Pizza Dough
My favorite food is pizza. I remember being a kid and telling my mom it was the perfect food because it cover the four basic food groups. The crust covered brad, cheese covered milk, your mean of course meat and even if no veggie toppings the sauce cover your fruit and veggies. Well I did not get my dream of eating pizza for ever meal, I still ate it a lot. As I grew and my taste grew pizza began to cover all kinds of flatbread and all kinds of exotic toppings. Below is my pizza recipe I use it not just for pizza but garlic knots, calzones and other quick doughs I need.
Pizza Dough
3 1/2 cups of flour
11 grams of yeast
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 1/2 cups of warm water
Add all ingredients together except the water to a mixer bowl. Start to combine with a dough hook attachment on slow speed then slowly start to add the water. Once all the water is added increase the speed to medium. Mix for 2 or 3 minutes until the dough comes together, if needed add a little more water. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and kneed for another 3-5 minutes until a smooth elastic ball forms. Lightly coat the bowl with olive oil place in the dough and cover with a re-usable plastic lid or plastic wrap and place in a warm place for an for 1 hour or until double in size.
Turn out dough and knead for 1 minute. Divide into the pieces you would like to use, this recipe will make 3 large pizzas, 6-8 small pizza or any combination depending on how thick you like your pizza. At this point you can also wrap in plastic wrap and freeze some of the dough for later use. Roll out the dough you want to use on a lightly floured surface, I like to use Semolina Flour for this part to give a little texture, I also thinks it help to add to a crispier crust but you can use normal flour. I also like to bake my pizza in my cast iron as I think it makes a better crust. But weather on a baking sheet or on a pizza stone prepare your surface, roll out the dough to the desired thickness and top with your favorite toppings. I bake in the oven at 400 degrees and cooking times will vary depending on thickness and toppings. I also love to put in my smoker outside during the summer at about 250 degrees for around 30 min.
You can also use this dough for garlic knots, calzones (I have my Princess Leia ones shown below), pigs in a blanket (or as shown below tie fighters), my onion rolls or any of those wonderful Pinterest recipes that require pizza dough, so have fun!!
