Recipe: Homemade Donair Pizza. Even the meat!

Red meat is not bad for you. Now blue-green meat, that’s bad for you! – Tommy Smothers

Donair pizza, completely homemade (except for the tomatoes and onions)
but those will be too this summer.

Just finished dinner. It was homemade donair pizza. The "Halifax" kind. Picture a donair with all the usual toppings, but on a pizza crust, and with mozzarella cheese. Tasty! If you didn't see the donair post, Halifax donairs are a unique culinary item created in Nova Scotia, but slowly spreading as Nova Scotians move to other parts of Canada and the world.

In that post I gave the recipe for homemade donair meat and sauce. When I made the meat mixture I doubled the batch. I knew I would find a use for it. A single batch of donair meat (1 lb) made enough for 4 donairs which was enough for the two of us. But the donair sauce recipe made enough for at least 8, so I had that hanging around in the fridge. Not any more. 

The donair meat recipe is as close to pizzeria donairs from Halifax as you'll find. So you can well imagine that this pizza was everything you would hope, and more.

I did have to decide on a pizza crust recipe. We have had excellent results in the past with a honey pizza crust using "regular" toppings, but I really loved the pita breads that were posted on March 11 that are used for donairs. So this pizza crust recipe is a combination of the two—a complete original, which was never seen on earth before about 6pm tonight. And it was a success!

The crust was puffy and light, yet crispy and golden. The honey helps make it golden. I would suggest you try it, regardless if you make donair pizza or not. I'm already thinking of several other non-pizza uses for this unusual crust.

I would strongly suggest you double (or even triple) the donair recipe. I froze what we didn't use for donairs for a week and it was perfect when thawed.

Halifax Style Donair Pizza

Main Ingredient list

donair meat, sliced (make 1 day ahead)

donair sauce (make 1 day ahead)

donair pizza crust (recipe in directions)

3 roma tomatoes

2 medium onions, sliced

2-3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions

1. Make the donair meat the day before and refrigerate. It slices very easily after overnight in the fridge. The recipe for the meat can be found at Food.com, http://www.food.com/recipe/dash-riprocks-real-halifax-donair-90387, or in a previous post on this blog (search "donair.")
(Docaitta note June 30, 2011: I've made this donair meat a few times now and I think I would do half beef half lamb.)

2. Make the donair sauce. The recipe is posted on Food.com on the same page as the donair meat. It can be made at the same time as the donair meat and refrigerated.

3. Make the donair pizza crust. Mixing and raising twice before baking will take about 1 hour.

3/4 tbsp yeast (yes, tablespoon)

1 tbsp honey

1 cup lukewarm water (110° - 115°F)

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil

Combine the yeast and honey in a large bowl. Add the water and allow the yeast to proof in a warm place for 15 minutes. It will be frothy after that time. If not, your yeast is bad.

Add in the flour, salt and olive oil. Mix until it comes together in a wet, rough mass. You do not have to knead this dough. It will not look like a normal pizza dough.

Cover the bowl with saran wrap and a cloth and sit in a warm place for 30-45 minutes until doubled.

4. Baking

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

After the first rise, oil a large (11"x16") cookie sheet. Turn the (still unpromising looking) dough into the pan and with oiled hands press out. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.

Dimple the dough with the tips of your fingers to reduce some of the raise that has happened.

Sprinkle some of the cheese on the bare dough. Then add the sliced donair meat, onions and tomatoes. Top with the remaining cheese. The sauce is not baked with the pizza.

Bake on the centre rack of the oven for 23 minutes. 

Serve with the donair sauce poured over the top, to your personal preference.

I will definitely be making this again.

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