I promised a friend I would share my pizza recipie and so here it is.
Tony is a friend we met long ago in Mississippi, but he was originally from Chicago. He was Bill’s godfather. This is his recipie altered a bit over time into my own concoction.
Preheat oven to 425.
Put a little oil (I usually use olive oil) on the pan. Sprinkle just a little bit of cornmeal on top of the oil.
For each pizza crust:
- 1 pkg dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 scant tsp sugar or honey
- two and a half cups of flour ~ unbleached white, whole wheat and a little bit of cornmeal
I play with the mix on the flour ~ usually about a cup and a half of unbleached white, a little less than a cup of whole wheat flour, and the rest is cornmeal.
- Put yeast in a bowl and add the sugar.
- Add warm water and stir.
- Cover the bowl and set in a warm place for a few minutes to let the yeast activate.
- Put the flours in a bigger bowl.
- When the yeast is active, add it to the flour and stir well.
- When it is hard to mix, knead it with your hands and add a bit of flour if it is too wet.
- When the dough is well kneaded, cover and set in the warm place for about 15 minutes.
- Put a bit of oil on your hands to keep from having it stick and punch the dough down.
- Put the dough on the pan and pat it out from the center with your hands, turning and shaping it as you go.
- Let it sit again for a bit to rise.
- Spread on tomato sauce (or a white sauce)
Put on the spices:
- garlic (lots!)
- basil
- oregano
- Italian seasonings
- those are my basic spices ~ sometimes others … pepper or whatever appeals.
Sprinkle generously and evenly with mozzarella cheese and some parmesan cheese.
Top it with whatever veggies and meats you like. Olives? Mushrooms? Onion? Artichoke hearts? Steamed asparagus?
Sprinkle just a little more mozzarella to hold the toppings on.
Bake until the cheese to be starting to brown but the crust not burning ~ probably around 15 minutes or so depending on how hot your oven gets.
Enjoy!
If you are feeding people who eat meat and vegetarians and meat eaters then make two. I usually make two large and two small pans so I will have leftovers to send home with guests and to eat as breakfast or lunch later.