Friday night feasting--pizza

bell pepper, cheese, ham and onion toppings

          Two weeks ago I was looking for a little inspiration for dinner.  Knowing that “Maverick” doesn’t enjoy a take-away pizza as much as he does a homemade one, I dug out a recipe I’d found at www.allrecipes.com. 

Recipe Link:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/6776/pizza-dough-i/

          It seems that most pizza dough recipes I come across don’t let the dough prove or rise before shaping it and adding the toppings.  But I decided that I would give the dough a bit of time to rise in a warm spot and then make the pizza.  I liked the texture better and I think it baked better. 

         To my surprise “Maverick” enjoyed it so much he asked me to make it again.  So, I tweaked the recipe and the result was that “Maverick” said the second batch was better than the first. 

My Recipe:

1 (.25 oz.) package of active dry yeast

1 Tablespoon Sugar

¼ cup warm water (110º/f or 45ºC)

2 cups of whole wheat flour

1 cup of baby oats/oat flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons of oregano

1 generous teaspoon garlic powder.

1 cup warm water (110º/f or 45ºC)

3 Tablespoons of Almond oil

Method:

1.       Do NOT preheat oven.  There is a reason for this!

2.     In a small bowl pour in the active dry yeast, the sugar and ¼ cup of warm water and stir.  Let sit for about five minutes.

3.     Place 2 cups flour, 1 cup of oats/oat flour, garlic powder, oregano and salt into a large bowl and mix until blended.

4.    Add the almond oil to the 1 cup of warm water.

5.     When the yeast has begun to foam (or become spongy) pour this into the flour mixture, using a wooden spoon to mix.

6.    Stir in the water/oil mixture until it sticks together. 

7.     Using your hands, knead the dough for about five minutes.  You can do this in the bowl, if the bowl is big enough.  Or you can kneed it on the worktop. 

8.     Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or some cling film.

9.    Place the bowl in the cold oven.  Now, light the stove and leave in on the lowest setting for only one minute.  Turn the oven off.  This creates a warm enough atmosphere to help the dough rise, yet will not kill the yeast.

10.Let the dough rise from 40 minutes to one hour.

11.    Remove dough from oven and now preheat the oven to 375ºF/160ºC.

12.  Punch the dough down and divide into two pieces.  (Or smaller balls, if you are making personal pizzas)  Using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten dough to about ¼ to ½ inch thick.  Place on pizza pan or baking sheet.

13.  Add toppings and bake for about 25 minutes. 

This makes two twelve inch pizzas. 

Another thing I did differently was using a can/tin of chopped tomatoes instead of Passata or pasta sauce.  I added cheese, onions, diced ham and bell peppers.