PIZZARAP! (Sequential Writing)

We, Filipinos are certified food lovers. One of our favorite past time is eating, especially when we are bored are we feel so much stressed. We love to eat whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner time. Even eating snacks during midnight and merienda in the afternoon is one of our hobbies.

There are range numbers of various ethnic groups in the Philippines that have a very exceptional food that anybody can truly enjoy. There are foreign countries and people who influenced us their cuisine like the Chinese people who introduced to us the noodles and lumpia and  Spanish colonizers introduced here in the Philippines varied flavors and ingredients. In addition, other global influences such as Japanese, Thai, French and Italian became part of our Filipino foods. One of the Italian influences is the Pizza.

Pizza is a flatbread generally topped with tomato sauce and cheese and baked in an oven. It is commonly topped with a selection of meats, vegetables and condiments. It has been said that Pizza was originated from Naples, Italy and the dish and its variants have become popular in many areas of the world including Philippines.

A slice of pizza indeed has lots of calories but we cannot deny the fact that we love Pizzas especially every time we feel tired and stressed out, we usually crave for one. Pizza can be bought to different stores but the most popular is the Greenwich. We can also make pizzas at home.

Making pizzas at home is both easy and fun. It also fits in well with busy schedules since the dough can be prepared ahead of time and many toppings only take a few minutes to prepare. Most children love to eat pizza; they will also enjoy helping to knead the dough and sprinkling it with cheese and herbs for the toppings.

Now, here are the ingredients and the procedure on how to make pizza dough.

Serves: 2-4

Preparation: 20 minutes

Rising time: 1hr and 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 oz (30 g) fresh yeast or 2 (1/4-oz/7 –g) packages active dry yeast

About 2/3 cup (150 ml) warm water

3 cups (450 g) all-purpose (plain) flour

½ teaspoon salt

Procedure:

·         First, place the fresh or active dry yeast in a small bowl and add half the warm water.

·         Second, stir gently until the yeast has dissolved. Then set it aside for 15 minutes.

·         Third, place the flour and salt in a large bowl.

·         Fourth, pour in the yeast mixture and most of the remaining water and stir well.

·         Fifth, place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead gently and with the lightest possible touch until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Then, shape into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl. After that, set it aside to rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

1.       Now, to shape the pizza with a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a disk of the desired thickness. To finish, use your fingertips to make a rim around the edge of the pizza so that the topping won’t drip out during cooking. Transfer the dough to a pizza pan or oiled baking sheet.

2.       However, if you want to shape the pizza by hand, place the dough in the oiled pizza pan and push it outward with your fingertips, spreading it to fit the pan.

3.       Then, when the pizza dough has been shaped and is in the pizza pan or on the baking sheet, set it aside for 10 minutes before adding the topping. This will give the dough time to regain some volume and will make the crust lighter and more appetizing.

4.       Lastly, to make calzones, proceed as for pizza, giving the dough a round shape. Place the topping on one half of the dough only. Leaving a 1-inch (2-5 cm) border around the edge. Fold the other half over the filling and press the edges together with your fingertips to seal.

Thickness of the dough:

Some people like thick, doughty pizza crusts while others prefer them to be thin and crisp. In Italy, the thick, bread-like crusts are typical of pizzas made in Sicily and the south. Further north, crusts are thinner. Some pizzerias in Florence serve pizzas with such thin crusts that if you roll the topping up in them it is more like eating a crepe than a pizza. Try several thicknesses, and decide which one you and your family prefer.