So I've been making pizza for a good while now, except I never bothered experimenting with any new recipes and kind of just stuck to one. Today, I tried out a new one. I found it on all recipes, but I'm posting it here with my own instructions. I think part of what's cool about this recipe blog is that we get to add little tips and such while writing up our versions of various recipes. This helps the person who's maybe aiming to try a new dish feel more confident about the how and what. You can definitely find these sorts of tips in the comments and reviews section of most websites that feature recipes, but you generally have to go through hundreds of those to understand what to do differently, and even then it's very confusing.
Anyway, sorry about the tangent. I heard we have some new visitors to this blog. I'd like to just say welcome and feel free to comment away :-) Make yourself at home!
Now onto the recipe!
3 1/2 cups bread flour (it's white flour, but a bit different than all purpose flour. works better for pizza crusts and such)
1 package active dry yeast (make sure its the quick/rapid rise yeast, not the slow one!)
1/2 tsp brown sugar or honey
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (not hot, just warm)
2 tbsps olive oil, or you can use vegetable oil
Fill a large bowl with the water, then dissolve the package of yeast along with the brown sugar or honey in it. Set that aside for 10 minutes. Add olive oil and salt, and stir the mixture. Then add 2 and a half cups of the flour right in that bowl. Mix with a fork. It's going to be a very runny mixture, but stir for a bit. Don't attempt to soften the lumps, that's not going to happen and you don't want that anyway. Then, on a separate flat surface (like a cleaned counter top or wooden board) sprinkle a good amount of the remaining flour. On top of that, dump the flour and yeast mixture. Top with more remaining flour, then start kneading to form a dough. This is a very messy process at first, but it comes together OH so nicely in the end and is totally worth the wait! Keep adding flour and working it into the dough until the dough is no longer sticky. You can use more than the suggested amount of flour in this recipe. However I strongly suggest not using more than an additional half cups or a total of 4 cups. You don't want the dough to be very tough, but soft yet not sticky. Keep kneading for a good 15 minutes.
Lightly oil a separate large bowl, then transfer the dough in it. Cover with a towel and let it sit in a warm corner for an hour. By the end of that time, the dough size should have doubled. At this point, punch a hole in the dough. Knead some more if you wish. Form into a ball. Then take a pizza pan, oil it, and spread out the dough. You can make a large thick crust, or 2 smaller thin crusts.
After you spread the dough out, let it sit for 15 additional minutes. This will allow it to slightly rise again. While waiting, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Get your cheese and pizza sauce out (I use Bertollis olive oil & garlic) and chop up any veggies (I use lots of bell peppers, onions, etc. You can use canned olives, or you may not use any veggies at all!).
After the 15 minutes are up, top your pizza dough with sauce, cheese, and veggies. Bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly
You think this recipe can be doubled?
ReplyDeletesalaam :) no, i would not recommend doubling or halving this. because its a baked item, and with that proportions are meant to be super accurate and precise. also, you are likely to be able to knead the dough much better and easily this way.
ReplyDeleteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! zubair and i have been talking about how i need to make my own pizza! omg thanks so much sal im so excited to try this! woot.
ReplyDeletesanaaaaaaaaaaa i have a word to say about this. if you make only one crust out of this, then make sure its huuuge. this thing rises a LOT. its a super thick crust. so maybe split the dough in half to make 2? it may be an issue trying to roll it out, bc itll feel thin, but trust me once it starts cooking it does NOT stay thin at alll! Next time I'm gonna def split it halfway or something. You can still get a pretty decent crust with that.
ReplyDeleteo0o good advice, specially since i have to cook in tiny quantities for the hubbz and i. if i use only have and save the other half in the fridge will it go bad quickly at all? and what else could pizza dough be used for?
ReplyDeleteyou can use it for garlic bread :) and yes you can save it but has to be in an airtight container. dont use plastic wrap bc it will rise in the fridge and bust thru it.
ReplyDelete