Pizza From Scratch
Prep: 15 plus 30 minutes proving Bake: 15-20 minutes
Pizza is such a universal food at this point. You can find versions of it in so many places and it reimaged in so many different ways. I finally took the chance on doing all parts from scratch with some help of other bloggers to learn best ways to put things together and this went fantastic. I did use a pizza stone so my steps will include that but that doesn’t mean it won’t work with other types of trays, just that they might not get as crispy. I made a white garlic sauce instead of marinara.
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
2 cups bread flour (all purpose is supposed to work as well) + extra flour
1 packet instant yeast (2 1/4 tsp)(you can use active, just watch the prove time)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
Garlic powder to taste
Italian Seasoning to taste
Oregano to taste
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbls olive oil + extra
3/4 warm water
Sauce
2 tbls butter
1 1/4 cup milk
2 tbls flour
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Italian Seasoning to taste
Parmesan Cheese as you dare
Toppings
Whatever you want. I used:
Spinach
Onion
Minced garlic
Feta Cheese
Mozzarella
Prep
Preheat Oven to 425 F (220 C)
Pizza Dough
In a large enough bowl, add the salt, sugar, seasonings and yeast
Mix around
Add the 2 tbls olive oil and warm water
Use a wooden spoon to mix fully and evenly
Add the flour slowly and keep mixing until the dough is pulling from the sides and not too sticky to the touch. You want to be able to shape it without it sticking to your hands.
Shape into a ball
In another bowl, brush to coat with olive oil
Add the dough and roll it around to get it covered in a layer of olive oil
Cover and prove for at least 30 minutes or until it has doubled in size (use this time to make the sauce)
Lightly flour a surface and knead the dough until it is a smooth ball and slightly deflated
Roll or pat out into a circle as flat as you desire
Before adding sauce and toppings, you’ll want to brush with olive oil and prick with a fork to help prevent bubbles
To make stuffed crust, add a rim of desired cheese (I used mozzarella) about a half inch from the edge
Roll the edge over the cheese and roll a bit to tuck while pinching the opening in to seal
White Pizza Sauce
In a sauce pan or pot melt the butter
Add the flour and whisk to combine and thicken
Add the milk and keep whisking until smooth and thickening to desired thickness, can add more milk if too thick, you don’t want this to boil, only lightly simmer
Add seasonings as desired
Keep whisking and add cheese until it melts, you don’t want the cheese to boil, so once it’s mixed in, remove from heat immediately
Whisk til smooth
Set aside to cool until you need it
Assemble
Add sauce and toppings as desired
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crust is browning and crispy
If you are going to use a pizza stone, you’ll want to preheat the stone in the oven for 15 minutes prior to use
Afterthoughts
This was a crispy, gorgeous pizza. The bread flour brings extra crisp over an all purpose and it was worth it. The toppings I used went great together and the white garlic sauce was a fantastic pairing. This pizza had all the right elements for taste, crunch and more and the stuffed crust worked great. I highly recommend this, it’s easy and fast to impress and entertain.
