Birth of a Pizza

Long gone are the days of eating Tortino’s Pizza rescued from the darkest reaches of my freezer. Even gone are the days of decent store-bought brands or most delivery or carry-out ones. These days I make my own pizza, and it’s not too hard and tastes really, really good!

I like to think of this homemade pizza as “healthy” (as opposed to “health”) food because it is not swimming in the cheese grease common in slices found at your local pizza joint (and I top it with spinach and mushrooms, at least on one side?) At the very least, the control it affords allows you to decide how much and how many toppings you want.

The most important part of this pizza recipe is the dough. I tried a few different recipes but they were often too thick or too bready for my taste. Perhaps good for those who like thicker crust pizza, but I wanted something more in between–not quite cracker-thin, but just a little bit soft and chewy. Also, this dough recipe is quick and easy: The ingredients are few and there’s no wait time for dough to rise–you make it and roll it out and there be pizza!

Please note: I’ve tried this with wheat flour and it’s just not as good. The dough is a little too tough. If you want to try a healthier dough, I would recommend going half and half with the white and wheat flour.

Thin Pizza Crust
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
3/4 cup 110 degree water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
pizza sauce – of your choice, as needed
shredded cheese – of your choice, as needed
toppings – of your choice, as needed

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in water; allow to rest for 8 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt.
3. Pour yeast mixture over flour mixture and mix well with a heavy spoon.
4. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes.
5. Working from the edges to the center, press dough into a 12″ circle.
6. Place dough on a lightly greased pizza pan and stretch dough to edges.
7. Spread sauce over crust and top with cheese and desired toppings.
8. Bake in a 500 degree oven for 8-12 minutes, or until edges are golden.

Roll out the dough

Prepare the ingredients--in this case, mushrooms, garlic, spinach, and italian sausage.

Add sauce, garlic, and a layer of cheese. I usually coat the dough in olive oil and a bit of garlic powder before I put on the sauce.

Put on your desired ingredients--in this case, sausage, mushrooms, and spinach. Then add another layer of cheese before baking.

About these ads

Tags: pizza