Homemade pizza is a true slice of Italian American cuisine
Did you know people have been making variations of pizza for over 7,000 years? It’s a popular, delicious, and timeless dish. That’s all to say: We humans love our pizza, and we’re always on the hunt for a good slice.
In theory, homemade pizza sounds like a great idea. You save money, can control your ingredients and toppings, and it’s even fun to knead and shape the dough. In practice, however, I’ve had my fair share of failures. More often than not, though, my “adventure” would end in a kitchen covered in
flour and sticky dough and a teary phone call to a friend in New York asking if it would be a ludicrous idea for her to send me bottled water from the Hudson.
Her answer? “Yes, Julie, that’s an absurd idea.”
The lengths we go for pizza, am I right?
When quarantine gave me more time on my hands than usual, I set out on a quest to make a good homemade dough that would result in happiness, not tears. I found this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction, one of my favorite food blogs. I like this recipe because it’s relatively quick and easy, and when I make this in my stand mixer, it’s mess-free and stress-free and doesn’t leave my hands aching.
The end result is pizza perfection. The crust is thick but crispy, and topped with an ungodly amount of cheese. Just the way I like it.
Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
1½ cups of warm water (should be around 110 degrees) 1 package, or 21⁄ teaspoons, of active, dry yeast
4
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
11⁄ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring your hands
2
and countertops
½ cup basic red sauce or any jarred marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
To prepare the dough, mix together warm water, yeast and sugar in a bowl, or in your stand mixer if you have one. Allow to rest until the yeast is activated, about 5–10 minutes. Mix in oil, salt and flour and using the dough hook beat on a low speed for about four minutes. Turn the dough onto a floured surface so it doesn’t stick. Knead the dough by hand for about 2 minutes to form a smooth round ball.
After kneading, grease a large bowl and place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat in the oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let rise at room temperature until the dough doubles in size (will take between an hour and an hour and a half).
Heat oven to 475°F. Finally, the fun part: Punch the dough down to make sure you don’t have any air bubbles. Shape the dough into two 12-inch circles with your hands or a rolling pin. Place the dough round on a pizza pan, or simply grease a baking sheet. Brush the dough with olive oil and top with ¼ cup red sauce and ½ cup cheese and add toppings of your choice. Bake for 10–12 minutes or until crust is crisp and cheese is melted. Repeat with second pizza.
Yield: Two 12-inch pizzas.