P is for Pizza

Today as I was rattling off things to make for dinner, Peter asked if we could just order a pizza.  No, we will not just order a pizza!  It might be a big day for football playoffs, but I've been wanting to make my own pizza dough & I simply can't have Dominos do the job for me.

Because I've never made my own dough, I needed a true side-by-side comparison so that I'll know in the future if the homemade dough trouble is really worth it.  Yeast, kneading, rising, resting, etc...it's definitely more complicated than the wonderfully simple can of pizza dough.  God bless you, Pillsbury, but I need a new challenge!  I made one pizza using a can of refrigerated dough on a cookie sheet and one pizza using homemade dough on our pizza stone.

 The homemade dough didn't rise as much as I thought, and I was quite nervous about the "activeness" of my yeast.  However, the dough rose nicely in the oven at 425 and it was sturdy enough to support lots of delicious toppings- pepperoni, onions, green pepper, zucchini, and some spinach.  The homemade dough's crust by itself wasn't as delicious, but it looked a bit more appealing.  The canned dough was softer, but not as thick, and had good flavor, but not as much as the homemade.  When I blindfolded Peter, he guessed incorrectly as to which was homemade and he said that he preferred the homemade (when he thought it was the canned!).

So, I think the homemade pizza dough is worth it.  Here's the recipe incase you want to try it:


Pizza Dough

adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Bride & Groom Cookbook


1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. warm water (100-110 degrees)
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups flour (I used 1 c. all purpose & 1 c. whole wheat)
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 Tbsp. kosher salt


Combine the water, yeast, vinegar, & olive oil in your stand mixer with a dough hook.  Mix until just blended and then add 1 cup of flour.  In a different bowl, mix together the rest of the flour, sugar, and salt.  Add the dry mixture slowly to your wet dough and beat slowly until thoroughly combined.  Mix for 2 minutes more at medium speed.


Put the dough ball in an olive-oiled bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel.  Let it rest at room temp for 30 minutes.


Roll out the dough on a floured counter and cover with a damp kitchen towel.  Let it rest for 10 minutes, and then top it with your favorite sauce, cheese, and veggies or meat.


I cooked the pizza at 425 for 15 minutes.  The book suggests 500 for 10 minutes, but they also divide the dough to make smaller personal pizzas.  To each his own!