Handmade Pizza

I have just started experimenting with pizza and I have to say, this pizza crust rivals any restaurant that I am able to get pizza at.

The Dough:

1 3/4 cup warm water
1 Tbs Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 tsp Dry Active Yeast
1 1/2 tsp White Sugar
3 1/4 cup White Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

Pour the water into a large bowl and mix in the oil, salt, yeast, and sugar. The mixture won't dissolve completely, don't worry about it.

Add the flour and mix until it forms a consistent dough. The best way to do this is with the handle-end a wooden spoon. This will ensure you don't over mix and also will keep the clumps of dough off the spoon.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap but leave a small opening so that the gas can escape. Let this sit at room temperature for 2 hours to rise.

Put the dough in the fridge for at least 3 hours with the loose plastic wrap on it still.

Now, you can cut the dough into grapefruit-sized balls (feeds about 2-3 people each) and freeze them if you like. Make sure to freeze them individually in zip lock baggies. If you freeze them, put them in the fridge overnight to thaw.

Let the dough rest at room temp for 30 mins - 1 hour to get back up to room temperature.

Take the dough out of the bowl /plastic baggie and stretch it into a ball by folding it into  itself a few times. Don't do this too many times or it will toughen the dough.Let the dough rest for another 15-20 mins.

Now you are ready to stretch or roll out your dough. Roll the dough out on a floured surface and place on a olive oil greesed cookie sheet for thin crust, or use your hands to push it out on the sheet for thicker crust.

Start your oven to as hot as it'll go. (about 550 degrees)

The sauce:

You can use any store bought sauce or make your own by pureeing a can of whole tomatoes and simmering it until it reduces by about half. You can add some chopped basil to this if you like.

Suggested Toppings:

There are so many combinations that you could use. The one pictured here is a half-and-half pizza:

Side 1: Cherry Tomato, Mozzerella & Basil (drizzled with olive oil after cooking)
Side 2: Chorizo Sausage, caramelized onion, roasted red pepper and jalapeno (Yes, it's as good as it sounds)

The taste is really dependent on where and how you place the toppings. Here are some suggestions of my favorites:

Topping Proceedure Placement Caramelized Onion Saute (on low heat) sliced onion for about 30 mins Bottom above sauce Roasted Red Pepper I would just buy the jarred ones but you can throw them on the   Top  BBQ until the skin blackens. Put them into a ziplock bag for This will loosen the skin and you can just peel it off Chorizo Open the sausage casing and sautee in olive oil until crispy Top  Roasted Garlic Cut a head of garlic in half and drizzle olive oil over the cut half.  Top or under cheese Wrap the in tin foil and cook at 375 for 1 hour Prosciutto Proscuitto is basically Italian, dry-cured ham. Just lay it over the  Top top of the pizze, raw and it'll crisp up. Go easy…it's salty Jalapeno or Poblano Cut the pepper in half and remove the seeds and white part. This Anywhere  is where all the heat lies. You can then dice them up and sprinkle them on the pizza. Great pepper taste without killing your tounge.  Basil Leaves Just rub a slight bit of olive oil on the leafs and place them on the very top.  Top They will crisp up and taste incredible Arugula This peppery lettuce goes great on top of bold pizzas (like my caramelized  Top onion and chorizo) Put it on AFTER the cooking
Cook your pizza at 550 for 12 minutes, or until the crust bubbles and starts to turn deep brown. Let your pizza rest for 2 or 3 minutes before you cut into it.