Basic Cheese Pizza Food

BASIC PEPPERONI PIZZA AND FOUR CHEESE PIZZA

Steps:

• For the pizza dough: Sprinkle the active dry yeast over 1 1/2 cups of warm--not lukewarm--water.
• In a mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed, drizzle in the olive oil and mix until combined. Pour in the yeast mixture and mix until combined.
• Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil and tip the dough in. Form a ball and toss to coat the dough ball in the olive oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 or 4 days refrigerated.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• To prepare the dough for the pizza assembly: Divide the dough into two equal parts. Roll out one part as thinly as possible and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
• For the basic pepperoni pizza: Spread the sauce over the pizza base. Top with the sliced mozzarella and pepperoni.
• For the four cheese pizza: Drizzle on the olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Pour the jar of pesto onto the dough and spread evenly. Add the mozzarella, fontina, goat cheese and Pecorino Romano.
• Bake both pizzas until the crusts are golden and the cheese is bubbly, 12 to 15 minutes.
• For the tomato basil salad: While the pizzas are baking, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a small skillet. Add the garlic and stir, lightly frying for about a minute and removing it from the heat before the garlic gets too brown (it can be golden). Pour it into a mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly. Add the tomatoes, balsamic, basil and some salt and pepper to the bowl. Toss to combine, and then taste and add more basil if needed, and more salt if needed. Set aside.
• Top the four cheese pizza with the tomato basil salad. Cut the pizzas into slices and serve.
• Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil into a hot pan over medium-high heat. Throw in the garlic and chopped onions and give them a stir. Cook until the onions are soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, whisking to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Cook until the liquid reduces by half. Add the crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar. Add the dried oregano and basil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

PIZZA

Steps:

• Mix together the yeast and sugar with 250ml warm water and leave to sit for 10 mins. Place half the flour in a table-top mixer with a dough hook, pour in the yeast mixture and beat at medium speed for 10 mins (or mix in a bowl, then knead with oiled hands in the bowl for 5-10 mins).
• Leave somewhere warm for 10 more mins, then add the remaining flour and oil. Beat or knead to a dough for a further 5 mins. Put in a well-oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and place somewhere warm to double in size - about 1½ hrs.
• For the sauce, heat the oil in a pan over a moderate heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 mins, stirring constantly. Add the garlic, 1 tsp sea salt and 1 tsp ground black pepper and cook for 2 mins more. Add the tomatoes and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for a good 20 mins, stirring occasionally.
• Once your dough has doubled in size, slap it down on a lightly floured surface and knead for 4 mins until soft but not too elastic. Divide into 6 pieces, roll into balls and leave to rest for 10 mins. Heat oven to the highest temperature possible (270C fan in the Good Food test kitchen) and place a flat baking sheet in the oven.
• With a well-floured rolling pin, roll out each ball of dough as thinly as possible. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, oil or dust with flour, then carefully transfer the dough base onto it. Spread over some of the tomato sauce (I like to apply it in the quantity that you would spread Marmite on toast, or the base will be soft and fall to bits), then the cheese and any toppings you desire.
• Cook for between 5-10 mins depending on your oven temp, until the base is crisp and the cheese melted. Scatter with basil.

CHEESE PIZZA

Steps:

• Place a pizza stone in the center rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F for 1 to 2 hours before you're ready to bake the pizza to get the stone nice and hot.
• Generously sprinkle a flat work surface with flour. Use a rolling pin to stretch the dough into an 11-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured pizza peel or unrimmed baking sheet so it can slide right onto the pizza stone in the oven. (I use the bottom of a baking sheet.)
• Top with the mozzarella, sprinkle with the oregano, then gently spread the marinara sauce on top, leaving about a 1/2-inch border around the edges for the crust (my favorite part!).
• Turn off the oven and turn on the broiler. Use the peel or baking sheet to slide the pizza onto the pizza stone. The heat from the stone will cook the bottom of the pizza and the boiler will char and cook the top, mimicking a Neapolitan pizza oven. Bake until the cheese is melted and the crust is evenly crisped, 5 to 6 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan if desired. Slice the hot pizza and serve immediately.

