I love home made pizza. And by home made, I mean where you make the dough from scratch, and top it to your heart’s content. My favorite kind is when I also make pesto sauce from scratch to top my pizza, but here I just want to talk about making the dough that you can use anyway you see fit. I have also discovered that using 00 flour (finer texture, less gluten than all purpose flour) which I have found on Amazon and at local supermarkets makes a nicer crust and a more delicious pizza. You can certainly use all purpose flour and it will still come out beautifully.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2.25 tsp dry yeast (one small packet yeast)
- 3 cups 00 flour or all purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- Your preferred sauce
- Your preferred toppings
- Fresh mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil leaves for garnishing
How to:
1. Mix the water and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a bowl). Mix the yeast and let it rest for five minutes.
2. When the yeast is frothy, add the flour, salt, and olive oil and knead the dough at medium speed (if using a stand mixer) or with your hand, till it all comes together and is not sticky. On my stand mixer, this took about 8 minutes.
3. Roll the dough into a smooth ball and let it rest in a well oiled bowl (you could use the stand mixer bowl), in a draft free area, for 45 minutes to an hour.
4. At the end of this time, the dough should have doubled in size.
5. Preheat the over to 500 degrees F.
5. Divide the dough into four equal sized balls. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a circle 6-7 inches in diameter (yes this is okay, because I don’t know to flip my dough).
6. Transfer the dough circle to a pizza pan. Spread your favorite sauce, sprinkle your favorite toppings, top with pieces of mozzarella cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. (Repeat process with the rest of the dough). For the pizza shown here, I spread homemade pesto sauce and topped the pizza with sun dried tomatoes, finely sliced asparagus, and mozzarella cheese. Just before serving, I topped the pizza with some micro kale, since I did not have any basil on hand.
7. Slice into six slices and enjoy!
8. If you do not use up all the dough, you can keep it in the fridge for up to two days or in the freezer for a month. Just bring the dough back to room temperature before using.
PS. If you want to make your own pesto sauce, here’s how I make mine. I take a bunch of basil leaves, a clove of garlic, a quarter cup of pine nuts or walnuts, a quarter cup of finely grated parmesan cheese in a food processor. I add a bit of salt and black pepper, and a generous amount of olive oil and grind the mix till it is coarsely ground and still has a grainy texture.
a global affair 