Predictable Pizza

The conversation over homemade pizza went something like this:

Mw:  Tasty.  Really tasty.

H:  Yes.  And you know, making pizza dough from scratch really isn’t hard at all.

Mw:  You are very predictable.

H:  Me?  Predictable?  What makes you say that?

Mw:  Because every time you make pizza dough you say the exact same thing.

H:  But it’s true, pizzza dough is really easy to make.

Mw:  Predictable.

Perhaps I am predictable when it comes to some things.  And with good reason--making pizza dough is incredibly easy, and the resulting pizza is both tastier and healthier than anything you can get at the store or from a restaurant.  I don’t even think that it takes much longer to make pizza than to order it; last time we ordered a pizza the wait was over an hour, only a few minutes more (and most of that time can be spent doing other things) and you can make your own.

My recipe for pizza dough comes from a cooking memoir/cookbook, ‘The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry’ that we read in bookclub two years ago.  [For our meeting to discuss this book, everyone in the bookclub made a recipe from the book and brought it for dinner].  At first I had buyer’s remorse for my purchase of the hardcover version as the story, while somewhat entertaining, is largely vapid and was way too sappy for whatever mood I was in that day. But then I started in on the recipes, and now heartily recommend this book to everyone (added bonus: if you like sappy, this is the perfect read).  Several of the recipes in this book frequently make it into my rotation, and although many of them are French-style cuisine and hence inspire fears that they will be long and convoluted, I generally find the recipes easy to follow and manageable, albeit sometimes time-consuming.

This pizza dough recipe is quite simple and the main investment of time is the hour needed for the dough to rise.  For many people, this hour is probably too much of an investment on a weeknight, but definitely a perfect weekend treat.  For me, one of the advantages of having a boyfriend who works until 8 pm is that I have the luxury of time after work and am not confined to 30 minute meals.  All this recipe requires some yeast, some water, some flour, some kneading, an hour of downtime, and there it is, pizza dough! 

The original recipe calls for grilling the crust.  I've done it this way, and it's delicious, and if you have a grill I recommend this method.  I've also added instructions for the conventional oven in case you don't have a grill or your grill is covered in five feet of snow.  

Pizza Dough

Adapted from ‘The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry’ by Kathleen Finn

Makes two dinner plate sized pizzas.

1 package yeast

1 cup warm water (around 100 degrees F)

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

Dried or fresh herbs such as parsley, rosemary, thyme (optional but recommended for a delicious crust)

Pizza toppings of choice

Tomato sauce of choice 

Mix yeast into warm water.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

Mix flour, olive oil, sugar, salt, and herbs (if you are using them).  Make a well in the cneter of the flour mixture.  Add yeast, and blend; form into a ball.  Turn dough onto a floured surface.  Knead for a few minutes until dough is elastic and smooth (add more water if too dry, more flour if too wet).   Place ball of dough into an olied bowl and cover with a plate/plastic wrap/dishtowel.  Let sit for 1 hour; dough will approximatley double in size.

If you are using the grill:  Preheat grill on high.  If you are using the oven:  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Turn dough out onto floured surface and roll into a dinner plate sized circle.  Alternately, you can usually work dough into this shpae without much rolling.

If grilling:  Grill dough about 2-3 minutes on each side.  Cover with toppings and return to grill until crispy and cheese is melted or to desired doneness.  Alternately, can finish under the broiler.

 
If using the oven:  Place dough on an oiled baking sheet and cook 10-12 minutes, until cooked through but not browned. Remove from oven, cover with toppings, and bake an additioanl 10-12 minutes until crispy and cheese is melted or to desired doneness.