A Recipe Concession - Pizza Dough

If you're a regular follower of this blog you probably already know that I don't really follow recipes when cooking. To me, cooking is mostly an intuitive alchemy that leans to what is fresh, local and otherwise at hand. Nonetheless, I do have a few guidelines that even I follow. Mostly.

Yesterday I made two pizzas and each of the bread doughs were slightly different. Both had (or as close as I get to) the same measures of wet ingredients, but one was made with less flour than the other, based on the following recipe:

Pizza Dough - enough for one large pie

Ingredients:

1. 1 ⅓ to ⅔ cups of bread flour (or any glutenous flour or flour combo you have on hand)
2. a healthy pinch of salt (about ½ teaspoon, I suppose)
3. ⅔ cup of tepid water
4. a healthy pinch of sugar (about ½ teaspoon) - cane, honey, molasses, maple syrup … (optional)
5. 1 tablespoon of yeast
6. olive oil (about a ½ teaspoon)

I blend the first two ingredients in my food processor, fitted with the bread blade, though any blade will do.

Mix the sugar into the water until blended and then stir in the yeast. The liquid will become active within minutes (how many minutes, depends on the temperature of the kitchen). Once the liquid is active and foamy I turn on the processor and slowly add all the liquid. A ball of dough will form and I let that process/knead for several seconds.

Make ready a separate bowl by coating the bottom and sides with a little olive oil. Transfer the dough into this bowl and turn it in the oil so that all sides of the dough get lightly oiled. Cover the bowl with a cloth and place it in a warm, quiet place to rise until doubled in size (about 30 minutes, but again, this depends on the temperature of your kitchen).

Once the dough is risen, turn it out onto floured board and roll out to your desired pizza shape. Place it on your desired cooking surface (a heated stone, a cookie or pizza sheet with organic corn meal or parchment paper) and let it rest in a quiet place while you prepare the toppings and preheat the oven.

The toppings can be virtually anything, like those offered in yesterday's post. This is where I really exercise my free will and creativity!

Preheat the oven to its hottest setting, mine is 550° F. Get your the toppings on the pizza dough in whatever way pleases you. Once the oven is hot, bake the pizza for about 15 minutes. Then slide the finished pizza onto a cutting surface, slice and … enjoy!

There. A recipe. Ya happy? ::grin::

Peace.