Kids of all ages love pizza! It is a favourite in our extended family. Pizza is like a picnic – informal, messy and fun. It’s especially fun when you make it from scratch, and I don’t think people would buy ready-made versions if they knew how simple and delicious is homemade pizza crust. It literally takes about 15 minutes to make and you do not need to be a bread- baker to pull it off! Pizza dough freezes really well, an added bonus, so you can double the recipe and have some dough stored in your freezer for another evening when you want something easy.
Here’s my basic dough recipe for 2 individual pizzas:
1 T. traditional yeast 8 oz. lukewarm water 1 t. salt
3 C. organic flour
I mix the type of flour depending on supply, season or mood – all whole wheat, all unbleached white, or ½ & ½ ; you can use whatever proportions you like. You can add herbs like basil, oregano and thyme into the flour for more interest, or keep it plain. The only area where I don’t recommend substitution is in the quality of the flour. Non-organic flour comes from wheat that has been sprayed with pesticides/insecticides, often a requirement for crop insurance; commercial sellers put preservatives in there, and the flour can be heavily processed. The chemicals non-organic flour contains can really harm your gut, so bite the bullet and buy organic only!!! (A family member who struggled for many years with ulcerative colitis has never had a problem with my bread products and I think that’s the reason. No compromise on organic.)
Now for the pizza-making:
- Preheat oven to 450 and if you have a pizza stone, place that in there before you turn the oven on.
- Stir the yeast into the warm water to make sure it’s alive. It’ll form little bubbles and a cloudy film on top within 5 or so minutes, and you’ll know you’re good to go. Always store your yeast in the fridge so it doesn’t go stale.
- In a large bowl, stir the flour and salt together. Make a well in the centre and add in the liquid. Stir until all is combined and the dough begins to hold together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured counter and knead it, using the heel of your hand. That means pushing it back and forth, folding it over and forming it into a nice round ball that sticks together. This is hands- on and very pleasurable, as you bread-bakers already know. You want the dough to be smooth and elastic, so it’ll take 5 or so minutes to get that consistency. Don’t worry if you can’t work all the flour into your ball. Add a little flour to your hands if they get too sticky.
Oil a bowl with a little olive oil, place the dough ball in there, cover with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel, and let rise for about an hour or until it doubles in size. If you’re not making the pizzas until later, just put the bowl in the fridge to slow down the rising process.
I double this recipe and freeze ½ of it before the rising.
When you’re ready to make your individual pizzas – each person creating their own is the most fun – push the air out of the dough with the flat of your hands, cut the dough into ½ and roll out each portion with a rolling pin on a floured surface. (Dust the rolling pin with flour.) You want to stretch the dough and form something close to a circle in shape. If you like, you can channel the pros and toss the dough into the air to aerate and stretch it – just toss it above the counter top so accidents don’t result in starting all over.
Now take a cutting board or “pizza paddle” if you have one, and lightly cover that board with corn meal. That way the dough won’t stick when you put the toppings on it.
Thinly spread tomato sauce (I like to make my own, but you can find a wonderful variety of tomato/pasta sauces these days) on the dough, leaving about a ½-1 inch border without sauce. Then add your favourite toppings: olives, cheese – feta, parmesan, cheddar – onions, peppers, mushrooms, ham, sausage, chopped chard or spinach, roasted yam or parsnip chunks – so many choices! Try something new, just for you. It is always fun to see how people construct their own, and the variety makes for some good taste-testing and trading at the table.
Slide the pizza from the board/paddle to the pizza stone/baking sheet (also sprinkled with corn meal) and cook for about 15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing into wedges.
Buon appetito !
