The satisfying combination of fresh bread, tomato sauce, and melted cheese is a favorite comfort food for many people. So, for weeknight suppers and informal entertaining, homemade pizza is a tasty option that is easy and sure to please. And pizza dough can be made ahead and frozen for added convenience on busy evenings.
Making pizza at home can be much less expensive than pizza delivery or carry-out. And Homemade pizza can also be healthier than restaurant pizza, especially if topped with a lower fat part-skim cheese and healthy veggies. But many different pizza toppings can be used to make delicious variations, even dessert pizza.
A basic dough is surprisingly easy to make, requiring only a few ingredients: flour, yeast, water, and salt. Because it is free of animal products, homemade pizza dough is also suitable for vegetarians, vegans and people who have certain food allergies. The following recipe has been adapted from the "Yeast Pizza Crust" recipe in the cookbook How It All Vegan by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer. This dough makes a pizza crust with good flavor and texture.
Pizza Dough Recipe
Makes two 12 inch pizzas (4 - 8 servings)
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 - 3 cups bread flour
- 1/2 cup flour for dusting hands and surfaces
- One 1/4 ounce packet of active dry yeast or quick-rise yeast
- 1 1/2 cups of warm water
- 1 tablespoon salt
- Olive oil or cooking spray
Directions:
- In a liquid measuring cup, dissolve yeast in water and let stand five minutes
- In a large mixing bowl or food processor, start with 2 1/2 cups of bread flour
- Mix salt into dissolved yeast
- Add dissolved yeast mixture to flour and mix or process until a tacky dough forms. If dough is too sticky, mix in the other 1/2 cup of flour.
- Dump dough onto a lightly floured surface, dust hands with flour and knead dough for a few minutes and form into a ball
- Lightly grease mixing bowl with olive oil or cooking spray and return ball of dough to bowl
- Cover bowl with saran wrap, a cheese cloth or a dish towel and set in a warm place to rise until dough is about double its original size (45 minutes to an hour for regular yeast and 15-20 minutes for rapid-rise yeast.)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Return dough to floured surface and punch dough to deflate.
- Separate dough into two sections, then knead each one for a few more minutes, shape each one into a ball and flatten into a disk shape
- Using a floured rolling pin, roll out dough and shape into circles or rectangles about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick and transfer to pizza stone or cookie sheet
- Spread on sauce and add toppings of choice
- Bake for 15 minutes or until dough is just beginning to brown
- Let pizzas cool for a few minutes and cut into 6 or 8 slices
Use this basic dough recipe to make Cinnamon Apple Dessert Pizza, the perfect complement to a meal of homemade pizza.
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