Pizza pizza!
Count me in Alix! What a great way to kick off this new forum. I will be doing an overnight rise with my crust - it's much better that way.
texasgirl said:
I've never made homemade pizza, but, if I can find a recipe for it, I will do it too!!
Here is good recipe for the base.
Pizza Crust
Ingredients 2 Packages yeast (This equals 1/2 oz. or 4 and 1/2 tsp.)
2 teaspoons sugar
4 cups of flour or more
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil (if available use, Extra Virgin)
1 and 1/2 cups of warm water
Directions:
1. Put yeast and sugar in a cup. Add 1/2 cup of water. The water should be
between 100 and 110 degrees. Mix well. Wait about 5 minutes for the yeast and
sugar to activate.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, olive oil, 1 cup of warm water
and the yeast mixture. Mix this with a fork to get all the liquid
absorbed by the flour.
3. Place a handful of flour on a pastry board or mixing surface. Dust your hands
and spread out the flour. Empty the contents of the bowl on to the flour.
4. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes or until the texture is smooth and uniform.
If the dough seems a little sticky, add a little more flour. One method to
knead, is to lean on the dough with the palm of
your hand. Press the dough to the mixing surface. Fold the dough and repeat.
5. Place the dough in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Place bowl in draft
free area and cover with a damp cloth.
6. Let the dough rise for about an hour. Punch down the dough and wait about 45 minutes (or do an overnight rise in the fridge if you have time). Your dough is now ready.
7. Cut the dough in half (for 2 pizzas) or quarter (for 4 thin pizzas).
8. Dust a rolling pin with flour and roll out on a floured pastry board until
the dough is the desired shape. Keep using flour, so the dough won't stick.
9. Dust a cookie sheet with corn meal. (Oil will work ok, but the dough will be
greasy.) Use a spatula and slide the dough onto the cookie sheet.
10. If you have a peel, assemble pizza on a peel dusted with corn meal. Or assemble the pizza on a floured board and slide the peel
underneath when finished! Then use the peel to place the pizza on the
pre-heated pizza stone. (This is the absolute best way to make pizza! When you use a a cookie sheet or pizza stone pre-heat the oven for at least 50 minutes to an hour at 500 degrees to cook your pizza)
I cook my pizza at 550F for about 8 minutes or os.... *It really helps if you have a pizza stone.