Homemade Pizza, Birdeye

Friday, March 27, 2015

FINALLY I've found a pizza dough recipe worth the effort.  I'm excited since I found it in one of my favorite Italian cookbooks by Lidia Bastianich.

The recipe is EASY plus it's freezable and I know most cooks own a cast iron skillet, it's a great way to utilize it.  I make Chloe a deep dish in my mini cast iron skillet and Jackie and I regular crust in the large pan.

Pizza Dough (I triple her recipe so I can freeze two doughs.  Thaw at room temperature an hour or so or microwave in 30 second increments)

1 package active yeast
1 C. warm water (120 degrees)
3 C. all purpose flour, and more as needed
1-1/2 t. salt
Olive oil (don't skip this, it adds flavor)

Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a medium bowl and let stand until dissolved (about 7-10 minutes).

Toss the flour and salt together and stir into the dissolved yeast with a wooden spoon or your fingers until it's stiff.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and kneed 5-10 minutes, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking, until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat all sides with oil and cover with a damp cloth.  Set the bowl in a warm draft-free spot until it doubles in volume, about 1-1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough and, if necessary, divide into the number of portions called for in the recipe.  Place the dough balls on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the dough.  Refrigerate until the dough is roughly doubled in bulk.  This can take from 12 to 24 hours.  Punch down the dough.

Here's where I take over...I roll it out and divide into two pieces, a smaller one for Chloe that we call "deep dish" and when in my desired thickness put into cast iron skillet.  Then prick dough with a fork and cook 12 minutes at 425 degrees.  Then top with tomato sauce (Jeanie's recipe is the best:  1 16 oz. can tomato sauce (I love a lotta sauce, lol) 1 t. italian seasoning and 1/2 t. garlic powder, microwave 1-1/2 minutes covered and stir), then add cheese and put pepperoni or other toppings on top of the cheese.  Bake an additional 12 minutes at 425.

Delicious!

The cast iron skillet crisps the crust beautifully

Winnie Bob's daffodils have been coming on thankfully

Chloe set up two jumps up with crates...look at Essie Mae in the background wanting to pounce a chicken in the raised
bed...She's crazy!  And it's time to get the beds ready for spring planting...lettuces, spinach etc...I won't plant tomatoes
and peppers until May 1.

Buddy's got the Go Pro on here but he's listening to Chloe about to start the homemade jumps.  Gumball is hilarious....

Our picnic table works as the "table" for Chloe's homemade agility course