Pizza!

Health-0-meter: 3/5 (5 being healthiest)
Ease: 3/5 (5 being difficult)



Man, do I love me some pizza! I never realized how much of a pizza-holic I was until I moved to NC. Not only do we buy a couple of frozen pizzas (individual sized only because our freezer isn't big enough) but I make pizza once a week. Actually, I make pizza if my basil plant is being good and grows enough leaves to make fresh pesto (another post). Alright, so I love pizza. Let's get into the recipe...

Ingredients:

1.5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup warm water

*For a slightly thicker crust pizza, use the following recipe (same instructions as below):

2 cups flour
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup warm water

You have to arrange your ingredients like so, or it won't turn out right. I keed, I keed.

1. Place flour, salt and yeast in a bowl. Mix well.

This is not mixed well, but it will be.

2. Make a well in the middle of the flour mix and pour olive oil and warm water. I don't use a thermometer, so I say the water is warm when I feel the warmth but it doesn't turn my palm red. If the water is too hot, you'll know because your dough will refuse to rise since you killed all the yeast.

3. Once it's all mixed together (you might need a tbsp or so more of flour if the dough is really wet), sprinkle flour on the counter and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. Not long. You'll get your workout after it has risen.

Sticky dough.

4. Oil the bowl in which you made the dough. It shouldn't have lots of pizza dough stuck to the inside because that means your dough is too sticky and needs some flour.

Place your dough into the bowl and roll it around a few times to get a light film of oil over it. Cover with a towel and let it sit for 2 hours or until doubled in volume.
Like so:

5. Place your palm on the surface and gently press on the dough to release the air. Also called "punching" the dough. Sprinkle flour on your work surface (counter) and knead the dough for a good 5 minutes. At this point, I like to sprinkle a good bit of finely minced fresh rosemary, dried basil or oregano. That way you get a spiced dough. Really quite good!

6. After the dough has been kneaded, shape it into a round ball and cover it with the towel again for 20 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 550 for brick oven-style pizza or 450 for a slightly softer pizza, chop up your veggies and make your sauce.

Ready to roll.

7. Roll out the dough to approximately 10" if you want a thin crust or 8" if you want a thicker crust. Spread your sauce, sprinkle your toppings and place it on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. For brick oven style (550F), bake for 8 minutes. For a slightly softer crust (450F), bake for 10 - 12 minutes and then broil until the crust turns golden brown.

Enjoy! 'Til the next dish...