Yields 2 1/2 Pounds
The dough at Howie's Artisan Pizza is a 24-pre-fermented starter called a 'poolish.' The dough then rests another 24 hours before baking. In all, it's a complicated process which might be a bit out of a reach for the household cook. The following recipe is a good all purpose recipe for home use.
The dough is a bit sticky, which makes kneading by hand a little tricky. Howard suggests using a stationary mixer fitted with a dough hook to prepare the dough. The addition of sugar is to enhance browning in a home oven. Normally, he prefers dough made without the added sweetness of sugar.
Ingredients:
- 23 ounces bread flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 3/4 cups water, room temperature
- Place the water and the flour into the mixer bowl.
- Work on a slow speed for 1 minute.
- Allow water and flour to rest in the bowl for thirty minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Work slowly for 1 minute to bring ingredients together.
- Work on medium speed for 5-7 minutes or until dough is smooth and homogeneous.
- Portion the dough into 10-14 ounce pieces.
- Note that a ten ounce piece of dough with make a 10 inch diameter pie.
- A fourteen ounce piece of dough will make a 13 inch diameter pie.
- Round each piece of dough into a ball.
- Place each piece of dough into zip lock bag.
- Refrigerate for at least six hours or overnight.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator a couple hours before use so that it can come up to room temperature before pressing out.
- Use generous amounts of flour to press out the dough to the desired diameter and thickness.
- Make pizza!
Yields Approx One Pound
The ricotta cheese found in most supermarkets has its uses, but Howard finds it to be a fairly uninteresting product. Fresh homemade ricotta has a delicate fluffy texture and a simple fresh milk flavor that is simply delicious.
Howie's Artisan Pizza uses the fresh ricotta as a filling for our stuffed Eggplant Pillows. They tried the recipe using store bought ricotta and it fell flat, and with the homemade ricotta it soars.
Howard reccommends using this homemade ricotta the next time you make lasagna and you will marvel at the difference it makes. It is also delicious simply slathered on toast with jam or honey.
Howard loves it still warm, topped with fresh figs or a sweetened berry compote. You will need a large sieve and some cheesecloth to prepare the ricotta, so plan ahead.
Ingredients:
- 2 quarts milk
- 1 cup yogurt, preferably whole milk
- 1/2 cup cream
- 2 teaspoons white (distilled) vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- In a large pot, bring all the ingredients to a boil. Very gently simmer for 1-2 minutes until the milk is curdled. Remove from the heat.
- Line a large sieve or colander with cheesecloth. Place the lined sieve into a tall container so that the whey has a place to drain.
- Pour the hot curdled mixture into the lined sieve and allow to drain for 15-20 minutes.
- Gather the cheesecloth around the curds and squeeze gently to extract any excess liquid. Empty the contents of the cheesecloth into a stainless steel bowl. The ricotta is best served warm as soon as it is made, but it keeps well in the refrigerator for a day or two.
- It will lose its luster as it ages in the refrigerator.
Yields 5 Pounds
Guests of Howie's Artisan Pizza constantly ask what Howard's favorite pizza is, which is a bit like picking your favorite child. But pressed for an answer, he said the "Sausage and Broccoli Raab" pie is the one. The slightly bitter broccoli raab is a perfect foil for the rich and spicy sausage.
At Howie's Artisan Pizza, they make their own sausage in-house using a Berkshire breed of pork. The recipe could not be simpler and, even if you're not up to the challenge of making pizza at home, this spicy Italian-inspired sausage would be lovely simply tossed with rigatoni and a little grated pecorino cheese.
This is fairly spicy mix with a pronounced taste of fennel seed. You can tone it down a bit to suit your taste by cutting back on the chili.
Ingredients:
- 5 pounds ground pork
- 3 tablespoons salt
- 3 tablespoons fennel seed
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons chili flake (crushed red chile)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- Place all ingredients into a large stainless steel bowl and combine (best to use your hands).
- The sausage can be used immediately, but if left in the refrigerator overnight, the flavors will marry and mellow.
- Also, the sausage freezes well, so I suggest making a full recipe and storing the leftovers in the freezer for another time.
Howie's Artisan Pizza
Town & Country Village
855 El Camino Real #60
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Phone: 650.32.Pizza
Email:info@howiesartisanpizza.com
Website:www.howiesartisanpizza.com
About Howard Bulka:
In 1981, recognizing an enormous vocational error, Howard Bulka left San Francisco State University with a Bachelors Degree in Economics and began cooking professionally. Since then, he's worked as a cook, chef, restaurateur and consultant.
His travels have taken him all over the world, working for restaurants, wineries, hotels and resorts, retail centers, gourmet product manufacturers, and into the kitchens of some of the world's most celebrated chefs.
He's learned important lessons from them all and amassed a truly extraordinary body of restaurant industry knowledge, not to mention recipes, cookbooks, knives and scars. He's done many things in the whacky world of restaurants, but the kitchen and the craft of cooking have always been his singular underlying passion.
For the years 2001 to 2008, Howard was the chef and proprietor of Marche, a highly acclaimed fine dining establishment in Menlo Park, consistently ranked among the best Bay Area restaurants. Howard left Marche last year to devote his attentions to the development of Howie's Artisan Pizza.
Prior to building Marche, Howard spent a decade working as a consultant to the restaurant industry - mostly in the areas of concept development, business planning and kitchen operations. As the opening Executive Chef of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in San Francisco, he was the driving force behind Silks, which gained recognition as one of the city's finest restaurants.
Before that, he rose through the ranks in some of California's most celebrated restaurants, including La Toque, Square One, Narsai's, Chez Panisse, and "a bunch of fancy hotels and a whole lot more."
The experience he most values is the year (1986) that he and his wife spent in France - working and traveling their way through the country. It was here that Howard had the opportunity to work with two great talents, Paul Bocuse and the late Alain Chapel. France changed his professional and personal life in "the most profound and marvelous ways."
Today, Howard lives on the Peninsula with his "incredible" wife and son. "When I'm not cooking, writing, or gathered around the table with friends, I like to read, tend to my garden, work with wood and, of course, hang out with my family."
