Things that frustrate me

When my cheese curds are no longer squeaky.

food things that frustrate me

Baking pizzas

I’m making a pizza for the first time in several months. I stopped my homemade food only diet/love of cooking when Lance left and have been missing it. Today I started back up again and am in the process of making pizza dough right now. This is going to be part of the reboot of my regular routine and letting go of some sadness that has been hanging over me the past few weeks. I’m going to start living life with gusto (and pesto!)

Pizza Dough Recipe

1 1/2 C warm water

2 tsp active dry yeast

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 to 1 C whole-wheat flour, to taste

3 to 3 1/2 C flour

Fresh basil, finely minced, to taste

Rosemary, to taste

Oregano, to taste

Pour 1/2 C water into a mixing bowl, stir in the yeast. Let sit until foamy. Add the rest of the water, oil, salt, oregano, basil, rosemary and then beat in the whole wheat flour followed by enough white flour to form a shaggy dough. Turn onto the counter and knead until smooth.

Put dough in a well oiled bowl, turn once to coat. Cover with a towel and allow to rise until doubled in size (40-60 min.) Turn the dough onto the counter and divide into the number of pizzas desired. Shape each piece into a ball, set on lightly floured counter and cover with a towel. Let rise for another 20 to 30 min.

Take one ball of dough at a time and flatten it into a disk, pushing outward with your palm. Working from the middle, push the dough out with your fingers until it it’s about 1/4 in. thick and fairly even, thickening slightly at the edge. Dust pizza pan with cornmeal and set dough on top. Cover with towel and let rest 10 to 15 min. before adding toppings.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for about 10 min, when crust is slightly browned. 

This recipe was taken from “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” by Deborah Madison with small additions by me.

food pizza ruminations recipe lance