Homemade Pizza Crust

Busy! Busy! Busy!  That describes my household the past 2 weeks.  I haven't had the chance to sit down in front of the computer.  I've been pretty exhausted chasing after the kiddies since their summer holidays started!  

The children started their summer holidays at the end of June.  I'm not used to having all three at home everyday!  Hubby is also taking some time off work this month too.  So far, we have enjoyed spending our time together as a family:  in the garden, day trips, bike riding, going on walks, playing in the kiddie pool and picnic meals. 

Since we were spending the whole day at home, I decided to make homemade pizza with the kiddies' favourite toppings.  This is another recipe that I have been making for almost 10 years.  I love making bread and pizza dough but it does take a little time and planning.  To make things easier, I dumped all the ingredients into my bread machine on the "dough" setting in the late morning and by lunchtime, the pizza dough was ready to be baked.

Unfortunately, my bread machine stopped working properly during this batch. It was making grinding noises while mixing erratically.  Thank goodness, this recipe is very forgiving.  I have made this recipe by hand, mixer and bread machine with good results.  I am so disappointed that my bread machine only lasted 4 years!

I used 100% whole wheat bread flour this time.  It is also wonderful with all-purpose flour or a combination of whole wheat and all-purpose.  A very flexible recipe.  

I rolled out my crust as thin as I could.  Instead of the standard red tomato sauce, I used up an opened jar of roasted garlic alfredo sauce and mixed in some tomato paste.  Toppings were: ham sausage, pepperoni, red peppers, olives, fresh pineapple, sauteed veggies (spinach, onions and mushrooms), and 4-cheese Italian shredded cheese blend.  Baked in the oven at 450F for 15-18 min, depending on the thickness of the crust and toppings. 

Jay's Signature Pizza Crust

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat bread flour.  Can also use a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour too)

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.  (Instead, I dumped all the ingredients into the bread machine according to the manufacturer's directions on "Dough" setting).

Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). (I baked mine at 450F).  If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.

Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

- Adapted from Allrecipes.com: Jay's Signature Pizza Crust Recipe

Enjoy!

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Easy Pita Pizzas

I have no idea where the month has gone.  Somehow we got pretty busy.  What a week!  My son and husband had their first piano recital the other day and they were chosen to perform at the Encore performance last night! 

We needed a quick, easy Friday night dinner before the performance.  Pizza!

I also volunteered to bake some goodies for the Grades 4 to 7's Fun Day at my son's school yesterday.  Can I show you what else I've been up to?

  

Almost 200 hand-dipped baked mini donuts.  Recipe here. 

 

2 dozen Chocolate Oreo cupcakes.  I forgot to buy mini Oreo cookies.  Luckily, cutting the regular sized ones in quarter pieces worked great!

 

2 dozen medium sized cupcakes for my son's class.  Topped with strawberry ice wafers for a change.  The ice wafers were easier to cut into smaller pieces than the Oreos.  I prefer not to use candy.  (I tell my kids that there's enough treats out there besides gummy bears). 

Look at all those goodies! 

All packed and ready to go!  

Several years ago, I found the Snapware 3-level cake/cupcake carrier (left) at Costco for $12.  It carries 12 regular sized cupcakes per tier. The bottoms are reversible and can be turned to a flat surface for cakes or cookies (or mini donuts). Thank goodness I had the foresight to buy this before my oldest was in school.  I have a feeling it will be put to good use in the future.  The Wilton cake/cupcake carrier (right, from Walmart) carries 24 medium sized cupcakes.  The medium sized cupcake pan is hard to come by.  I bought mine at a consignment store about 10 years ago and I have never seen them again.  My advice:   when you buy a cake/cupcake carrier, check the size of cupcakes it holds. 

After baking and helping with Fun Day, I am a little tired.  All I wanted to do was pop a frozen pizza in and be done with dinner but I didn't have any!  Thank goodness my freezer had frozen pita bread!

When naan (Indian flat bread) or whole wheat pita bread goes on sale, I buy some to freeze for pizza crusts.  I had pita pizzas at a friend's house and it was so good!

So I gathered whatever I had in the fridge and pantry to throw some pizzas together.  That's the beauty of pizza:  just throw whatever you like on top of a crust of some sort.

Preheat oven 450F.  While oven is preheating, place frozen or fresh pitas on a tray.  

Add your favourite pizza sauce.  I use whatever pasta sauce I have in the in the fridge.  

Add your favourite pizza toppings.  Again, it's whatever I have in the pantry and fridge: Ukrainian sausage slices, black olives, fresh frozen pineapple, and frozen shredded cheese.

As an experiment, I bought some fresh pineapple on sale.  I chopped it up, froze it on a cookie sheet and then stored it in the freezer in a baggie.  Also, I buy bags of pre-shredded cheese on sale and freeze them for pizzas, pasta, sauces, etc.  Yes, you could also shred your own, but I like the different cheese blends that are available. 

Baked in the oven at 450F for approximately 10 minutes.  At this temperature, the edges get crispy.  They turned out very good!  Also good as appetizers and for parties.  

 
Another variation I made last week:  ham sausage, red peppers and leftover steamed broccoli!  

This doesn't really feel like a recipe.  It's more of a simple guideline as your tastebuds will dictate this dish.  I just wanted to document this one to my list of recipes. 

Easy Pita Pizzas

4 whole wheat or regular pita bread or naan bread 
3/4 cup your favourite pizza/pasta sauce
Ham, pepperoni, sausage or meat of your choice
Veggies:  red pepper, olives, broccoli, pineapple, etc.
Shredded mozzarella or pizza cheese of your choice

Preheat oven to 450F.

Place pitas on a lined baking tray.  Spread your favourite pizza sauce on pitas.  Add the toppings of your choice.  Top with shredded cheese. 

Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until cheese is browned.  



PS:  When my son came home from last night's performance, he was BEAMING!  (The performance was too late for his sisters.)  He received a Gold medal in the "Family Ensemble" category at our town's Festival of the Arts.  I am so glad he had such a positive experience at his first piano recital.  I'm a proud Mama! 

Enjoy!

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