Pizza Recipe
zoethe recently posted that she's been experimenting with homemade pizza, but that her recent attempts hadn't been as tasty as she hoped.
As it turns out, one thing my family knows how to make is pizza. That's because we make pizza for every single family birthday, so we've had lots of practice. Here's the recipe. It makes two cookie sheet size pizzas.
Part 1 - Dough
1 teaspoon sugar.
3 1/2 cups of warm water.
1 package active dry yeast.
Between 3 and 5 cups of flour. You can use bread flour, or use half whole wheat and half all purpose.
1 tablespoon olive oil.
No stick.
1. Mix 1 teaspoon sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Add 1 package active dry yeast. Stir and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Mix 1/2 cup warm water and 3 cups bread flour into the yeast mixture. Mix well.
3. Add 1/2 cup more warm water and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
4. Add in 1/2 cup portions of flour until the dough is stiff enough to knead well. You may do this as many as four times for a total of an additional 2 cups of flour.
NOTE: Again, I usually do half whole wheat and half all purpose flour.
5, Knead dough until well blended. Spray a large bowl with nostick and put the dough in the bowl. Spray more nostick on top of the dough. Cover in plastic wrap and set in a warm until doubled.
6. Punch dough down and divide in half.
7. Spray a 13" round cookie sheet or an equivalent oblong pan with no stick. Roll or pat out one of the halves of dough on the sheet.
PART 2 - Toppings
15 ounce can of tomato sauce
Oregano, Parsley, Thyme, Basil, Garlic Powder, Crushed Red Pepper to taste.
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Shredded Mozzarella cheese (or Romano, Provolone, whatever)
8. Mix together sauce, Parmesan and spices together. Place half over one pizza.
9. Add toppings as desired. Peppers, olives, mushrooms, pepperoni, whatever.
10. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
11. Bake pizza in center of oven for 15 to 20 minutes; crust should brown evenly.
12. Sprinkle with no more than four to six ounces of mozzarella. Bake for another five minutes or until cheese is melted.
13. Let cool slightly. Cut and serve.
To achieve maximum birthday authenticity, this should be served with carrot-pineapple salad, which we have every time we make pizza. I suppose it's not strictly necessary, but that's the family tradition.
3-4 medium to large carrots.
2 cans crushed pineapple (drained)
1. Peel the carrots.
2. Shred the carrots.
3. Mix the pineapple with the carrots.
4. Eat.
As it turns out, one thing my family knows how to make is pizza. That's because we make pizza for every single family birthday, so we've had lots of practice. Here's the recipe. It makes two cookie sheet size pizzas.
Part 1 - Dough
1 teaspoon sugar.
3 1/2 cups of warm water.
1 package active dry yeast.
Between 3 and 5 cups of flour. You can use bread flour, or use half whole wheat and half all purpose.
1 tablespoon olive oil.
No stick.
1. Mix 1 teaspoon sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Add 1 package active dry yeast. Stir and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Mix 1/2 cup warm water and 3 cups bread flour into the yeast mixture. Mix well.
3. Add 1/2 cup more warm water and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
4. Add in 1/2 cup portions of flour until the dough is stiff enough to knead well. You may do this as many as four times for a total of an additional 2 cups of flour.
NOTE: Again, I usually do half whole wheat and half all purpose flour.
5, Knead dough until well blended. Spray a large bowl with nostick and put the dough in the bowl. Spray more nostick on top of the dough. Cover in plastic wrap and set in a warm until doubled.
6. Punch dough down and divide in half.
7. Spray a 13" round cookie sheet or an equivalent oblong pan with no stick. Roll or pat out one of the halves of dough on the sheet.
PART 2 - Toppings
15 ounce can of tomato sauce
Oregano, Parsley, Thyme, Basil, Garlic Powder, Crushed Red Pepper to taste.
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Shredded Mozzarella cheese (or Romano, Provolone, whatever)
8. Mix together sauce, Parmesan and spices together. Place half over one pizza.
9. Add toppings as desired. Peppers, olives, mushrooms, pepperoni, whatever.
10. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
11. Bake pizza in center of oven for 15 to 20 minutes; crust should brown evenly.
12. Sprinkle with no more than four to six ounces of mozzarella. Bake for another five minutes or until cheese is melted.
13. Let cool slightly. Cut and serve.
To achieve maximum birthday authenticity, this should be served with carrot-pineapple salad, which we have every time we make pizza. I suppose it's not strictly necessary, but that's the family tradition.
3-4 medium to large carrots.
2 cans crushed pineapple (drained)
1. Peel the carrots.
2. Shred the carrots.
3. Mix the pineapple with the carrots.
4. Eat.