Equipment
~1 (or 2) large pizza pans
~Large mixing bowl
~Spare bowl (med. sized)
~Spatula
~Measuring cups and spoons
~Baking stone (if you have one)
Ingredients
2-1/4 tsp. dry yeast
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. olive oil
1-1/2 cups warm water (110 F)
3-1/3 cups all purpose flour
Quaker White Corn Meal (No specific amount, see 'Update' below.)
Directions (and side notes)
*Preheat oven to 450 F*
1.) Using a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water and let sit for 10 minutes.
2.) Stir the salt, oil, and garlic powder into the yeast solution. Mix in 2-1/2 cups of flour.
3.) Prepare a clean surface for kneading by scattering a decent amount of flour. (I'm going to suggest smearing some olive oil on your hands for this next step.) Take the the ball of dough out of the mixing bowl and place it on the kneading surface. Continue to knead the dough (while adding more flour) until the dough is no longer sticky (think soft Play-Doh consistency). Once the dough is kneaded, work it into a ball, place in a well oiled bowl and cover with a cloth. Let rise until it's double original size (roughly an hour). Fair warning, this amount of dough is enough for 2 large pizzas the way I suggest making it. Unless want a very crust-happy pizza, I'd split the dough in two servings!
4.) Take the half of the dough you're using, and work it onto a greased pizza pan. I suggested working it evenly across the pan, all the way to the edges, with just a slight lip on the edges to catch the juices from the toppings. It doesn't look like much dough, but trust me, it'll spread across a large pizza pan. Once your dough is worked out, top with your favorite toppings!
5.) Place your pizza in the oven for 15-20 mins. Personally, I have a pizza stone and I have found that the best way to bake my pizzas is to place to pizza pan ON TOP of the pizza stone and cook it that way. It makes it soft and crispy in all the right places!
For some extra pizazz, trying brushing melted butter on the crust(add a little garlic powder for a more 'garlic bread' tasting crust). For stuffed crust pizza, use the original amount of dough (don't split it), work out the dough all the way past the edge of the pan, line the edge with sting cheese sticks, and wrap the excess dough around the cheese (press to seal in the cheese). UPDATE: After kneading the dough in the flour (before placing it on the pan), we've found that rolling out the dough in Quaker white Corn Meal on both sides not only helps shape the dough better as you put it on the pan, but it also gives it that extra something special and makes it more restaurant like quality!
UPDATE: After kneading the dough in the flour (before placing it on the pan), we've found that rolling out the dough in Quaker white Corn Meal on both sides not only helps shape the dough better as you put it on the pan, but it also gives it that extra something special and makes it more restaurant like quality!
