A Girl and Her Kitchen: Pizza at Home

I’m not sure if it’s my Italian heritage, the New Jersey upbringing or my obsession with all things cheese and bread, but one thing is painfully clear, I have a deep-rooted passion for pizza. My recent adventures in bread making led me to try my hand at making my own pizza dough. Heck, my great grandfather had a pizza parlor in Jersey so there’s got to be some of it my blood, right?! Fingers crossed and with some serious food blogging research under my belt, I dove in and man am I glad I did.

Homemade pizza is easy and unbelievably delicious! Gooey cheese, crust with a great bite and all the toppings I could ask for. In fact, since you make the dough the night before this could very well be a slam dunk mid-week meal folks. Now my pies may not rival Patsy’s or Grimaldi’s in NYC or the delightful offerings at Flour + Water or Delfina in SF, but they are down right tasty and I am sure going to be making these again. Most famous pizza joints have crazy hot coal or wood burning ovens...something a bit hard to replicate in the typical home kitchen. One way around this is to grill your pizzas. I find making smaller pizzas are easier to grill because slipping them on and off the grill with one or two large spatulas is doable. It’s also a good way to have more variety in toppings with 4 smaller pizzas instead of 2 larger ones. Whatever way you slice it, make your next pizza night an at home one.

Homemade Pizza
(Adapted from SmittenKitchen)

Dough:

1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons bread flour, plus more for dusting Kosher salt
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Toppings: (unlimited possibilities)
Homemade Sauce (or your favorite jarred variety)
1/2 bag of baby arugula
1 bunch fresh basil
8 slices prosciutto
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup grated Pecorino 2 cups grated mozzarella Freshly ground black pepper and salt

The night before prepare the dough:
Place 3/4 cup lukewarm water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Sprinkle in the yeast, stir and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the flour, olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt and mix on low for 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes, then increase the speed to high and mix until a smooth dough forms, about 2 minutes more.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, divide into two equal pieces and form each half into a tight ball. Place on a large floured sheet pan, place the pan in a plastic garbage bag, tie the bag loosely or cover loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

(I left mine a wee bit too close :)
Two hours before baking, place the dough in a warm spot. Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and set a pizza stone on it. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees 30 minutes before you are ready to bake the pizza. Note: if you don’t have a pizza stone, a large inverted baking sheet will work just fine.

Prepare the Toppings:
Organize your toppings for easy assembly line. Warm up your sauce in a sauté pan to a low simmer. If using jarred sauce, add in a handful of torn fresh basil. If not, leave fresh basil on side for garnish. In a bowl toss the arugula with a few teaspoons of good olive oil, salt and pepper. Grate the cheeses and have them in separate bowls.

Prepare the dough:
Dip your hands into flour. On a lightly floured countertop, pat the dough into a disc with your fingertips, then drape the dough over your fists and carefully stretch it from beneath to form a 12-inch circle. You may also use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out to desired thickness.

Generously dust the surface of a pizza peel or large inverted sheet pan with flour and place the stretched dough on it. You may want to use a sheet of parchment paper instead to help slide the dough on and off the baking sheet if you don't have a pizza peel. The parchment can cook right with the pizza in the oven. Spread ¼ - ½ cup of sauce onto it (depending on if you want a lot of sauce or a little). Leave a ½ inch margin of dough free of sauce for a good crust. Sprinkle the dough with half of the Parmesan, mozzarella, pecorino and some torn basil.

Bake the Pizza:
Shake the pizza peel slightly to make sure the dough is not sticking. Carefully lift any sections that are sticking and sprinkle a bit more flour underneath, then slide the pizza directly onto the baking stone in one quick forward-and-back motion. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating after 5 minutes. When the crust is golden, the cheese is melted, use the peel to transfer the pizza to a cutting board (or again two inverted cookie sheets will also work).