The Artist Eats An intersection of art, food, and culture.

Giant in the Kitchen: Easy As Scratch Pizza

I've been making my pizza from scratch for about a year now. It's fun and easy to make with a group of people, and an easier sell than sushi with salami.  It takes about 1.5 hours, but for me, most of that time is spent drinking beer while I wait for the dough to rise, so it goes pretty fast. If you're well organized, you can make the dough a day or two ahead of time, but it's easy enough that I tend to make it when I'm ready to use it. I've adapted the dough recipe from Myra Goodman's Food to Live By and Michael Smith's Chef at Home TV series. Pizza dough tends to be made with all refined white flour (read: unhealthy), but I always use some combination of white and whole wheat flours. Lately I've been using 2 ½ cups white flour, 1 cup whole wheat bread flour, and ½ a cup rolled oats. This is really just a basic bread recipe with a lot of yeast. Bread dough is often at the proportion of 4 cups of flour and whole grains to 1 ½ cups of water.

Here's what you'll need for the dough:

2 packets active dry yeast (5 teaspoons if you're using a jar of yeast)

3 tablespoons sugar or honey

1 ½ cups of lukewarm water

4 cups of flour (2 ½ cups white, 1 ½ cups other)

1.5 tablespoons salt

2 table spoons olive oil

¼ cup semolina flour or corn meal for dusting

A pizza stone is optional, but I recommend it if you want a real crusty bottom. I bought mine for 15 dollars at Bed Bath and Beyond, and it came with a pizza peel. It isn't a high quality stone, but it gets the job done. You can also use a preheated baking sheet or put the pizza directly on the oven rack. It doesn't really matter as long as your oven is really hot.

Making the dough: In a large measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the 1 ½ cups of lukewarm water (over 100° F and less than 115° F if you're using an instant read thermometer, which I highly recommend) with the yeast and the sugar. Let this sit for 4 or 5 minutes until it starts to bubble. While the yeast is doing its thing, mix the 4 cups of flour and the salt in a large mixing bowl. When the yeast is frothy, gently pour it into the bowl of flour and add the olive oil. Stir this concoction with a wooden spoon until it is mixed together and is starting to look like sticky dough. At this point you want to knead it for about 5 minutes. (Check out this video if you don't know how to knead. She's a lot gentler than I am, but then again she probably has a better idea of what she's doing. Keep in mind that pizza dough isn't artisan bread, so it isn't really very delicate) Knead the dough in the bowl if you are limited on counter space, or use a floured countertop.

When the dough stops sticking to your hands and is easy to manage, you're done! Roll it into a ball and then place it back into the bowl. Coat it with a bit of olive oil and cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Leave it to rise in a warm, draft free place for about an hour and a half. When the dough has been rising for about an hour, preheat your oven to 550. The hotter the better - pizza ovens are often around 7 or 8 hundred degrees.

When the dough is doubled in size, punch it down to get the air out of it and cut it in half. Pick up a half and roll it into a ball with your hands. Dust a pizza peel (or a cookie sheet) and place the ball onto it. Roll it out into a circle with a rolling pin or a washed wine bottle. It doesn't really matter if it is perfectly round, just make sure the dough has an even thickness. Tuck in the edges to make a crust (check the pictures). At this point, the pizza is your canvas. I've got a list of toppings below, but it is really up to you. Make it your own! Just be sure that the toppings that might burn, like fresh herbs or mushrooms, are under the toppings that like the heat (i.e. meats and cheeses).

Topping Ideas

• Bases
  • Olive oil
  • Jarred or homemade tomato sauce
  • Likewise pesto
  • Canned diced tomatoes
• Veggies
  • Sliced bell peppers,
  • Sliced mushrooms
  • Fresh baby spinach
  • Diced garlic
  • Dried Oregano
  • Kalamata olives
  • Fresh herbs like basil, sage, or parsley
  • Sliced onion
• Meats
  • Prosciutto
  • Pepperoni
  • Deli Ham
  • Canadian Bacon
  • Browned Bacon
  • Pancetta
  • Browned Sausage
  • Shredded cooked chicken breast
• Cheeses (really whatever you have around, but atleast one melty cheese like Mozzarella or Provolone)
  • Mozzarella
  • Feta
  • Parmesan
  • Manchego
  • Provolone

Top your pizza and carefully slide it onto the hot stone. Bake it for 6 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown. Pull it out and you have pizza. Eat it right away and burn your mouth, or let it cool for a few minutes while you start the next pizza. Either way, it will taste good.