Return of the Pizza Night
I'm baaaack!
My apologies for not posting in so long. I have been so busy with moving and raising a puppy that I ended up not cooking as much. (I don't know how you moms do it!) But, now that we are more settled in, I am happy and eager to post more regularly.
Last night we made homemade pizza. For the longest time, I was too nervous to attempt to make pizza dough. Measuring, temperature control, and precise timing are concepts that are intimidating to me because I haven't baked very much until recently. When I cook, I really enjoy being able to add whatever I want at any time, and I can't do this with baking. Rules are hard for me to follow I guess.
But, a few months ago I dove into the world of pizza dough and I've got to tell you-- it's AWESOME! Once I understood the vital steps that I couldn't skip, I've enjoyed making pizza more and more. I'll let you in on a few of the things I find very helpful in the dough process.
1) The Yeast. The first time I tried to make pizza dough, I microwaved my water because the recipe called for warm water to mix with the yeast. Yeah... I got the water wayyy too hot and thus killed the yeast. (Sorry yeast.) The funny part is, I didn't know that I had killed the yeast, so I continued with my pizza anyway. My poor boyfriend ended up eating a deliciously topped piece of cardboard for dinner that night...
The ideal temperature for yeast is 105 - 115 degrees Fahrenheit. I use a candy thermometer to gage the heat level because it's all I have. If the yeast foams a few minutes after you add it to the water, you're good. If not, you're doomed. Just kidding, just throw it away and start again. Unless you enjoy eating cardboard, then by all means proceed.
2) Kneading. I usually use a stand mixer and mix my dough on level 4 for 10 minutes. When I've only kneaded it for 5 or 6 minutes, it's not as nice of a texture. I read that hand kneading is a preferred method for some bakers, so last night I kneaded our dough by hand. It didn't rise as well as with the mixer, but this is probably because don't have the strongest hands in the world. But, if you want to get your arm workout in for the day then definitely hand knead your pizza dough...works like a charm.
3) Let it RISE! Don't try to hurry and roll out your dough without letting it rise for AT LEAST an hour. It'll be too elastic and the finished product will be dense.
Once I started to (finally) follow these three rules, my pizza dough has turned out pretty tasty each time. I'm sure I still have much room for improvement, but it's a start! My go-to dough recipe is from here. I really like her instructions and photos, so I'll let you use that as your dough guide. Last night I added garlic and Italian herbs to our dough.
As far as toppings go, I'm not going to post a specific "recipe" because the topping is the fun and creative part. Let your imagination run wild! For the taco style pizza below, I topped with black beans that had been cooked down with garlic, onions, green bell peppers, marinated pork and spices. Then I topped it with some salsa, cilantro, and cheese and let it bake for about 10 minutes at 500 degrees. Once it came out of the oven, I topped with with avocado, lettuce and crushed tortilla chips!
I really hope you take the time to try to make your own dough-- it's really worth it! Thank you for reading, as always. Stay tuned for more! xoxo
My apologies for not posting in so long. I have been so busy with moving and raising a puppy that I ended up not cooking as much. (I don't know how you moms do it!) But, now that we are more settled in, I am happy and eager to post more regularly.
Last night we made homemade pizza. For the longest time, I was too nervous to attempt to make pizza dough. Measuring, temperature control, and precise timing are concepts that are intimidating to me because I haven't baked very much until recently. When I cook, I really enjoy being able to add whatever I want at any time, and I can't do this with baking. Rules are hard for me to follow I guess.
But, a few months ago I dove into the world of pizza dough and I've got to tell you-- it's AWESOME! Once I understood the vital steps that I couldn't skip, I've enjoyed making pizza more and more. I'll let you in on a few of the things I find very helpful in the dough process.
1) The Yeast. The first time I tried to make pizza dough, I microwaved my water because the recipe called for warm water to mix with the yeast. Yeah... I got the water wayyy too hot and thus killed the yeast. (Sorry yeast.) The funny part is, I didn't know that I had killed the yeast, so I continued with my pizza anyway. My poor boyfriend ended up eating a deliciously topped piece of cardboard for dinner that night...
The ideal temperature for yeast is 105 - 115 degrees Fahrenheit. I use a candy thermometer to gage the heat level because it's all I have. If the yeast foams a few minutes after you add it to the water, you're good. If not, you're doomed. Just kidding, just throw it away and start again. Unless you enjoy eating cardboard, then by all means proceed.
2) Kneading. I usually use a stand mixer and mix my dough on level 4 for 10 minutes. When I've only kneaded it for 5 or 6 minutes, it's not as nice of a texture. I read that hand kneading is a preferred method for some bakers, so last night I kneaded our dough by hand. It didn't rise as well as with the mixer, but this is probably because don't have the strongest hands in the world. But, if you want to get your arm workout in for the day then definitely hand knead your pizza dough...works like a charm.
3) Let it RISE! Don't try to hurry and roll out your dough without letting it rise for AT LEAST an hour. It'll be too elastic and the finished product will be dense.
As far as toppings go, I'm not going to post a specific "recipe" because the topping is the fun and creative part. Let your imagination run wild! For the taco style pizza below, I topped with black beans that had been cooked down with garlic, onions, green bell peppers, marinated pork and spices. Then I topped it with some salsa, cilantro, and cheese and let it bake for about 10 minutes at 500 degrees. Once it came out of the oven, I topped with with avocado, lettuce and crushed tortilla chips!
I really hope you take the time to try to make your own dough-- it's really worth it! Thank you for reading, as always. Stay tuned for more! xoxo
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