We took the lessons we learned in our first attempt at spelt pizza [1] seriously the second time around, to wit:

• Many small pizzas are better than one big pizza.
• Don't over-top. No more than 3 is best.
• Don't over-sauce. A little goes a long way.
• Bake directly on the pizza stone.
• Build the pizza on the pizza peel (see below).

Following those guidelines, I made a double batch of spelt pizza dough [2] and we proceeded to make four small pizzas with different toppings to suit the four of us. Making the pies right on the peel made it so much easier to get them onto the stone, I can't even TELL you what we were thinking trying to do it any other way. And baking them on the stone made the crust in the middle much much crisper. We broke another pizza rule--you should let the stone heat up at full temperature for at least 20 minutes, but we were hungry and it turned out pretty well for all that.

John ignored the 3-topping rule and built a pie so top-heavy it wouldn't come off the peel. He finally got it off into a big cheesy messy heap and stalked away cursing. (Let this be a warning to you, O Potential Flouters of Pizza Rules.) But I tell you, it was a delicious if lumpy pie.

Each of us had enough pizza of our own design to satisfy and to share. The crusts puffed up on the edges and were crispy on the bottom. By golly, this was pretty good spelt pizza!

Technorati Tags: Home Cooking [11]