Peet-zah...

On a quest to feed my poor family something that wasn't chicken or pasta, I opted for homemade pizza last night.  After I'd made up my mind, I realized how ridiculous that was since I was alone with two babies and dough just doesn't make itself.  Does it?  If it does, tell me.

Well, the Gods of Something or Other were looking down on me because both boys cooperated.  Not only did they cooperate, they played together.  And nobody got hurt!  Nobody cried! 

I decided to hunt for a quick and easy dough since Daddy was going to be home in about an hour and I was hungry.  My bowl of dry Cinnamon Toast Crunch didn't cut it for the day.  (I should tell you that I have an affinity for Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Perhaps an unhealthy one.  Clearly.)  But, that's a story for every another day. 

Before I dough searched, I chopped up my toppings.  I was seriously hoping that I hadn't jumped the gun..

Cheese Please!  (And mushrooms, and bacon, and onions...)

Alas, I found the perfect dough recipe and it's so simple, I barely had to lift a cinnamon sugar coated finger!

Rise Up, Rise Up!

Quick Pizza Dough
Adapted From: allrecipes.com
(Printable Recipe)

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2 1/2 cups bread flour (I used All-Purpose, worked out fine!)

2 tablespoons olive oil  (I used Vegetable Oil, also worked fine.)

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. (Here's when the house starts to smell like a bakery, yum!)

Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.  (Now, the dough had done nothing to me, so I didn't beat it per se, I stirred it with a wooden spoon and when it was good and raggedy looking, I floured my hands and started kneading it.  I think it probably much preferred this method.)

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round.  (I did this step IN the bowl, and then caressed the round gingerly with a light coating of oil.  Less mess on my counter.  I didn't want to clean it.  So there..)

I also left it to rest on the stovetop for what felt like 4 hours (Mommy time), but was really only half an hour in real-life.

Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. (I greased the pan, next time I'll corn meal it.  Turned out fine, I just want to see if there's a huge difference.)



My, what uneven (dough) balls you have..

Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  (You'll notice here that the recipe seems to have skipped the part where you roll out the dough.  I did that just in case I wasn't supposed to put my toppings on a lump of dough.  I just assumed it should be done, I think I aced it!)

Yes.  YES..

Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.  (I'm guessing, like most pizzas, this is to set up the toppings so everything isn't wobbly and oozy.  Yes, those are technical terms..  This was perfect because I turned our pizzas into Calzones.  I topped half the dough round with sauce and toppings, folded one half onto itself, pinched it closed, and added vents to prevent a massive explosion in my oven.  Again, with the cleaning.. I do enough around these parts.) 

Anti-Explosion Vents..

Dinner was a success, what came out was a crunchy AND chewy crust, and not too dense.  Next time, I think I'll add some garlic to the dough, just to give it some extra flavor.  I'll probably sprinkly some parm on top too, just because I can. 

Daddy's calzone was the size of a small country, G had an 8th of mine, and O ate cheese and Alpha-Ghetti.  Everyone ate well.

Oh, Melty Cheese..

I think we have a weekly winner!  Peet-zah!