This was originally posted on another blog of mine (Simplicity — Small & Cheap). I consolidated all blogs to simplify my life. – Jen 6/19/09
I did such an AWESOME job on my pizza dough a few weeks ago that I thought I would blog my next attempt. It’s waaay easier than I thought and I’m getting better at it. This the recipe my husband’s family used when they were kids (now they order in :D).
You need:
- 3 3/4 cups flour, divided. ($0.52)
- 1 tablespoon of salt (negligible)
- 1 tablespoon of sugar (negligible)
- 1 1/3 cups warm water (negligible)
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast ($0.34)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil plus more for brushing the crust before baking (sorry, i forgot to put this in the pic) – (negligible)
In a bowl or glass measuring cup mix 1 and 1/3 cups warm (but not hot) water, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/4 cup of flour, and 1packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast and stir. It will look like this:
Let stand for 5 or 10 minutes. This gets the yeast all ready to do its job, it will look foamy or frothy, like this:
Mmmmm….yeasty :). In a large bowl, mix 3 1/2 cups of flour and 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the yeast mixture and 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Depending on how aerated (or not) your flour is, you may need to add water to get the correct consistency. Mine was pretty well packed and looked like this:
I add water by the tablespoon until it forms into a ball, like this:
At this point you can use the same bowl or get a new one. I usually just use the same bowl but coat it with a little olive oil so the dough doesn’t stick. Place the ball of dough in the bowl and cover. I use a dish towel or cloth spritzed lightly with water to help keep the dough from getting dry. Let rest until the dough is doubled in size, it generally takes about an hour or so. If you choose to use whole-wheat flour it will take longer.
Preheat oven to 475, grease and flour or sprinkle with cornmeal your pizza pan(s). Punch the dough down let rest again for about 15 min covered with the same cloth. Get toppings ready.
Stretch and flatten each ball then place onto your baking pan. This recipe makes enough to fill an 11×18 cookie sheet with a thicker, pan-style crust. You could probably stretch it thinner and do two round pizza pans. We (meaning DH) hold it up and let gravity help stretch it but if you are feeling lucky and talented you can try that whole toss the pizza in the air thing. DH declined to be photographed so no pics, sorry.
Add sauce and toppings, brush crust with olive oil if desired and bake for 12 to 20 min or until crust and bottom are golden brown.
Voila. Homemade pizza dough for less than a buck. Yum!!
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