Pizza

Obviously my need for pizza did not disappear when we moved to a place with little or no pizza options so a quest began.  The quest for the perfect pizza that I could make at home.  There is so much that goes into pizza and after much research and trial and error (and even a little brain picking of the owner of my favorite pizza place in town) I have come up with the perfect recipe.  the trick is to do it the night before and let it raise in the fridge overnight. You also want to keep the dough cool until its ready to be shaped and into the oven.  I have also found the better the quality of ingredients the better the pizza.  No great value brand mozzarella for this girl! I have found that the use of a pizza stone really helps get that nice crispy crust on the bottom while still soft and yummy inside!  Good luck and let me know how it goes!

 

Pizza Dough

yields 2 medium pizzas 

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt (2 tsp also works well)


Directions:

Mix honey, warm water and yeast in mixer, let stand 10 min, until yeast is activated.  add rest of ingredients and knead for 10-15 mins on medium speed. 

Place the dough in the oiled bowl and spray a little oil on top of the dough as well. Divide into 2 balls cover with olive oil and put refrigerator over night

Pre-heat your oven with pizza stone placed on bottom rack for at least 30 min. at 425 prior to cooking pizza.

Punch it down and transfer it to a floured board. Make sure there’s flour on both sides of the dough and then only use more flour if the dough starts sticking to your hands.

Use the sides of your hands to create the border, push it down in the center and use your hand or finger tips to gently stretch the dough while turning it around. When dough is roughly the size and shape sprinkle your paddle with cornmeal and move quickly to add sauce cheese and toppings.  Transfer to pizza stone and bake for 10-15 min.