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| Pizza Making - Author's Picture |
The secret to making a good homemade pizza lies with the dough. No matter what delicious toppings you have, it's going to be that much better with dough that you make yourself. This basic recipe, with some alteration, can also be used to make homemade bread and fry bread.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of warm water, 105°
- 3.5 cups of all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil (any kind; doesn't have to be virgin to cook with)
- 2 teaspoons of honey or sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 pack of yeast
- Pour the warm water into a bowl and then add salt and honey (or sugar). Mix well, then add the pack of yeast. Mix well and let the mixture stand for 10 minutes.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the yeast mixture.
- In a separate bowl, add 3.5 cups of all-purpose flour. Pour your yeast mixture into the flour; stir the dough and then knead.
- You'll need to knead the dough for 5-8 minutes until it is not too wet or too dry. You should end up with a solid ball of dough. You can add more warm water or more flour, as needed.
- Coat a separate bowl with one tablespoon of olive oil. Place the dough in this bowl. Cover the bowl. You can also use olive oil cooking spray to coat the bowl. It's not as messy and you won't get it all over your hands.
- Let the dough rise 1.5-2 hours.
When the dough has risen, grease a pizza pan with olive oil (or olive oil spray), Spread the dough out on the pan, pressing from the center outward. Add your sauce, cheese, and favorite toppings. Preheat the oven to 350°. Cook the pizza for approximately 20 minutes. I always check my pizza after 15 minutes just to be safe. After I see that it's not burning or anything, I cook it an additional five minutes.
Note: When working with the dough, it's helpful to coat your hands in olive oil. This will keep flour/dough from sticking to your hands.
