Leanne's Favorite Pizza Dough

This pizza dough recipe is my favorite pizza dough that I have made this far. It works great with a number of different pizzas from Pepperoni to White to BBQ Chicken. The dough is not to soft, and not to sticky which makes it easy to work with. Plan ahead when making this pizza dough because it must rise in the fridge for at least 12 hours. That makes it perfect to put together Sunday afternoon, for dinner Monday night. This recipe makes enough for 2 pizzas.  

Ingredients 

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1 cup ice cold water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil 

About 5 1/4 to 5 1/2 cups bread flour

Directions

1. In a small bowl, with a fork, stir yeast into warm water. Let stand until yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes. 

2. In another small bowl mix together cold water, olive oil, salt and sugar and stir until dissolved. 

3a.If using a stand mixer with a dough hook, add 5 1/4 cups of flour to the bowl.Stir the yeast mixture again to blend, then add to the flour mixture along with cold-water mixture. Beat with the dough hook on a low speed until the mixture is smooth and not sticky, 14-16 minutes. (Do not let the dough climb up above the dough hook, if it gets to high, stop the mixer and push the dough down.) If the dough remains sticky add 2 more tablespoons of flour and beat 2 minutes longer, continue to do the same until non-sticky and smooth. 

3b. To make pizza dough by hard, place 5 1/4 cups of the flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and stir in the yeast mixture along with the cold water mixture. Using a wooden spoon, mix the dough, incorporating as much of the flour as possible. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and elastic, 10-12 minutes. It will still be a little sticky, but should not stick to your hands. Add only a minimum amount of flour to the work surface to keep the dough from sticking. 

4. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut in half. With floured hands, pick up one portion of dough, pull opposite edges together toward center and pinch to seal. Repeat steps with second portion. Place each portion in a 1-gallon plastic bag. Squeeze out air and seal bag allowing enough room for the ball to double. Chill at least 12 hours, or up to 2 days. 

5. Allow pizza dough to come to room temperature before stretching to desired shape and thickness. 

On Valentine's Day I made a heart shaped White Pizza with this dough:

 Here I made a BBQ Chicken Pizza with the pizza dough:

White Pizza

Last Saturday Nicole and Ken, and my parents came over for pizza night, I made several different kinds of pizza including a white pizza. Since then both Nicole and my Mom have been bugging me for the recipe, so I thought I would share it with everyone.

White Pizza 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon minced garlic 

1 3/4 cups coarsely shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 450 

2. Place pizza on desired cooking surface and brush the dough with 1 tablespoon of  the olive oil. 

3. Spread the ricotta evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/4 inch border and sprinkle the garlic over the top. 

4. Scatter the mozzarella over the top, and sprinkle with oregano. 

5. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over the top and cook in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until   crust is golden and cheese is bubbling. 

Homemade Pizza

One of my favorite things to make is homemade pizza with homemade dough. It is a little bit of a project to make, because it involves some planning ahead, but it is so worth it. Once you have had it you can never go back to the kind you can buy at the store.

I have made several different kinds including New York style, Chicago deep dish, California style, They have all been really good and just a little bit different. The other night I made a Chicago Style dough, which turned into 4 mini Chicago dish deep pizza.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza Dough

Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water (90-100 degrees)
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cups flour
1/2 medium grind yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of the warm water. Add the sugar and 1/4 cup of the flour and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. Add the remaining 1 cup warm water and 3 cups flour, the cornmeal, salt, and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Using the wooden spoon, mix the dough, incorporating as much of the flour as possible. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and elastic for 10 to 12 minutes. It will still be a little sticky but shouldn't stick to your hands. Add only a minimum amount of flour to the work surface to keep the dough from sticking. Lightly oil a large bowl. Add the dough and turn to coat on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place a clean, damp kitchen towel over the top.

2. Place the covered bowl in the refrigerator and let the dough rise over night.

3. Bring the dough to room temperature before completing the final rise. When the dough has doubled in volume from its original size, punch it down and knead for 2 to 3 minutes. Then divide the dough into 4 equal balls.

4. Lightly oil the bottom and side of the round deep dish pizza pans and press the dough firmly into the bottom. Let the dough rise in the pans for 15 to 20 minutes. Press the dough until it comes up the sides and is even on the bottom and at the corners of the pans

5. Top with toppings of you liking and bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.