Mi piace far finta io sono italiano

"I like to pretend I'm Italian.".....sometimes.  Sometimes I crave olive oil, fresh vegetables, fresh cheese, and garlic.  And there is only one cure for that... thin crust pizza!  Delizioso!  I made this homemade pizza crust for the first time last week, and boy, was it good!  And super, super easy.  I will be holding on to his recipe for a while!  The flavor and texture of the crust was chewy and savory: perfect!  And it smelled amazing!  Mike and I made pizza for dinner and it made for a nice "date" meal:  We each rolled out our own pizzas and topped them the way we wanted and then got to try each others.  Kinda romantic, very cheesy, I know... but it was fun! (P.S. sorry the photos are so crappy in this post, Mike used the camera on my phone because I left my digital at home. =( )

Homemade Pizza Crust (That makes you feel like an authentic Italian):
adapted from Home-Ec 101

-1 tbsp active dry yeast
-1 1/2 c. warm water (100-110 degrees- I used a meat thermometer to measure the temp, ha!)
-3 1/2 c. bread flour
-1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
-2 tbsp molasses (don't be afraid- this makes the crust soooooo good!)
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp Italian seasoning
-cornmeal for sprinkling

Stir yeast into the warm water and set it aside (the yeast will start to activate and bubble while you wait- turning the mixture foamy).  Place flour in a large mixing bowl.  Using your hands, make a well in the center of the flour, where you will pour your wet ingredients.  Add olive oil and molasses (TIP:  using the same measuring spoon, measure and add the olive oil, THEN the molasses.  The molasses won't stick to your measuring spoon, making clean-up a LOT easier!).  Add salt and Italian seasoning.  Pour your foamy water/yeast mixture in also.   

Using your hand (come on, its the best kitchen utensil out there), stir all of the ingredients together until they are well mixed.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 mins, sprinkling more flour as needed.  Shape the dough into a ball and set it on your floured surface.  Take a clean, large bowl and spray it with cooking spray or a swipe of olive oil (to keep the dough from sticking). 

Place your dough in the oiled bowl, cover it with a towel or plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm, dry place for 30mins (here's a trick:  whenever I need something to "rise," I put it in my oven, and turn the oven light on.  The light makes enough heat to get the oven warm, not hot, and if you still need to give the dough a little push you can turn your oven on to the lowest temp, let it preheat a little bit, and then TURN THE OVEN OFF to make your oven warmer.  It works like a charm every time!  Plus, your dough wont be sitting out on the counter getting in the way).Your dough should at least double in size.

This makes enough dough for 4 medium-sized, thin crust pizzas.  By all means, feel free to cut the recipe  in half.  Mike and I made a few pizzas one night, put the left over dough in the fridge, and made more pizzas a few days later- it didn't hurt the dough at all!  Just take the dough out of your fridge and give it enough time to reach room temperature before you start rolling it out.

Preheat your oven to 450.  Lightly flour your work surface, and using a rolling pin, roll your dough out to your desired thickness.  I personally like mine THIN.  Like, paper thin.  And this dough can hold up to rolling it out that thin. 

Once you have rolled your dough out, transfer it to a pizza pan.  I prefer to use one that looks like this:

The holes in the pan make the crust crispy!  Mmmm.  Once you have your crust its time to customize!  Get creative!  I mixed a few tablespoons of olive oil with garlic, salt, and pepper and brushed it on my half, then topped it with spinach, fresh tomato slices, dollips of ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and a sprinkling of oregano.  Mike smoothed pizza sauce, turkey, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and some oregano on his side.

Bake for 10-15 mins (make sure you watch it carefully, because the baking time will vary depending on what kinds of toppings you put on).

 

Hello gorgeous.

Yum.  Mike and I had left over pizza ingredients, AND some left over pita bread from a previous dinner (that recipe will follow!).  So we made GRILLED PITA PIZZAS!!!!  Omg, so easy.  Yes, you CAN have pizza in the summer.  No, you don't have to turn your oven on and make your house a sauna.  And no, you don't have to PAY for delivery.  Just grill it!  I got this idea from Wegman's Menu magazine.  They made their version with Indian Naan bread.  Mike and I made it and it was delicious.  And pita bread works pretty much the same way too.



PITA BREAD PIZZAS:
-pita bread (one for each pizza you want to make)
-toppings of your choice
-a grill.
yes, that's all you need!

Treat the pita bread like any pizza dough, and top it with your favorite toppings.  I made my pita pizza with garlic, fresh tomatoes, spinach, feta cheese, and mozzarella cheese.  Mike topped his with pizza sauce, hot sauce, spinach, crushed red pepper, and mozzarella cheese (Mike likes spicy!).

Mid-Assembly

Carefully place those suckers on your grill (if you have charcoal, spread the coals out to make an even layer on the bottom, if you are using a gas grill, set the temperature to med-high).  Try not to spill too much cheese off the sides, cuz that stuff will BURN, and quickly.  Cover with your grill's lid and check the pizzas every couple of minutes.  You will want to watch the bottom of the pizzas to make sure they are not getting charred.  If the bottoms are getting too dark, try rotating the pizzas to change the grill marks or put a layer of aluminum foil under the pizza.  Once the cheese is melted and bubbling, they are done!  Transfer the pizzas to a cutting board to slice and enjoy!  I want to try making a BLT pizza or a chicken wing pizza in the future.  I bet that would be good.

Godetevi la vostra pizza, e buona notte!

(Enjoy your pizza, and good night!)