Homemade Pizza

A simple dinner tonight.....Not a lot of fuss, not a lot of clean-up!

Here's my recipe for pizza dough that you can mix up and use right away, or you can choose to let it rise for about an hour or so. I've made it both ways and either one is good.

Easy Pizza Dough

3 c. flour

2 T. sugar

1 1/4 c. lukewarm (not too hot!) water + 2 T. oil

2 1/2 t. yeast (or 1 of the square packets that comes in a group of 3)

2 t. sugar

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pour yeast into water/oil and add the 2 t. of sugar. Stir gently and let set about 15 minutes, or until yeast dissolves and looks a bit foamy. Measure 3 c. of flour into a mixing bowl. Add the 2 T. of sugar and pinch of sugar. Stir. Pour water with yeast into the mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Then, use your hand to gather and squish any residual flour into dough ball, kneading and squishing until it has formed into a nice ball. 

If letting dough rise, lightly oil a glass mixing bowl. Set dough in bowl, turning to coat all with oil. Cover with wax paper, and let set on counter for approx 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Then punch down, knead several times and prepare for pizza as directed in the paragraph below.

If using immediately, put onto lightly greased baking sheet and spread out until even and uniform. A small rolling pin is great to use for this. Cover with all toppings except shredded cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, or until bottom is slightly golden brown. Top with shredded cheese and return to oven for another 5-8 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Simple Pizza

By using a small ball of regular dough, about 3" in diameter, you can make a very delicious, personal size pizza. First, start by crisping up a piece of bacon or two (Do not drain drippings. They'll be used later.) 

Mmmmm! I absolutely love bacon!

 Then, once the dough has come to room temperature, lightly dust it with flour and begin flattening it by pressing it between your palms. Using your fingers, work the thickness of the dough out from the center to the edges, rotating the dough in a clockwise motion between your fingers. Continue this until the dough is relatively thin, and fairly circular. But it doesn't have to be perfect! Using the same non-stick skillet with bacon drippings, heat pan to a medium heat, being careful not to let it get too hot and smoke. Reshape your dough if necessary, then lay it out flat into the pan. Watch it closely as it will turn golden brown on bottom, and puff nicely in a short amount of time. Flip dough to brown the second side and cook completely through.

The dough is golden brown, so soft, and nearly done.

Turn off your burner and move the pan from the heat temporarily. Flip the dough to turn its hot side up, and sprinkle any type of shredded cheese you desire over the pizza. Cover and return the skillet to the burner (still keeping it off) for residual heat to help melt the cheese.

Never can have enough cheese on a pizza!

It should only take a minute or two for the cheese to completely melt.

 Finally, break the bacon into pieces and gently push them into the melted cheese. Now your delicious pizza is ready to enjoy!

This is the softest, freshest tasting homemade pizza I've had in a while. Using the skillet turned out to be an excellent method for making pizza. You should definitely try it for yourself and let me know what you think!