Saturday, January 23, 2010

Mmmmm. Homemade Pizza! 1/23/10

Tonight is a classic - Homemade Pizza! Our toppings were mozzarella cheese, fire roasted red and yellow peppers (from Trader Joe's), fresh mushrooms, fresh basil, and dried oregano.


This is awesome - make the crust once and get enough crust for 2 pizzas!

 
Basic Pizza Dough
Serves 6 slices (per 12-inch pizza).
Prep time: 5 minutes. Rest time: 1 hour. Cooking time: 12-15 minutes.


Crust only = 3 Weight Watcher points per slice (assumes 6 slices per crust)

The following values are for the crust only (toppings not included).


$0.41 per slice: Vegetarian (given recipe is Vegetarian)
$0.41 per slice: Vegan (replace honey with agave syrup or turbinado sugar)


Sorry, I don't have a Gluten Free option!

  • 1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 2 1/2 teaspoon (1 packet) active dry yeast
Combine the water and honey. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until foamy (under 5 minutes). Stir in the oil.

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour (unbleached & organic, if possible)

  • 1 1/4 cups wheat flour (organic, if possible)

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (sea salt, if possible)
Stir flours and salt thoroughly.

Add the yeast/water mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Knead slightly (only about 1 minute). Put in a bowl, cover with a towel, and let the dough rest in a warm area for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, punch the dough down (deflate) and cut in half. At this point you can freeze 1/2 the dough for later use (SEE NOTES).
Pre-heat your oven as hot as it can go without using the broiler (usually 450-500 degrees).

Put the pan/dish/tray you will use for cooking the pizza into the oven at this time as a hot pizza tray can help prevent sticking.

IMPORTANT - NEVER PREHEAT NON-STICK COOKIE SHEETS (OR SIMILAR). HEATING EMPTY TEFLON COATED ITEMS WILL RELEASE A TOXIC GAS!!!

Take the remaining 1/2 of the dough and roll it our to a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface.

To prevent sticking, sprinkle a handful of cornmeal on the pre-heated cookie sheet (or whatever you are cooking it on) then put the pizza onto the cooking surface.

TOPPINGS:

Use whatever topings you like! Spread a thin layer of sauce, then your cheese (I like shredded Mozzarella, but good provolone is also VERY tasty), then your toppings. When ready, put the pizza on the lowest rack of your oven and cook for 12-15 miutes.

The pizza is ready when the cheese is fully melted and has a hint of brown.
Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

ENJOY!

Notes: To freeze 1/2 the dough, wrap it twice with saran wrap or put it in a freezer Ziplock bag. When you are ready to use it later, defrost by putting wrapped dough in microwave on high for 30-45 seconds, then work the dough with your hands for a minute to re-mix and even out the temperature.

This pizza dough recipe is adapted from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook (2006), page 300.

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