Homemade Pizza

Hi, I’m Lara (Sister #2 – Although, I would like to refer to myself as Sister #1, but I’ll let it slide because she’s the oldest!)

When I was in third grade, I wrote a book named Snoopy In Person, which was a story about a talking dog (our family pet, Snoopy) doing all the things I liked to do at that age – going to Six Flags, visiting the candy store and the playground, eating pizza, playing four square and the list goes on. In the back of the book there is a page “About the Author” which explains I am nine years old, have a sister named Sheri, a dog named Snoopy, and I really love Pizza!

Later in life, my husband, Craig, read my short story and realized just how much I loved pizza and we’ve been making homemade pizza dough ever since! It really is one of my favorite things to do while enjoying good company. Making your own pizza dough is the key and although it may seem overwhelming, it is well worth the trouble! Craig now likes pizza more than ever, and here is the recipe:

~ Pizza Dough Recipe ~

Ingredients:

1 Package of Fast Rising Yeast

2 1/4 cups of Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*

¼ cup flour (for kneading)

1 tsp. Salt

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (optional, to taste)

2 tbsp. of Honey (to Proof yeast)

1 ½ Tbsp. Honey (to Add to dough mixture)

Other Items Needed:

1 Large Bowl

3 Medium-Large Size Bowls coated with Olive Oil

2 or 3 Moist Towels

Ziploc Bag or Saran Wrap

Pizza Stone (in oven)

Large Cutting Board

Pizza Peel

Pizza Cutter

* For healthier dough, use one-half Whole Wheat Flour and one-half Unbleached All-Purpose Flour. This will also make the dough easier to work with when rolling it out.

Add yeast to 1 cup of warm water (115 degrees) and 2 tablespoons of honey...stir until dissolved. Let sit until yeast proofs. (Live yeast will form foam at the top. If no foam forms after 10 minutes, the yeast is either dead or your water was too hot/cold and you will need to start over with a new package of yeast.)

Meanwhile, put 2 1/4 cups of flour, a teaspoon of salt, crushed red pepper flakes (optional) into bowl and mix dry ingredients.

Pour dissolved yeast mixture into dry ingredients and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey. Continue mixing until dough forms a ball (If mixture is too dry, add hot water until dough forms a ball.)

Place dough ball on hard surface and knead 8-15 minutes. Depending on how wet your dough is you will need to add flour during kneading to prevent sticking. Keep your dough as wet as possible as it seems to produce a better result.

After kneading, form your dough in a ball and place in a bowl coated w/oil. Place a moist towel over the bowl and place bowl in a warm area (we use a 110-120 degree preheated oven; make sure oven is turned off - you just want a warm place to let the dough rise) after about 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours, the dough will have doubled.

Pour the dough to a floured surface and separate it into 2 dough balls, place each ball into separate oil coated bowls, cover with moist towels and put back into the oven for another hour. Once they have risen again, separate each ball into 2 balls (a total of four balls).

You can either put each ball into a Ziploc bag, or wrap the balls loosely in saran wrap, but make sure it is sealed to keep the moisture in. You can use it immediately or wrap it in saran wrap and put it in the refrigerator. We like to make one pizza immediately after the 2nd rising of the dough, put the rest in the fridge, and make pizza for the next 2-5 days. Try it out to see at what point you like the pizza crust the best.

When you are ready to use the dough from the refrigerator, let it sit out for 10-20 minutes to come up to room temp. Sprinkle corn meal on your Pizza Peel so it will easily roll off onto the Pizza Stone. Roll out your dough (we like it ultra thin) and place it on your Pizza Peel. Add your toppings. Shake the Pizza Peel to make sure your pie will slide. Slide your pizza onto the stone (this may take some practice, but you will get the hang of it!)

We always like to cook the pizza in the hottest oven possible (~500 degrees) and make sure you let the pizza stone get hot before cooking your pizza. You can add whatever toppings you’d like, but some of the ones we love to use are: pesto, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, prosciutto, garlic, Kalamata olives, and red peppers. Cook in a hot oven until crispy about 4-7 minutes depending on the thickness of your crust– Godetevi la vostra pizza!
Click here for a printable version of this recipe.