A to Z Pizza!

A ton of people have asked about my pizza recipe. The most important thing I can tell you is to not follow anything in this recipe exactly how I tell you to do it.....because there's absolutely nothing exact about it!

Mushroom, red onion, and green onion pizza pie!

Here it goes!

First the dough:


You'll need:
Yeast
Water
Sugar
Olive Oil
Salt
Egg
Italian Seasoning (optional)
Whole Wheat Flour
White Flour
Cornmeal (optional)

• Dissolve 1 Tbl yeast in 1 C warm water by sprinkling it on top and letting it sit for about 10 minutes. It should be foamy and fragrant.
• Add 1/4 C sugar, 1 egg, 2 Tbl oil (I use olive), and mix well.
• Then add 2 cups of whole wheat flour. At this point I also like to sprinkle some Italian seasoning (about 1 tsp). Mix it up real nice into a sticky batter.
• I use a KitchenAid mixer which makes this all really easy, but at this point if you are using a regular mixer, it's time to switch to a spoon and your hands. Now add regular flour bit by bit (I have no idea how much, like 2 C) until it's soft and not too sticky and knead it to your liking.
• Put the dough into a greased bowl and cover it with a towel. Let it sit until double in size. Again, I have no idea how long. Sometimes 45 minutes, sometimes over an hour, it just depends.

Of course you could always do this in a bread machine on the dough cycle. It's up to you! I haven't tried it yet, but I intend to next time I make it, I'll have to let you know how it goes. :p I just love using my KitchenAid too much!

While the dough rises, make this AMAZING sauce:
Even more so than before, DO NOT FOLLOW THIS EXACTLY, TRUST YOURSELF. I don't really follow it myself, I usually use extra everything to make it into 2 batches :D

You'll need:

Olive Oil
Butter
Onion
Garlic
Celery
Tomato Paste
Tomato Sauce
Parmesan Cheese
Dried Basil
Dried Oregano
Bay Leaf
Fennel Seed
Salt
Pepper

• In a large skillet put 1 Tbl butter and 2 Tbl olive oil over medium heat.
• Add 1/2 C chopped onion, 1/4 C chopped celery, and 1 minced garlic clove to pan. I usually add the garlic (and LOTS OF IT) once the onion and celery are almost done to avoid scorching it. Saute until soft and transparent.
• Add 1 can of tomato sauce (the recipe calls for an 8oz can, I like to use a 14oz-hence the almost doubling of everything), and a can of tomato paste (OR FRESH PUREED TOMATOES! YUM! About 3 or 4 of them and the paste works nicely). Stir until smooth.
• Toss in (and be very liberal, almost doubling if you are making a big batch like I do) 2 Tbl Parmesan cheese, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp fennel seed, 1 bay leaf,1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, and 1/4 tsp black pepper.
• Simmer for some time until you like the taste. The recipe I originally have suggests 30-60 minutes. I cover it and stay around 30 so it doesn't dry out too much, but you should definitely do it for at least 10, the flavor is totally worth it!

Back to the dough:

• Split it in half and put one half in a Ziploc in the freezer for next time (unless you like big fluffy dough or are making calzones....both are yummy options!) It's really nice for next time if you make it into a ball and then smoosh it into a fat round once you get it in the bag. (Next time you want to make pizza just take it out and let it sit on the counter in the Ziploc for at least 4 hours and it should be good to roll out!) 
• Toss a little flour down so it won't stick and roll out the dough to the desired thickness and shape (I roll it into a round that fits perfectly on my pampered chef stone).
• We like cornmeal on our crust so I spread it onto the stone and then lay the crust on, patting it so the cornmeal sticks. I'm sure there's a better method by wetting it somehow or something, but this usually works fine for us. :)
• Then add your sauce (using half if you desire and saving the rest for next time, just put it in the freezer and thaw it however you please-I am lazy and use the microwave), cheese (we use mozzarella and sometimes a touch of cheddar), and whatever toppings you desire (our personal favorites are ham and pineapple).
• Bake somewhere between 375 and 425 F for about 15 minutes. Again, it's all preference and experience.

Double pepperoni

Viola! I hope you like this as much as we do! It really is so simple after you do it a couple times. So much better than ordering it!

Our friend Will agrees!

Calzones

UPDATE: DO IT IN THE BREAD MACHINE! So easy! Liquid ingredients first, then I put in the yeast, then dry ingredients. Set your machine to the dough cycle. PERFECTION. :)