| Pizza Dough & Sauce | ||||
| Makes (1) 12" thick crust pizza, or (2) 12" thin crust pizzas | ||||
| Dough | Toppings | |||
| 1 cup | water | Whatever you like | ||
| 1 tbls | sugar | 8 oz | shredded cheese of your choice | |
| 2 pkgs | active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp) | |||
| ________ | Dipping Sauce | |||
| 2 1/2 cups | bread flour | 3 tbls | butter | |
| 1/2 cup | vital wheat gluten flour | 3 tbls | hot sauce (something with some sweet in it like Lingham’s Original or Frank’s Sweet Chili Sauce) | |
| 1/4 cup | olive oil | 1/2 tsp | salt | |
| 1/4 cup | honey | 1/2 tsp | granulated garlic | |
| 1 tsp | salt | 1/2 tsp | sweet dried basil | |
| 1 tsp | dried sweet basil | |||
| 1 tsp | dried oregano |
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| 1 tsp | granulated garlic | |||
| ________ | ||||
| 2 tbls | olive oil | |||
| Sauce | ||||
| 1 slice | onion, diced | |||
| 8 oz | (1 can) of tomato sauce | |||
| 1 tbls | minced garlic | |||
| 1/2 tsp | salt | |||
| 1/2 tsp | dried sweet basil | |||
| 1/2 tsp | dried oregano | |||
| 1/4 tsp | ground black pepper | |||
| If you prefer white sauce, just use some Alfredo sauce straight our of the jar; those usually don't need any doctoring up. | ||||
| Dough | ||||
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In a measuring cup, combine the water and
sugar. Heat in the microwave for 45 seconds. Add the yeast to bloom.
Allow it to get foamy; it will take about 10 minutes. In a mixer equipped with a beater, combine the yeast mixture, 1 1/2 cups of the bread flour, vital wheat gluten flour, olive oil, honey, salt, basil, oregano, and the granulated garlic. Mix on medium for about 1 minute. Switch to the dough hook. Add the remaining 1 cup of the bread flour 1/2 cup at a time scraping down the sides of the mixer bowl before adding each helping. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Spray a bowl with Pam and throw the dough in. Place it in a warm place, cover it with a towel, and let it rise for about 1 hour until doubled in bulk.. Meanwhile, make the sauce per the directions below. |
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| Sauce | ||||
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While the dough is rising, saute the onion
with a little oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Turn down the
heat to low, wait a bit for it to cool, then add the sauce and the rest
of the ingredients. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and set it aside. It can cool down in the pan; it won't hurt it. It may look like it won't be enough, but it will be fine. When your crust is ready, spread it on evenly. Now you can go for either thick or thin crust. Jump down to the desired section below. |
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| Thick Crust (skip below for thin crust) | ||||
 Preheat the oven (or the grill!) to 350°.Dump the dough out onto a pizza stone which was lightly dusted with cornmeal. Punch the dough down, and just let it sit there for 10 minutes to rest ... don't touch it! Start by pressing the dough down to make a thick pancake. Press the center of the dough out with your fingers towards the sides of the pizza stone. Stretch it a little at a time and turn the stone as you go. Don't flatten the edges, leave a little crust. When you get to the edge of the stone and everything is relatively the same thickness, poke a bunch of holes in the dough with a fork so that it doesn't start getting poofy again (don't poke the edges so they do get poofy). Brush on some olive oil. Par-bake the crust without the toppings for about 8 minutes until it just starts setting up and turning brown. Pull it out of the oven, add your sauce, toppings, and cheese. Don't go too heavy with the toppings or it won't heat through. Throw it back in the oven to bake for about 25 minutes until the crust and cheese are golden brown and the toppings heated through. Slide the pizza onto a cutting board and divvy it up. |
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| Thin Crust | ||||
 Preheat the oven (or the grille!) to 400°.Dump the dough out onto an un-floured, non-stick cookie sheet. Punch the dough down, and just let it sit there for 10 minutes to rest ... don't touch it! Divide the dough into two equal parts and set one half aside. You can put the other dough ball in the fridge and use it another night. Put a towel under the cookie sheet so it doesn't move around on you. Using a rolling pin, start rolling out the dough in each direction trying to push it to the edges of the cookie sheet. The dough will fight you to shrink back in, but just keep at it and it will eventually give in to your will. Roll the dough out to about a 1/8" thickness; it should be roughly the size of the cookie sheet. Poke a bunch of holes in the dough with a fork so that it doesn't start getting poofy again. Brush on some olive oil. Par-bake the crust without the toppings for about 8 minutes until it just starts setting up and turning brown. Pull it out of the oven, add your sauce, toppings, and cheese. Don't go too heavy with the toppings or it won't heat through. Throw it back in the oven to bake for about 16 minutes until the crust and cheese are golden brown and the toppings heated through. Slide the pizza onto a cutting board and divvy it up. |
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| Dipping Sauce | ||||
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I especially like this for the thick crust
version. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Add the hot sauce and other seasonings and nuke it a little more. Stir it up and serve on the side. |
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