Day Sixty Eight

{Pizza Dough} I made yummy homemade pizza tonight. Recipe follows the picture! 

Olive Oil Dough 

Makes four 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.

Ingredients

2 3/4  cups lukewarm water 

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (1 1/2 packets)

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 

6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Method

Dough

1. Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or lidded (not airtight) container.  I just mixed it all in my stand mixer bowl. 

2. Mix the flour without kneading, using a spoon, I put the flour in my mixer with the dough attachment and let it mix for a few minutes.  Don't over mix. 

3. Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.  My dough never collapsed, after 2 hours it looked flat on top so I went from there. 

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 12 days.

Pizza

1. Preheat oven to 550º (holy, cow I just figured out how to make the degrees symbol *happy dance*).  If your oven does not go above 500º then that will work, which is what I did...550º seems really hot for my house.

2. Measure your toppings in advance, the key to pizza is to work quickly. 

3. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. 

4. Flatten the  dough with your hands and a rolling pin on a wooden board to produce a 1/8 inch think round, dust with flour to keep the dough from sticking to rolling pin and board.  Do not overuse flour. Place the rolled-out dough onto a liberally cornmeal-covered pizza peel (or a pan for all us normal folk that don't have just fancy pizza making tools). 

5. Distribute desired pizza toppings. Remember, sauce first, then cheese, then toppings.  

6. Place in oven. Check for doneness in 8 to 10 minutes.  It may need up to 5 minutes more in the oven (which mine did).  Rotate pizza in oven if one side is browning faster than the other. 

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I have a bowl of left over dough in my fridge, which will last for up to 12 days.  I plan on making a yummy focaccia bread with my left over dough.

Recipe courtesy of the cookbook Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.   I am totally intrigued by this cookbook,  the recipes are simple and delicious.  Their theory on having fresh bread everyday is this, you simply make a batch of dough that lasts for up to 12 days, each day you use part of the dough to make a loaf of bread...genius!  When our house is built I am so going to follow this theory, who doesn't love homemade bread?  Bread machines, blah! 

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Holy, longest blog post EVER.  Sorry if you were just looking for a picture... I dare you to try this simple recipe, your family will love you and you will not be disappointed!  Now I've got to get my pork shoulder in the crock pot for its 8 hour slow cook.  Pulled pork sliders for dinner, whose in?