Pizza

Here it is.

The recipe everyone always asks for.

Pizza

1 cup water, lukewarm*

2 Tbsp Yeast (dry, active)

1 Tbsp Sugar

1/4 cup Oil

3-4 cups Flour

1 tsp Salt

Optional:

1 Tbsp Basil

1 Tbsp Parsley

1 tsp Pepper

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Onion Powder

Toppings:

Cheese, Pesto, Sauce, Oil, Pepperoni, Sausage, Ham, Tomatoes, Olives, Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms, Basil, Jalapenos...

Cornmeal

My Pizza is never a perfect circle, but that just adds to the rustic charm of it. 

Place water, yeast and sugar in a bowl and mix. Let stand 1-2 minutes until mixture is bubbly. Add in oil, 3 cups of flour and salt. If you would like to flavor your crust with the optionals, add those in as well. Mix together to form a sticky dough. If you need to add more flour go ahead, every time is different due to humidity and what not. When you feel you have a dough you can manage, turn it out onto a floured surface. Knead the bread, adding more flour if necessary, until you have a nice, smooth and elastic dough that should no longer be sticky--about 5 minutes kneading. Return the dough back to the bowl, cover with a towel and place in a warm dry place to rise--1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400. Once the dough has doubled in size, or come close to it, punch it down and knead it again on the table for a bit till its a nice smooth dough. Divide the dough into your pizza crusts, leaving one out to work with and putting the rest back under a towel. Roll out the dough to your desired thickness and shape. Transfer the crust to whatever you are going to cook it on in the oven; I like to use a sprinkle of cornmeal to keep the dough from sticking after its been baked. Top your dough then toss it in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the crust has hardened. Different thicknesses of dough will call for differences in cooking times--my thin crusts usually take no more than 10 minutes.

For this pizza I used half whole wheat flour. It was yummy, couldn't really tell. 

Notes:

1. *Lukewarm mean slightly warmer than room temperature, but I would not consider it hot.
2. I pretty much only like thin crust pizza and I can usually get 3 pizzas out of this recipe. I make my pizzas the size of my pizza stone, about 12" diameter.
3. Our favorite topping combinations: {Tomato sauce, mozzarella, jalapenos, pepperoni} {Pesto, mozzarella, sausage, caramelized onions} {Tomato sauce, mozzarella, sausage, pepperoni} {Oil, tomatoes, mozzarella, basil}
4. A pizza stone helps the crust cook evenly and quickly and also helps make it nice and crispy.
5. You can use this basic dough recipe to make lots of other yummy things; rolls, calzones, bread...
6. We make a lot of pizza. The more you try it, the better you'll get at making the dough and finding what toppings you like, and really be able to make it your own and have fun with it. We've made stuffed crust and a mexican inspired pizza and so many topping combinations I don't even remember half.
7. Please, do not put pineapple on my pizza.

I think this is another half whole wheat flour pizza.