HOMEMADE PIZZA

This homemade pizza dough recipe is great for beginners and yields a soft and chewy pizza crust. 

Everybody loves pizza and it so easy to make it.Let’s see how to make homemade pizza along with homemade pizza sauce in your own kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1cup (230 ml) warm water (105°F-115°F)
• Half teaspoon of active dry yeast
• 3 cups (415 g) bread flour/all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

How to make Homemade Pizza

1. Proof the yeast:

Place the warm water in the large bowl . Sprinkle sugar and yeast over the warm waterand stir them well until the yeastand sugar get dissolved completely and keep it aside for 5 minutes for the yeast get activated.The yeast should begin to foam or bloom, indicating that the yeast is still active and alive.
(Note that if you are using “instant yeast” instead of “active yeast”, no proofing is required. Just add to the flour in the next step.)

2. Prepare and knead the pizza dough:

Mix together the flour ,salt and olive oil into the yeast mixture in the bowl.
Knead the dough .
The dough should be a little sticky, or tacky to the touch. If it’s too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour.
Knead the dough for 8-12 minutes until the dough become soft and supple and elastic enough to withstand all the stretching and puffing later.

3. Let the pizza dough rise :

Spread a thin layer of olive oil over the inside of a large bowl. Place the pizza dough in the bowl and turn it around so that it gets coated with the oil.
At this point you can choose how long you want the dough to ferment and rise. A slow fermentation (24 hours in the fridge) will result in more complex flavors in the dough. A quick fermentation (1 1/2 hours in a warm place) will allow the dough to rise sufficiently to work with.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap.

MAKE AHEAD FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS

After the pizza dough has risen, you can freeze it to use later. Divide the dough in to small portions you will be using to make your pizzas. Place on parchment paper or a lightly floured dish and place, uncovered, in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. Then remove from the freezer, and place in individual freezer bags, removing as much air as you can from the bags. Return to the freezer and store for up to 3 months.
Thaw the pizza dough in the refrigerator overnight or for 5 to 6 hours. Then let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before stretching it out in the next steps.

4. Divide the pizza dough into 3-4 balls:

Degas the dough and divide it into 3 or 4 parts.

Let them sit for 20-30 minutes until the gluten strands loosen and relax and then it will be easy for us to shape it into discs.

5.Flatten dough ball, and stretch out into a round:

Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a slightly floured work surface.
Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick.
You can store the rest of the balls in refrigerator for unto 1 week.Bring it to room temperature before rolling it into disc.

6.Spread with homemade Pizza sauce  and sprinkle with your favorite toppings.

For making wonderful pizza we need our oven to be exceptionally hot.Preheat the oven to the highest temperature your pizza pan can withstand.
Here i have used a perforated pizza pan which helps the heat to reach the entire crust as it bakes,which result in crispier pizza crust and no more soggy pizza crust:)

7.Bake pizza at 450 F or more for 14-16 minutes.

Cooking hot and fast means that your crust won’t dry out as it browns.

You will get delicious pizza with crunchy edges and tasty homemade tomato sauce loaded with your favorite toppings.
Enjoy making homemade pizza 🙂

Watch the video to see how easy it is to make Homemade Pizza :