Pizza d’oh!

These days, with the constant pea-soup fog outside, I don’t much feel like cooking or doing anything except hiding from the January greyness. Lately it’s seemed like every day in Vancouver is like a scene out of Stephen King’s The Mist. Fortunately, this has given me plenty of time to perfect my pizza making skills. Here is my adaptation of the pizza dough recipe from Mark Bittman’s amazing  How to Make Everything Vegetarian. It’s simply the tastiest home-made pizza dough I’ve ever had, and its quick rising time makes it convenient recipe for a weekday dinner.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour, or a mixture of the two flours

2 tsp quick-rise/instant yeast

1/2-1 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp dried oregano, rubbed (optional)

1 tbsp dried basil, rubbed (optional)

2 tsp garlic granules, or 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)

2 tsp onion granules, or 1 tsp onion powder (optional)

1 tsp olive or canola oil

1 cup water

1 tbsp ground cornmeal (medium, not finely ground)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, herbs, and seasonings. Mix well to combine.

Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add the water. If using all whole wheat flour, you may need to add a tbsp or two of water. With a wood spoon, mix the flour and water until the dough starts to come together. Turn the dough and any remaining flour out on to a dry, very lightly-floured surface and knead the dough ball a few times until you have a smooth ball of dough.

Lightly oil your bowl with the oil and place the dough ball in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and place the bowl in a warm location for 30 minutes. If you like, you may leave the dough to rise for 40-45 minutes.

Once the dough has risen, you can refrigerate or freeze it until you are ready to use it. You can also use the entire dough ball for a thick pizza crust or divide it in half for two thin crust pizzas. Make sure to wrap the dough well to prevent freezer burn. Also, make sure the dough is fully thawed before using.

When you’re ready to use the dough, preheat your oven to 500°F. Sprinkle your pizza pan with the cornmeal and place your dough ball on the pizza pan. While rotating the pan clockwise, flatten out dough ball from the centre, spreading the dough out evenly toward the edges of the pan. Top with your toppings and place in the center of the oven. Bake the pizza for 10-12 minutes. After removing the pizza from the oven, let it sit for five minutes before cutting.

Note: If you don’t already have an oven thermometer, now is the time to invest in an inexpensive one. Since most ovens are either too hot or not hot enough, with the high temperature of this recipe you will want to make sure that your pizza doesn’t burn.