Recipe: Easy Basic Pizza Dough

My husband and I made pizza for the first time this weekend, using a dough recipe very similar to this one. Stretching the dough into a crust was a little tricky, but for the most part this was very easy! I made the dough in the morning and let it rise for several hours, then put it in the fridge until it was time to make the crust. I will try to roll it thinner next time, as it rose quite a bit while baking, but overall it was quite good!  We made it Margherita-style, with fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese.

This will make enough for about 3 medium-sized pizzas, but you can easily freeze the leftover dough for later.

Try this this simple and versatile recipe for pizza, pepperoni rolls or breadsticks for dipping!

Easy Basic Pizza Dough
(Makes about 3 12" crusts.)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 teaspoons brown sugar or honey
1 1/2 cups slightly warm water (110˚F)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

• Add warm water, then yeast and brown sugar or honey to large bowl. Let sit for 10 - 12 minutes.
• Add salt and oil to the bowl, then slowly mix in 2 1/2 cups of flour while stirring constantly with a fork. 
• Empty dough onto a well-floured surface and knead in more flour until it no longer sticks to your hands. 
• Shape dough into a ball and add to a clean bowl sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cover bowl with a towel and let sit for approximately one hour in a warm place. 
• While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 425˚.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down with your first and reshape into a ball. 
• After a couple of minutes, roll the dough out on a clean, well-floured surface, Place rolled out dough on a pizza pan or stone and brush edges with olive oil. 
• Top dough with your favorite pizza toppings and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese and crust are a nice golden brown. 

Recipe: Gluten-Free Pizza Crust

Obviously on a gluten-free diet, you may think that pizza is one of the first things to go. But if pizza's a household favorite, don't despair! Although it may be known as the ultimate take-out food, it's actually not that hard to make pizza at home, and this version eliminates the gluten, so you can still enjoy all of your favorite toppings, on a gluten-free crust.

Gluten-Free Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

Pizza crust dough. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1 Tbsp quick-rising yeast
1 cup milk, warmed
2 tsp sugar or honey
2/3 cup white bean flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp canola oil
rice flour or corn flour for dusting
gluten-free toppings as desired

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12 inch pizza pan.
2. In bowl, combine yeast and sugar or honey, then add warm milk, stir gently, and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. In another bowl, put the white bean flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, salt, and Italian seasoning, then mix with a whisk or fork.
4. Pour in the milk/yeast to the dry ingredients, add the oil, then with an electric mixer on medium-low speed, mix until well blended. The dough will be slightly sticky and soft.
5. Remove dough to the pizza pan and sprinkle on top well with the rice flour or corn flour. Then, using your hands, gently spread the dough out to form a pizza crust shape, sprinkling with more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. 
6. Bake pizza crust in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove and top with any gluten-free sauce and toppings you like, then put back in oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until toppings are cooked through and cheese is melted. Remove and allow to cool slightly, then slice and serve.

Recipe: Grilled Garden Goodies Pizza

While it's still close enough to summer to find fresh eggplants and peppers at the farmer's market, and warm enough to grill out, try this delicious homemade pizza with lots of fresh veggies and unique grilled flavor. Great for "Meatless Monday," or if you must have meat, grill up a few natural sausages, slice, and add those for a protein boost.

Grilled Garden Goodies Pizza
(Serves 2-4.)

Ingredients:

Fresh pizza crust. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1 (12 inch) pizza crust (purchased or homemade)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small eggplant, scrubbed and sliced into thin circles
1 small sweet potato,  peeled and sliced into thin circles
1 sweet red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin circles
salt and pepper to taste
1 can (6 oz) tomato sauce (pizza sauce, marinara, or anything you like), or homemade sauce
6 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
chopped fresh basil

Directions:

• Prepare grill to medium heat.
• Put the prepared eggplant, sweet potato, and red bell pepper in a large bowl, drizzle with the olive oil, and toss to combine.  
• Heat grill and put the veggies on and grill until softened but still a little firm; set aside.
• Flatten the pizza dough out on a work surface and brush with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Grill for about 2 minutes, flip then grill another 2 minutes; remove to a pizza pan or baking sheet.
• Spread the tomato sauce over, then add mozzarella evenly over the top and the grilled veggies next, then top with the basil.
• Put pizza (on pan) back on grill just long enough to melt the cheese, then remove.
• Let sit for a few minutes before cutting and serving.

Recipe-Shitake & Spinach Pizza

Here is an absolutely yummy one I came up with last week, to use up some of my CSA veggies. To be fair, it's not ENTIRELY from scratch, as I did buy the crust - Giant Eagle was having a sale, and I couldn't resist (it was a really good crust, too). But it was super easy and pretty fast, and absolutely delicious! (Note: This week we are focusing on vegetarian cooking; this recipe is meatless, but not strictly vegan, as there are animal products in the crust, and it is topped with cheese; you could, of course,  make your own crust without animal products, and top with soy cheese if you want it vegan.)


Shitake Mushroom & Spinach Pizza

Ingredients:
1/2 lb shitake mushrooms, cleaned, sliced, stems removed
10-12 oz fresh spinach, rinsed and chopped
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 TB shredded Parmesan cheese
1 large pizza crust (from scratch or purchased - you can cheat, since I did!)

Directions:

1. In large skillet, heat 3 TB of the olive oil just until hot. Add sliced mushrooms, lower heat to medium-low, and saute, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. 
2. In the meantime, place crust in oven directly on oven rack, at 350-degrees (F), just until slightly crusty. Remove and place on baking sheet.
3. Add minced garlic to mushrooms and saute 1 minute more, stirring frequently.



Ready for oven.

4. Add spinach, cover, and let cook a few more minutes, 'til spinach is cooked through.
5. Meanwhile, brush top of crust all over with remaining 1 TB olive oil.
6. Stir vegetables, and spread evenly over crust.
7. Sprinkle with cheeses.
8. Place baking sheet in oven and bake at 375-degrees for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted, and crust is golden brown.
9. Devour! 

Wine pairing: Goes well with a Reisling or other lighter fruity white.