The Promised Pizza Recipe

Ok, I know this is late but I'm going to put it down on paper. The dough recipe I'm going to give is actually from Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine. I changed mine up a little bit though.

Dough ingredients:
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp hone
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
3 cups (or more) all-purpose or bread flour––––– I used wheat flour for mine
1 3/4 tsp coarse salt
2 tbsp. EVOO

You can also add herbs to the mix as well to give the crust a hint of flavor. I would recommend basil, oregano, and some thyme. Not to heavy or you may over power the toppings.


Step 1: Mix the water and honey until the honey dissolves Once dissolved, sprinkle the yeast over the mixture and let stand until foamy (or five minutes). While that sits, mix your flour and salt together in a bowl.

Step 2: Pour the yeast mix and EVOO into the flour mixture and begin mixing together. Once the dough is mixed sufficiently begin to knead the dough for about 5-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.

Step 3: Oil a large bowl and then add the dough, turning to coat it. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about an hour.

Step 4: Punch the dough down and put on a floured surface. Cut the dough in quarters and round into a smooth ball shape.

Step 5: Place dough sections in a resealable plastic bag or container and refrigerate for 10 to 48 hours. Before using to make a pizza, let dough sit at room temperature for about an hour before shaping. You can also freeze the dough for about two weeks (let the dough sit at room temperature for two hours once frozen though).

Step 6: Place one ball onto floured surface and flatten out with hands or a rolling pin to desired thickness. If you want to make mini pizzas simply cut the dough ball in half or in thirds and then flatten.


Toppings are quite easy. Basically this is a preference thing for most people. For my pizzas, I topped three of them completely different. Two had a tomato paste base and the other had an olive oil/pesto base. My favorite toppings include: pepperoni, chicken, red bell pepper, jalapeño, onion, spinach, mozzarella, feta cheese, black olives/green olives, bacon or pretty much whatever I have on hand that sounds good.

Last night my pizza was layered as follows. It came out even more delicious than I anticipated it would. I was quite surprised with myself :).

Mozzarella
Sauce (mixture of parmesan, olive oil, garlic, pesto, and onion that was pureed together)
Diced Chicken
Bacon
Spinach
Onion
Red Pepper
Feta
Mozzarella


Happy cooking everyone!!