How to Make Home-Made Pizza that Will Be a Household Favorite
My grandma’s pizza dough recipe consists of a mere three ingredients: Yeast, Flour, and Water. You may also add salt and olive oil to the mix if desired. Here’s what you need to start with:
-Large Mixing bowl
-Rubber Spatula
-Several Dish Towels
-3 cups of Flour
-1 package of rapid rising yeast
-2 tsp. of honey
-2 tbsps. Cornmeal
-1 can of Pizza Sauce or 2 cans of Diced Tomatoes
-Shredded cheese of your choice
-Desired Herbs
First you start with the yeast. Empty one packet into your mixing bowl. This will be a sufficient enough amount to tackle the rising job for high altitude areas, where the yeast tends to rise quickly and effectively. If you are not in high altitude conditions you may want to try two packets of yeast to ensure the dough will double in size. Now this is where the honey comes in. The honey will counteract the yeast-y flavor of your dough, so if you skip this part you will have to get used to the very ‘raw’ taste of the dough. Measure out the amount of water recommended to “activate” your yeast (usually Ã?¾ cup is good so that the honey will have ample water to dissolve in). Make sure the water is on the warm side so that the 2 teaspoons of honey you now add will fully dissolve. Dump this in the mixing bowl with the dry yeast and mix until yeast dissolves and is bubbly.
Next you add the flour 1 cup at a time. The first two cups you can add to the bowl as you stir with a rubber spatula or fork. The dough will begin to form as soft lumps. Now for the messy part. Roll up your sleeves and dig in! Gather the entire clump of dough into your hands and place it onto a dry, lightly floured surface. Begin to knead the dough. You will notice that it seems very dry and flaky at this point. Keep the measuring cup you used for the honey and water on hand, and fill it with warm water to add periodically to your dough. As you knead away make sure you add that last cup of flour in. The best way to add it is by placing it on the surface you are kneading on and simply kneading into it; this will pick up the remaining flour more easily. The amount of water you add should be just enough to make the finished 3 cups of flour smooth and elastic in your hands.
Now comes the fun part-add-ins! What types of herbs and spices do you like? Personally, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, onion power, and grated parmesan are among the favorites. But whatever your taste is, sprinkle a generous amount of your favorite herbs on your working surface and knead it into the dough. Don’t be afraid to put a good handful of each herb, b/c the baked dough will take on that flavor better when there is a liberal amount kneaded in. Not only does this add color to your dough, but it will make your pizza one of a kind every time. Try using powdered spices like onion and garlic; these work in better than chunks of minced garlic and onion, and more evenly distribute the flavor in the finished dough. Experiment and have fun. The only caution is to go easy on hot and spicy herbs, as they may be too much for the faint-hearted. Another fun addition is a stuffed crust. Simply cut string cheese in half lengthwise and fold the edges of the crust over it and tuck in neatly. If you are into garlic you can add a little garlic powder on top of the string cheese to give it a little kick.
After you are done you may add olive oil to the dough-a tablespoon will do. Place it in the cleaned mixing bowl and cover it with several dishtowels. Yeast works better under warm conditions, so place the mixing bowl on the oven or any other warm spot in the house. My grandmother used to wrap the dough in towels and ‘tuck them” into her own bed! This is definitely an effective option, but leaving it in the mixing bowl will do the trick as well. Depending on your altitude the dough will take 30 minutes – 2 hours to double in size. So you can do some cleaning up in the meantime.
Once your dough has risen, grease a pizza pan with olive oil and stretch your dough out on it. Did you ever notice that pizzeria pizza has these little crumbly seed-like things on the bottom of the crust? That’s where the corn meal comes in. Once you get the desired size and shape, carefully peel it up half way and sprinkle some corn meal on the pan. Repeat with the other half. Putting the corn meal on after spreading it in the pan keeps it distributed more evenly than if you push it around while making the pizza dough fit the pan. Cover it with a dishtowel and let rise until it doubles in the pan again to ensure a thick crust.
Now it’s time to decorate! This crust can handle anything; believe me. So load the toppings on. I don’t like pizza sauces, so I opt to use two cans of diced tomatoes as the first layer-one can of plain and the other of Italian. If you use diced tomatoes make sure you drain as much excess liquid as you can before placing the chunks on the pizza crust. Add your favorite blend of seasonings, shredded cheese, and other toppings. Hint: if you layer the toppings by putting, say, the mushrooms on over the tomato, putting on a layer of cheese and then putting peppers on and topping that with a thin layer of cheese, the toppings will stay put as you eat it and not just spill all off. Place this in a preheated oven (450F or 475F depending on how thick the crust actually rose to) and bake for 17-25 minutes. Keep an eye on it the first time you make it so you can see how long it really takes to cook it. But the stunning part is that even if you do manage to burn it, because it is in layers you will only burn the surface cheese and the inside will still be preserved. We found this out the hard way when our timer decided not to work. So word to the wise, don’t go and play a game of tennis in the meantime-this pizza cooks fast.
Let the pizza cool a little before slicing it to prevent any unwarranted burns. I guarantee that if you follow all of these steps your pizza crust will be crispy and will not be overcome by the intense toppings. You can actually pick it up and eat it without utensils and not have it fall to pieces! How exciting is that! So if you want to try your hand at this, in 2 Ã?½ hours or less – Chow time!
