Pizza! Pizza!

It's a summer pizza party here at our house! The hardest part about this recipe is waiting for the dough to rise. :)

I actually use my focaccia dough to make pizza and I always make it in my Kitchen Aid mixer (but you can certainly knead the dough by hand. Takes a bit more energy but you will burn some calories and look great in a tank top to boot! 

Pizza Dough

(adapted from "The Joy of Cooking" by Rombauer, Becker, and Becker, 1997)

Ingredients:

3 1/3 to 3 3/4 c. AP Flour (plus extra to kneed the dough so it won't stick to the counter)

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1 1/3 c. Warm water 

1 tbsp salt 

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1/2 c. Corn meal for the baking surface

Combine the yeast, sugar and warm water and let sit until bubbles form on the surface. 

While that is sitting, combine 3 1/2 c flour and the salt in you stand mixer (or in a bowl of you are kneeling by hand).

Add the bubbly yeast and water mixture to the flour plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and kneed the dough for 10 minutes or until the dough forms a nice dough ball. 

Note: if it is very humid, as it is here in Virginia in July, you may need to add up to an extra half a cup of flour while knees because the flour may have absorbed quite a bit of moisture from the air. Today, I had to add almost 3/4 cup of extra flour! 

Once your dough has been kneeling for 10 minutes, place dough in an oiled boil and leave to rise until doubled in size (can take anywhere from 1-2 1/2 hours depending on how warm your kitchen is)

Now that your dough has doubled in size, punch it down and divide into 4 smaller balls and let rest 10 -20 minutes. 

While you are waiting preheat your oven to 425 F , and prepare your pizza stone or baking sheet by sprinkling which corn meal to prevent the pizza from sticking to the baking surface. 

Now just form your dough into flat discs, I like it on the thin side, so I stretch the dough into a roughly circular shape, place it on the baking tray and then gently stretch it a bit more. 

That's it! Now you are ready to top with whatever your heart desires. 

I am a bit of a pizza purist and go for a bit of marina sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, tomato, and basil. My family on the other hand goes from everything from fresh garden vegetables to left over Mexican Carnitas! Let everyone make their own and you have your own pizza party!! 

Bon appetite! 

K