Homemade Pizza and Five Alternative Pizza Selections

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This homemade pizza dough tastes great..likely because it's made with olive oil and honey. We love to get together as a group of 12 and make basic pizza with a twist. We make 3 pizzas, cut up toppings and have each person fix their own quarter of the pizza. Since the pizza is cooked on the bottom rack of the oven, the crust is nicely and equally browned despite the number of toppings for each quarter. (draining veggies in oils). In addition, this recipe includes five alternative Pizza Selections with dough variations for: Greek-Style; Vegetable; Prosciutto Tomato and Cheese; South-Western Fried; and Marinated Mozzarella with Red Onion.
Source: Country Living Magazine 1990

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Ingredients

  • Basic Pizza Sauce
  • 14 ounce can chopped tomatoes
  • 2 cloves of garlic crushed
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • In a large pan simmer all above ingredients except the tomato paste, for 20 minutes or until thickened. Once thickened, add the tomato paste.
  • Basic Pizza Dough
  • 2 to 2 1/2 cups unsifted all purpose flour (start with 1 or 1 1/2 cups and gradually sift in more flour until dough is soft and pliable)
  • 1 pkg of rapid rising dry yeast or 1 pkg of active dry yeast or 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast from a jar. let sit until dissolved
  • 1/2 tsp of salt (optional)
  • 2/3 cup of very warm water (rapid rising dry yeast use water at 120 ° F to 130 ° F using (active dry yeast use warm water at 110 to 112 ° F)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tablespoon of cornmeal for your pizza tray or rub olive oil on the tray.
  • In a 1 cup measuring cup, combine very warm water and yeast and once dissolved, add the oil and honey

Preparation

Step 1

In a large bowl combine ¾ of the flour with the yeast/liquid mixture and gradually add the remaining flour while forming a soft dough ball. Knead until soft. (do not add too much flour, sometimes 1 ¾ cups is enough to give the right consistency.

Place the ball into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Let the dough rise in a warm place, away from drafts, until double its size. Rapid rising dry yeast will take approximately 30 minutes and active dry yeast will take 50 to 60 minutes.
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If Dough does not rise!
You can do one of the following. Yeast loves nothing better than a warm, moist climate to live its yeasty life to the fullest. If you want your dough to rise, you need to give the yeast what it wants.
Fill a baking pan with boiling water, and set it on the lowest rack in your oven. Place the container of dough on the middle rack, and close the oven door and allow the dough to rise.
Alternately, you can boil a cup of water in the microwave, then place the container of dough in the microwave with the water, and close the door. (Don't microwave the dough!)
Some people turn on the oven, and place the dough on top of the stove, covered with a damp towel. The oven keeps the surface of the stove warm, and the damp towel provides the moisture.
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Overnight Preperation

prepare dough as above ( better to use active dry yeast instead of rapid-rising yeast), but loosely wrap and refrigerate dough immediately. Next day, unwrap the dough and cover with a clean cloth. Let warm to room temperature and roll out.

Preheat oven to 450 ° F

Roll out your dough and place on a pizza tray, with a tablespoon of cornmeal or oil on the tray. Smooth out the pizza sauce on the dough, add mozzarella or white cheddar cheese and add toppings.

Bake pizza on the bottom rack of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until bottom crust is firm and lightly browned.

Dough Variations

Whole Wheat: 1 cup or all purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat
Cornmeal: 1 ½ cups flour and ½ cup of cornmeal
Parmesan: prepare either dough recipe and add ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese
Semolina: prepare dough as above but reduce flour to 1 ½ cups and add ½ cup of semolina flour to the dough


Alternative Pizza Selections

Greek Spinach Pizza:
Basic pizza dough recipe plus 1 tsp olive oil; 1 small onion finely chopped, 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped; 1 -10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained; 4 oz feta cheese crumbled; 1/3 cup unseasoned bread crumbs; 1 large egg; 2 tsp chopped fresh dill; 1 tsp chopped fresh mint leaves; ½ tsp anchovy paste; ¼ tsp ground black pepper;1 tbsp cornmeal; 4 greek olives pitted and coarsely chopped; ½ tsp sesame seeds. Prepare dough, prepare spinach filling by sautéing onions and garlic for 1 minute. Transfer onion to bowl and stir in spinach, feta, bread crumbs, egg, dill, mint, anchovy paste and pepper. Heat oven to 450 ° F. Rollout pizza dough on pizza tray, fill with spinach mixture and top with chopped olives. Bake on lower rack for 10 to 12 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.

