Friday, January 6, 2012

Pizza! Pizza!


In keeping with my recent cooking theme, I made homemade pizza dough the other night.  And, by golly, it was so damn easy.  With some flour and some yeast and some patience, you too can make pizza dough from scratch.  Here is the recipe:

Easy Homemade Pizza Dough (makes two large thin-crust pizzas):
  • 3.5 to 4 cups flour (I used white but you can use whole wheat, I'm sure)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 envelope instant dry yeast
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1.5 cups water, 110F (I used a meat thermometer to measure temp)
  • 2 tbs olive oil
In a stand mixer, combine 3.5 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt and mix on low until blended.  While the mixer is running, add the olive oil and then slowly add the water and beat until dough forms into a ball (about 1-2 min).  If the dough is sticky (mine was) add more flour one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together in a solid ball.  If it is too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until you achieve the desired results.  Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth and firm ball (I only kneaded it for about a minute).

Grease a large bowl with a teaspoon or two of olive oil and coat evenly.  Add the dough and cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm spot to let double in size, about one hour.  When doubled, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and cut it into two equal halves.  Cover with a kitchen towel and let stand for 10 minutes.

This is the part that good ol' Bobby left out:  How to cook the damn pizza!  Heat oven to 450F.  Assemble your pizza toppings (our pizza = chopped garlic, red onions, mushrooms, green peppers, kale, and cooked chicken sausage).  On a floured surface, thinly roll out the dough into desired shape to fit what you'll be cooking it on (I made one on a pizza pan and one on a cookie sheet).  Gently lift dough off and place on pan (this part is kind of tough), reshape to fit and pinch the edges to form a crust.  Brush lightly with olive oil (or tomato sauce or pesto or whatever) and add your toppings.  Place on middle rack of oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.  Slice and enjoy.  Share, if you must.


Totally easy.  Totally good.  And you can totally modify the recipe and add dried herbs or garlic powder or whatever your little heart desires into the dough to make a more flavorful pizza crust.  Hey.  Maybe you can even try making stuffed crust pizza like that one mega-chain.  I used to love that crust as a kid.



3 comments:

  1. I just bought a ton of chicken sausage at Costco and never thought to add it to pizza, but now I just might. It looks soooo good. I've recently really gotten into making homemade pizzas and so far have only tried two recipes. Both have been okay. I'm still looking for the winner though.

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  2. I looooove homemade pizza! Pioneer Woman has this amazing - and super heavy - potato leek pizza with bacon, fresh mozzarella, and tons of goat cheese. So good.

    Greens on pizza are my favorite - I'm not one for a giant salad, but load a pizza up with kale, broccoli, and spinach and I am one happy girl.

    The immersion blender I have is the Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender with Whisk and Chopper Attachments. - http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CSB-77-Blender-Chopper-Attachments/dp/B0006G3JRO

    Granted, I've only used it once, but so far I love it! It's super compact and breaks apart for storage and was super fast. Totally rocked my world when blending soup didn't take 40 minutes and praying the lid to the regular blender didn't blow up in the process! The similar version Jenn bought me comes in some really really cute colors too!

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