"Pac Man" Pizzas!

For fun over the weekend, I made two whole wheat/buckwheat pizza crusted pizzas.  The recipe for the dough is detailed below (it's not gluten-free as is the buckwheat recipe in my book).  The ingredients for each pizza is listed on the main photo (sorry! the "Sorrel, Mint, Chickpea Hummus" recipe is embargoed until published in the upcoming "Vegan Culinary Experience" online magazine).  The "millet cheese-like topping" sauce is a variation from my book (using sunflower seeds instead of cashews).

After sampling each, I noted how much like a popular old video archive game they looked like... hence, "Pac Man" Pizzas!

Remember, the Special Mother's Day Discount for an autographed copy my cookbook, the 1st vegan pizza cookbook, "Heart Healthy Pizza" ends at midnight est. tonight!

 

"WHOLE WHEAT and BUCKWHEAT FLOUR PIZZA CRUST"

"Buckwheat seeds (often referred to as a grain) is most popular in Europe.  A relative of rhubarb, buckwheat has a hardy nutty taste and is often sauteed then cooked with water and other vegetables to make a great stuffy or pilaf. Nutritionally, buckwheat contains all essential amino acids, is rich in iron and zinc, and is a protein-powerhouse with loads of fiber.  Buckwheat adds a nutty flavor to a pizza crust."

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 cup of unbleached bread or all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of unbleached whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup of buckwheat flour
• 1 T. sweetener of choice
• 1 t. salt (optional)
• 1 T. oil (optional)
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups of warm water (as necessary)
• 2 1/4 t. regular yeast (1 packet)

METHOD:
• Bread Machine: add sweetener, oil, and warm water.  Add flours, salt, and yeast. Use "dough/pizza" setting.  As the dough is being mixed, add water in small increments if necessary to get the texture of "an ear lobe" when done kneading.  Let cycle complete (dough will rise).
• By hand: add sweetener, oil, water, and yeast to a bowl, and mix.  Let sit until bubbly.  Slowing add flours, mixing, and adding additional water as needed while kneading (!).  Shape into big ball, put in glass bowl, cover, let rise until roughly doubled in size (60 to 90 minutes).
• Pre-heat oven to 425 to 450 degrees F.
• Split dough in half to make two very thin 12" pizzas, or use for one large 16" pizza.  Shape dough by hand to fit into non-stick pan (or pizza pan) of choice.  Some pans might need a light oiling, some non-stick pans do not.
• Add toppings of choice, bake in oven 15 to 20 minutes until crust is crispy and toppings are browned.

©2013 by Mark Sutton, http://www.hearthealthypizza.com

Sorrel/Mint Hummus w/Veggies on Wheat/Millet Seed Bread

(Re-posted from April 30th):

So, what did I finally do with the unusual yard-harvested Sorrel & Mint Hummus I posted last entry?  Well, been kicking around a new bread (or pizza dough!) recipe in my head that involves using whole wheat flour and millet seed (millet is not a grain, and I'm not using it as flour herein). But, the quandary was "what" would balance with strong chlorophylly-flavored minty, lemony chickpea hummus?

I literally woke up in bed in the "wee hours" with a flash of solution, it's Middle Easternish!  Cumin and cinnamin... cool... and got to experiment with the tripod and lighting. Here's one of my favorite photos from the two sessions (yup, over a two day period). Recipes will be submitted to the Vegan Culinary Experience magazine for the upcoming "Sandwich" issue! Neat to show that I can do more than pizza in the kitchen. And of course, it's all "no oil."

Heart Healthy "Sorrel & Mint Hummus"

(Re-posted from April 21st):

Sorrel is the rare perennial green, coming back every year in more Northern climes. It's a fav in Europe, usually served as a soup with milk/cream.  Sorrel has a spinach/lemony taste.  A few days ago I picked a bunch of sorrel from the garden as well as mint.  I've only used sorrel previously in salads or on sandwiches. But, in thinking about my next article for "The Vegan Culinary Experience," and the topic will be "sandwiches" I came up with a unique "Sorrel & Mint Hummus" recipe.  I want to show that making pizza isn't all I do...

The lemony sorrel and mint combo, with chickpeas, garlic, and finely ground toasted sesame seeds (thereby no need for the very high fat/oil tahini which is customary), kicked really well together.  If I don't use the recipe for VCE, I'll post it on this blog in mid-May.  One could substitute for the sorrel using raw spinach and probably some additional lemon juice.

Here's a two photo collage of the pre and post results:

Click on to see larger image!