizza paddle, lay down parchment paper. Over the paper, spread half the dough, pulling it gently.  Brush it with olive oil. Lay the caramelized onions all over the dough.  The other half, you can save for another day, or try it out with different ingredients.

Slide the parchment paper and pissaladiere directly on the hot stone and cook for 13-15 minutes or until the bottom is golden.

If you do not have a pizza stone, lay your pissaladiere on a flat sheet brushed with oil and bake on the lowest rack in your hot oven.

Enjoy!

10 comments:

  1. I know, who wants to heat up the kitchen in summer? Fire up the bbq, set a tile in the middle and wait until the tile is hot and the temperature reaches close to 425F. Proceed and enjoy.

    While the pissaladiere is cooking, slice some vegetables and serve them as antipasto with a small container of olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip them in.

    If any leftovers, they are good cold too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Both look sooo good, but I think I'll put the second one on my "must try" list. Thanks for the great ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds totally delicious and easy. I love onions done like this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. how yummy is this!!! love love love flatbread anything! thanks so much for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. A pizza stone! Sounds absolutely amazing.. love your food blog :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello,ladies, thanks for the visit.
    A hint to all of you who love pizza: mix your dough, and use only three quarters. The other quarter, keep in the refrigerator. I use a big jar, and leave the lid slightly unscrewed. When ready to make another batch, pull the refrigerated version, add more flour and water, and proceed. This is your starter for all pizzas and flat breads from now on. With time, this starter will become tastier and tastier, collecting yeast from your kitchen air, and will taste like the food that grow around you. Carmen, your pizza will become more and more like the sourdough you can find in San Francisco.

    As for the stone, purchase a big unglased tile, oil it and it will serve you just as well, at a fraction of the cost.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That sounds gorgeous, and quite easy. Thanks for the inspiration :)

    ReplyDelete