Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Pizza Dough

My BFF Camille has a Pizza and Movie night with her family every Friday and she makes her own dough! That's impressive.

A few months ago, I decided to start this fun tradition with our own family, but I since I was scared to death of making my own dough, I started out buying the canned stuff from Pillsbury. It tastes fine, but it's ridiculously expensive - even with a coupon. I switched to the dry pizza mix - I thought it was great, but Chris wasn't a fan.

So...I decided to be brave and make my own. I found a recipe on KitchenDaily.com and gave it a try. I was scared of ruining the dough, but it really was pretty easy.


Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (between 100 and 110 degrees so you don't kill, or chill, the yeast)
2 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 cups all-purpose or whole-wheat flour
toppings of choice



Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Measure warm water into a large bowl. Add the yeast to the water and stir until dissolved. Add sugar, salt, and oil and stir well.

Add the flour in small amounts and stir well after each addition. Add just enough flour so the dough is not sticking in clumps to your hands or the bowl, winding up with a well-formed ball.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, and, using your hands, knead for 2-3 minutes. Let the dough rest 5 to 10 minutes to rise roughly double in size before using.

Once the dough is ready, spread it on an oiled pizza pan. Apply toppings of choice. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.


*I took my pizza out after 15 minutes because it was really getting done around the edges, but the crust wasn't completely done in the middle. Next time I'lll use either a cookie sheet or a bigger pizza pan - I don't think my Pampered Chef stone was big enough and the dough may have been too thick. I'll report back and let you know how it went :)


**Ok - quick update:  I tried this again last night and put the dough onto a cookie sheet rather than my round stone.  I made sure to roll the dough out fairly thin - I'm guessing it was about 1/4" thick.  I still only baked it for about 15 minutes.  I thought the dough would be thin and crispy, but it turned out nice and thick and it cooked all the way through.  It was so yummy I could have eaten half the pan, but I forced myself to stop after 2 pieces.  Ok...2 1/2 pieces.  :)

5 comments:

CORYNN AND JER said...

that does look pretty simple, was it quick to make the dough, too? pizza is probably my favorite thing ever.

Amber Meadows said...

It was really quick - I think it only took about 15 minutes including the rising time. :)

Debbie said...

Sounds pretty easy. I make a batch of dough in my bread machine and spread it in a 15"x11" cookie sheet greased with olive oil, add sauce and toppings and bake. I turn on the broiler for the last 3-4 minutes to brown the top. We have really been enjoying it especially when we were out of work and couldn't afford to order out. My machine is breaking so don't know how much longer I'll be able to use it. Your recipe may come in handy!

Willefam said...

This receipe was AWESOME!!! We had it last night and I can't wait to make it again! I also had the problem with the middle not getting done so I'll have to do it a little differently next time but the dough was incredible!! Thanks for putting time into giving us ideas when it comes to meals!! Hope you guys are having a good summer!

Amber Meadows said...

Delina - I'm so glad you liked it! I'm thrilled that someone else is getting use out of this blog :) We're having a great summer so far - I'd spend every day at the pool if I could!