I like to make pizza. I've probably made 200 of them over the last three years.
Dough:
(I tend not to measure things)
Add tap water to a large bowl
Sprinkle yeast on top
Add a pinch of brown sugar
Let it sit for a minute
Add a little whole wheat flour (20% of total)
Add some salt
Add some olive oil
Add all purpose flour, a little at a time, mixing it well after each time you add more flour
When dough looks shaggy, dump it out onto the counter
Knead it for a while, add more flour if it sticks to your hands or the counter
Separate into pizza-sized balls
Put each into a bowl, along with some olive oil
Knead it a little more inside the bowl with the olive oil
Cover and refrigerate
Wait at least a day. If more than four days, freeze
Sauce:
Tomato Paste
Water (adjust for desired thickness)
Olive Oil (a lot)
Salt
Pepper
Rosemary (this is the secret ingredient I was missing when I tried to make sauce without a recipe. rosemary changes everything.)
Oregano
Basil
Garlic
Preparation:
Preheat oven as hot as possible. Mine goes to 500F
If using a steel pan, butter the pan
Remove the dough, don't knead it, don't fold it
I dump it straight from the bowl into my flour container and flip it around a few times
Once evenly floured press your fist into the center
Pinch around the edges, toss from hand to hand, throw in the air, whatever you want, you're goal is a thin pizza shape that's a bit thicker around the edges. I go for ovals instead of circles because I use a rectangular pan.
Put dough on pan
Spread out sauce, less is more
Coat the crust with canola oil
Add toppings. My favorite is mozzarella + mushrooms + serrano peppers + diced onions.
Even when the oven says it's preheated, I let it sit for another 5-10 minutes so it's as hot as possible
Cook for 9 minutes, sometimes I add a minute or two, depending on how it looks, how thick I made the crust, etc
Have a peek at 5 minutes to poke/deflate any huge dough bubbles that have formed
Move to cutting board, cut, eat