BASIC PIZZA

Steps:

• For the dough, pile the flours and 1 level teaspoon of sea salt onto a clean surface and make a well in the centre.
• Add the yeast and sugar to 650ml lukewarm water, mix together and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well.
• Using a fork and a circular movement, slowly bring in the flour from the inner edge of the well and mix into the water. Continue to mix, bringing in all the flour - when the dough comes together and becomes too hard to mix with your fork, flour your hands and begin to pat it into a ball.
• Knead the dough by rolling it backwards and forwards, using your hands to stretch, pull and push the dough. Keep kneading for 10 minutes, or until you have a smooth, springy, soft dough.
• Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to to prove for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• For the sauce, peel and finely slice the garlic, then pick the basil leaves and finely chop the stalks.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan on a medium-low heat, add the garlic and basil stalks, then cook gently for a couple of minutes, or until the garlic is lightly golden, then add most of the basil leaves, the tomatoes, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Leave the sauce to tick away for around 20 minutes, or until smooth, breaking up the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon. When the time's up, taste, and season to perfection.
• To assemble the pizzas, divide the dough in half. Wrap one half in clingfilm and freeze for another day. With the remaining half, divide the dough into 4 equal balls.
• Flour each dough ball, then cover with clingfilm, and leave to rest for about 15 minutes - this will make them easier to roll it thinly.
• Dust a clean surface and the dough with a little flour or semolina, and roll it out into a rough circle, about ½cm thick.
• Tear off an appropriately sized piece of tin foil, rub it with olive oil, dust well with flour or semolina and place the pizza base on top. Continue doing the same with the remaining dough, dust with a little flour so you can pile them up. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge.
• When you're ready to cook them, preheat the oven to 250°C/500°F/gas 9.
• At this stage you can apply your topping: spread the tomato sauce over the base, spreading it out to the edges. Tear over the mozzarella and scatter with the remaining basil leaves. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper.
• If you can, cook the pizzas on a piece of granite in your conventional oven - if not, cook them one by one on pieces of tin foil directly on the bars of the oven shelf, towards the bottom of the oven (If you're going to cook your pizzas on the bars of the oven, make sure they're not too big - otherwise they'll be difficult to manoeuvre). Cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the pizzas are golden and crispy.
• Here are some of my favourite topping ideas: Mozzarella, anchovies, chilli, capers and parsley Smoked pancetta, mozzarella, fresh chilli and tomatoes Egg, prosciutto, artichokes, olives, mozzarella, tomato sauce and basil Green and red grapes, rosemary, pine nuts and ricotta Potatoes, mozzarella, rosemary, thyme and tomatoes Slow-roasted shredded pork with thyme, Taleggio and lemon-dressed rocket

CHEESY SKILLET PIZZA DIP

Steps:

• Microwave butter, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and red pepper flakes, covered, until butter is melted. Cut each dinner roll into thirds; roll each piece into a ball. Dip dough balls in butter mixture; place along outer edge of a 10-in. cast-iron skillet, leaving center open. Gently stack remaining balls on top of bottom layer, leaving some space between them. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 400°. Bake until dough balls are set and beginning to brown, 15-18 minutes., Meanwhile, combine cream cheese, 1 cup mozzarella, mayonnaise, Italian seasoning and remaining garlic powder; spoon into center of skillet. Layer with 1/4 cup mozzarella and pizza sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella and pepperoni. Brush rolls with some of remaining butter mixture; sprinkle with Parmesan. , Bake until dip is heated through and rolls are golden brown, about 10 minutes, covering loosely with foil as needed to prevent rolls from becoming too dark. Sprinkle with basil.

CHEESE PIZZA

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine biscuit mix and water; mix well. Press into a greased 12-in. pizza pan. Spread with pizza sauce; sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 450° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

HOW TO MAKE A CLASSIC CHEESE PIZZA

Steps:

• After you've made the dough, divide it in half and let come to room temperature, uncovered, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, place a pizza stone or an inverted baking sheet on the oven floor and preheat to 500˚.
• On a lightly floured surface, stretch or roll out 1 piece of dough into a 12-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Dust a pizza peel or another inverted baking sheet with cornmeal and lay the dough on top.
• Spread half of the sauce on the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Top with half of the provolone, then with half each of the mozzarella and parmesan.
• Slide the pizza onto the hot stone or baking sheet and bake until the crust is browned and the cheese is melted, 10 to 12 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings. Makes 2 12-inch pizzas.

