This morning I made the dough and became skeptical. It wasn't the right texture and certainly not firm enough, but I put in the recommended flour and double-checked the rest of the measurements. I know dough changes as it "matures" so didn't want, or have time, to make any adjustments. I put it in the refrigerator because I had to go to work. When I got home, I took out the dough and put it in a warm place to come to temperature and rise. As instructed, while that was happening I made the onion topping.
The recipe is super easy, but it does take a lot of time. I loved the topping and as soon as I put in the mashed anchovies, the smell was heavenly. So back to the dough. I don't know if I just needed to put in more flour or because I used 1/2 cup whole wheat, but this was very, super-soft. I did end up using more flour to knead it a little and it improved a bit but the thought of rolling it out was making me rather nervous. I decided to put down parchment, poured out the dough, and cover it with plastic wrap. I then used a rolling pin to roll it out thin. It did get thin, but then I panicked as I started to peel off the plastic wrap. But no fear. After I got the sticky edge off, the rest pulled off easily.
Then I put on the onion mixture and then my daughter took a video, I think, while I decorated it with the anchovies and olives. Then as I put it in the oven, I remembered I wasn't supposed to put on the anchovies and olives until after it baked. Oh well, it was already close to 7 PM and this needed to get cooked! So in it went and and wow, what a great smell.
I still don't think the dough was as it should be, but it did taste very good. It was a little salty, maybe too salty with the extra anchovies. I will leave them off next time and just use the onions and probably the olives, but fewer. I wonder if anyone else used Parmesan cheese? I feel like it was asking for it but maybe that would add too much salt as well. I hadn't put in any extra, though the recipe called for it, but I was liberal with the black pepper.
12 comments:
I don't think there would be any harm in adding a little cheese. A couple of people used goat cheese, which sounds great.
I'm taking comfort in the fact that I was definitely not the only one who thought the dough was too soft and added more flour while kneading. Dorie is usually wonderful giving hints about those aspects of recipes, which was why I was especially surprised this time around.
Oh, that looks good! I made a pissaldiere but quite different!
I think dough always requires a bit of a judgement call since so many factors can affect the moisture content, etc. (If you think about it - just the size of the egg alone has the potential for huge variation and would greatly affect the ratio of liquid to dry ingredient). It did seem like the recipe was a bit light on the flour and I found I needed to add quite a bit more flour.
And cheese it always a great idea :-)
Have a great weekend.
I used parmesan and even a few slices of tomato; you have to really watch those anchovies & olives to keep it from getting too salty! And, yes, it was a very soft dough- always is with an egg- I just add flour until it's workable. I thought it was a lovely crust after all.
I think Dorie should have put in a warning that the dough would be very soft and more flour would probably be needed. I've come to expect that sort of tip. I would like to try an official pissaladiere to have a point of comparison. Next time, seeing all the variations you've all done, I'll try using the cheese. Maybe I could do something similar to a french onion soup and use Gruyere?
I used puff pastry instead of making the dough, so I can't comment on that. I also decorated my pizza before baking. I didn't read that part of the recipe until it had already been baking for 10 minutes. Didn't seem to hurt. I'm glad you tried this one after all. It was good, wasn't it?
I'm impressed with all you dough makers since I skipped that part. Yours looks really good, despite any stickiness or saltiness. I thought the same about salt in my version: would perhaps cut out any extra salt, maybe add a squeeze of lemon? And same with cheese - I thought it begged for a bit of cheese, but maybe nothing too aged...
I found the final product a little salty as well. I may not use the extra anchovies next time. There are so many options with this recipe. I can't wait to try some different versions!
lol. yes, I solved the dough part by using puff pastry! I'm not afraid of anchovies but it has been pointed out I am afraid of dough.
I am going to use your post for tips on dealing with the dough. I passed on this one (anchovies were not going to happen) but Nana made it as she is on Team Anchovy. I plan to try the recipe with different toppings though and imagine I will be doing it in between work and such...so great tips !
I think I'd like to try this again, with all your tips as well. One other thing I learned since, because I had leftover anchovies and wanted to use them with garlic and oil for a pasta sauce, is it's recommended to soak the anchovies for 5 - 30 minutes, depending on their quality. I did this for the pasta sauce and they did taste milder. So that should take care of the saltiness. I'm surprised at the lack of details with this recipe. Maybe it was put in as an after thought?
Post a Comment