Homemade Pizza

I have been wanting to try a new pizza dough recipe for some time and recently I had enough free time to make it happen without feeling overwhelmed.

There is something mistakenly daunting about dough. We hear "kneading" and "rising" and suddenly we act like we have to slay a dragon to get to the good part. That's not true! Yes, the dough takes time to rise (in this recipe, it takes an hour all in one go). Yes you will have to do a little kneading (in this recipe, twice, quickly). But it's not difficult or complicated to do, so get over it and just make the darn dough. Alright?!

I used this recipe from Food Republic because of the simplicity of the recipe, and also because after many Google searches and Pinterest scouring, this seemed match most generally agreed-upon basic pizza dough recipes. The only thing I tweaked was the baking temperature, which I increased to 500 F. 

For the toppings I kept it simple: roasted garlic and olive oil topped with a variety of sliced meats and melty cheeses from a local delicatessen, Choux Choux Charcuterie (for all the Victoria folks out there, I highly recommend trying at least one thing here -- it's all good), but really anything can go on your pizza: arugula, feta, sauteed mushrooms, chicken, roasted veggies, tomatoes and basil... dang it. Now I'm hungry for pizza all over again.

Makes two 12" pizzas
Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for greasing the dough and rising bowl  (Note: I used an infused Tuscan Herb olive oil for extra flavor)
• 3 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the work surface

Directions:

1. Pour the warm water into a large bowl, then sprinkle the yeast on top. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, until creamy and lightly foamy.
2. Mix in the the sugar, salt, and olive oil. Lightly dust a separate work surface with flour. You will want to do this now before your hands are covered in dough. Trust me, you'll be so glad you don't have to think about the logistics in about 5 minutes.
3. Gradually mix in the flour. If you have a stand mixer, you can use a dough hook and mix on low until a dough ball forms. Otherwise, get in there with clean hands and mix the dough until a ball forms. Turn the dough out onto your flour-dusted work surface and knead until the dough is smooth, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Lightly grease a large bowl then place the dough inside. Brush a little oil on top, cover the bowl with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm, breeze-free place for one hour or until doubled in size. Basically don't put it by an open window, leave it somewhere it won't be disturbed while it rises.
5. When there is about 15 minutes of rising left preheat your oven to 500 F. 
6. Once the dough is ready turn it out onto your work surface again (top up on flour if you need to). Use a dough-cutter or a large knife to cut the dough in half. Gently knead one half, form into a ball again, then roll it out into a 12-inch round. Transfer the dough gently to a pizza stone or non-stick (or lightly greased) baking sheet. Repeat for the second ball of dough. 

1. Top with whatever toppings you choose, then bake for 12-15 minutes. Try not to open the oven while it's baking as you don't want to loose any heat while it's crisping up.
2. Remove from the oven when the crust is golden, let it sit for 3-5 minutes so the cheese can set up a bit before slicing and serving. 

If you want to make calzones you can use this dough recipe as well. Rather than cutting the dough into two portions you can quarter it and roll out 4 rounds for easy homemade calzones. Baking time would remain about the same, although depending on how much you stuff your calzones you may need a few extra minutes. Golden crust = cooked crust.