¤ Homemade Pizza ¤

Let's see one dish I enjoy making . . . And of course, eating. It's flexible. You don't have to get scared by the long list of ingredients because you may not put all per time. And you can get creative with the toppings. Just be careful not to overload your pizza.

And no need to fear failing to get a perfect pizza on your first or few tries. You can check my former posts for my own slip. . .

INGREDIENTS

»Pizza Dough: Makes enough dough for two 10-12

inch pizzas

-1 1/2 cups warm water

-1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast

-3 1/2 cups bread flour

-2 Tbsp olive oil

-1 teaspoons salt

-1 teaspoon sugar

»Pizza Ingredients

-Olive oil

-Cornmeal (to help slide the pizza onto the baking sheet or pizza stone)

-Tomato sauce (I use ketchup)

-Cheese

-Gizzard (thinly sliced)

-Hot dogs (cut into thin strips)

-Grilled chicken (cut into strips

-Mushrooms (thinly sliced)

-Bell peppers (stems and seeds removed, thinly

sliced)

-Vegetables

-Onions (thinly sliced)

-Chilly pepper

»MARY's Method

* Place the warm water in the large bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. After 5 minutes stir if the yeast hasn't dissolved completely. The yeast should begin to foam, which indicates that it is still active and alive.

*Using the mixing paddle attachment, mix in the flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil on low speed for a minute. Then replace the mixing paddle with the dough hook attachment.

Knead the pizza dough on low to medium speed using the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

If you don't have a mixer, you can mix the ingredients together and knead them by hand.

If the dough seems a little too wet, sprinkle it with a little more flour.

*  Spread a thin layer of olive oil over the inside of 2  bowls. Divide the dough into two. Place the pizza dough in the bowls and turn it around so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, at least 1 to 1 1/2 hours. You can let it sit for several hours if you want. The longer rise will improve the flavour of the pizza crust. If you don't have a warm spot in the house you can heat the oven to 150 degrees, and then turn off the oven. Let the oven cool till it is just a little warm, then place the bowl of dough in this warmed oven to rise.

PREPARING THE PIZZAS

* Preheat the oven to 450°F for at least 30 minutes.

* Remove the plastic cover from the dough and punch the dough down so it deflates a bit. Place

each in its own bowl, cover with plastic and let sit for 10 minutes.

* Prepare your desired toppings.

* Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a slightly floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further. Let the dough relax for 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter - 10 to 12 inches. Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. You can pinch the very edges if you want to form a lip.

* Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings).

* Use your finger tips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling.

* Let rest another 5 minutes. Repeat with the second ball of dough

* Lightly sprinkle your pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) with corn meal. Transfer one prepared

flattened dough to the pizza peel. If the dough has lost its shape in the transfer, lightly shape it to the desired dimensions.

* Spoon on the tomato sauce mixed with the chilly pepper, sprinkle with cheese, and place your desired toppings on the pizza.

* Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone or sheet in the oven . Gently shake the peel to see if the dough will easily slide, if not, gently lift up the edges of the pizza and add a bit more cornmeal. Slide the pizza off of the peel and on to the baking stone or sheet in the oven. Bake pizza one at a time until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes. If you want, toward the

end of the cooking time you can sprinkle on a little more cheese.

*****You can check "simply recipes".

»Enjoy! 

MARY's Kitchen