As a carb lover…pizza has always been a favorite! When I was little, I remember my Mom making homemade pizza occasionally on a Friday night during lent and always thought it was fun. As 1 of 8 children, the opportunity to help prep in the kitchen was often more of a hassle for my Mom. Multiple children in the kitchen stresses me out just thinking about it. But on pizza night, we were able to help and I have clear memories of enjoying that time. As an adult, I still love pizza. When Glenn and I went to New York we made it our mission to eat pizza from at least one place each day, and some days we had it twice.
I started making pizza dough a couple of years ago when I bought my first pizza stone. Flat-breads have kind of become a bit of a restaurant trend, and I thought it would be fun to try. Being married to an Italian usually means that I should never attempt anything that falls under “Italian Food” category. However…Glenn cannot follow a recipe to save his life. If he is forced to follow a recipe, it is similar to how a caged animal must feel. He cannot do it. When he cooks, he NEVER measures anything, and it always comes out fabulous. He has the gift of being able to open up the refrigerator and make something beautiful and delicious every time. But…baking is different, and measurements are a must. Hence, I was allowed to pursue pizza dough. And he really likes this crust…which leads me to believe it is a good one. After all, he would know!
Making pizza is so much fun, and something that has become a bit of a tradition in our house. The last couple of years, we have had it for our Easter dinner. Not your typical Easter dinner, but at the end of a busy family filled day…its nice to throw together some pizzas and gather around the counter eating, laughing, and chilling out.
My pizza crust recipe is from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day. I have blogged other recipes from this book and I am sure I will continue to blog future recipes. What I love about this book is that all of the dough recipes throw together fast with usually only one proof step. After that, it is good to stay in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Not to mention, these recipes make a lot of dough, which can be used over the course of a week, or frozen and thawed for a later use.
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups of lukewarm water
- 1 1/2 tbsp granulated yeast
- 1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 6 1/2 cps unbleached AP flour
Instructions
- 1. Mix the yeast, salt, sugar and live oil with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container
- 2. Mix in the flour without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup capacity food processor (with dough attachment) or a heavy duty stand mixer (with dough hook). If you are not using a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.
- 3. Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
- 4. Dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 12 days.
- 5. 20 minutes before baking time, place a pizza stone in the middle rack of your oven. Pre-heat the oven to 500 or 550.
- 6. To make a pizza or flatbread, pinch off a much of the dough as you would like and working on a floured surface, create a disk-like shape with either your hands or a floured rolling pin. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a cutting board or pizza peel and transfer your dough, continuing to roll or press it into its final shape.
- 7. Decorate and garnish your pizza however you would like.
- 8. Transfer the dough from the peel or board onto the stone but gently shimmying the board so that it starts to slide onto the stone. The cornmeal should make this easy.
- 9. Check for doneness in 8-10 minutes. It may require more time. Check by using a spatula to lift the underside of the crust to see if it is where you want it to be.
The dough will rise ALOT in the refrigerator even after the proof stage and initial rise. Prior to this container, I have woken up several times to the inside of my refrigerator covered in dough. They recommend a 5 quart bowl or container, and that is about what it needs. I found these great containers at a restaurant supply store and they are amazing!
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