Pizza Recipes

Homemade Pizza
                       

                              


Ingredients
Pizza Dough: Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas
1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast (check the expiration date on the package)
3 1/2 cups bread flour (can use all-purpose but bread flour will give you a crisper crust)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Pizza Ingredients:
Olive oil
Cornmeal (to slide the pizza onto the pizza stone)
Tomato sauce (purée)
Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, shredded
Feta cheese
Mushrooms, thinly sliced
Bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, thinly sliced
Italian sausage, cooked ahead
Chopped fresh basil
Pesto
Pepperoni, thinly sliced
Onions, thinly sliced
Sliced ham

Special equipment needed:

1. A pizza stone, highly recommended if you want your pizza dough to be crusty
2. A pizza peel or a flat baking sheet
3. A pizza wheel for cutting the pizza, not required, but easier to deal with than a knife

Method
Making the Pizza Dough

• In the large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid), add the warm water. Sprinkle on the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes.
• Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for about a minute. Remove the mixing paddle and replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don't have a mixer, you can mix and knead by hand. If the dough seems a little too wet, sprinkle on a bit more flour.
• Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours (or several hours longer, a longer rise will improve the flavor). If you don't have a warm spot in the house you can heat the oven to 150 degrees, and then turn off the oven. Let the oven cool till it is just a little warm, then place the bowl of dough in this warmed oven to rise.
• At this point, if you want to make ahead, you can freeze the dough in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Preparing the Pizzas

1. Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.
2. Remove the plastic cover from the dough and punch the dough down so it deflates a bit. Divide the dough in half. Form two round balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover with plastic and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Prepare your desired toppings. Note that you are not going to want to load up each pizza with a lot of toppings as the crust will end up not crisp that way. About a third a cup each of tomato sauce and cheese would be sufficient for one pizza. One to two mushrooms thinly sliced will cover a pizza.
4. Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a slightly floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter - 10 to 12 inches. Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. You can pinch the very edges if you want to form a lip.
5. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings). Use your finger tips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let rest another 5 minutes. Repeat with the second ball of dough.
6. Lightly sprinkle your pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) with corn meal. Transfer one prepared flattened dough to the pizza peel. If the dough has lost its shape in the transfer, lightly shape it to the desired dimensions.
7. Spoon on the tomato sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and place your desired toppings on the pizza.
8. Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone in the oven. Gently shake the peel to see if the dough will easily slide, if not, gently lift up the edges of the pizza and add a bit more cornmeal. Slide the pizza off of the peel and on to the baking stone in the oven. Bake pizza one at a time until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes. If you want, toward the end of the cooking time you can sprinkle on a little more cheese.

Pizza Pizzas

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt*

1 tablespoon pure olive oil

3/4 cup warm water

2 cups bread flour (for bread machines)

1 teaspoon instant yeast

2 teaspoons olive oil

Olive oil, for the pizza crust

Flour, for dusting the pizza peel

Toppings:

1 1/2 ounces pizza sauce

1/2 teaspoon each chopped fresh herbs such as thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, for example

A combination of 3 grated cheeses such as mozzarella, Monterey Jack, and provolone

Method

• Place the sugar, salt, olive oil, water, 1 cup of flour, yeast, and remaining cup of flour into a standing mixer's work bowl. Using the paddle attachment, start the mixer on low and mix until the dough just comes together, forming a ball. Lube the hook attachment with cooking spray. Attach the hook to the mixer and knead for 15 minutes on medium speed.
• Tear off a small piece of dough and flatten into a disc. Stretch the dough until thin. Hold it up to the light and look to see if the baker's windowpane, or taut membrane, has formed. If the dough tears before it forms, knead the dough for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
• Roll the pizza dough into a smooth ball on the countertop. Place into a stainless steel or glass bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the bowl and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.
• Place the pizza stone or tile onto the bottom of a cold oven and turn the oven to its highest temperature, about 500 degrees F. If the oven has coils on the oven floor, place the tile onto the lowest rack of the oven. Split the pizza dough into 2 equal parts using a knife or a dough scraper. Flatten into a disk onto the countertop and then fold the dough into a ball.
• Wet hands barely with water and rub them onto the countertop to dampen the surface. Roll the dough on the surface until it tightens. Cover one ball with a tea towel and rest for 30 minutes.
• Repeat the steps with the other piece of dough. If not baking the remaining pizza immediately, spray the inside of a ziptop bag with cooking spray and place the dough ball into the bag. Refrigerate for up to 6 days.
• Sprinkle the flour onto the peel and place the dough onto the peel. Using your hands, form a lip around the edges of the pizza. Stretch the dough into a round disc, rotating after each stretch. Toss the dough in the air if you dare. Shake the pizza on the peel to be sure that it will slide onto the pizza stone or tile. (Dress and bake the pizza immediately for a crisp crust or rest the dough for 30 minutes if you want a chewy texture.)
• Brush the rim of the pizza with olive oil. Spread the pizza sauce evenly onto the pizza. Sprinkle the herbs onto the pizza and top with the cheese.
• Slide the pizza onto the tile and bake for 7 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. Rest for 3 minutes before slicing.