EASY PIZZA DIP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 9-inch pie dish (I used a glass Pyrex) with cooking spray.
• Using a spatula or butter knife, evenly spread the cream cheese over the base of pie dish. It'll slide around a bit and it doesn't have to be perfect, but it's so much easier if your cream cheese is very well-softened.
• Evenly sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella over cream cheese.
• Evenly sprinkle 1/2 cup parmesan.
• Evenly add the pizza sauce to cover cheese and if necessary, gently spread it with a spatula or knife to evenly disperse.
• Evenly sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella over sauce.
• Evenly sprinkle 1/2 cup parmesan.
• Evenly top with pepperoni slices.
• Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes (I baked 23 minutes), or until cheese has melted and dip is done to your liking. Allow dip to cool momentarily before serving.

HOMEMADE CHEESE PIZZA

Steps:

• Follow the Best Pizza Dough recipe to prepare the dough. (This takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
• Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here's the pizza oven we use).
• Make the Easy Pizza Sauce.
• Slice or tear the fresh mozzarella into small pieces.
• When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don't have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!) Stretch the dough into a circle; see How to Stretch Pizza Dough for instructions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
• Spread the pizza sauce over the dough using the back of a spoon to create a thin layer. Add the pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese evenly across the dough, then top with the shredded mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle evenly with the garlic powder, dried oregano, and a few pinches of kosher salt.
• Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven). Slice into pieces and serve immediately.

EASY CHEESE PIZZA

Steps:

• Set one oven rack to lowest position and another oven rack to the middle position.
• Place a rimless baking sheet onto the bottom rack, then set oven to 500 degrees.
• Meanwhile roll out the pizza dough into a 12-inch circle then brush with olive oil.
• Carefully remove baking sheet from oven (leaving oven temperature to 500 degrees) then slide the dough onto the preheated baking sheet using a spatula as a guide).
• Bake crust on BOTTOM RACK for 8 minutes.
• After the 8 minutes remove from oven and spread the pizza sauce into an even layer over the crust leaving about a 1/4-inch border.
• Top with mozzarella cheese and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top.
• Bake MIDDLE OVEN RACK for an additional 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the cheese melts.
• Using a pizza cutter slice into 12 wedges.

THREE CHEESE PIZZA

Steps:

• Prep the ingredients. Remove the dough from the refrigerator to bring to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 475°F. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. Grate the fontina cheese on the large side of a box grater. Tear the mozzarella cheese into small pieces. Grate the Grana Padano cheese on the small side of a box grater.
• Make the sauce. In a small pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the chopped garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until slightly softened. Add the tomatoes (carefully, as the liquid may splatter) and Italian seasoning; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Turn off the heat, add the Quark Cheese, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Assemble and bake the pizza. Lightly oil a sheet pan. On a work surface, using your hands and a rolling pin (or a wine bottle), gently stretch and roll the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. (If the dough is resistant, let rest 5 minutes.) Carefully transfer to the sheet pan; rub into the pan to coat the bottom in oil.
• Leaving a 1-inch border around the edges, spread enough of the sauce onto the dough to coat (you may have extra sauce). Evenly top with the grated fontina cheese, torn mozzarella cheese, and half the grated Grana Padano cheese; season with salt and pepper.
• Blue Apron's recommendation is to bake 17 to 19 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown; however my pizza was done after 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand at least 2 minutes.
• Slice pizza and serve. Transfer the baked pizza to a cutting board and cut into equal-sized pieces. Serve the sliced pizza with the salad on the side. Garnish the pizza with the remaining grated Grana Padano cheese.
• Prepare the salad. While the pizza bakes, wash and dry the fresh produce. Cut off and discard the root end of the lettuce; separate the leaves. Peel the carrots and grate on the large side of a box grater. Quarter, core, and thinly slice the apple. Combine in a large bowl.
• Make the dressing. In a bowl, whisk together the creamy mustard sauce and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, add the almonds and enough of the dressing to coat to the bowl of prepared salad ingredients (you may have extra dressing); season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.