Delightful Pizza Dough

If I could, I would probably be eating pizza at least once a day. In fact, I'm probably eating pizza, right now, as you read these words. I can't help it--there's not much in this world that is better. There are a few great places round these parts that'll make you some pretty fine vegan pizza if you ask them nice enough--though nothing beats a home-baked pie in my opinion.

I probably inherited my addiction to all things pizza from my parents. When I was growing up, we'd have pizza nights about twice a week; one night we would order-in and one night we would make it. Making pizza was of course my favorite because I got to use the tiniest bit of sauce (hated tomatoes) and a ridiculous amount of olives (of which I have always been a true fan). My mom is the greatest because she would set out a veritable buffet of toppings, each in its little bowl. My parents would make a big pizza for themselves and I'd get a personal-sized one because I was just special that way.

We never, however, made our own pizza crust. This, I think, is a travesty! For people as picky as my parents, you'd think they'd want to control every aspect of their pizza experience, right down to the base. Instead, they've always opted for the vacuum-packed Boboli-type crusts. Someday I will show them the error of their ways.

Now, this is sort of a recipe cop-out because I have made this pizza dough before and other than the dough, I didn't really create anything exceptional for this meal. However, I figured since I made the pie and I had the pictures, I might as well share my favorite dough recipe. I'll have a new, original recipe up in the next day or so, however.

Delightful Pizza Dough
-1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
-3/4 cup warm water, plus some more on hand
-2 1/4 cups flour, plus some more on hand
-1 teaspoon salt
-pinch of sugar
-1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for other stuff
-herbs and spices of your choice (I use a tsp of basil and oregano)

• Put the yeast in a small bowl or cup with 1/4 cup of the water. Stir to dissolve. Put this aside for 5-10 minutes.
• In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Add to this the olive oil, yeast mixture, and remaining 1/2 cup of water. Your dough will still be pretty dry and crumbly at this point so don't hesitate to add a little more water if you need it to stick together a bit more.
• Spread some flour out on a flat, dry surface and drop down the dough. Knead the dough ball until it's nice and elastic--about 3 minutes--adding water if it is still too dry or crumbly. Overall, I usually end up adding about 1/4 cup more water to the dough after the initial water dump.
• Spread some oil in a large bowl and transfer the dough ball. Spread a little oil on top of the ball and cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap. Set the dough aside for about 1 hour while it rises. It will double in bulk. The picture above is of a full-risen dough ball.
  
• If you want to use the crust immediately: Preheat the oven to 450F. Punch the dough down on a lightly-floured surface and roll it out into a circle. You can make this dough as thick or thin as you'd like, but I usually keep mine about 1/4 inch. Transfer to a pizza stone or lightly oiled pizza pan or baking sheet. Bake on the bottom rack for about 10 minutes before adding toppings and baking your pizza.
• If you want to use the crust later: Store in the fridge for up to 8 hours or in the freezer for 3-4 weeks.

And, in case you were wondering, here's how I make my pizza:

Kelly's Delightful Pizza
-1/4 green bell pepper
-10 vegan Lightlife pepperoni slices
-1/2 block Follow Your Heart vegan mozzarella cheese
-1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
-1/2 cup fresh organic mushrooms
-a handful of green olives
-a handful of black olives
-some garlic salt, garlic powder, fresh garlic (I like garlic, what can I say)
-salt and pepper
-pizza sauce of your choice

• Making a pizza is pretty self explanatory. Other than soaking the porcinis for about half an hour, all you have to do is chop everything up and throw it on your pizza.
• Then, bake at 450F for 10-15 minutes, depending on how well-done you like your pie. I go with 12 minutes.
  

This is just the right size for two hungry people. I don't use a whole block of cheese because I like the suggestion of the taste rather than a bunch of gobs of vegan cheese in my mouth. Plus, your non-vegan friends and family won't notice the difference!


Enjoy!