In the world of food - Pizza lovers can get pretty darn passionate. No Judging here, I am certainly one of those people. There are the NY pizza lovers and the Chicago Style pizza lovers, the crust lovers and those who would rather die than have to eat that "bread" all around the edge with no sauce or cheese on it.
There are thin crust lovers and deep dish fans, people who fold their pizza in half and (shudder!!) people who eat their pizza with a fork.
We have been known to eat a few pizzas around our house from time to time - believe it or not - making a quick pizza at home can be even faster than the 5$ take-out pizzas that are so popular. (That seems shocking, but it actually is true)
Here is a fantastic article from Cooking It's a Snap that breaks it all down. I was actually surprised to find that homemade pizza was still "cheaper" than the hot n' ready. Plus - I know I must be getting crazy in my Food $ense old age, but the chemicals that I imagine must be in that stuff are just about more than I can take.
**Here is the basic recipe that Faith used on her website.
Pizza crust:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon canola oil
**Here is the recipe that Food $ense publishes
Homemade Pizza Dough
1 TB dry active yeast
1 TB honey
1 cup warm (105-115 degrees) water
1/4 tsp salt
2 TB olive oil
2 to 4 cups All Purpose Flour or Half A/P Flour and Half Whole wheat flour
**Kerry's Successful Feeding her children of not Yucky Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients:
2 c. very warm water (110 degrees)
3 tsp. salt.
4 TBS. honey
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
4 1/2 C. flour - Depending on whether this is just feed the kids or family pizza night my mix varies
3 tsp. instant yeast
1/2 c. olive oil, divided in the bowls to grease as they rise.
Holy Greasy... Pepperoni and Cheese Heaven... YUM!!
Instructions:
Place all ingredients in a mixer except oil.
Mix on high for 8 minutes.
Divide dough into 3 sections for thin crust or 2 sections for thick.
Place each dough in a separate bowl greased each with 1/4 c. oil.
Let rise about 20-30 minutes.
!! Attention - Here are the Secrets!!
Dump the contents of a bowl onto parchment paper and very lightly, use two fingers to spread out to desired size.
You must resist the urge to:
Knead it like bread - pizza crust is Not bread
Add more flour - pizza crust does Not need more flour
Toss it in the air - you are not a professional pizza tosser - you are most likely not even an amateur pizza tosser
Become impatient - You pizza will repay your patience with ooey gooey cheesey love.
Push it with your palms or knuckles or elbows - you do Not need to subdue your pizza dough
Top with sauce, cheese & toppings.
Transfer entire pizza (including parchment paper) onto preheated pizza stone.
Bake in oven on the preheated pizza stone at 500 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Remove and let cool 10 minutes before cutting.
