By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
A Greek-style pizza pie for Pi Day
18ed0dbae9e2ac509f7278ceca92aabb73034548ce9f4550f46193db0a8102b3
Enjoy a Greek pizza pi on March 14 as a tribute to Archimedes. - photo by Pam McMurtry
There were many who tried the Babylonians around 1990 B.C., the Egyptians in 1650 B.C. and others but it was a Greek mathematician, Archimedes, born in 287 B.C. in Italy, who figured out the closest value for pi, the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, according to "A History of " on exploratorium.edu.

Archimedes was an inventor and physicist so brilliant that he invented machines to move water uphill and discovered the principle of buoyancy or water displacement, according to britannica.com

Pi or is the irrational number that starts at 3.14159265... and extends to at least 10 trillion digits, according to calculations by Alexander Yee and Shigeru Kondo on numberworld.org. To pay homage to the Greek genius, turn on a movie about Archimedes and serve a Greek pizza on March 14, 2015, at 9:26. This delicious pie can be shaped like the Greek symbol or made into the traditional circle shape beloved by Archimedes.

*****

GREEK PIZZA PIE

Crust:

2 cups hot water

2 tablespoons sugar

4 cups bread flour

1-2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons yeast

Toppings:

1 15-ounce jars roasted garlic Alfredo sauce

16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

6 ounces crumbled feta cheese

Other Greek-style toppings (see suggestions below)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the hot water, sugar and yeast. Leave the bowl in a warm location until foam covers the surface of the water, usually about 10 minutes, but keep an eye on it to not let it go too long. Lightly grease two 10-inch-by-15-inch rimless cookie sheets with olive oil, set aside.

When the surface of the yeast/water mixture is covered by foam, stir in the bread flour, salt and olive oil. Add the whole wheat flour and knead until a smooth dough is formed.

Divide the dough in half, reserve one half and divide the remaining half into thirds. On the baking sheet, form the dough into a pi symbol: . Repeat on the second cookie sheet with the remaining dough. Flatten the dough with your hands. Let rise until you can make a dent in the dough and it doesnt puff up.

Spread on the two pies the roasted garlic Alfredo sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Add your favorite Greek pizza toppings. Suggested ones are roasted chicken, red onion rings, thinly sliced julienned spinach leaves, pepperoncini slices, Kalamata olives, sliced sauted mushrooms, marinated artichoke hearts, basil pesto and/or quartered tomatoes.

Top with crumbled feta cheese and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Serve with a salad of sliced cucumbers, pepperoncini, mushrooms, spinach, sliced red onion, Kalamata olives and tomatoes dressed lightly with Greek salad dressing.
Sign up for the Herald's free e-newsletter