St. Louis-Style No Yeast Pizza

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I was watching America's Test Kitchen Public TV Series last week, they were making foods from St. Louis, Missouri i.e. St. Louis Ribs, and St. Louis Pizza! So, I thought I'd give this pizza a try and let you know what Will and I thought.

Bake in a 475 degree F. oven on parchment paper.

ST. LOUIS-STYLE NO YEAST PIZZA

SAUCE

1(8-ounce) can tomato sauce

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons dried oregano

CHEESE

2 cups shredded white American cheese (I used mozzarella, some St. Louis recipes use cheddar cheese and provolone).

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 drops liquid smoke (Wright's Liquid Smoke is the real deal and really adds flavor).

DOUGH

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (I ended up adding 1 1/2 extra tablespoons of water to make it

pliable enough to work into a ball and it was still a chore working it into a 12" round with a

rolling pin . . . they forgot to put the olive oil in the ingredients!)

2 teaspoons olive oil

TOPPINGS

I used peppers, thinly sliced onions, mushrooms and pepperoni. Use whatever toppings you enjoy!

INSTRUCTIONS

1. PIZZA SAUCE Whisk together tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, sugar, and oregano in small bowl; set aside. Toss cheeses with liquid smoke in medium bowl; set aside. (You'll end up with lots of extra sauce).

2. MIX DOUGH Combine flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Combine water and olive oil in liquid measuring cup. Stir water mixture into flour mixture until dough starts to come together. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead 3 or 4 times, to make a smooth ball.

Roll out pizza dough to 12-inches on lightly floured parchment paper.

Spread pizza sauce evenly with the back of ladle or large spoon.

3. ROLL DOUGH Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position (this is a very important step for crispy crust) place pizza stone (or inverted baking sheet) on rack, and heat oven to 475 degrees. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, press into small circle and transfer to parchment paper dusted lightly with flour. Using rolling pin, roll and stretch dough to form 12-inch circle, rotating parchment as needed. (Lift parchment and pizza off work surface and onto an inverted baking sheet.)

Add cheese and toppings of choice.

To move pizza to oven, slide onto an inverted baking sheet.

Keep pizza on parchment to bake. Transfer pizza by sliding off inverted baking sheet onto pizza stone.

4. ASSEMBLE PIZZA Top each piece of dough with sauce (use the back of a ladle or large spoon to spread sauce evenly) and half of cheese. Carefully pull parchment paper and pizza off baking sheet onto hot baking stone. Bake until underside is golden brown and cheese is completely melted, 9 to 12 minutes. Remove pizza and parchment from oven. Transfer pizza to cooling rack and let cool few minutes. Assemble and bake second pizza. Cut into 2-inch squares. Serve.

MAKE AHEAD: The dough can be made in advance. At the end of step 2, tightly wrap the ball of dough in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Pull from oven when crust is browned and cheese has begun to turn golden.

This pizza was tasty . . . though not as good as my yeast pizza. If you have never made homemade pizza this would be a great way to begin! The crust has a cracker-type, crunchy crust. St. Louis-Style Pizza can be whipped up very quickly because you don't have to wait for the dough to rise. Will I make this recipe again? Absolutely! We LOVE all kinds of pizza . . . Over at Julie's