Saturday, August 13, 2011

Easier-Than-Doing-Dishes Dough

I wish I could say I was joking, but there have been more times than I can count that I have chosen to make homemade pizza for dinner instead of washing dishes. I mean, really, how easy is pizza? A bowl to mix the dough, then a can to cook it and you're done - you can even eat it on paper towels, no silverware, no plates.

1 packet of yeast (for thinner, crispier crust, only use half a packet)
about a tablespoon of honey
a couple tablespoons of olive oil or melted butter (or bacon fat if you have it because... YUM!) 
1 cup of warm water or milk (warm, not hot)
3 - 4 cups of flour (I generally use All Purpose flour, but you can use bread flour. Also, I like to add in about half a cup of whole wheat flour with the mix, but don't try to use all whole wheat flour or the dough will be dense and non-yummy
salt and/or any other spices you might like to add

Mix yeast with about 2 cups of flour and some salt and/or any spices you'd like (maybe a little garlic or onion powder or some dried Italian spices). Stir in water (or milk), olive oil and honey. Add more flour, about a half a cup at a time until the dough is no longer sticky.

Knead the dough on a floured surface until it's smooth and soft. Toss it into an olive oil-coated bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for at least an hour (or stick it in the refrigerator for 8 - 10 hours)

After the dough has risen to about double it's original size, take it out, toss it onto an oiled pizza pan (or cookie sheet), poke it all over with a fork and let it sit for another hour (you can skip this step and top it and bake it right away, but letting it rise again will get it puffier and a bit softer)

After at least an hour, poke it again with forks, top it with whatever you want on your pizza (or cut it up into strips and make breadsticks) and bake it for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melty and brown and the edges of the dough are golden brown and starting to pull away from the pan.

(not pictured: pizza dough, seriously it's a big white lump, not much to see)




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