Pizza

Leiah’s Pizza Crust

Preheat the oven and your pizza stone for an hour at 500 and put your rack on the lowest position. (Let’s be realistic, I never heat my stone truly for an hour….we live in Arizona, are you crazy. I do try to do it for 15 mins.) If using a pizza screen oil it and put the rack higher or the crust might burn.

Makes 6 small individual pizzas or 4 large:
1/4 c. warm water
2 tsp. dry yeast
Soften yeast in water (I usually add a pinch of sugar)
4 C. white wheat flour
1 tsp. gluten flour (optional)
1 tsp. salt
Combine and then mix in yeast.
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 C. warm water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Add to flour mixture
Kneed until smooth. Place in lightly oiled bowl. Cover. Let rise 1 to 2 hours. Punch down. Form into balls. Let sit 30 minutes then form pizza crust. Place on hot stone and let bake for 2 minutes. Pull it out poke it a few times with a fork and put toppings on it. Then bake for 6-8 minutes. Don’t let it burn, you’ll be sorry!

This recipe is very forgiving!!!! Sometimes I make 3 pizzas and then roll one out a bit thicker and bake it at a cooler temp. about 350 and slice into bread sticks…add whatever seasonings you might like. It can also be rolled thin and grilled to make something like Panini bread. And, my second favorite to pizza is rolling it about 1 inch think and cutting it with a pizza roller into small rectangles and frying them in oil to make sopapillas. I like to top them with cinnamon, sugar, caramel, chocolate, and whipped cream….yes, all at once. If you’re gonna go the fried in oil route, you might as well indulge!


Pizza Sauce:

White Pizza
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
1/2 cup parmesean cheese, grated

Exquisite Pizza Sauce:

Red Pizza
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
6 fluid ounces warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt to taste

The possibilities for pizza are endless. It’s a great way to use up leftovers. Be creative!

Remember when your using a lot of veggies you should bake/broil them for a few minutes to dry them out a bit. If you don’t you may end up with a slightly soggy crust.