I’ve been sick with (yet another) cold, so I haven’t been able to catch up with my “summer in Japan” travel posts, or the food that I have been cooking! But I wanted to share this recipe for a basic pizza dough and tomato sauce from the book Pizzas and Calzones (Simply Healthful series) which you can use with any toppings to make a delicious, fresh, and healthy pizza! The recipe can be modified to make a whole wheat crust, or you can use bread flour to make a more chewy crust. For the pizza you see above, I made a light whole wheat crust using 1 cup whole wheat flour and 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour. We had some Canadian bacon in the fridge that needed to be finished up, as well as some leftover pineapple slices from the Hawaiian sweet rolls I made that same week, so we put these together to make a really tasty Hawaiian pizza with plenty of toppings. For the cheese, I used a Mexican cheese blend from Trader Joe’s; and on the side, we ate a salad made with baby arugula from the garden.
Basic Pizza Dough
Recipe adapted from Pizzas and Calzones (Simply Healthful)
Makes enough dough for two 12-inch pizzas.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
(for whole wheat pizza, substitute 2 cups whole wheat flour; for a lighter crust, substitute only 1/2 cup to 1 cup) - 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 tsp. olive oil
Notes:
Rising Dough
Dough goes through two risings before it can be shaped and cooked. You can omit the risings if you are in a rush (see notes in recipe). This dough can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator or freezer:
Refrigerating Dough
Punch down the dough after the first rise, then refrigerate dough in a plastic bag (leaving room for expansion) for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature before shaping and cooking.
Freezing Dough
Punch down the dough after the rise, then lightly dust with flour and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place into a freezer-proof plastic bag. Dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. To use, thaw in refrigerator 12 hours or overnight, and let come to room temperature before shaping and cooking.
Directions
- Dissolve yeast and sugar in lukewarm water. Let stand until foamy (about 5 minutes).
- Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in center of flour. Pour yeast mixture and olive oil into well. Stir in flour from bowl with your hand or a large spoon to make soft dough. (If you prefer not to knead by hand, you can also mix together the ingredients using a food processor or similar appliance. Process just until the dough comes together to form a wet, sticky dough.)
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Add a little bit of flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. (At this point, you can let the dough rest for 10 minutes, omit the risings, and skip over to step 6 for shaping the dough and cooking. I went ahead and proceeded with rising the dough twice as the recipe called for.)
- (First Rise) Wash and dry the large bowl from earlier, then coat it very lightly with vegetable oil. Return dough to bowl and coat top with a little bit of oil. Cover with a damp dish towel and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- (Second Rise) Punch down dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 2 minutes. Return dough to bowl. Cover and let rise again for about 30 minutes.
- Punch down down. Divide in half. Form each half into a ball, then flatten dough out into a disk. Pick up the dough in both hands, holding it along one edge, and turn it as you would a steering wheel. Stretch dough between your hands as you turn it. When it is about 10 inches in diameter, and about 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick, the dough is ready. Repeat for second half (unless storing for future use, then see notes above).
Basic Tomato Sauce
Recipe adapted from Pizzas and Calzones (Simply Healthful)
Makes about 2 cups, enough for two 12-inch pizzas.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 can (28 oz.) Italian-style plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with juice
- 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt or kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Notes:
This is a basic sauce, which can be seasoned to your liking. I added fresh basil and dried oregano.
Following steps 1 & 2 will create a basic chunky tomato sauce. For a smoother sauce, follow steps 1 & 2, then process in a food processor or blender until desired consistency is achieved.
Directions
- Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with olive oil. Heat over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 3-5 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.
- Add tomatoes with juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in salt, pepper, and any additional seasonings you want to add.
Use sauce immediately, or cool and store in refrigerator (up to 4 days) or in freezer (up to 1 month).
Baking Directions
When you’re ready to bake a pizza, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F with the oven rack in the lowest position. If using a pizza stone, then preheat with the stone inside the oven.
When oven is ready, sprinkle pizza stone with yellow cornmeal to prevent sticking. (You can also bake in a cast-iron skillet, baking sheet, etc. whatever you have on hand.) Spread pizza dough onto the cooking surface. Bake on lowest oven rack for 7 minutes, or until lightly browned and crisp.
Remove from oven. Sprinkle your cheese and toppings, leaving a 1/2″ border all around. Bake for an addition 8-12 minutes, or until everything looks heated through and the edge of the crust is browned.
Let pizza stand for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
