Beths Perfect And Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Food

EASY HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you don't have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula in the next step.
• Add the olive oil, salt, and flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 3-4 minutes (for a visual, watch me do it in the video above!). The dough can be a little too heavy for a mixer to knead it, but you can certainly use the mixer on low speed instead. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger - if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray- just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it's doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
• Preheat oven to 475°F (246°C). Allow it to heat for at least 15-20 minutes as you shape the pizza. (If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat as well.) Lightly grease baking sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray or olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal, which gives the crust extra crunch and flavor.
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half. (If not making 2 pizzas, freeze half of the dough for another time. See freezing instructions below.) On a lightly floured work surface using lightly floured hands or rolling pin, gently flatten the dough into a disc. Place on prepared pan and, using lightly floured hands, stretch and flatten the disc into a 12-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. If the dough keeps shrinking back as you try to stretch it, stop what you're doing, cover it lightly for 5-10 minutes, then try again. Once shaped into a 12-inch circle, lift the edge of the dough up to create a lip around the edges. I simply pinch the edges up to create the rim. If using a pizza stone, place the dough directly on baker's peels dusted with cornmeal.
• Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for a few minutes as you prepare your pizza toppings. I suggest pepperoni & green peppers or jalapeño slices, extra cheese pizza, Hawaiian pizza, margherita pizza, pesto pizza, spinach artichoke white pizza, or homemade BBQ chicken pizza.
• Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. To prevent the filling from making your pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with olive oil. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for 13-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
• Slice hot pizza and serve immediately. Cover leftover pizza tightly and store in the refrigerator. Reheat as you prefer. Baked pizza slices can be frozen up to 3 months.

BETH'S PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Combine yeast and warm water.
• Stir until dissolved.
• Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Let rest 5 minutes.
• Roll out to size and shape you need.
• (I have used this same size recipe in jelly roll pans and on round baking stones.) Bake at 450* for 15 minutes or until golden.
• A couple tips: Sometimes I omit the sugar.
• Instead, I add several good shakes of Italian seasoning mix (just dried herbs).
• Use your imagination, this is hard to mess up.

QUICK AND EASY PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Mix 1 cup of flour with all other ingredients.
• Gradually add 2nd cup of flour until it forms a ball. Use your hands to form and knead the dough.
• Let the dough rest 10-15 minutes in a bowl covered with a dish towel or saran to keep it warm.
• Spread out onto greased pizza pan and top with your favorite toppings.
• Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. Enjoy!

BETH'S PERFECT AND EASY HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water.
• Combine flour and salt in large mixing bowl.
• Make a well in center of flour and with your hands, work in 1/2 of the yeast mixture.
• Add olive oil and then continue to work in the rest of the yeast mixture.
• Add 1 tablespoon of water if necessary to make dough soft and smooth.
• Turn dough onto flat surface and knead for 10 minutes.
• Oil a large mixing bowl and place dough in it, turning on dough over to get oil on all sides.
• Cover with damp towel and let rise for 1 hour.
• Preheat pizza stone in oven at 500 degrees.
• Divide pizza dough in half. Roll out each half into 12-14" circles making crusts about 1/8" thick.
• Sprinkle 3 tablespoons cornmeal onto pizza peal. Place 1 pizza crust on pizza peal and lightly brush with olive oil. Add all ingredients you want on your pizza.
• Slide pizza from peel onto preheated pizza stone in the oven. Cook until crust is crisp and golden, about 15-20 minutes.
• DOUGH CAN BE FROZEN: After rising, shape dough into 2 balls a, wrap and freeze. To use, thaw at room temperature and roll out as described.

PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• It's easiest to make this in a standing mixer with a dough hook (otherwise mix it in a bowl and knead on your work surface). Put the flour and salt in the bowl and mix the yeast into the water. It's always a good idea to wait 5 mins before using the liquid to see if the yeast is working - little bits will start to rise to the top and you'll know it's active.
• Turn on the motor and pour in the liquid. Keep the speed on medium-high and it should come together as a ball. If the bottom is still sticking, tip in 1-2 tbsp of flour. Knead for 5-7 mins until the dough is shiny and it springs back when you press your finger into it. (If kneading by hand, it will take you about 10 mins.) Try not to add too much flour if you can. This is a slightly sticky dough, but that keeps it light and it rises beautifully.
• Use oiled hands to remove the dough from the hook and bowl. Oil another bowl and place the dough in it. Turn it around so that it's lightly coated in the oil. Cover tightly with cling film and then a tea towel. Place in a draught-free area that's warm and leave until the dough has doubled in size. If it's a hot day, it should only take 2 hrs to rise, but it could take 4 hrs if it's cold. (If you don't plan to use the dough for a day or two, place it in the fridge straight away; take it out 3-4 hrs before using. Punch it down first and bring it together on a floured surface.)
• Divide the dough into 2 pieces for big pizzas or 4 for plate-sized ones, then shape into balls (see Shaping the dough in tips, below) - dust them in flour as they will be sticky. Keep them covered with a tea towel or cling film while you prepare the toppings. (you can also freeze them in sealed bags. Just thaw in the fridge on the day, then bring to room temperature 3 hrs before using.)
• To shape the dough: If you want to get air pockets and a light but crisp dough, then don't use a rolling pin. It flattens and pops the air bubbles. (Two days in the fridge will produce the most air bubbles - take it out three to four hours before using.) If your dough is at room temperature, you can use your fingers to gently stretch the dough out. Once it's about 16cm, place the disc over the tops of your hands (not palm side) and use them to stretch it further, up to about 25cm. You can start pressing out the other discs, then wait to do the final bit when you're ready to cook. Once you've mastered stretching the dough out, you can experiment with other shapes: rectangles, rounds or squares all look authentic.
• To cook the pizza: An outdoor gas barbecue is best for controlling the temperature, but charcoal will give your pizza a more authentic, smoky flavour. For gas, turn the flames down to medium-low so that the bottom of the pizza doesn't burn. When cooking on a charcoal barbecue, let the coals turn grey before you pop on the pizza.
• Place the pizza on a floured baking sheet (with no edge) or a pizza peel - this is a flat pizza paddle with a long handle, which makes it easier to get the dough on and off the grill. The flour will provide the 'wheels' for it to slide onto the grill - don't use oil as it sticks more and won't transfer as well.
• Make sure the grill is hot and the flames have died back if cooking on charcoal. Slide the dough onto the grill, close the lid (if your barbecue has one) and give it three to four minutes. The dough will puff up; it's ready when the bottom has light brown stripes. Use tongs to pull the dough off and turn it upside down.
• Assemble the pizza of your choice - see 'Goes well with', right, for topping suggestions. Remember that less is more, as the dough will stay crisper and the toppings will cook better.
• Place the pizza back on the grill, uncooked-side down, and shut the lid. Give it another three to four minutes, then remove when the cheese is melted and the toppings are hot.