Homemade Pizza Dough

(creates 2 large thin crust pies or 1 large deep dish pie)

Ever since my favorite pizza spot, Angelo's, moved to Philly I have been making more and more pizzas at home. Typically, I would grab a fresh dough from the pizza section at Wegman's or our local pizza joint, roll it out at home and go from there. I constantly switch up the toppings from fresh burrata and eggplant to prosciutto and arugula, the options are endless. However, sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than a traditional cheese pizza.

Now that I have some extra time on my hands (and major thanks to a good friend for sending me some hard to come by active yeast packets), I started making my own pizza dough at home. This is a very easy and basic recipe that anyone can make. Eventually I will get around to trying out the famous Pizza Camp dough recipe, but that certainly will require a bit more time.

So what goes into a perfect cheese pizza?

Personally, I love a crispy bottom. I achieve this with using a pizza stone at a very high temperature. If you don't own a pizza stone, I highly recommend purchasing one. You don't need anything fancy, a $15 one from Target will do the trick (link below). I also only use whole milk cheeses, which typically consists of a mix of shredded and fresh mozzarella on my pizzas. Whole milk gives it that extra stringy, rich goodness you are looking for. Lastly, I finish my cooked pizza with bit of extra virgin olive oil, freshly grated Parmesan, Italian herbs and a pinch of sea salt. This all aids in the richness of your pizza and even though this IS a homemade pizza, it makes you feel like you're eating at one of the best pizza restaurants in town!

Ingredients: - 1 packet of active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)

- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

- 1 1/2 cups of warm water (or beer)*

- 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

- 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

Notes: You can substitute active dry yeast with instant rise yeast.

I, also, really like to use beer in the place of water for some extra flavor. You can make this swap with whatever favorite beer you have in the fridge!

*The warm water (or beer) should be about the temperature of milk in a baby bottle. I usually just microwave the liquid for 45 seconds or so. If it is too hot, you will kill the yeast and if is not warm enough the yeast will not activate. I like to test the water on the inner of my wrist before mixing.

If using beer: Adding the sugar to the warm beer will cause a lot of foaming action (think elementary school baking soda and vinegar volcano experiment). Just be sure to use a large enough bowl, or you'll have a mess on your hands!

Instructions:

In your mixing bowl, stir the warm water (or beer), brown sugar and yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes. You should see the yeast start to activate and foam. If it doesn't, your water was too hot or your yeast could be expired. Be sure to check the expiration date.

Next, mix in the salt, oil and 2 1/2 cups of flour. I like to do this in my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook on medium speed until all combined (about 2 minutes), but you can certainly mix and kneed the dough by hand.

Add the remaining flour in 3 batches until all combined. Continue to mix until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl and is completely wrapped around the dough hook. This takes about another 2 minutes. If the dough seems too sticky, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough feels too dry, add water 1 tablespoon at a time.

Coat the sides of a large bowl with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the dough to the bowl. Be sure to flip the dough over, so that all sides of the dough are coated in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until it has doubled in size. This takes about 1-2 hours depending on how warm your house is.

From here, you can punch down your dough and roll it out onto your floured surface. You can also let your dough proof in the fridge the night before if you would like to save time and make it in advance. I typically make my dough in the morning and take it out about an hour before I'm ready to use it.

This dough also freezes great! I typically freeze half for a future pizza or rosemary focaccia (recipe coming soon). Simply cut your dough in half and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and stick it in a freezer bag. Take your dough out of the freezer the morning that you want to cook it. Unwrap and place it in an oiled bowl on your counter to thaw and rise. Continue following the steps above.

To Cook:

Preheat your oven on 500 degrees with your pizza stone on the bottom rack.

Place your dough on a pizza peel (or large cutting board) that is dusted with semolina four. You will be making your pizza on the peel and the semolina flour will help your dough to slide off easily onto the hot stone.

Top the dough with your favorite sauce, cheese and toppings. I, also, like to brush the crust with a little bit of olive oil so it cooks evenly with the rest of the pizza.

Carefully, yet quickly, slide your pizza off the peel and onto the stone. Bake for 5-7 mins.

Remove and top with a drizzle of olive oil, grated Parmesan, fresh (or dried) herbs and a pinch of sea salt. Cut into 8 slices and enjoy!

As always, don't forget to use salted butter when cooking!

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Links:

Pizza Stone