Making pizza at home is just fun – it’s done, or almost done, by the time it would take a delivery place to drop by anyway, and you can play around, and know *exactly* what is going into it. This recipe makes six small pizzas…so they’re individual size but usually also big enough so around half can be enjoyed the next day (yummy cold pizza right out of the refrigerator!).
This recipe is inspired by the one in the Barefoot Contessa Parties cookbook. I love to play around with her recipes because they always work.
Ingredients for the dough:
1-1/4 c. warm water (100*-110*)
2 packages yeast
2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp olive oil
4 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
couple tablespoons fresh chopped herbs like rosemary or thyme
Toppings:
anything that sounds good!
The dough is pareve so I can make fleishig pizzas for Av with beef kielbasa pieces with barbecue sauce and red onions, or beef bacon and barbecue sauce, or go fajita-style with chicken, bell peppers, and onions.
If I make them milchig, I love roma tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and basil, or bagel-style with red onions & lox & capers & a little cream cheese.
(and if you don’t have to worry with things being pareve, fleishig, or milchig, then use any ingredients together that you like!!)
Directions:
In the Kitchenaid with the dough hook attached, I add together the warm water, yeast, olive oil, and honey, and mix well. Once that’s mixed, I put it on ‘low’ and add three cups of flour and salt. Once that gets going, I add the last cup of flour and some fresh herbs. Keeping the Kitchenaid on low, I let that knead for about ten minutes. At first it looks like a bit of a mess:
…but then it all comes together beautifully. After it’s kneaded for 10 minutes, I take the dough out of the bowl (and take the bowl out of the Kitchenaid), pour a little olive oil in the bowl, add the dough back to the bowl, and turn the dough around so it’s well-oiled:
…put a towel over the bowl, and let it rise for 30 minutes.
It will look like this:
Preheat the oven to 500*.
Separate the dough into six pieces, shape each into a circle shape – or whatever shape you’re feeling – and two will fit on a regular-size cookie sheet. Cover the cookie sheet(s) with a towel, and let the dough rest for 10 minutes:
Now they’re ready for toppings! This one has no sauce – doesn’t need it – it’s just two small sliced roma tomatoes, some fresh mozzarella, and a few fresh basil leaves. A little salt and pepper and a splash of olive oil, and it’s ready for the oven:
Start watching these at about 10 minutes – mine are usually ready between 12-15 minutes.
Ooooh these always turn out so great!