Sicilian Sausage And Pepper Pizza

Ingredients

3/4 cup (175 mL) spicy tomato pasta sauce

1  spicy turkey sausage

1/2  each yellow and green pepper

227 g store-bought thin pizza crust

generous pinches of dried oregano and hot red chili flakes

1/2 cup (125 mL) grated light pizza-blend cheese

basil or arugula leaves (optional)

You’ll be amazed that just a few ingredients can generate so much flavour. We used spicy Italian turkey sausage and a package of mixed, grated light cheeses specially blended for pizza.

Method

• For a golden crispy crust, place a baking sheet or pizza pan on bottom rack of oven. Preheat oven to 500F (260C). Pour pasta sauce into a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Squeeze sausage meat from casing into sauce. Discard casing. Using a fork, stir frequently to keep meat crumbly. Cook until meat is no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, thinly slice peppers. Remove baking sheet from oven to a heat-resistant surface. Place crust on sheet. Spread sausage sauce overtop right to edge. Scatter peppers overtop. Sprinkle with oregano and chili flakes, then cheese.
• Bake on bottom rack of preheated 500F (260C) oven until edge of crust is golden and cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes. Scatter with fresh basil. Slice pizza into wedges.

Three Toppings To Try

• Smear top crust with goat cheese. Sprinkle with roasted peppers and finely chopped jalapenos.
• Cover with cream cheese and scatter with strips of smoked salmon, capers and finely chopped red and green onion.
• Add thinly sliced or diced peaches, prosciutto strips and shredded fresh basil to a cream cheese-covered base.

Middle Eastern Lamb Pizza

Ingredients
3 green onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup packed mint leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup packed parsley, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
300 g lean ground lamb
2 tbsp tomato oaste
1/2 tsp hot-red-chili- flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1 large thin pizza crust, about 12 inch
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini
2 cups packed baby arugula
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

Method

• Preheat oven to 450F. Set a rack on a baking sheet.
• Combine green onions with 1/4 cup mint, parsley and garlic in a large bowl. Stir in lamb, tomato paste, chili flakes and salt just until combined. Season with pepper.
• Spread lamb mixture over pizza crust, right to the edges, until even. Lay pizza on rack.
• Bake in centre of oven until lamb is cooked through, about 10 min.
• Stir lemon juice with tahini in a small bowl. Stir in 2 tbsp water. Season with pepper.
• Combine arugula with tomatoes, red onion and remaining mint in a medium bowl. Transfer hot pizza to a cutting board and let stand 5 min. Top with arugula-tomato mixture, drizzle with tahini dressing, then cut into 8 wedges.

Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

450 gm Boneless Chicken Breast 

1 Pizza frozen dough 

4 tsp Pepper 

1 cup Mushrooms (sliced) 

1 Vegetable Cooking Spray 

1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese 

1/2 tsp Thyme 

1 tbsp Olive oil 

1 Garlic Clove (minced) 

2 cups Purple Onions (sliced) 

1 cup Red bell pepper 

1/4 tsp Salt

Method

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add chicken, salt, pepper and garlic and heat it for few minutes.
• Add onions, bell pepper, mushrooms and thyme.
• Saute for few minutes into the chicken mixture, until chicken is cooked. Keep it aside.
• Unroll pizza dough and pat into a 12-inch pizza pan coated with cooking vegetable spray.
• Splash half cup cheese evenly over the dough.
• Spread chicken mixture over the cheese and top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
• Bake at 425 degree F for 15 minutes or until crust is golden.