We have made a tradition of Pizza Fridays around here and it is always something everyone looks forward to. Sure you could order in. Of course you can buy store bought pizza crust. We've done both! But I wanted to share one of our favorite homemade and EASY dough recipes I got from my brother-in-law. I've modified it a bit and it's been on repeat for weeks.
Ingredients:
- 1 packet of yeast
- 2 tsp of honey
- 2 Tbl of Olive Oil
- 2 cups of warmish water
- 5 cups of Flour
- 2 tsp of Kosher Salt
- + a little more flour & olive oil
Instructions:
STEP ONE
Place the yeast, honey, oil & water in a bowl and mix with a whisk to combine.
STEP TWO
Add 5 cups of of flour and stir to combine. It will be shaggy but try to incorporate all of the flour in the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add salt and mix to incorporate by hand. Place plastic wrap over the top and store in a warm place for an hour -1.5 hours. It should double in size.
STEP THREE
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Stretch each corner of the dough and fold back on top of itself. Turning a quarter turn with each stretch. Your dough should be more smooth once you are done. Pour some olive oil back in your bowl, place dough inside and recover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place for another hour +. It will double in size again.
STEP FOUR
When you are ready to assemble your pizzas, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut dough in half with a dough cutter, bench scraper, or stiff plastic spatula. Use a deeper cookie sheet, one with a lip around it or a cast iron pan. Pour several tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of your pan. Place half of the dough in the pan and stretch with your fingers. Like you are puncturing it with your fingers, spread it out so it reaches and stretches closer to the edges. It doesn't have to be perfect.
STEP FIVE
Top your pizza dough however you like it. We like to add dried herbs, tomato sauce, salty meats or crumbled Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, buffalo mozzarella, something pickled (olives, capers, peppers). And top it with Pecorino Ramono (our fav), + maybe some cowboy candy or fresh local honey and fresh herbs or arugula once it's done baking.
We bake ours for about 15-20 minutes. Once the edges are brown, the cheese is bubbly and the bottom is toasted, you know it's ready. Slide it out on a cutting board and slice it. Leftovers are great cold for brunch the next day!
Eat Like A Hillbilly & Enjoy!