I just realized that I haven't written in over two months. No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. My market season began with a vengenance and I haven't had much time to do any "experimental" baking. Hopefully, that will change and I can find some time to squeeze in an hour or two of baking.
The sad news is that our local grocery store is closing. It is one of the smaller chains. I am going to miss that store. I ordered a lot of my flour and other ingredients from them. Many of the store personnel know me by name. It was always pleasant to walk in and have someone yell "Hey Diane! How's Bob doing?" They also make pretty good pizza. The only other pizza available in town is Snappy's. Now I am not knocking all Snappy's. I am sure they are an excellent franchise. The one in our town makes lousy pizza - sorry guys, but it is true. The crust tastes like cardboard!! Even our dogs won't eat it!!
So now it looks like it is up to me if we want pizza! Of course, we could always buy frozen. Those are always good if you are really desperate! But, there is nothing like a freshly made pizza. Peter Reinhardt, a famous breadmaker, wrote a book called American Pie - it is all about his search for the perfect pizza. Has a bunch of interesting recipes. Check it out at the local library - good book!! I borrow it all the time. Maybe one of these days, I will actually buy a copy!
Anyway, my search for the perfect pizza starts with a recipe from my good old buddy, Old Camp Cook. He sent me this recipe for homemade pizza dough several years ago. It is an easy recipe to make. I've also seen a recipe for a sourdough pizza dough - will definitely have to check that one out!
For a variation, you can add chopped oregano or minced garlic to the dough.
Basic Pizza Dough
Ingredients:
3.5 cups flour
1 cup warm water (between 95 and 115 degrees F)
2 Tablespoons yeast.
2 Tablespoons honey
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Pour warm water into a bowl. The water should be very warm, but comfortable. Too hot and it will kill the yeast. Add the honey and the salt. Mix on low until well blended. Add the yeast and mix some more.
2. Let this rest for about 5 minutes.
3. Add 1 (one) cup of flour and the olive oil and mix until well blended. Add the rest of the flour and mix well.
4. The dough should turn into a ball. If the dough does not ball up because it’s too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does. If your mixture is more like a batter, add flour one tablespoon at a time. Adding flour and water as needed to get the right consistency will assure you a perfect dough. Just remember to do it in small amounts.
5. Once the dough is balled up. Place the ball on a floured board and knead for about a minute. This builds the gluten which helps the dough rise and become fluffy when cooked. Place the dough in a plastic grocer bag or a cover bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise. (I spray the inside of a gallon Ziploc bag with Pam and put the dough in the bag to rise.)
6. After about 45 minutes, the dough should have about doubled in size. Punch it down. Let it rise for another hour or so. The dough is now ready to be used.
7. Form the dough into a flat ball about six to eight inches wide. Using both hands, on on top of the other, press from the center outwards to start stretching it out, turning the dough a bit on each push. You can also pick up the dough and squeeze the edges of it while turning it like a steering wheel. This allows the weight of the dough to stretch it.
8. Once the dough is about ½ inch thick all the way around, use a rolling pin to flatten it out to about ¼ inch thick. I also sometimes just put the dough on the pizza sheet and push/pull it out to the right size without using the rolling pin. Use a fork to puncture holes all over the dough. This helps keep the dough from “blooming” and also makes little pits for olive oil which I lightly spread all over the dough.
9. Transfer the dough to a pizza peel sprinkled with corn meal or place on a lightly greased cookie or pizza pan.
10/ Top with sauce, cheese and/or toppings and bake in a 400 F. oven until the crust is light brown. Keep the sauce and toppings back from the edges about a half an inch and you will get a bit of a puffy edge crust.
11. I use minimal sauce and toppings since I love the flavor of this dough. Bake usually between 4 and 7 minutes. I watch the edges of the crust carefully.
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