Pizza Fail or No? Plus My Fave Pizza Dough!
Hello friend,
This is how I planned to look when I shared about my garden-fresh-from-scratch pizza party with you:
But then…
A summer windstorm derailed our garden-party-pizza-night.
I did my best to keep my chin up, but I was quite frustrated.
But who am I kidding? Nature wins. It always does. (Watch below to see how it actually turned out.)
Still, the wind didn’t deter me from gathering summer vegetables from the “orto” and enjoying them on my pizza. There’s simply too much good stuff to be had! I’ve learned a lot about the value of simple ingredients in my time spent studying Italian cuisine — ingredients that don’t hide behind fancy techniques or elaborate preparation methods. This style of cooking very much resonates with life in our little cottage and isn’t thrown off by a bit of breeze now and then!
So even though our pizza party had to move inside, it was still a delight. I’ve shared my favorite pizza crust recipe below if you’re in need of a good one. Sometimes I even just bake it up and drizzle it with olive oil! Even if you’re baking the pizza in your indoor oven and eating at your kitchen table, this crust recipe still works surprisingly well.
If, however, the air is still, and you can eat it outside amongst twinkle lights and hummingbirds and the clinking glasses of loved ones… all the better.
My Favorite Pizza Crust
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups (620 grams) warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
6 cups (740 grams) unbleached bread flour, or all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon rye flour
1 ½ teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Olive oil, for serving
Minced garlic, for serving
Chili flakes, for serving
Fresh herbs, for serving
Instructions:
Combine the warm water and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl). Stir to combine and allow the yeast to hydrate for 2-3 minutes.
Add half of the bread flour (3 cups or 370 grams) and all of the rye flour into the yeast-water mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Cover the bowl and set aside for 90 minutes.
Add the remaining bread flour, along with the honey and salt, into the bowl. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and knead the dough on medium speed for 6-8 minutes. The dough should start to pull away slightly from the sides of the bowl — add a handful or two of additional flour if needed to achieve this.
Oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough into the bowl, cover tightly, and allow the dough to proof for an additional 45 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 500° Fahrenheit.
When the dough has doubled in size, dust a work surface lightly with flour. Using a handful (about ¼ cup) of dough at a time, shape it into a circle with your hands, stretching and pressing with your fingertips as needed, until it is about ½” thick.
Top with ingredients and bake in a pizza oven until blistered. Alternatively, place the crust on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake in a preheated 500° oven until cooked through and golden.
Have a beautiful weekend, my friend.
