When I was a kid, the classic icebreaker question in Sunday school was, “If you were going to be trapped on a desert island what (object, book, food, etc.) would you bring with you? It was supposed to help you get to know each other, but everyone would come up with the same answers. Object? A speedboat of course. Who wants to be stuck on an island? Book? The Bible, this was Sunday school after all. Food? Pizza. Why? Because it has everything: Meat, Dairy, Veggie, Grains, Fruit (if you’re a pineapple pizza person)… the whole pyramid.
Or at least that was our excuse for the grown-ups. The real reason is that pizza tastes really good, and it’s really fun to eat. It’s linked in our minds with birthday parties, sleepovers, and not having to wash dishes. It is ingrained in our sense of fun.
So to satisfy my inner kid, and my gourmet, homemade-food-obsessed, outer adult, I’m making my own pizza. Even if it does mean I’ll have to wash some dishes.
Adapted from the William’s Sonoma Bride and Groom Cookbook
Dough:
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups warm water
5 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil, plus oil for greasing
4 cups flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp kosher salt
Method
Combine water, yeast, vinegar, and 3 Tbsp olive oil in a bowl and mix. Add 1 cup flour and mix well. Stir remaining flour, sugar, and salt together in another bowl. Add flour mixture to wet mixture and stir to combine. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead till smooth.
Put dough into a well-oiled bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.
Divide into 6 equal pieces (or less if you want bigger pizzas, 6 for personal size), roll each into a smooth ball. Cover with damp kitchen towel and let rest 10 minutes. Use now, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 500°
If chilled, let dough come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Roll and stretch each ball into an 8 inch round.
Toppings
This is where you go crazy. Or not. The picture above is made using canned tomatoes for the sauce – with a little salt, pepper, and fennel sprinkled in. Put some grated mozzarella cheese on top of that, and finish it off with some sauteed bell peppers and red onions, and some pepperoni.
But really you should be creative here. Put what you like best on this puppy, be it anchovies or zuchinni, and then sling it in the hot oven for 10 minutes or so, till the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden.
Let the party begin!
