The process for baking pizza is fairly simple. With the right
preparation you’ll be able to make one correctly.
Ingredients
Olive or vegetable oil
2 packs of dry yeast
4 cups of sifted flour
Pizza pan
1 ¼ cup of water
For the toppings:
It’s up to you, but the basic ones include tomato sauce, cheese, bits of ham, mushrooms and pineapple. You can also add some greens, bits of meat and other toppings.
Instructions
Put the yeast in a bowl. Put 1 ¼ cup of water in it. Stir it until the yeast dissipates. Pour in the two cups of flour. Stir it until the ingredients are blended together.
Put in another two cups of flour in the mix. To make sure you’re baking pizza dough right, mix the ingredients until it becomes hard to mix with the spoon. By this time the substance will have turned very stiff.
The Pizza Dough
Take out the pizza dough from the bowl. Put some flour on the work surface. Put the dough there and knead it for 15 minutes or until the dough turns flexible. When you are done, get another bowl. Put a bit of oil in it. Flip the dough so that its topmost part is oiled.
Put the dough in the bowl. Cover it in plastic. Place it in a warm container. When you are baking pizza, you must wait for the dough to rise. This will take about 45 minutes. The dough is ready when it reaches twice its size.
Prepare the Dough for Baking
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the dough from the bowl. Add flour to the work surface (if you cleaned it). Punch it to remove all bubbles. Double check to make sure there are no bubbles.
Allow the dough to rest for a couple of minutes. Roll the dough into a 12 inch circle. Make it as thick as you want, but remember it will get thicker when you start baking pizza.
Put the dough onto the pizza pan. You can also use a baking sheet if you like. Now is the time to add the toppings. Start with the tomato sauce. Pour enough to cover the dough. Add the cheese. Add generous amounts of ham, mushroom, meat, veggies etc. You can add pineapples for a fruity texture.
Apply some olive oil on the crust edges. Put it in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until the dough turns brown. It’s done when the cheese has melted.
Tips
The water for the yeast needs to be 115 F. Too hot or cold water and the yeast will die. You can also toss in a tsp of olive oil on the dough while preparing it. You can also freeze the dough. Just shape it like a ball and put in plastic and aluminum foil. Put it in the freezer. To thaw, put in the fridge in the morning. Take it out a couple of hours before using it.
Even if you have little experience, baking pizza won’t be that difficult to do. As long as you get the dough right, adding the toppings will be easy.
