Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Basic Pizza Crust

Here's what I use and it is very fine and very easy. I have a round pizza baking stone that I got from Pampered Chef. I am not saying that's why my pizza is so good but it does not hurt.
You may be able to get a pizza baking stone other places too. I do not know.

Makes 2 12-inch crusts or one medium-to-large size.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps. quick-rise yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 cup warm water
4 tsps. olive oil
2 Tbls. cornmeal

1. Pulse the flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor two or three times to blend. With the machine running, add the water and oil through the feed tube; process until mixture forms a ball, about ten seconds. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface; knead a few minutes until it forms a smooth ball and is lightly coated with flour.

2. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray; place the dough in the bowl. Cover lightly with plastic wrap or a cloth and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size, 45-60 minutes.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. If you want two pizzas, divide in half. Knead lightly until the dough forms a smooth ball and is lightly coated with flour.

Now. The recipe says to let it rise again in the bowl until for about 10-15 minutes. You can do this or you can skip it without any noticeable (to me, anyway) difference.

4. To assemble the pizza, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Spray your pan or pans with nonstick spray. Dust with cornmeal. (I don't do that. I skip the cornmeal but whatever.)

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface (do you detect a trend?) and shape it into a round, flat disk. Actually, I do this ON the pizza stone. I pat and stretch it to the desired shape and thickness.

I cover it back up and let it rise for just a few minutes. Then sprinkle with toppings of your choice and bake until the crust is crisp and golden brown, about fifteen minutes.

Of course, this can be made without a food processor. Just knead it by hand. But the processor makes it so very easy that if you have one, I recommend it. Highly.

Enjoy!

9 comments:

  1. Homemade pizza is so much better than store bought or pizza chain delivery.
    I usually make my crust in my bread machine...and definitely, I think the pizza stone makes a big difference!

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  2. I skip the cornmeal too, and I got my rectangle pizza stone at the thrift store for $3. It is a pampered chef one, too, and also works great for french bread and biscuits. I don't have a food processer, so it does take a little longer, but oh, SO well worth it! Oh, and I don't use the quick acting yeast, I just use hot-to-touch water instead and it works well.

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  3. Thanks for the recipe! And guess what? There's a wonderful fundraiser/raffle going on over at Hopeful Parents (http://www.hopefulparents.org) with The Pampered Chef! Your readers can purchase a stone AND get a chance to win a $50 giftcard.

    This is not spam, although I apologize for seeming like it is spam.

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  4. And this is from weight watchers, Ms Moon. Wonderful.

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  5. I had pizza tonight. The box from Chef BoyOrdee. I like their crust. It's good. I let my dough rest for about 30 minutes. Turns out good. I usually 'bake' it in my electric skillet. Turns out amazingly delicious.

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  6. Oh thank you so much for the pizza dough recipe! I'm going to try this very soon. Funny thing is I have a pizza stone, but I never cook on it. I keep it in the oven always, figuring it helps the oven hold temperature, so it's messy. But I can fix that. I'll let you know how it turns out!

    ps word verification was pretier. you make the world a pretier place!

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  7. We get these fantastic dough balls from the Italian deli down the road. Every Friday is homemade pizza night. It's like our version of Shabbos.

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  8. I got mine from Sur La Table. We make home made pizzas as well.

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  9. I love homemade pizza! Love, love, love it!

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