Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Week 33: Pizza Dough

I have a cooking crush on Ree Drummond. And, I'm terrified of cooking with yeast; it just never goes my way. But, I trust Ree. So, I tried her pizza dough recipe with great success.

Pizza Dough

Taken shamelessly from Pioneer Woman Cooks
(Also in her cookbook)

Makes 2 large pizza crusts (12 servings)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Wait time: 1-2 hours or overnight

1 tsp instant or active dry yeast
1 1/2 C warm water
4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/3 C olive oil

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.

When you are ready to make the pizza, grab HALF the pizza dough (recipe makes 2 crusts) and squeeze the dough toward the bottom to form a nice, tight, pulled ball. You can roll out the pizza with a rolling pin if you’d like, but sometimes it’s just as easy to throw it around and pull and stretch till it feels right. And when the crust is nice and thin, lay it on an oiled baking sheet or pizza pan. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and spread it with your fingers. Very lightly sprinkle some salt on the crust.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Top your crust with your toppings of choice. Then bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

Note: The dough is good for up to 3-4 days.

Now, for your viewing pleasure. . . I used the pizza dough to make a special dinner with Natalie and Katelyn. They each made their own small pizza - plenty of germs included.










Later in the week. . . the same pizza dough for a grown-up pizza.

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