As anyone who's eaten in my kitchen knows, I have a strong love for homemade pizza and when someone asks what my signature dish is, I usually reply with pizza. I used to buy Trader Joe’s pre-made dough but after several sticky situations full of cursing and flour, I no longer use it. Whole Foods has a pretty spectacular multi-grain dough that you can buy from their pizza counter but since we live too far from one, this is not a reliable option. For awhile, I gave up on making pizzas for the above reasons, but low and behold one day my scrolling through food blogs paid off and I found this GEM! It takes a few minutes to throw together and after rising for an hour, it’s ready!
After the first time I made it, I thought about the pizza for days. It’s really that good. I realized that the pre-made dough I previously used was dense and tasteless. This new homemade dough is slightly sweet and feathery. When baked at a whopping 500 degrees, the edges are crispy and tan, crackling with each bite. The longer you let the dough rise, the yeast continues to work it’s magic, creating pockets of trapped air aka deliciousness. This recipe makes two pizza rounds or one large pizza, you choose. You can top it with whatever goodies you wish and if using pizza sauce, I recommend using a minimal amount so the dough doesn’t get soggy. Cheers, to life-changing pizza dough!
Life-Changing Pizza Dough (from The Wednesday Chef)
3 1/2 cups (1 lb) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 packet (1 ½ teaspoons) active dry yeast
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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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 your pizza rounds with your heart's desire and bake them in a very hot, preheated oven. I recommend 500 degrees, or higher! Bake for about 10 minutes for the thicker pizza and less for the thinner ones, until crisp and bubbling.
