Pizza. Finally.

A truly random act of dinner.  We we're having people over later and pizza is always a crowd pleaser.  Today you finally get my crust recipe. Often promised, never delivered, frequently made, never documented.  Until now.  The master recipe is pretty basic but like all breads, you have a good bit of latitude with what you put in it.  I usually add dried herbs to my crust and today it was basil and oregano.  I also rolled out one of the crusts in whole wheat flour to add some crunch and body.  Anyway, here's the basic idea.


1 cup warm water

2T honey

2 ½t active dry yeast

¼ cup olive oil

3 cups bread flour
2t salt

Dissolve the honey in the water and warm to 105°F in the microwave.  Pour the water into the warmed mixing bowl of your mixer and add the yeast.  Gently mix to coat most of the grains.

Using the dough hook, slowly stir the water/yeast mixture.  Add a cup of the flour and mix to create a slurry.  Add the olive oil.  If you were adding herbs, now is the time.  Slowly add the rest of the flour and the salt until you've created a dough ball that wipes the bowl clean.  Knead for at least 5 minutes longer, a bit more for AP flour.  Remove the dough and form into a smooth ball.  Coat the ball with a little oil and place it in a covered bowl in a warm, draft free place to rise, about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Pre-heat your oven and stone to 500°F for at least 20 minutes before baking.  Pizza is best cooked in a hot oven.  It's crispier, not to mention done faster. Pizza cooked at low temps will over-rise, dry out, and be doughy inside.

I showed my basic crust rolling method in another post down the page a bit. Roll out the dough on a floured surface and toss/spin/stretch to create a crust.  Thinner=bigger.  Let the crust rest for 5 minutes before topping.  Give it a final stretch and transfer to your peel.  Some cornmeal on the peel will prevent sticking.

Sauce and top your pizza.  I sauce, then a light layer of cheese, then toppings, then more cheese.  Today it was chicken italian sausage and bell peppers on one, and pepperoni, peppers, and green olives on the one pictured.

Slide the pizza onto the stone and bake until the crust looks done, and the cheese just begins to brown.  It should take just 10 minutes or so in a good hot oven.  When it's done, slide it out with your peel and onto a cutting board.  Resist the temptation to cut on the peel.  It's too soft for that abuse and the inevitable gouges from the pizza cutter will make sliding pizzas around more challenging. Not good.

Let the pizza sit for a few minutes before cutting, and a few minutes after.  You can burn your mouth on delivery pizza, and that's been out of the oven for at least fifteen minutes... Think about that.

Alright.  After all that, I need a few slices.  Big pies mean leftovers, if you're lucky!

Under Construction

Hi there.  I've been away, out there doing what people do... work, play, cooking, eating and the rest.  I'm happy to see my blog still gets traffic, even with no newish content.  I will remedy that with some slight changes I have in the works.  The in depth posts with recipes will remain, joined by a few different versions of "drive-by" content.  Among the new segments is a little something I like to call Random Acts of Dinner: A plate of food with a short backstory.

I aim to post on a weekly basis, the same way network TV reels people in.  

Never be too proud to copy a good idea.  

I'll leave you with the first Random Act of Dinner, played tonight by a gorgeous skillet of chicken and country vegetables.  The biscuits are just out of the frame. Delicious.