Homemade pizza by my husband

This may come as a shock to those who know my husband, but I am being completely honest when I say that he made this pizza, from scratch, all by himself!  I know, it doesn’t sound like a great feat, but if you knew just how far he’s come with cooking(think peanut butter and jelly sandwiches being his highest accomplishment), you’d be amazed too.

This morning, on his own, he pulled out a cookbook, looking for a pizza dough recipe.  Announcing to me as I prepared breakfast, “We should make pizza today for lunch!”.  He went ahead, followed the recipe and made dough, and it turned out beautiful, with a nice texture and elasticity.  Wow! Placing the dough to rise in a warm area, we headed out for some errands.

After returning, he got right to work, preparing the toppings.  Cheese for the kids and fresh basil and mozzarella for us.  All that was required of me was to provide assistance on proper procedure to roll out the dough.

The pizza turned out delicious and both us and the kids gobbled it up.  Think we should double the recipe next time!

Pizza dough recipe:

(from America’s Test Kitchen cookbook)

1 3/4 cups water, warm

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing dough

4 cups bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Measure 1/4 cup of warm water into 2-cup measuring cup. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 cups water and olive oil. Combine.  Slowly add flour, a cup at a time, until fully incorporated and forms ball.

Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface; knead by hand with a few strokes to form smooth, round ball.

Put dough into medium-large, oiled bowl, and cover with damp cloth. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface and use chef’s knife or dough scraper to halve, quarter, or cut dough into eighths, depending on number and size of pizzas desired. Form each piece into ball and cover with damp cloth. Working with one piece of dough at a time, shape into rounds as thick/thin as desired. Use your hands to stretch the dough into shape, rather than a rolling pin.

Brush dough very lightly with olive oil before topping and cooking.  Add your favorite topping and bake until cheese is bubbly and crust is lightly browned.  Enjoy!