St. Louis Pizza
St. Louis pizza is a regional specialty with baking powder used as leavening and a cheese topping made with a unique processed variety. My crew did another prep based on the King Arthur Flour recipe last night and I realized there were enough variations I better post my own version. Makes 2 pizzas to serve about 4-6.
Ingredients:
2 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
½ t Kosher salt
½ c or more water
3 T olive oil
2/3 c pizza sauce or marinara sauce for topping (add in a little tomato paste if you like)
2 c grated Provel® OR 1 c grated sharp white cheddar/½ c grated swiss/ ½ c grated smoked provolone OR 1 c grated sharp white cheddar/½ c grated swiss/ ½ c grated provolone/1 t Liquid Smoke
Pepperoni (optional)
Dried oregano
Method: mix dry ingredients thoroughly; add water and olive oil and knead with your hands for a couple of minutes until it forms a smooth ball. Add a little more water if necessary to absorb all the flour. Let rest a few minutes, then divide and roll out on a silicone baking pad (if you don’t have a Silpat, use parchment paper) to approximately 6” x 9 “ and 1/8” thick (very, very thin). Use a dull knife to trim the edges and move the trimmings around so the shape ends up a rectangle.
Top each pizza with 1/3 c sauce and 1 c grated cheese; add slices of pepperoni if you like and finish with a dusting of dried oregano. Move to a half-sheet pan or cookie sheet and bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 25 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the edges of the crust are brown. (It would probably be a good idea to preheat the sheet pans, but I didn’t do this so can’t confirm the results.)
Cut the pizza with scissors into squares for serving in order to create, per the slogan of originator Imo’s, “the square beyond compare.” Thanks to the Dybala Srs. for smuggling the Provel® onto the plane to make this possible.