Vegetarian Pizza:
Whole wheat variation of pizza dough; 1-7 oz jar roasted red peppers drained; 4 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp white wine; ½ tsp salt; ½ tsp ground black pepper; 1 small eggplant cut crosswise into ½ inch thick slices, then quartered; 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced; 1 small zucchini, coarsely grated; 1 small yellow squash cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices; 1 large tomato, cut into chunks; 1 tsp of dried oregano; 1/2 tsp of dried sage leaves crumbled; 1/4 lb mozzarella cheese shredded; chopped fresh parsley leaves. Prepare whole wheat pizza dough, allow to rise. Heat oven to 450 ° F. In a food processor or magic bullet, process roasted red peppers, 1 tbsp of olive oil, white wine, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Roll dough onto pizza tray. Spread mixture over pizza dough. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil, and add eggplant and garlic, sauté 3 minutes or until eggplant is slightly tender and lightly brown. Press zucchini to remove excess liquid and toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp of oil. Spread zucchini mixture over red pepper mixture. In same bowl combine eggplant mixture, yellow squash, tomato, 1tbsp of olive oil, oregano, sage and salt and pepper. Spoon over the zucchini mixture and sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Bake on lower rack for 10 to 15 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.

Prosciutto, Tomato and Cheese Pizza
Semolina variation of basic pizza dough. 1/4 cup of olive oil; 2 cloves of garlic; 1/8 tsp of crushed red pepper, 1 1/2 lb. of plum tomatoes skinned seeded and coarsely chopped; 1/2 tsp of salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1/4 lb. of smoked mozzarella cheese thinly sliced; 1/4 lb provolone thinly sliced and torn into 2 by 1 in pieces; 1/4 lb very thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 2 by 1 in pieces; 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves. Prepare dough (semolina) and allow to rise. Prepare tomato sauce, in large skillet heat olive oil. Add garlic and cook about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and discard garlic. To same skillet add crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 7 minutes or until tomatoes soften and sauce thickens and then set aside. Preheat oven to 450 ° F and roll dough onto tray. Spread tomato sauce over dough. Top with smoked mozzarella. Bake on lower rack for 10 to 15 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and cheese is bubbly. Top pizza with provolone, prosciutto and basil leaves.


Southwestern Fried Pizzas (like tacos)
Cornmeal version of basic pizza. 1/3 lb. of ground beef, 1/2 cup of chopped onion, 1 clove of garlic finely chopped; 1tbsp chopped canned green chilies, 1 tsp chili powder; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 ½ cups crushed tomatoes; 1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen corn; 2 tbsp water; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp ground black pepper. Vegetable oil for frying, 1/4 ripe avocado; 1/2 cup sour cream, 20 fresh cilantro leaves. Prepare cornmeal variation of basic pizza dough. In a skillet cook beef until it loses its pink colour. Add onion, garlic, chilies, chili powder and cumin. Cook until onion becomes translucent. Add tomatoes, corn, water,salt and pepper and cook stirring occasionally for 10 minutes over low heat. Keep warm. In another large skillet, heat 1/2 inch of oil to 325 ° F. Divide cornmeal dough in half and shape each half into a 6 inch log and slice each log into 10 pieces and shape and roll each piece into a 3 inch round. Fry rounds in batches, 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Add more oil if necessary. Drain on a paper towel. Keep cornmeal rounds warm. Cut avocado lengthwise into 10 slices then cut each slice crosswise in half. Top cornmeal rounds with beef filling, 1 tsp sour cream and 1 avocado half-slice. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Marinated Mozzarella and Red-Onion Pizza
Parmesan variation of basic pizza dough; 1- 9oz pkg bite-size mozzarella, packed in water, drained and thinly sliced; 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves; 1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaves; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp ground black pepper; 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper; 3-4 plum tomatoes cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices; 1 medium size red onion, cut lengthwise in half and thinly sliced crosswise; 2 tbsp thinly shredded arugula. In a large bowl, combine mozzarella, olive oil, vinegar, oregano, marjoram, salt and black pepper and red peppers. Cover and refrigerate to marinate. Prepare Parmesan variation of basic pizza dough and allow to rise allow to rise.. Heat oven to 450 ° F. Roll dough onto tray. Arrange a circle of cheese, placing slices side by side. Alternate tomato and onion, making a concentric circle inside cheese. Repeat with another cheese and another tomato-onion circle. Fill middle of pizza with remaining cheese.

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