I love pizza. The kids love pizza. EVEN my DH loves pizza. When I first saw this recipe I was resting in the bathroom at my parents house, reading what was then a newer issue of Bon Appetit. I clipped the pages showing Giada in all her glory~pizza, dough, chocolate pizza, and more. You get the picture. (And if not, just take a look at the covers of her cookbooks!)
Fast forward several years later. Hungry kids, VERY hot day, barbeque sending out missives of sadness and woe over not being used. Enter Giada. And her pizza dough~among other things. I put this dough together in a matter of minutes using my Kitchen Aid mixer~which never feels bereft or lonely~and had before me some very suitable pizza dough for use on the BBQ, in the oven, wherever hot coals and hungry folks await. It was a tremendous success and I've loved it ever since. Unfortunately many of the other lovely qualities that Giada was, ahem, advertising in that magazine issue from so long ago still elude me. For now, I will be happy with pizza dough.
Giada & I make Pizza:
- 3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
- 1 envelope active dry yeast
- 2 cups (or more) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt in mixer. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil; process until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. KNEAD dough until smooth, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 1 minute. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Here is where the rubber meets the road. Remember I told you I had a hungry family? If you've used hardworking yeast, this dough is going to rise sufficiently in the amount of time it takes you to open and drink some wine, remind the kids that dinner is coming and fire up the barbeque in preparation to receive the pizza~
Punch down dough. Roll out dough: start in center of dough, working outward toward edges but not rolling over them. Add fixin's of your choice~We start with sauce (sometimes, other times there have been too many glasses of wine before one realizes that you have just been advertising PIZZA for dinner and then it arrives with no sauce. Who hired me?!) We also like any number of traditional toppings but I have been known to open the fridge Grandpa style and just start flinging leftovers onto the dough and covering them with cheese. If the kids are that hungry (or that young/innocent/trusting) they'll never know!
Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Sorry no photos here. They were either NSFW (Giada) or didn't get taken because the party hostess/mama on duty had too much wine and forgot!
Anie and Amanda and I are making pizza tonight. Anie supplied the grill - thanks for reminding me that using the oven instead of the grill is an idiotic idea on a hot, steamy day like today. Amanda (SouleMama) supplied the idea for roasted beets and arugula.
I raise a toast to you both!
Posted by: Mary Jo, Five Green Acres | 07/27/2010 at 01:18 PM