Before tackling my New Year's resolution to make bread, I had vowed last summer in 2012, to make my own pizza dough. I was inspired by a friend who would whip up a batch and make pizza, calzones, and stromboli like it was nothing. The dough I make is easy, has no added sugar, and takes about one and a half hours to make. The kids and husband rave that my pizza is as good or better than our local pizzaria.
Basic Pizza Dough
In a bowl or your stand mixer, combine
1 1/3 cups WARM (not hot) water and 1 package dry, active yeast.
Let stand 5-10 minutes or until kind of bubbly.
Add 3 1/2 - 3 3/4 cup all purpose flour, 2 T olive oil, and 1 T kosher salt. Mix until moistened.
Kneed dough for 5-10 minutes
(5 min. on medium speed in your stand mixer with a dough hook is sufficient).
Place dough ball in an oil-lined bowl, turning once to coat. Cover and keep in a warm place for about an hour. I like making pizza and bread in the winter because it gives me an excuse to turn up the heat to about 75 degrees for an hour!
*If you have dough proofing as an option on your oven, you can put it there for about 40 min.
This is also a good time to gather your pizza making materials and shred your mozzarella, romano, and parmesan cheeses (hand shredded cheese melts quicker and is gooier, but if that's not your thing, buy a bag of pizza cheese that's already shredded-no worries).
When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to remove the excess gas. Cover the dough again and let it rest for about 10-15 min. This is a good time to preheat your oven to 475 degrees. For a nicely textured crust, preheat your pizza stone as well. If you don't have a pizza stone, refer to the manufacturer's instructions for preheating your metal pan.
Time to make the pizza!
Divide the dough in half, and kneed on a well floured surface, pushing the dough out into a circle or rectangle depending on your pan. You can use a floured rolling pin to continue stretching the dough out or try your hand at tossing. My husband is a tosser! It's a lot of fun to watch!
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| My M-I-L watches in awe of her pizza-tossing son! |
When your dough is formed to your liking, remove your hot stones from the oven and very CAREFULLY lay your pizza on it.
It will actually begin to cook right there!
Lightly spray or brush the top with olive oil and spread on your favorite sauce.
In our house, the only sauce for us is Don Pepino's. It's Don's or nothin'!
Don Pepino's is not very sweet (only 2g sugar/quarter cup) and is very tomatoey.
After your sauce is on, top with a blend of cheese. We use mostly mozzarella, and sprinkle on romano and parmesan for added flavor. Sprinkle a little oregano on top and bake until the crust begins to turn golden and the cheese is melted thoroughly.
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