RCI-BR.004.0716.001
Original Pizza
A simple pizza recipe; works well for thin crusts.
Prep15 min
Cook30 min
Total45 min
Servings4
Difficultyintermediate
Ingredients
- warm water. about 100 degrees (38.00 C). try one cup per pizza. If the batter is thin and runny like pancake batter1 unitthat's too much water, so add a little flour to thicken it. If you can touch the batter with your finger and not stick to it, that's too dry, so add a little water
- flour about 2 cups per pizza. Note that it must be at least 60%-70% white flour. It would be heavy and wouldn't rise as much if you get too much whole wheat and cornmeal in the batter.1 unit
- yeast. a 1/4 oz package in the grocery store makes about 2 12" pizzas.1 unit
- sugar. you need very little for the yeast1 unitbut about 1 tablespoon per pizza tastes good,
- salt. very little; a few shakes from the salt shaker is enough for 1 pizza.1 unit
- vegetable1 unitcorn, or canola oil. about .1 to .2 cup per pizza.
- cornmeal1 unit
- sesame seeds1 unit
- oregano and basil spices.1 unit
Method
1
Mix water, yeast, flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl. The dough rises to become about 50% larger, so use a big bowl. Set the mixing bowl so it is sitting in hot water, or place on top of a warm oven. Let rise for 20-30 minutes. Don't worry if it only rose 10% or 20%, it'll still work.
2
Put vegetable oil on the pans, then sprinkle cornmeal on the oil. Put a glop of the batter on each pan and spread it so it is about .25 inch thick, with the edge .5 inch. Sprinkle flour on top of the dough so it doesn't stick to your hands.
3
Add pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings (optional, see pizza article)
4
Bake at 425°F for about 15 to 20 minutes. Rotate every 5 minutes and move to upper or lower shelves as necessary: After 10 minutes slide a large knife under the crust. If it is dark brown, move it to a higher shelf so it doesn't burn while the top finishes cooking. If it is white or light tan, move to lower shelf so you get a crispy crust before the cheese starts turning brown on top.