How to get some more dough

As may remember from a previous post, I make pizza on Friday nights at our house. I make it entirely from scratch, dough and all - because it is the most cost-effective pizza I have found, and it is pretty darn tasty. Not to mention it's easy!

Here is the basic pizza dough recipe:

• 3 1/2 cups AP flour
• 2 1/4 tsp yeast (or one packet)
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 1/2 cups water (warm, about 110 degrees)

Mix all of these ingredients together in a bowl using a wooden spoon or a mixer with a dough hook attachment. The dough should be moist, but not too sticky. If you see the dough is too wet, add some more AP flour a tbsp at a time. If the dough is too dry, add some more water, a tbsp at a time. When finished, the dough should look like this:

Pizza dough before it rises.

Cover the dough with a towel and let stand for at least one hour in a warm area. 

Risen pizza dough

When the dough has risen, remove the towel and dust a cutting board or other smooth surface with some flour, and knead the dough a little bit. 

Divide the dough into two equal portions, and knead them into round balls. Spread these balls onto greased or oiled pizza pans and mold into the pizza shape. You can also press them into squares or rectangles if you don't have any round pans. 

Dividing the pizza dough

Toppings. What can I say about toppings, except that I just kind of use whatever I have around. Peppers, onions, chicken, sausage, olives, broccoli, cauliflower, and roasted garlic are just some of the toppings I have used recently. I always make one plain pizza for the kids, and one with toppings for the parents. Tonight's parent's pizza was onions and red peppers.

Onion and Pepper Pizza pre-cook

I put my oven at 450 degrees for the pizza cook, and position my racks one at the bottom and one in the middle. I start the pizzas on the bottom rack for about 6 minutes and them move them up onto the top rack for about another 5-6 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and started to brown slightly. The time on the bottom rack crisps the bottom crust and prevents sticking, and the move to the center of the oven prevents overcooking. If you like your crust a little crispier, let it stay on the bottom rack a little longer.

Completed Onion and Pepper Pizza

I do tweak the recipe a little bit - as I normally do. I will use vegetable broth instead of water when I have it available to give the dough more flavor. I also will mix in Italian seasonings with the dough (basil, marjoram, oregano, thyme, garlic) to give it an additional flavor boost.