1 1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp yeast, not quick rise (this is equivalent to one packet)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour (or more if you want it more wheaty)
2-4 cups bread flour
any herbs you want to knead into the crust for more flavor (basil, oregeno, etc...)
corn meal to put on baking stones
1. Heat water until it is warm to touch (sorry I don't know an exact temperature...I usually get warm water from the tap and then heat it 30 sec in our microwave, but I know everyone's tap and microwave are different temps...) In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water and sprinkle yeast over top to activate. Let stand until foamy.
2. Stir in olive oil and salt to yeast mixture. Add any herbs you want. Add 2 cups of wheat flour and about 1 cup of bread flour (you can use all wheat if you want...I just think it rises better with some bread flour combined). Stir in bowl until it has formed a sticky dough ball that you can dump out on a floured surface to knead. The more flour you're able to stir in while it's in the bowl, the less mess you have once you dump it out to start kneading. You can also make this in a stand mixer using the dough hook and just keep adding flour until it forms a ball. I then usually hand knead it for a while after that.
3. Keep adding flour until it is not sticky (this takes awhile and often makes a big mess in the process!) Pour a bit of olive oil into a glass bowl to coat it, then put dough into bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a towel and let stand for about 1 hour, until doubled.
4. Punch down dough, divide in half, coat another bowl with olive oil, and put one half into each bowl. Cover again and let stand for about 1 hour, until each has doubled.
5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Cover 2 baking stones with corn meal. Flatten each dough ball and form into round crust. It takes some practice to stretch it out without putting holes in it! Rolling pins are helpful. Don't stress if it's not really round. Sometimes we end up with square pizzas. If you like thicker crust at the edges, fold over a bit of the edge part.
6. Bake crusts by themselves for 5 minutes to precook (this makes them crispier on the outside but still doughy inside). Decrease oven temp to 425 degrees F. Add toppings and bake pizzas for about 20 minutes or until cheese begins to brown. Enjoy!!
7. Tips for leftovers: be sure the pizza cools completely before you wrap it up. We've found it gets soggy if it's still warm. Separate slices by foil if stacking in a tupperware. Also, toaster ovens are the BEST for reheating! Much better than microwaves, and must faster than the oven.
Here are some of our favorites:
Shrimp Pesto (or chicken pesto)
Pesto, shrimp or chicken, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, fresh basil, roma tomatoes, parmesan cheese, feta cheese, mozzarella cheese = AMAZING. Probably my favorite.
The Traditional
Red sauce, pepperoni or sausage (or both!), red onion, green pepper, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, feta cheese...whatever other cheese you want to add! This has the easiest ingredients, and it's the one we make most often.
Margherita
Olive oil, garlic, roma tomatoes, fresh basil, FRESH mozzarella (best part!), parmesan cheese, feta cheese. No meat, but it's delicious! Inspired by our New York trip March 2008.
Southwestern Chicken
Salsa for sauce, chicken, green peppers, onions (you can saute the previous 3 in some kind of fajita seasoning for extra flavor), jalepenos (if you like spice!), mexican cheese. Very good with margaritas!
Well, that's it for now! I promise to try to post more yeasty goodness in the coming weeks. Happy kneading!
