Garlic Smelts, Fresh Basil and Mushroom Pizza

     

     A nice aromatic gourmet pizza that features lake smelts!

     

     Pizza Dough Recipe:  

     If you have dough making experience, then this will be easy.  
     High gluten flour is best for this recipe, but bread flour can be used.  Pizza dough is focaccia dough or Italian bagette style bread dough.  No oil in the mixture will produce a dough that is like many Italian breads that are not enriched with fat or French baguette bread dough.  Many pizzeria chefs do not add oil to a pizza dough and that is correct pizza dough too.  
     Focaccia style doughs require enrichment with fat.  Olive oil is a fat!  Oil strengthens and elongates the gluten strands of the dough.  It only takes a very small amount of oil to produce a nice texture.  The elastic gluten strands give pizza dough the ability to be stretched and tossed in the air!
     Add 2 tablespoon of fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon of dry yeast to 16 ounces of tepid luke warm water in a mixing bowl.
     Place the mixing bowl in a luke warm place like on top of a warm oven.
     When the yeast activates, add 2 teaspoons of sugar to proof the yeast.
     Add about 2 cups of flour.
     Add 2 teaspoons of sea salt.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.
     Stir the mixture with a spoon, till a very loose wet dough is formed.
     Start adding a little bit of flour at a time,while stirring, till a loose dough is formed.
     Add a little more flour at a time, while mixing with your fingers, till the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
     You will be able to feel when the dough is starting to get elastic.  It will stick to your hands when made correctly, but that will change after rising twice.
     Add flour, while hand mixing, till the dough can pull away from the sides of the bowl.
     Cover the dough in the mixing bowl with a dry towel.
     Set the bowl on top of an oven in a luke warm area, with a second towel underneath the bowl to protect the dough from too much heat.
     When the dough rises more than double, beat it down with your knuckles and gather the dough like a ball in the bowl.
     Cover the dough with a towel and let it rise again.
     When it rises the second time, beat the dough down and knead firmly with your hands for 1 minute.
     Place the dough on a floured counter top.
     Roll the dough into a large ball.
     Cut the dough ball in half for two medium size pizzas portions or into four portions for mini pizzas.
     Roll and tuck each dough portion with with your hands to make smooth dough balls.
     You can cover and refrigerate each dough ball for a few days or freeze the dough portions for later use.

   
     Pizza Sauce Recipe: 
     Place 1/2 cups of imported Italian canned crushed tomatoes into a mixing bowl. 

     Add 2 ounces of olive oil.

     Add 3 cloves of minced garlic.

     Add 2 pinches of oregano.

     Add sea salt and black pepper. 

     Stir the pizza sauce ingredients together.  (Do not heat or cook a pizza sauce!  Classic Italian pizza sauce is a cold mixture.)

   
     Garlic Smelts Recipe: 
     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.

     Add 1 splash of olive oil.

     Add 4 cloves of minced garlic.

     Saute till the garlic just starts to turn a golden color. 

     Season 6 smelts with sea salt and white pepper.

     Add the smelts to the pan.

     Saute the smelts, till they become fully cooked.  (This only takes about 2 minutes.) 

     Set the garlic smelts aside.  

     
     Garlic Smelts, Fresh Basil and Mushroom Pizza: 
     Flour a counter top.

     Place a mini pizza size dough portion on the floured counter top.   

     Pat the dough out by hand with your finger tips, till it becomes a flat pizza shape.  

     Lightly brush a pizza pan with olive oil.  

     Place the pizza shaped dough on the pan.  

     Pat the pizza out again if necessary. 

     Brush the pizza dough with olive oil.

     Par bake the pizza crust in a 450 degree oven.

     Bake the dough so that it is only partially cooked and so it is white colored.  The pizza crust should have rise and it should be firm.  (The pizza crust is only one third cooked at this point.)

     Remove the pizza pan from the oven and set it on a stove top.
     Spoon some of the pizza sauce onto the middle of the partially baked pizza crust.
     Use a ladle or a spoon to spread the pizza sauce outwards from the center of the pizza.  Be sure to place no sauce on the edge of the pizza where the crust will form.
     Sprinkle a little bit of grated parmesan cheese on the sauce.
     Sprinkle a little bit of grated mozzarella cheese on the pizza.
     Sprinkle a little bit of grated asiago cheese on the pizza.
     Sprinkle a little bit of grated provolone cheese on the pizza.
     Sprinkle a little bit of grated romano cheese on the pizza.
     Place some fresh whole basil leaves on the pizza.
     Place some thin sliced mushrooms on the pizza.
     Arrange the garlic smelts on the pizza.
     Place long thin pimiento strips between the smelts.
     Drizzle a little bit of virgin olive oil over the pizza.
     Sprinkle a tiny amount more of mozzarella cheese over the pizza toppings.
     Return the pizza to the oven to finish baking.
     The pizza is done when the crust is golden and the cheese is just starting to turn a golden brown color.
     Remove the pizza from the oven.
     Slide the pizza onto a cutting board.
     Cut the pizza into 4 pie shaped slices.
     Place the sliced pizza onto a plate.
   
     This simple pizza can be made in just a couple of hours.  If the dough is made ahead of time, then it only takes 25 minutes to make this pizza.  Smelts have a delicate clean whitefish flavor.  The garlic and basil aroma of this pizza is very aromatic!  The 5 cheese mixture adds plenty of nice flavor.
     I like nice gourmet pizzas!  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna