Homemade Thin Crust Pizza

From Apartment Therapy: The key to a really good pizza is, of course, the crust. We make pizza at our house at least once a week, so you can be sure this recipe comes to you after years of very meticulous and scientific kitchen testing! We think we've got it just about the way we like it.

Plus, the fact that it comes together in a few minutes and doesn't need time to rise means that we can throw it together any night of the week! Thoughts on pizza-making below, as well recipes for dough, sauce, and topping inspiration!

This crust has a bit of crunch, but it's pliable enough to fold in half if required. The mild wheat flavor is a nice backdrop to whatever toppings you want to layer on top.
Since we're keeping the crust on the thinner side, this dough doesn't actually require time to rise. You roll it out after kneading it briefly and let it rest on the counter while you prepare the toppings. When it goes in the oven, the heat gives the bread a quick burst of rising so it will still have some chew when you bite into it.
For extra depth of flavor or if you're planning ahead for meals, you can refrigerate the dough overnight or up to 48 hours. This gives the dough a slightly sweet flavor and a more crackling crust. Once you've finished kneading, divide the dough in two and store it in separate containers or zipper bags. When you're ready to make your pizza, take the dough out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit while you prepare the toppings--ten minutes or so should do it.
Home-made Thin Crust Pizza
Makes 2 pizzas
For the dough:
3/4 cups (6 ounces) of water
1/2 teaspoon of active-dry yeast (if using instant yeast, you don't need to dissolve it during the first step)
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
For the toppings:
Your choice! Go wild!
For the base, we prefer a classic red sauce, or a white sauce if we're feeling fancy.
For toppings, there's sauteed onions, red peppers, or mushrooms. Sometimes we like to throw a little sausage or crisp bacon on there too!
For cheese, go for one or a combination of the following: mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, fontina, romano, and asiago
Making the Dough:
About 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it on a rack in the lower-middle part of the oven.
In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, heat the water until it feels barely lukewarm when you test it with your finger (if the water is so hot that you can't leave your finger in it, wait for it to cool down). Add the yeast to the water and use a fork or whisk to stir it into the water. Set this aside for a few minutes and allow the yeast to dissolve. It's ok if the yeast doesn't bubble, but it should be entirely dissolved and the mixture should look like thin miso soup.
Measure out the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and use your hand or a whisk to combine.
Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the water-yeast mixture. Use your fingers or a wooden spoon to combine everything together.
When it comes together into a cohesive ball (see image below), turn it out onto the counter along with any extra flour in the bowl that hasn't yet gotten worked in.

Knead the dough until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic to the touch--about five minutes.The dough should still feel moist and slightly tacky. If it's sticking to your hands and counter-top like bubble gum, work in more flour one tablespoon at a time until it's smooth and silky (below).

Use a bench scraper to divide the dough in two.
Shaping the Dough:
Tear off two pieces of parchment paper roughly 12-inches wide. Work one piece of the dough in your hands and form it into a large disk. Lay the disk of dough on the parchment paper.
Working from the middle of the dough outwards, use the heel of your hand to gently press the dough outward until it's about 1/4 of an inch thick or less. You can also use a rolling pin for this part. We like to make free form pies, but if you'd like a circular pie, you can trace a large circle on the back of the parchment to use as a guide.
Repeat with the second piece of dough.
Note: The dough will stick to the parchment paper, making it easier for you to roll out. You'll bake the pizza right on the parchment paper. As it cooks, the dough will release from the parchment, and you can slide the paper out before serving.
Topping and Baking the Dough:
Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce into the center of each pizza and use the back of a spoon to spread it out to the edges. Pile on all of your toppings except the cheese.
Using a bread peel or the backside of a baking sheet, slide your pizza (still on the parchment) onto the baking stone in the oven. If you don't have a baking stone, just bake it right on the baking sheet.
Bake for about 5 minutes and then rotate the pizza 180-degrees (most ovens have 'hot spots' your pizza will bake unevenly if it's not rotated). Bake for another 3 minutes and then sprinkle the cheese over the top. Bake for another 2-3 minutes until the edges are golden brown and crispy.
Remove your pizza from oven and let it cool on a wire rack. At this point, you can slide the parchment paper out from under the pizza. Repeat with second pizza.
Let both pizzas cool for about five minutes (we know--it's hard to wait!) and serve.

Peter Reinhart's Napoletana Pizza Dough Recipe

Heidi notes: Peter's recipe says the olive (or vegetable oil) is optional. I use it every time - always olive oil, not vegetable oil. I love the moisture and suppleness it adds to the dough, and it makes your hands soft too.

4 1/2 cups (20.25 ounces) unbleached high-gluten, bread, or all-purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 (.44 ounce) teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil (optional)
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) water, ice cold (40°F)
Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting

1. Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). With a large metal spoon, stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment), If you are mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the metal spoon into cold water and use it, much like a dough hook, to work the dough vigorously into a smooth mass while rotating the bowl in a circular motion with the other hand. Reverse the circular motion a few times to develop the gluten further. Do this for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are evenly distributed. If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet and doesn't come off the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour just until it clears the sides. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a tea- spoon or two of cold water. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50 to 55F.

2. Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with baking parchment and misting the parchment with spray oil (or lightly oil the parchment). Using a metal dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you are comfortable shaping large pizzas), You can dip the scraper into the water between cuts to keep the dough from sticking to it, Sprinkle flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, dip your hands into the flour again. Transfer the dough balls to the sheet pan, Mist the dough generously with spray oil and slip the pan into a food-grade plastic bag.

3. Put the pan into the refrigerator overnight to rest the dough, or keep for up to 3 days. (Note: If you want to save some of the dough for future baking, you can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag. Dip each dough ball into a bowl that has a few tablespoons of oil in it, rolling the dough in the oil, and then put each ball into a separate bag. You can place the bags into the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer them to the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza.)

4. On the day you plan to make the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before making the pizza. Before letting the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours, dust the counter with flour, and then mist the counter with spray oil. Place the dough balls on top of the floured counter and sprinkle them with flour; dust your hands with flour. Gently press the dough into flat disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil, and cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag. Now let rest for 2 hours.

5. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone either on the floor of the oven (for gas ovens), or on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven as hot as possible, up to 800F (most home ovens will go only to 500 to 550F, but some will go higher). If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but do not preheat the pan.

6. Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal. Make the pizzas one at a time. Dip your hands, including the backs of your hands and knuckles, in flour and lift I piece of dough by getting under it with a pastry scraper. Very gently lay the dough across your fists and carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, carefully giving it a little stretch with each bounce. If it begins to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue shaping it. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss as shown on page 208. If you have trouble tossing the dough, or if the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again. You can also resort to using a rolling pin, though this isn't as effective as the toss method.

7. When the dough is stretched out to your satisfaction (about 9 to 12 inches in diameter for a 6-ounce piece of dough), lay it on the peel or pan, making sure there is enough semolina flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide. Lightly top it with sauce and then with your other top- pings, remembering that the best pizzas are topped with a less-is-more philosophy. The American "kitchen sink" approach is counterproductive, as it makes the crust more difficult to bake. A few, usually no more than 3 or 4 toppings, including sauce and cheese is sufficient.

8. Slide the topped pizza onto the stone (or bake directly on the sheet pan) and close the door. Wait 2 minutes, then take a peek. If it needs to be rotated 180 degrees for even baking, do so. The pizza should take about 5 to 8 minutes to bake. If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone to a lower self before the next round. if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone for subsequent bakes.

9. Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving, to allow the cheese to set slightly.

Makes six 6-ounce pizza crusts.

from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart (Ten Speed Press) - reprinted with permission

101 Cookbooks http://www.101cookbooks.com/

Classic Spaghetti Carbonara

Serves 4
Prep time - 25 minutes
Cook time - 10 minutes after pasta cooked

Ingredients

1/2 pound bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fresh spaghetti, cooked al dente
4 large eggs, beaten
Salt
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions
In a large saute pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 6 minutes. Remove the bacon and drain on
paper towels. Pour off all of the oil except for 3 tablespoons. Add the garlic. Season with black pepper. Saute for 30
seconds. Add the crispy bacon and the pasta. Saute for 1 minute. Season the eggs with salt. Remove the pan from the
heat and add the eggs, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble. Add the cheese and re-season with
salt and pepper. Mound into serving bowls and garnish with parsley.

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 1999 via foodnetwork.com

Curried Cider-Pork Stew

Prep: 35 minutes , Cook: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 lb. boneless pork shoulder
• 4 medium red and/or green crisp-tart cooking apples
• 1 Tbsp. cooking oil
• 1 large onion, cut into thin wedges
• 2 tsp. curry powder
• 1 14-oz. can chicken broth
• 2/3 cup apple cider or apple juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 12 oz. baby carrots with tops, trimmed, or packaged peeled baby carrots
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 1-1/2-lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (2 cups)
• Sour cream, shredded orange peel, snipped fresh oregano and/or freshly ground pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Trim fat from pork; cut pork in 1-inch cubes. Peel, core, and chop two apples; set aside. In a 4-quart Dutch oven brown pork, half at a time, in hot oil; return all pork to pan. Add chopped apples, onion, and curry powder; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add broth, cider, salt, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add carrots and celery to pork mixture; return to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cut remaining apples into 1/4-inch-thick wedges. Add apples and squash to pan. Cover; cook 10 to 12 minutes or until pork and vegetables are tender. Serve with sour cream, orange peel, oregano and pepper. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories 379
• Total Fat (g) 14

From BHG.com