Ok, so first and foremost this is not a tried and true recipe/method for me. While I have been using these same ingredients for a year or so, today was a new experiment. Awhile back I stumbled upon this recipe for "The Easiest Pizza Dough in the World" and have been experimenting with it since. For today's experiment, tried an all new method (for me) actually using the stand mixer with a dough hook and letting the dough rise for a bit. The dough was much softer and easier to work with this way, definitely a win.
Stuffed Crust Pizza
Ingredients
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
3 cups of flour
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
pepper
oregano
(When it comes to seasonings I rarely measure, so these are kinda just guesstimate.)
Combine yeast and warm water in mixer bowl. Let the yeast sit for 5 minutes or so to get 'er going.
Meanwhile, I like to mix my flour, salt, onion & garlic powders, pepper and oregano in a separate bowl.
After letting the yeast activate, add in the honey, olive oil, and part of the dry ingredients and start a-mixing. Once the dry ingredients start to incorporate in, slowly add in the rest. At this point I left my mixer on a medium setting for about 7 minutes to knead the bread. The bowl should start to look pretty clean and the dough smooth.
Sidenote: I originally only used 2 1/2 cups of flour but noticed the dough sticking to the bottom on the bowl and added about another 1/2 cup. After about 7 minutes or so my dough was still a little on the sticky side, but I didn't want to over work it or something. So, I simply added a tiny bit more flour and kneaded it in by hand, at which point the dough was smooth, non-sticky and easily formed into a ball.
Next, grease the bowl and dough, cover, and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour.
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| Pre-rise |
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| Risen! |
From here, I like to cover my pizza pan with parchment paper, and then sprinkle that with cornmeal to prevent stick-age and press out the dough.
For stuffed crust, I spread out the dough a bit farther so there is room to lay a ring of cheese and fold over the edge like so;
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| Cheese ring! I went with provolone, but any pizza cheese should be just fine! |
Time to top it to your hearts desire. Classic pepperoni and mozzarella today.
And thennnn, at the last minute I thought to brush a little bit of melted butter around the outer crust:
(I brushed a little more on part way through the baking)
Bake at 450° for about 12 minutes.
The dough puffed up a bit more than I anticipated, and the provolone in the crust oozed out a bit, but I must say, the result tasted pretty fantastic.
