Pizza Party

Happy Friday Y'all! 

I thought I'd cap off the week with a recipe for pizza dough, since nothing screams 'the weekend' like a raging pizza party.  I hadn't made pizza at home in a long time because our pizza needs are mostly sated by our neighborhood pizzerias... we live a stones-throw away from both House Pizzeria and East Side Pies.  Also, our oven desperately needs to be cleaned and every time I bump the temperature above 450 degrees all of our smoke detectors go off and the house smells like burnt crud.  

I like this recipe for pizza dough because 1) it is easy, and 2) it seems to be foolproof.  Also, Trevor and I agreed that taste and texture wise, this recipe makes the best homemade pizza crust we've tried so far.  

I topped this version with hand-crushed bits of San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, a bit of garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, and thinly sliced cremini mushrooms and red onion.  I added slivers of fresh basil when the pizza was done cooking.  The crust was crispy, chewy and light.  And delicious.  I highly recommend this recipe if you are a first-time home pizza maker, and please follow the directions exactly (i.e. only punch the dough down once and don't man-handle it too much, otherwise you will end up with  a hard, dense, brick of pizza dough vs. a light, airy, elastic ball of dough which is easily stretched into shape.)  The recipe is Jamie Oliver's, but I found it over on The Wednesday Chef and she kindly translates the recipe from metric to English units (i.e. millileters to cups).

Jamie Oliver's Pizza Dough

Recipe Courtesy of The Wednesday Chef
Makes enough for one half-sheet pan (if you like a thicker-crusted pizza) or two half sheet pans if you like your pizza thin as can be)

3 1/2 cups (1 lb) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons fine sea salt (you might find you need more)
1 packet (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast (2 1/4 tablespoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons raw or regular sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

1. Put the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. In a large measuring cup, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. Using a fork, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid. Sprinkle in the salt. Keep mixing, drawing larger amounts of flour in, and when it all starts to come together, work the rest of the flour in with your clean, flour-dusted hands. Knead until you have a smooth, springy dough.

2. Wash out your bowl, dry it and oil it lightly. Place the ball of dough in the bowl and turn to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm room or an oven (not turned on) for about an hour. The dough will have doubled in size.

3. Now put the dough on a flour-dusted surface and gently deflate it with your hands - this is called punching down the dough. You can either use it immediately, or keep it, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge (or freezer) until required. If using right away, simply pat out to the size of your half-sheet pan or divide in half and roll out to cover two pans. You can also divide the dough into little balls for individual  pizzas - this amount of dough is enough to make about three to four medium pizzas.

4. Timing-wise, it's a good idea to roll the pizzas out about 15 to 20 minutes before you want to cook them. Then simply top them with your heart's desire and bake them in a very hot, preheated oven (turn your oven as high as it will go) for about 10 minutes for the thicker pizza and less for the thinner ones, until crisp and bubbling.