Smoked Salmon Pizza Wolfgang Puck Recipes

WOLFGANG PUCK'S PIZZAS WITH SMOKED SALMON AND CAVIAR

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and put a pizza stone inside. Knead 2 teaspoons of the minced chives into the pizza dough. Roll or stretch the dough into four 8-inch circles. Place the pizzas on a lightly floured wooden peel or board. (Work in batches.) Brush the centers of the circles with olive oil to within 1 inch of the edges.
• Slide the pizzas onto the stone and bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to serving plates and spread with the sour cream or creme frache. Arrange the salmon slices over the top. Place a tablespoon of the golden caviar in the center of each pizza and spoon 1/4 of the black caviar into each center. Sprinkle the salmon with the remaining chives and serve.

PIZZA WITH SMOKED SALMON AND CAVIAR

Steps:

• Before you are ready to bake the pizzas, preheat the oven with a pizza stone inside for 30 minutes to 500 degrees F.
• Cut the salmon into paper-thin slices. Reserve.
• Roll or stretch the dough into 4 (8-inch) circles. Place the pizzas on a lightly floured wooden peel. Brush the center of each pizza to within 1 inch of the edge with olive oil and sprinkle it with some of the red onion. Slide the pizza onto the stone and bake 8 to 12 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remember that the oven is very hot and be careful as you place the pizza into and out of the oven.
• Mix the dill with the sour cream or creme fraiche and freshly ground pepper, to taste. Transfer the pizzas to heated dinner plates and spread them with the sour cream mixture.
• Divide the salmon, and arrange decoratively over the cream. Place a spoonful of golden caviar in the center of each pizza, then spoon a little of the black caviar into the center of the golden caviar.
• In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and honey in 1/4-cup warm water.
• In a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and the salt. Add the oil, yeast mixture, and the remaining 3/4 cup of water and mix on low speed until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and clusters around the dough hook, about 5 minutes. (The pizza dough can also be made in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse once or twice, add the remaining ingredients, and process until the dough begins to form a ball).
• Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead by hand 2 or 3 minutes longer. The dough should be smooth and firm. Cover the dough with a clean, damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot for about 30 minutes. (When ready, the dough will stretch as it is lightly pulled).
• Divide the dough into 4 balls, about 6 ounces each. Work each ball by pulling down the sides and tucking under the bottom of the ball. Repeat 4 or 5 times. Then on a smooth, unfloured surface, roll the ball under the palm of your hand until the top of the dough is smooth and firm, about 1 minute. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let rest 15 to 20 minutes. At this point, the balls can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days.
• To prepare each pizza, dip the ball of dough into flour, shake off the excess flour, place the dough on a clean, lightly floured surface, and start to stretch the dough. Press down on the center, spreading the dough into an 8-inch circle, with the outer border a little thicker than the inner circle. If you find this difficult to do, use a small rolling pin to roll out the dough.
• Yield: 4 (8-inch) pizzas

SMOKED SALMON PIZZA (A LA WOLFGANG)

Steps:

• For the smoked salmon: Mix the kosher salt, brown sugar, granulated sugar and peppercorns in a medium bowl. Cut a piece of extra-wide aluminum foil a little longer than the length of the salmon. Place an equally long piece of plastic wrap on top of the foil. Sprinkle one-third of the salt rub onto the plastic. Lay one side of the salmon skin-side down onto the rub. Sprinkle another third of the rub onto the flesh of the salmon. Place the second side of the salmon flesh-side down onto the first side. Use the remaining rub to cover the skin on the top piece. Fold the plastic over the salmon to cover, and then close the edges of the foil together and crimp tightly around the salmon. The salmon should be folded in half and wrapped.
• Place the wrapped salmon on a baking sheet and top with another baking sheet. Weigh the top pan down with a brick or two. Refrigerate the salmon for 12 hours. Flip the salmon over and refrigerate for another 12 hours. Some juice will leak out during the refrigeration process, so make sure there's a place for the runoff to gather.
• Unwrap the salmon and rinse off the salt rub with cold water. Pat the salmon dry with paper towels and place in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) until the surface of the salmon is dry and matte-like, 1 to 3 hours depending on humidity. A fan may be used to speed the process.
• Preheat the smoker. Smoke the salmon over the smoldering alder wood chips until the thickest part of the salmon registers 150 degrees, about 30 minutes. Keep the temperature inside the smoker between 190 and 200 degrees F. Serve the salmon immediately, or cool to room temperature, wrap tightly and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
• Meanwhile, for the pizza dough: Place the warm water and yeast in a large bowl. When the yeast dissolves, let the water stand about 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of the flour and the fine salt until smooth. Stir in an additional 2 cups of the flour and continue adding flour (up to 1/2 cup) 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes away from the bowl but is still sticky.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead with lightly floured hands. Slap the dough onto the counter, pulling it toward you with one hand and pushing it away from you with the other. Fold the dough back over itself using a bench scraper or a wide knife to help scrape dough from surface. Repeat the process until the dough is easier to handle, about 10 times. Finish kneading until the dough is smooth, elastic and soft, but a little tacky, about 10 minutes.
• Lightly oil a bowl with olive oil. Shape the dough into 2 balls and transfer to the bowl. Turn to coat the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in volume, about 3 hours. The dough is done when you press it with your finger and an indent remains.
• Gently remove the dough from the bowl. Roll each dough half into a ball and place on a lightly-floured baking sheet. Brush the dough balls lightly with olive oil. Cover the baking sheet lightly with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes.
• Prepare charcoal in a chimney starter (allowing the charcoal to burn until all the charcoal is covered with a thin layer of gray ash). Add to the grill, creating a two-level fire by spreading the coals out over half the grill bottom, piling them up in a mound 3 briquettes high, and leaving the other half with no coals.
• Stretch and shape each piece of dough into a 10-inch-round on a flat surface. Brush the tops of each round with canola oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the rounds on the grilling stones and cook until the bottoms are lightly golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Brush the tops of the rounds with oil, flip and cook until the bottoms are lightly golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
• For the assembly: Whisk the creme fraiche, chopped herbs, zest together and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread the creme fraiche mixture on top of each cooked dough round. Flake some of the smoked salmon and place on top of the creme fraiche mixture. Top with the capers and onions. Garnish with whole herbs. Serve immediately.

SMOKED SALMON PIZZA

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 500°F.
• 2. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 10-inch round. Transfer dough to a rimless baking sheet; brush with olive oil. Scatter sliced onion over the top. Bake until crust is golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes.
• 3. Spread the Dill Cream over the top to within an inch of the edge. Arrange the salmon to cover the surface entirely. Use a pizza wheel to slice into 6 pieces.