Photostory Friday and Homemade Pizza

A couple of weeks ago, we had a playdate at a pizza place near our house and the girls fell in looooove with making their own pizzas. So last Saturday, the girls convinced me into looking up a recipe for pizza dough and making our own pizzas at home. The dough was super easy to make and I had all the ingredients on hand.

I set the girls up with their dough and they quickly got to work!

"Whatsa matta wit you mama? My pizza looks great!"

(Alyssa went with the non-traditional blob-shaped pizza.)

Giggles McGee (a.k.a. Makena) attempting to go for the triple-the-cheese pizza

Alyssa's finished product

(She decided to add olives as a topping just to make sure I didn't get her pizza mixed up with the other two)

I forgot to get a picture of Riley's pizza masterpiece which turned out to be just cheesy bread since she didn't want sauce, but I do have photo evidence of the mess she made with the flour. Good thing it was bath night.

Pizza Dough Recipe
1 package active dry yeast (2 teaspoons)

1 cup warm water (105° to 115°, no more)

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little for coating

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Set aside and follow the instructions below for the method you choose.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the olive oil and yeast mixture into it. Stir until it begins to form a ball, then turn it out onto a clean, floured surface and knead for about 4 or 5 minutes.

3. Lightly oil the ball and the inside of a large glass bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour. For better crust, punch down the dough, reshape into a ball and let it rise again. You can refrigerate or freeze the dough at this point.

4. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions, about 6 ounces each. Roll each portion into a ball, then, working on a lightly floured surface, stretch the dough and work it with your fingers or a rolling pin to form an 8-inch circle. The outer edge of the circle should be a little thicker than the body, forming a rim. Add toppings.

5. Transfer to a pizza pan or pizza stone. Bake in a 500° pre-heated oven until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted, 10 to 13 minutes, or perhaps a little longer if your oven does not reach 500°. (I cooked our pizzas at 450 degrees for 13-15 minutes and it came out perfect).

Now go make some pizza! You can thank me later :)

Hosted by Cecily and Mamarazzi