two skinny jenkins

Whew.  Ever since our pizza stone broke a few weeks ago (okay, i broke it by rinsing it with water) I have been craving our homemade pizza!  So much so, that i went a little overboard .  I usually try to limit it to 2-3 toppings.  I just don’t know what happened!

I tried a new crust recipe this time and REALLY liked it.  It only took about 2 1/2 hours total and was very tasty.  I think i would add a smidgin more salt next time (maybe an extra 1/4 t) and push it down to about 1/4″ thick – I shaped ours to about 3/8″  it nearly doubled in thickness in the oven.

pizza dough:

• 3/4 C warm water
• 3 t yeast
• 4 C bread flour
• 1 t salt (i will add an additional 1/4-1/2 t next time)
  
• 1 C water, room temperature
• 2 T olive oil

1. sprinkle yeast over 3/4 C warm water in measuring cup and let sit for 5 min (until foamy).
2. pulse flour and salt in food processor to fluff and mix.
3. add additional 1 C water and olive oil to yeast.
4. slowly add water mixture to flour in food processor while mixing on medium speed.  continue mixing until dough becomes smooth and elastic.
5. use a rubber spatula to turn dough out onto a well floured counter and knead until a tacky – not sticky – ball forms (7-10 minutes).
6. transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, and let sit at room temperature til doubled (2 hours).
   
7. punch dough down to degas and cut into 3 equal pieces.  I was not ready to form the pizzas yet, so i repeated step 6 with the 3 pieces of dough.
8. set a pizza stone on the middle rack and preheat oven to 550°F.
9. to form crusts, press dough ball down and outwards with lightly oiled hands on a piece of parchment paper.  Add toppings, then use a cookie sheet to transfer the pizza and parchment to the preheated stone.  Bake for 4 minutes, slide parchment out from under pizza, and continue baking an additional 3 minutes.