Pizza

Why This Recipe?

For less than ten bucks you can make a pizza that rivals most restaurants. If you're not experienced working with bread dough, the Chain Baker's Steps of Baking are an excellent demonstration and technical introduction to how to make bread, but more importantly, how each step and ingredient affects the final dough. This recipe keeps the dough simple, but if you have practice, consider adding a preferment for extra flavour.

Ingredients

Dough

• 256 g water (~32℃)
• 2 tsp yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 400 g flour

Base

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cornmeal
• 1 can (150 ml) tomato paste
• 350 g of mozzarella cheese (shredded)

Possible Topping Combos

• ham and pineapple
• artichoke hearts, spinach, and tomatoes
• pepperoni, mushrooms, and bell peppers
• tomatoes and fresh basil
• sausage, pepperoni, ham, and bacon
• chicken, cilantro, red onions, and BBQ sauce
• spinach, tomatoes, red onions, olives, and feta
• broccoli and feta

Instructions

Pizza Dough

1. Mix water, salt, and yeast and wait 5 minutes for yeast to activate.
2. Pour the water mixture into the flour and kneed until shaggy dough forms.
3. Kneed dough for 10 minutes or until soft and elastic.
4. Cover and let rise for at least 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.

Pizza Pie

1. Preheat oven to 420℉.
2. Brush pizza pan with olive oil and lightly dust with cornmeal.
3. Stretch out the dough to dimensions of sheet pan.
4. Cover in tomato paste and shredded mozzarella.
5. Apply delicious pizza toppings.
6. Bake for 20 minutes until crust and cheese edges are golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes to prevent lava destroying mouth.