About 3 years ago, my dear friend taught me how to make pizza dough from scratch and it changed our lives forever. Really! ;). Since that time, Friday night pizza night has been a tradition in our house. It’s a night that all of us look forward to. I make the dough during the day, then the boys hop up in their cooking towers to make their own pizzas. They love getting to choose what goes on their pizza and sometimes surprise me with their choices! While the pizza cooks, we put on a movie, spread out a picnic blanket on the living room floor, and settle in for pizza night. I love this tradition because it makes meal planning a cinch (for at least one night of the week) and it’s a relaxed way to end the week. The boys are happy (and quiet!) while they watch their movie and eat pizza, and I’m happy to sit between them and have a glass of wine. Perfect way to end a week!
Here’s the recipe for the pizza dough. Top it any way you like! Check out the guest post my dear friend wrote a few years ago when she first taught me the art of homemade pizza dough. 🙂
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Small Batch Pizza Dough
Ingredients
1 ¼ c. very-warm-but-not-hot water (ideally between 105 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 package active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
4 c. flour
Pinch of salt
Olive oil
Instructions
Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and gently stir in the yeast. (I use my kitchen thermometer to be sure the water temperature is about 110 degrees Fahrenheit). Allow it to proof for 5 – 15 minutes.
Place 2 of the 4 cups of flour in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached and add a pinch of salt, the yeast/water mixture, and 1 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Stir until it’s combined, and then gradually (1/2 cup at a time) add in the remaining flour until the dough forms a ball.  (You don’t want to use too much and make the dough too dense, you just want to make sure that it isn’t sticky).
Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and knead the dough by hand until it’s smooth and elastic, then form into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl.  Use your hand to lightly coat the top with olive oil and cover it loosely with a kitchen towel.
Allow it to rise for a few hours and then form into 4 balls to then roll out into dough. Â Top with desired pizza toppings and cook at 450 on a pizza stone (heat the stone in the oven as the oven preheats) for 10 minutes.