There is nothing I hate more than meal planning for the week and ending up being too tired or getting home too late to actually cook what’s on the menu. This happens way more than I would like to admit. But lately, I have been making an effort to be a bit more prepared! For me, that means keeping some “staples” in my house. Easy pasta dishes, quick salads and bomb pizza dough are what I turn to when I just can’t anymore.
It has been so miserably hot in the city this summer. And with the copious amounts of rain, the humidity has been seriously getting me down. Thoughts of doing my hair and putting makeup on regularly have gone out the window! Thankfully, heat and humidity do awesome things to bread dough.
So many people are afraid of yeasted dough. I’m hear to vouch for all the yeasty doughs out there. Do not be afraid! I promise that getting that bubbly yeast going is so much easier than you think.
This pizza dough is super versatile. But for a weeknight meal, I keep it pretty basic and cut all the corners. Not even going to pretend. I’ve tried a million store bought pizza sauces, and this one from Classico is by far my favorite. Bust out a bag of pre shredded mozzarella. And forget chopping the basil. Just rip up a few leaves on top of the whole thing and call it good.
Just because you are keeping things simple, doesn’t mean you aren’t going to end up with the some seriously delish pizza coming out of your oven. Be sure to follow my step by step to get some big flavor packed into your simple pizza.
GET TO KNOW YOUR YEAST
- Make sure your water is hot enough. One of the biggest mistakes I have made when blooming yeast is not getting the water hot enough. It cools as soon as it hits your bowl, so it needs to be warmer than you think. If you run your hand under the tap, you should be able to keep it there for a few seconds before it becomes too hot. This is the perfect temp!
- Your yeast is hungry, girl! Feed it! I like to use honey in my bread dough, but you can add a little bit of any type of sweetener – granulated sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup. Just give it a little something something to snack on.
- Keep your yeast cold. I bought a huge pack of yeast on Amazon, and keep it in a mason jar in my freezer. I’m sure the fridge would work, too, though! Even if you live in a cooler climate, keeping your yeast in the fridge keeps it at a constant temp and will preserve the freshness!
LET’S GET COOKING
30 MINUTE PIZZA DOUGH
Ingredients
- 1 1/8th cup very warm water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon dry active yeast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cups of flour
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- Garlic powder, dried basil, dried oregano
- Toppings and sauce of your choice!
In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, honey and yeast. Stir with a fork and let sit for five to ten minutes until foamy and bubbly – this is called “blooming” the yeast.
Once the yeast is bloomed, add in olive oil, 2 1/2 cups of the flour, and the pinch of salt. Work together until it is a shaggy dough. Knead in the remaining 1/2 cup for five minutes until the dough is smooth.
Lightly oil the same bowl, and put the dough back into the bowl to rise. Place in a warm window sill or in your oven with the light on to give it a boost. Set the timer for 30 minutes.
While your dough is rising, preheat your oven to 475 degrees. You want your oven to be as hot as possible to quickly evaporate moisture in the dough to create a crips, crunchy crust. So, give it some extra time to preheat! If you have a pizza stone, this is the right time to get it going.
Once the dough has doubled in size, pop it onto a non stick cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or lightly sprayed with cooking oil. Using your hands, gently spread the dough from edge to edge. I like a thin, crisp crust, so I push my dough up the sides a bit, too!
Flavor Boost! After you spread your store bought pizza sauce over your dough, take the garlic powder, basil and oregano and generously sprinkle over the sauce and the edges of your crust. This isn’t 100% necessary, but I highly suggest not skipping this step!
Add the rest of your toppings. Though we kept it simple this week, I love to really jazz things up with roasted red peppers, Italian sausage, mushrooms, broccoli rabe, pesto or goat cheese. The world is your oyster! I mean… pizza!
Bake on the top rack of your oven for 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on it though, as things can go from golden to worse very quickly at 475 degrees!
Let cool for just a few minutes and then slice to enjoy!
What are your favorite pizza toppings? Have you ever made homemade pizza dough?
