Sunday, February 22, 2009

Pizza! Pizza!


Pizza Dough
(this recipe makes 2 pizzas!!!)
2 c water
3 t sugar
2 t salt
3 T olive oil
2.5 c whole wheat flour
2.5 c all purpose flour
1.5 t baking powder
3/4 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
2 1/4 t yeast

I make this dough in my bread machine. I add the ingredients in the order they are listed and set it to the dough cycle. This makes a double batch of dough which is enough for 2 full sheet pans (12x16) with fairly thick crust (Pizza Hut) or I can make 4 thin crust. You could probably make 4 thick crust in a 9 x 13 or round pizza pan. I divide the dough into two balls and put one in a freezer safe tupperware (spray it with non stick spray first) and put it in the freezer. The other ball of dough I leave to rise in a greased bowl on the counter, it will take about an hour to double in size. The frozen dough will thaw in the fridge in a day. I put it in the fridge in the morning and I put it on the counter to double before dinner on the night I plan to use it. It is DEFINITELY worth doubling the dough for ease of prep the second pizza day.

To make this dough by hand: dissolve the sugar and yeast in warm (100-120 degree) water. Once it is dissolve pour it in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of flour, olive oil, baking powder & spices. Mix together. Add flour a cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the and starts to form a sticky ball. Let rest in bowl for 7 minutes. Then turn onto lightly floured surface and knead for 8 minutes, using as little flour as needed to keep from sticking. Divide dough in two balls and proceed as above. (You can also make this in a mixer with a dough hook for the kneading... start off with a paddle for the mixing).

This is how the dough should look when it is kneaded (either by machine or by hand):

This is how I divide it up. One is for the freezer and one is for that night's pizza:

This is what the dough looks like once it has doubled in bulk:


Now this is how I make my pizzas:

Turn your oven on to 400.

Flour a surface big enough to roll out your dough.

I turn my risen dough onto the lightly floured surface.

I lightly dust the top of the dough with flour and punch it down.

I use a big rolling pin to make a rectangle. You can easily just push it into shape with your hands you don't need a rolling pin.

I oil my sheet with 2 T olive oil. This makes a HUGE flavor boost and crust lusciousness you can't achieve without it and the little bit of oil is worth the calories.

I pick my dough up stretching it with my knuckles to get the pizza to the size of my pan (not complicated... if you rip your dough just pinch it together). This is a generous portion of dough so getting it to size is not hard.


I place my dough in the pan and brush the edge of my crust with olive oil. I just dip my pastry brush (use your fingers) in the oil from the bottom of the pan.

I then take 2-3 T of tomato paste and use my fingers to spread it around the pizza (not the crust).
Then I sprinkle the entire pizza lightly with coarse salt (Kosher or Sea Salt)... make sure you get the crust! Trust me. This extra layer of tomato flavor really enhances the pizza and the salt makes your crust like bread sticks.

Pop your pizza in the oven for 5 minutes.
This cooks the tomato paste in and gets the dough a head start. (It's how the pizza guys do it too). When you top your pizza you'll only have to cook it until your toppings are done instead of taking 20 minutes your pizza will be ready in 5-10 minutes. This extra pre-bake is worth it.

Spread on about 1/2 c of tomato sauce right on top of the baked on tomato paste.

Top your pizza with about 2 cups of cheese.

Go crazy with your toppings.

Lower your oven to 375 and bake your pizza until your cheese is melted.

Enjoy.


Want to know how long all this takes?
To make the dough 5-25 minutes (depending on how you make it).
The dough rises for one hour.
To make the pizza takes 15 minutes hands on prep time and 10-15 hands off.
So once you have your dough you've got pizza on the table in less than 30 minutes!

13 comments:

Mr Furious said...

Oh, it's good alright. And since Kid doesn't finish her crusts (her loss) I get plenty of salted "breadsticks."

I was just telling Mrs F how cool it is that the kids see/help with all of this scratch cooking. How awesome is it that they will learn that you make your food rather than open a box or order it?

On a sidenote, I am totally into making thre bread now. When I make it there's the added suspense factor—did he remember all the ingredients?

Robin said...

Yahoo!! We'll be having this Tuesday night.

wootini said...

wow, thanks Mrs. F! And thank you so much for posting pictures too - that really helps. I can't wait to try it next Friday!

Kiki said...

"Remember all the ingredients"...Mr.F, that is funny!!! I swear that happens to me all of the time!!! Or I forget that I put something in and add more....luckily Ken will eat almost anything!

This does look yummy, almost easy enough for me to tempt the fates and try to work with yeast again. I made pizza dough before and had a tough time getting the dough to stretch...not sure what that was related to...but it might be time to try again!!!!

sara said...

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

That was a wonderful tutorial!! I'm very impressed!

-SawSaw

Shelley said...

Yumm! We like making our own pizza's too but I've always gotten my dough from TJ's - but this looks easy. Is there a reason why you use half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour, and not 100% whole wheat?

Mrs Furious said...

Shelley,
I find in general that using 100% ww at home makes for too dry and grainy a dough. But every flour is different and where you live (how much moisture etc)... try it both ways. Also Mr F is kind of a white flour person... so... this is an improvement.

Heather said...

LOVE This! I want to make this this week. Maybe Pete can figure it out. Hey, a girl can dream.

Robin said...

I have a question about the freezer dough. Do you just put it in the freezer immediately, then the day you are going to use it, take it out to defrost and rise?

Mrs Furious said...

Robin,
Yep. As soon as the dough is done being kneaded I pop half in a greased container and pop it in the freezer. The day I make it I put it in the fridge to thaw and put it out to rise before dinner.

Robin said...

Thanks!! I'm making it tonight. I don't suppose you have any idea how many calories it is?

Anonymous said...

Love how Baby looks like one of the "big kids" in this pic! :)

Robin said...

We had this for dinner tonight. It was delicious!!! And very easy. I was impressed with how easy the dough was to work with. Everyone loved it. Next time, I am going to try it a little thinner.

Thanks so much for the recipes. I've tried several of yours, and they never dissapoint. You should write a cook book!!

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