Pizza Formula

There is always a choice of enjoying pizza at a local pizzeria or buying pizza from the supermarket. You can enjoy fresh pizza by eating inside, take-out or have pizza delivered to your door. You can also grab a frozen packed pizza from the shelves off the grocery store or supermarket. However, there is another alternative. Home made pizza is way different and something special. A home made pizza gives you a personal pizza experience, as you prepare, serve, and eat pizza with pride and joy in a comfortable home environment. There are many formulas to creating a home made pizza. One of the great things about pizza is that there are so many choices that can cater to just about every individual taste and craving. So let's take a look at a formula for creating a delicious home made pizza.

Let's assume you are going to prepare pizza for a large group of people. First off, make you sure you have enough dough for at least two small (10-12 inch) pizza pies. The ingredients needed for pizza dough include 1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F), 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast (make sure to check expiration date) 3 1/2 cups bread flour 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon sugar.

The ingredients you will need to actually create your pizza and add to the dough include Olive oil Cornmeal (to slide the pizza onto the pizza stone), Tomato sauce, Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, shredded Feta cheese Mushrooms, thinly sliced Bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, thinly sliced Italian sausage, cooked ahead Chopped fresh basil Pesto Pepperoni, thinly sliced Onions, thinly sliced Sliced ham

Some tools you will find useful for preparing your home made pizza include a pizza stone, if you want your pizza dough to be crusty, a pizza peel or a flat baking sheet, and pizza wheel for cutting the pizza in a much easier way than with a knife.

Once you have all the ingredients and tools necessary, you are ready to begin to prepare your very own pizza. Here is the proper pizza formula.

Step One. In the large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid), add the warm water. Sprinkle on the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes.

Step Two. Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for about a minute. Remove the mixing paddle and replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don't have a mixer, you can mix and knead by hand.

Step Three. Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If you don't have a warm spot in the house you can heat the oven to 150 degrees, and then turn off the oven. Place the bowl of dough in this preheated oven to rise.

Once your have properly prepared the dough, you are ready to explore the further steps of pizza formula for adding the ingredients and cooking techniques.

Step One. Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F for at least 30 minutes, although an hour is recommended
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Step Two. Remove the plastic cover from the dough and punch the dough down so it deflates a bit. Split the dough in half. Form two round balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover with plastic and let sit for 10 minutes.

Step Three. Prepare your desired toppings. It should be noted that you are not going to want to overload up each pizza with a lot of toppings as the crust will end up not crispy. About a third a cup each of tomato sauce and cheese would be enough for one pizza. One to two mushrooms thinly sliced will cover an entire pizza pie. Some common ideas for toppings include Pepperoni, Sausage, Spicy Italian Sausage, Ham, Hickory-Smoked Bacon, White Chicken, Turkey Breast, Fresh-Sliced Onions, Fresh-Sliced Green Peppers, Baby Portabella Mushrooms, Fresh-Sliced Roma Tomatoes, Black Olives, Sweet Pineapple. This is just a short list, and of course you can add whatever you like for a customized and personalized pizza. As far as pizza toppings are concerned, only you know the right formula.

Step Four. Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a slightly floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further. Let the dough sit 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter between 10 and 12 inches. Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. You can pinch the very edges if you want to form a lip.

Step Five. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings). Use your finger tips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let the dough rest another 5 minutes. Repeat with the second ball of the dough.

Step Six. Lightly sprinkle your pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) with corn meal. Transfer one prepared flattened dough to the pizza peel. If the dough has lost its shape in the transfer, lightly shape it to the desired dimensions.

Step Seven. Evenly add on the tomato sauce with a spoon, sprinkle with cheese, and place your toppings of choice on the pizza.

Step Eight. Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone in the oven. Gently shake the peel to see if the dough will easily slide, if not, gently lift up the edges of the pizza and add a bit more cornmeal. Slide the pizza off of the peel and on to the baking stone in the oven. Bake pizza one at a time until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes. If you want, toward the end of the cooking time you can sprinkle on a little more cheese.

Congratulations, your home made pizza is all done. Take it out and share your wonderful creation with the rest of the family and guests. Now that you know the right formula for pizza, you can prepare your very own delicious pizza with confidence and pride.