Perfect Your Pizza

Do you ever go to a local pizza place or buy a pizza at the store and wish you could recreate that same flavor, texture, and of course taste? Ever since I was little, I have been eating pizza from a local mom and pop shop called Dave’s Pizza. It’s nothing completely out of this world, but I think the thin crust, their special sauce, and the overall put together of the pizza is to-die-for. So, through the years I have been trying to perfect my own pizza pie making skills—finding the right base, the right sauce, and the right combo of flavors. After a few years, I am finally happy with my pizza technique! And the awesome thing about it is that it’s totally customizable and takes under 30 minutes to whip together. This is not gourmet, but it’s good nonetheless!

I could make my own dough, especially with my bread machine, or I could whip together a quick whole wheat crust by hand. I could even buy premade pizza dough, but I choose to use a unlikely candidate. Lavash bread—more specifically Joseph’s Lavash bread, and I use their pitas interchangeably for this recipe also.

Do you have these in your area?! I’m interested as to what areas don’t have them, because you are missing out on a AWESOME bread opportunity and should request them at your stores stat!

Now usually when using pita breads or flatbreads in pizza recipes, they can turn out a soggy mess instead of the pizza crust you were going for. This happened a few times to me, and besides being a mess to eat, it wasn’t like pizza at all. So, after a few tries of different techniques to getting the perfect flatbread pizza—I found it and couldn’t wait to share!

The key to prepping the crust is to pan fry is before adding toppings and baking. Using the dry heat method (turning your burner on high and letting the skillet completely heat), you need to place your pita or flatbread on the skillet and place a heavy spatula on top, flipping the bread about every thirty seconds until the desired crispiness is reached.

Once you’ve completed that step, since your skillet is already hot, you can add all your pizza toppings you are going to add and sauté them until caramelized. If adding spinach, wait until the last minute or so to throw it in.

Meanwhile, place pan-fried bread on a tinfoil lined cookie sheet and spread with the desired amount of sauce. Once toppings are finished sautéing, place those on next. If you’re adding some type of protein, this would come next followed by cheese! I then add some roasted tomatoes to add the the overall appeal. :-)

Bake in a 350 F preheated oven for about 10 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted. Take out, cut, and savor each bite! I can never get enough of this—the crust turns out fabulous with a hint of that “brick-oven” taste so many pizza places try to achieve. Check out how I made my latest pizza creation! 

 Garden Veggie & Crab Pizza

• Started by pan-frying my Lavash bread.

• Meanwhile, I chopped my veggies. This time I used fresh garden spinach, garden onion, and garden bell pepper(good ol’ grandpa is a fab farmer I tell ya!), mushrooms, zucchini, and canned stewed Italian tomatoes.

• Next, I spread the Lavash with pizza sauce while the veggies were sauteeing. Once they were done, I layered them next, then came the canned flaked crab meat(if you’re a seafood fan this is an amazing addition!), Italian blend of cheeses, and then some Italian stewed tomatoes to give it a real tomato kick! Once I sprinkled it with some fennel seeds, in the oven it goes!

• And then here is the finished result—this super satisfying pizza in less then 30 minutes. Plus it’s not expensive to make either! One pack of 4 Lavash’s runs about $2.08 give or take a little. I use 1/2 a Lavash per pizza :-)

What’s your favorite method for creating a priceless pizza?!

Let me know if you try my method—I’d love to hear what you think!