who say you can't eat pizza if you don't go to Pizza Hut ? Taraaaaa !! this recipe can help you! let's try it..............
- Prep
time: 2 hours
- Cook
time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Makes
2 (10-12-inch pizzas)
.
Pizza dough is a yeasted dough which requires active dry
yeast. Make sure the check the expiration date on the yeast package.
You can use all purpose flour instead of the bread flour
that is called for in the recipe, but bread flour is higher in gluten than
all-purpose flour and will make a crispier crust for your pizza.
Ingredients
Pizza Dough: Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas
- 1 1/2
cups warm water (105°F-115°F)
- 1
package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast
- 3 1/2
cups bread flour
- 2 Tbsp
olive oil
- 2
teaspoons salt
- 1
teaspoon sugar
Pizza Ingredients
- Olive
oil
- Cornmeal
(to help slide the pizza onto the pizza stone)
- Tomato
sauce (smooth, or puréed)
- Mozzarella
cheese, grated
- Parmesan
cheese, grated
- Feta
cheese, crumbled
- Mushrooms,
thinly sliced
- Bell
peppers, stems and seeds removed, thinly sliced
- Italian
sausage, cooked ahead and crumbled
- Chopped
fresh basil
- Pesto
- Pepperoni,
thinly sliced
- Onions,
thinly sliced
- Ham, thinly
sliced
Special equipment needed
- A pizza stone, highly recommended if you want
crispy pizza crust
- A pizza peel or a flat baking sheet
- A pizza wheel for cutting the pizza, not required,
but easier to deal with than a knife
Method
Making the Pizza Dough
1 Place the warm water in the large bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. After 5 minutes stir if the yeast hasn't dissolved completely. The yeast should begin to foam, which indicates that it is still active and alive.
2 Using the mixing paddle attachment, mix in the
flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil on low speed for a minute. Then replace the
mixing paddle with the dough hook attachment. Knead the pizza dough on low to
medium speed using the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic, about
10 minutes.
If you don't have a mixer, you can mix the ingredients
together and knead them by hand.
If the dough seems a little too wet, sprinkle it with a
little more flour.
3 Spread a thin layer of olive oil over the
inside of a large bowl. Place the pizza dough in the bowl and turn it around so
that it gets coated with the oil. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let sit
in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, at least 1 to 1 1/2
hours. You can let it sit for several hours if you want. The longer rise will
improve the flavor of the pizza crust. If you don't have a warm spot in the
house you can heat the oven to 150 degrees, and then turn off the oven. Let the
oven cool till it is just a little warm, then place the bowl of dough in this
warmed oven to rise.
At this point, if you want to make ahead, you can freeze the
dough in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Preparing the Pizzas
1 Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower
third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F for at least 30 minutes,
preferably an hour.
2 Remove the plastic cover from the dough and
punch the dough down so it deflates a bit. Divide the dough in half. Form two
round balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover with plastic and let
sit for 10 minutes.
3 Prepare your desired toppings. Note that you
are not going to want to load up each pizza with a lot of toppings as the crust
will end up not crisp that way. About a third a cup each of tomato sauce and
cheese would be sufficient for one pizza. One to two mushrooms thinly sliced
will cover a pizza.
4 Working one ball of dough at a time, take one
ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a slightly floured work
surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to
press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not
stretch further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it
until it reaches the desired diameter - 10 to 12 inches. Use your palm to
flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. You can pinch the very edges
if you want to form a lip.
5 Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to
prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings). Use your finger tips to press
down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let
rest another 5 minutes.
Repeat with the second ball of dough.
6 Lightly sprinkle your pizza peel (or flat
baking sheet) with corn meal. Transfer one prepared flattened dough to the
pizza peel. If the dough has lost its shape in the transfer, lightly shape it
to the desired dimensions.
8 Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone in
the oven (watch your hands, the oven is hot!). Gently shake the peel to see if
the dough will easily slide, if not, gently lift up the edges of the pizza and
add a bit more cornmeal. Slide the pizza off of the peel and on to the baking
stone in the oven. Bake pizza one at a time until the crust is browned and the
cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes. If you want, toward the end of the
cooking time you can sprinkle on a little more cheese.
EAT WHEN IT STILL HOT!! YUMMYYYY !!!!!
0 comments