Name: Perfectly Homemade Pizza Dough
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon Active Dry or Instant Yeast; 4 cups All-purpose Flour; 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt; 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 1 1/2 cups warm water {more than lukewarm}

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:: Perfectly Homemade Pizza Dough ::

Believe it or not… I actually went about two years without eating pizza {Gasp! I know!}. During my first pregnancy, I didn’t experience food cravings as much as I experienced food aversions. Unfortunately, pizza… was the enemy. I couldn’t handle the taste, smell, or even the word P-I-Z-Z-A. Thankfully with time, the aversion passed {I think Husby was especially grateful for that}! Now… like most of you, I completely savor a good slice of pizza… especially if it’s homemade. Typically my husby picks up some of Trader Joe’s premade pizza dough, on his stop at the market before making his way up the mountain to our home. However, this week, he was home from the fire station for a few days and we didn’t have any dough on hand. I decided to mix up an easy homemade pizza dough {from one of my faves… The Pioneer Woman}, and top it with fresh, organic veggies from my mom’s garden. Yum!

The best part about making homemade pizza dough, is that there are literally only a few key ingredients needed…. flour, salt, olive oil, water and yeast. It honestly took me less than 5 minutes to make, and only an hour to let rise.

I made this dough on our first stormy day in the mountains. It was definitely chilly, so I warmed the oven slightly {to 170 degrees}… turned it off, covered the bowl {with the dough in it} with a damp towel, and let it rise for an hour before rolling.

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Perfectly Homemade Pizza Dough

This homemade pizza dough makes for the perfect crust to add your favorite toppings to!

Prep Time5 mins

Total Time1 hr 5 mins

Author: Simply Happenstance

Ingredients

Ingredients {makes 2 crusts}

1 teaspoon Active Dry or Instant Yeast
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 cups warm water {more than lukewarm}

Instructions

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm water and stir gently until dissolved. Set aside.
In a mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed, drizzle olive oil into mixture until combined. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined. It will resemble a slightly sticky ball.
Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl with a damp towel and set in a warm place to rise for at least one hour. {I preheated my oven to the lowest setting, turned it off, and then placed the bowl in the oven to allow the dough to rise for an hour - it worked perfectly!}

Notes

If you are not planning on using the pizza dough right away, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you are ready to use the dough. It can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To cook... once you've topped your pizza with your desired toppings, preheat oven to 500 degrees and cook for 10-12 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is golden. Enjoy!

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

So… perhaps you are wondering what toppings I adorned my tasty homemade pizza crust with…. VEGGIES… lots of wholesome, organic vegetables from my mom’s garden {Thanks, Mom!}. I used roasted eggplant, yellow squash, and juicy red tomatoes combined with sliced mozzarella, garlic, a coating of olive oil, and a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan {Mmmm!}. What an amazing way to use up the last of your garden vegetables, right? {Also a wonderful way to use your seasonal veggies that so many of you get delivered from local farms!}

I learned from the Pioneer Woman that after slicing your eggplant, you should lightly salt both sides and let it sit in a strainer for 20 to 30 minutes {this rids the vegetable of its bitter juices and makes it tastier}. Next, you rinse the slices in cold water, pat them dry, and then toss them in olive oil. Finally roast them on a cookie sheet {lined with aluminum foil}, with the cut chunks of squash until golden brown.

After the eggplant and squash have been roasting for a few minutes, add in the sliced tomatoes and minced garlic. Let roast for a few more minutes under the broiler {set on high}.

Slice your mozzarella {if it’s difficult, place in the freezer for a few minutes and then try slicing again}. Top your pizza crust with a thin layer of olive oil, followed by the mozzarella slices.

Cover the mozzarella slices with your roasted veggies. Finally, top with a sprinkling of fresh parmesan! Cook pizza in oven for 10 to 12 minutes at 500 degrees until cheese is melted and crust is golden.

This is it! The perfectly homemade pizza dough, topped with loads of fresh, roasted, organic veggies and cheese! Since the dough recipe makes two crusts… you can make the other one a bit more kid-friendly! We topped our little ones’ pizza with marinara, pineapple chucks, and lots of cheese!

Paired with a flavorful salad, this homemade pizza makes a scrumptious autumn dinner! Enjoy!

What are some of your favorite homemade pizza toppings? We’d love to hear from you, so please leave us a comment below! Thanks, friends!