Camp Recipe: Homemade Pizza

Pizza night at camp is an EVENT, and for good reason! Our pies are hand made with love by the Kitchen Staff, and every ingredient is specially selected to be the best. Just ask Laura, this is a pizza slice to savor! (by the way, want to see inside the Kitchen on pizza day? Check out the fun and chaos!)

And now we’re bringing our special recipe to your kitchen, and teaching you how to re-create Greystone’s famous pizzas for your family. Make sure to check out the video below to have Gervais walk you through it step by step, including perfecting that toss. We’re laying it out for you, so all you have to do is gather the ingredients, and start cooking! Pizza party, anyone?

Makes 14 12-inch pies

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 55 grams Salt
• 7 grams Yeast, Instant Dry Yeast
• 1.80 kilograms Flour, Antimo Caputo Tipo 00 Pizzaria Flour (Blue Bag)
• 2.2 pounds Water

Sauce:

• 3 cans San Marzano Tomatoes, 28 ounce cans
• 50 ounces Fresh mozzarella, Logs or Balls sliced
• 20 ounces Fresh Parmesan, Shredded
• 4 bunches Fresh Basil, For cutting
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. In a large mixing bowl, add your warm water, yeast and salt. Then whisk to dissolve the salt. Add the flour to the bowl and start mixing until the flour and water are combined.
2. Place the dough onto the kneading surface. To knead, start by pressing down on the dough, grab the top of the dough and fold it over onto itself and press down again. Repeat this motion over and over until the dough is a smooth ball. Sometimes I will divide the dough in half and have two people do the kneading. It could take 15 minutes before it is ready but when it is, place the dough in a bowl, cover with a damp rag and let it rest for 5 minutes. (The kneading process does take some time but it is fun to feel how the dough changes as you are kneading. After you have been kneading for a few minutes it might be sticking to the surface. To fix this put your hands in some flour and keep kneading. If it is so dry that it feels tough you can add some water by dipping your hands in water and keep kneading. You can use a countertop mixer with a dough hook but you might have to cut this recipe in half for it to fit in the bowl Either way you will know it is ready when the dough is not sticking to the bowl or the counter.)
3. After the dough has had time to rest you will divide it into pats that are 185 grams each. You don’t have to be exact so give or take 20 grams. Then take each pat, form it into a ball with a nice smooth top. Individually wrap each pat in plastic wrap and place them on a sheet pan and let them rise for 45 minutes. When you unwrap them they should feel soft. If you are not going to use all of the pats you can freeze some of them instead of letting them rise.
4. Turn your oven or grill on and preheat to the hottest you can without broiling. Make sure to put you pizza stone or fire bricks in the oven so they can be as hot as possible.
5. Good sauce can make the pizza so don’t skimp on the tomatoes. At camp we use whole San Marzano out of a can. These tomatoes are always beautiful and the sauce in the can is very thick. Place the tomatoes in a bowl, with a little salt and pepper. Wash your hands and then reach in the bowl and break up the tomatoes with your hands until you have them in small pieces. You can use other spices but tomatoes don’t need it.
6. When the leaving period is over, the mixture is ready to be worked by hand, according to the Neapolitan tradition. STRETCHING According to Neapolitan tradition, the pat must be slightly “dipped” into the flour before being stretched, so that it doesn’t stick to the working table. The pat is put on the working table and is pressed 8-10 fingers (excluding the thumbs) from the centre to the outside. Subsequently, the pizza maker will spread out the mixture by spinning it in his hands and on the working table till it reaches a size of about 30cm; it is to remember that the Neapolitan tradition wants the pizza to be as thick as about 3-5mm. Keep in mind that the finger pressure on the edge of the pizza must not bring about a different consistency in its parts, so that the edge (after cooking in the oven) can swell by about 2-3cm and be soft and fragrant.
7. Things to think about before you start adding sauce and toppings: If you are cooking the pizza on a sheet pan, place the pie on the sheet pan. If you are using a pizza peel to transfer your pie to a pizza stone in your oven or grill make sure you put some corn meal on the peel first so that it will slide off.
8. Once your pie is on the peel it is time to sauce. Get a ladle full of sauce and pour it in the middle of the pie. Take the ladle and put the base of it in the middle of the pie start a circling motion slowly spreading the sauce toward the outside edge. Be careful not to go all the way to the edge. Now it is time to add the toppings. Remember that too many toppings will make it hard to cook and eat.
9. Once the topping are on, set the pies in the oven. If you are cooking on a sheet pan it might take up to 15 - 20 minutes. If you are cooking on a stone it might be 12-15 minutes. Watch the crust and when it starts to get golden brown it should be ready.
10. Remove from the oven and place it on a pizza pan or cutting board. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan, using scissors trim the leaves of a bunch of fresh basil and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Slice and enjoy!