Roasted Asparagus & Red Onion
Mushroom & Mixed Peppers
I think of all the things I've learned to cook over the past few years the one I'm most pleased to know is homemade pizza. It's very inexpensive, it's incredibly delicious and after you've got the method down it's very easy to whip up (it's also a wonderful way to use up leftovers). If you've never made pizza from scratch before and you're planning on trying it, know this; the odds are pretty good that you're going to screw it up a couple of times. Don't be discouraged! The payoff will be well worth your efforts. Watch the instructional video below, and note these little tips and tricks that I've learned (usually the hard way).
1) Be exact with the measurements. BE EXACT WITH THE MEASUREMENTS. Even though it's pizza, you are still essentially baking bread and when it comes to baking you can't mess around with the amounts. Cooking is an art and baking is a science, people. Make sure do everything properly - don't cut corners.
2) Make sure the water for the yeast is not too hot. Yeast is a remarkable thing in that you can starve it, you can dehydrate it and you can freeze it, but the one thing it can't handle is heat. The temperature of the water should be around 100 to 110 degrees F, but since nobody ever bothers to actually take the water's temperature, I describe it is half way between luke warm and hot. If you have kids, it should be a little warmer than a baby bottle (so I've read).
3) After you've mixed your wet ingredients with the dry, mix it with a fork until it appears "shaggy". Then turn it out on a floured surface and get ready to knead.
4) Speaking of kneading, don't get all super aggressive with it. Feel free to "massage it forcefully" instead of attacking it like a sixty year old Italian guy with Popeye forearms.
5) When it comes time to shape the dough into rounds, feel free to use a roller. I do. Just try to roll from the inside out so that the edges are thicker than the center. And if the dough tears at any point, just patch it right up. Pizza dough is good like that.
6) Do NOT put too much sauce on. A quarter of a cup max for each pizza. You'll thank me when you grab your first slice and the toppings don't all slide off onto your shirt.
7) This is just a personal preference, but I like to brush some olive oil on to the crust edges before it goes in the oven. It helps make the crust crispy without drying it out.
I used the video below to learn about pizza dough, and I used this gentleman's recipe and it has always served me well. Here's the video with the ingredients listed beneath.
Dough Ingredients
2 tsp yeast
1/2 cup water (100 -110 degrees)
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 olive oil
yeast mixture
1 cup warm water
Follow the instructions in the video.
N.B. In terms of the toppings, I generally use mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano and whatever leftover veggies and cheese I have in the fridge. Don't skimp on the quality of the cheeses. Here is a recipe for the sauce that I use:
No Cook Pizza Sauce Recipe
Ingredients:
1 (29 oz) can - Contadina Roma Style Tomato Sauce, (or other medium consistency sauce)
2/3 cup - Water
1 tbsp - Garlic Powder
1 tbsp - Whole Oregano, fresh chopped or dried flakes
1 tbsp - Sweet Basil, fresh chopped or dried flakes
2 tbsp - Sugar
11/2 tsp - Salt
1/2 tsp - Black Pepper, ground
Mix all ingredients. Done.
