Let’s have pizza - step by step
I would call myself an enthusiastic cook when it comes to working in the kitchen. It is not something I do everyday but when I do, I like to really go to town! We had a house full of kids this Summer and when it came to cooking, we had to think what are the kids going to like. Who doesn’t love pizza? I surprised myself, as well as everyone in the house with just how easy making pizza from scratch could be.
The first step was finding the right recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Set aside and let stand until creamy (approximately 10 minutes).
3. In a large bowl, combine bread flour, olive oil, salt and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine into a stiff dough ball.
4. Lightly grease a baking pan or cookie sheet and dust with corn meal. Set aside.
5. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Roll out into a pizza crust shape.
Note: If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle in more flour. We tried to roll the dough pretty thin, to avoid the doughy crust syndrome. We rolled the dough out separately and lifted it into the pan. Once it’s put on the pan you don’t want to have to move it around too much since the corn meal will easily shift. Remember, this is handmade so a few rough edges is art!
6. Add your favorite sauce and toppings.
7. Bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes.
Tips
- We bought a bag of pre-sliced pepperoni at Costco. It was about $8/bag and lasted through several rounds of pizzas and other dishes.
- We frequently doubled the recipe and cut the dough in half prior to rolling it out.
- Due to two pizzas being cooked side by side, we increased the cooking time by a few minutes; monitoring it closely towards the end of its cooking cycle. The more veggies the more moisture that can produce on the pizza. It may need extra cooking time. Also pans with higher sides may require additional cooking time.
- We planned on having omelets and pizzas throughout the week, so it was easy to make use of chopped up veggies. We bagged the extras for quick meal preparations.
- Experiment, have fun and most importantly get the family involved with putting on the toppings. This would be an easy recipe to make personal pizzas for everyone in the family. Just be sure and check the cooking times for golden brown edges as some pans, ovens, pizza sizes will differ.
Have a pizza story you would like to share? Did you try this recipe? Please leave comments with any suggestions you have for improving this meal!
Tags: recipes
