Rolled Pizza, Matt and Kim and the Hot Toddies

Rolled pizza always made sense to me, that's how my grandfather used to eat it. He'd grab a slice, fold it in half and treat it like a calzone or turnover. It made for a neat little grease tunnel that exited right down his chin and onto his hands.

Inspired by this memory, hot pockets and empanadas that I made a few weeks ago, I decided to create my own version of rolled pizza using a crust recipe that I came across in a Mark Bittman cookbook (How to Cook Everything Vegetarian). Here's how it happened:

Rolled Pizza
(printable version)

For the Crust:
-2 cups flour
-1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
-1/2 cup cold water
-1 tsp. salt
-1/2 cup vegan shortening
-1 Tbsp. roasted garlic

For the filling:
-1 cup marinara sauce
-1/2 bag vegetarian burger crumbles
-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
-1/4 cup of Parmesan
-fresh basil

1. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor for about five seconds. Keep the machine running while adding shortening and garlic. Process for ten seconds. With the machine still running, add cold water (the dough should be fairly dry, don't add too much water). At this point begin forming the dough into a ball. Knead it by hand until smooth.

2. Divide the dough into 10 pieces, roll into balls, and cover with a damp paper towel. Let dough sit for twenty minutes.

3. Flour a work surface and roll dough out until it is very thin* and circular.

4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix the Parmesan, Mozzarella, marinara sauce, crumbles and basil together. Spoon mixture into the center of each circle. Fold each circle over. You can seal the pizzas with water and a fork (although I didn't do this). Put the pizzas on an ungreased baking sheet and cook for about 20 minutes.

*I suggest rolling this dough out as thin as possible. When I did it the first time, I left the dough a little to thick and it thickened even more during the cooking process. This created a very dry casing for my pizzas.

I've been rolling my pizzas recently to the sounds of Matt and Kim's song "Daylight." J-Fur turned me on to these guys by constantly playing the song in her car. Now I do the same in my own. Matt and Kim will be touring it up in the Fall (including a date in St. Pete). Can't wait to see this live!


Daylight by mattandkim

I've also been enjoying the Hot Toddies "Keep on Runnin' (The Vampire Song)." The bands sweet, beepy, infectious, bubblegum pop comes full throttle during this track. It comes from their debut album, due out next month on Asian Man Records. You can preview this track, and more from the album, at the Hot Toddies website. Also check them on Facebook, reverb nation, or Myspace.

One last note, this is not the way to roll. Sorry, had to do it.