Easy Pizza Dough

I have been craving homemade pizza for too long now.

I mean, there is no competition with Lou Malnati's Chicago deep dish, but it is still so satisfying.

It also isn't super labor intensive which I personally find refreshing.

If you want to eat this for dinner, I would recommend starting at like 4, that way it will be ready by 7ish.

I made two kinds of pizza. The first was a simple cheese and tomato sauce pizza.

Normally I would make my own tomato sauce but I was being extremely impatient.

I have been out of ingredients for a while. I have had no access to a car and therefore no access to the grocery store (well limited access).

So, I went with the ingredients I had for the first pizza. I spread some tomato sauce on top and then sprinkled some random organic shredded cheddar and some leftover gorgonzola crumbles.

YUM!

Was not expecting this pizza to be as good as it was!

I had three pieces... whoops.

They're little pizzas...

Next, once my brothers arrived with my ingredients, I made a pizza with bacon, blue cheese, fontina, and figs! I got this idea from How Sweet It Is (I also used her dough recipe!)

I always switch up the dough recipes I use. I haven't settled on one specific that I love. 

To be honest, I think a lot of basic pizza dough recipes taste the same (and they are divine).

Have fun making your za! Enjoy a slice for meeeee

Basic Pizza Dough

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Yields 2 Medium-Sized Pizzas

• 1 1/4 cups Warm Water (about 110 degrees, microwave at 50% for 40 seconds)
• 3 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Bread Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt

Start off by preheating your oven to 150. 

In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, honey, and olive oil. Let sit until foamy, about five minutes. Add the 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. 

Now, take the bread flour and sprinkle it on a surface. 

Turn the dough out onto this and knead until all the flour is incorporated. This can take about 3-5 minutes. Then I like to knead my dough (because I am weird and love kneading dough) for about 5 minutes more till it is really smooth and elastic.

Rub the large bowl with olive oil, place the dough in it and flip it over so both sides are coated. Cover with a wet towel. Turn off the oven and place the bowl inside so it can proof for about 1-2 hours. It should double in size.

Once it has doubled, punch down the dough and turn it out on to a lightly floured surface. Cut in to two even portions. I roll my dough into two balls and then shape each of them by hand on two separate baking sheets with parchment paper. You can roll it out with a rolling pin if that is easier!

Let the dough rest, covered with a towel, for 10 minutes while you preheat your oven to 375. You can also place the dough in the freezer at this point if you are going to save it (remember to take the dough out to thaw for about 30-45 minutes when you are ready to use).

Decorate with desired toppings and bake for 20-30 minutes just on the parchment paper. I use the pans to help take the pizzas out.

Bon Appetit!