The foundation for an AWESOME pizza crust |
Mmmm...beer and butter |
But I found a basic pizza dough recipe in a magazine; it was only four ingredients long and didn't look too bad. So I started making it, and I enjoyed doing it, but I was still required to somewhat babysit the dough. Gotta bloom the yeast, mix up the dough, knead the dough, let it sit and rise.... Meh, not terrible but my life is getting busier as my son gets older. And then the epiphany came.... I discovered that my breadmaker, the one I've had for almost 8 years now, has a dough setting. (!!!!!!!) To the internet!!
Your house will smell amazing while this rises |
Beer Pizza Dough for Breadmaker
Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com
[Note: you will want all of these to be room temperature. Forget to pull stuff out? Use the delay option on your breadmaker for at least 1 hour before it will start mixing and kneading the dough]
1 cup of semi-flat beer
2 tbsp butter
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
2 1/4 tsp yeast (or 1 of those handy packets)
UPDATE: Lately I've been using EVOO instead of butter, and swapping a 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for the same in white flour. Love it! I also love the flavor combination of 2 tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp dried rosemary.
1. Coat dough container with non-stick spray. Put all ingredients in breadmaker according to manufacturer's specifications. Select dough setting and hit Start. On my machine the dough setting is about 90 minutes long.
Prepare to be mixed! |
If you like thinner crust, this makes a rather large pizza |
3. Preheat oven to 400. Spread sauce and toppings on dough and bake for about 23-25 minutes.
So that's my favorite dough recipe. Now on to the pizza! We're pretty basic at my house; Rob likes pepperoni. Gavin likes cheese. (Mama likes all kinds of strange combinations and vegetables so it's just easier when I'm making a family pizza to say I like pepperoni also.) I usually end up doing pepperoni over most of the crust and leaving a meat-free section for munchkin.
Now I could say that I just add sauce, meat, and cheese but that's not really my thing. If I'm going to make a pizza, I'm going to Make A Pizza. And that Pizza will have Flavor at every level.
Pepperoni Pizza
Exact concoction from Jeanna's head
1 recipe beer pizza dough (see above)
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 tbsp pesto
Turkey pepperoni
Mozzarella cheese
Cheddar cheese
Parmesan, grated
1. My pizza sauce is a wonderful little trick I think every busy cook needs to know about: 1 can of tomato sauce with approximately 1 tbsp of pesto. Stir together and voila! You have pizza/marinara/breadstick dipping sauce in about 30 seconds.
Every summer I make pesto and freeze it in ice cube trays. |
2. Spread a layer of sauce around the pizza dough. Don't slather on too thick or the crust will be soggy.
3. I cannot tolerate a lot of grease, which is why I get turkey pepperoni instead of regular. Since I get a lower-fat meat, I feel better about loading up the pizza the way I know Rob likes. So I put a first layer of pepperoni on the sauce, generously sprinkle on some mozzarella, and then add a second layer of pepperoni.
See the little section for Gavin? |
4. Sprinkle on a little more mozzarella, a little cheddar for color and flavor, and finally some Parmesan to get that lovely crispy brown topping.
5. You can bake the pizza at this point, but why stop the flavor here? I have this awesome herb pizza topping that I love. However I've also used just dried oregano too (or use some dried Italian seasoning). Just a little sprinkle on top for that final bang of flavor.
There's red pepper flakes in this too; love that spicy kick! |
Golden, cheesy, meaty deliciousness |
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