The Dough

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon honey

Combine the water, yeast, and 1 1/2 cups of the flour in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the oil, salt, honey and remaining flour. With large wooden spoon or your hands mix the ingredients together until the dough holds its shape. You may need a bit less flour, so add the last half gradually.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. If the dough becomes sticky, sprinkle a bit more flour over it.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled 2-quart bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, and let the dough rest until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

When the dough has risen, place it on a lightly floured surface, divide it into two or more parts and roll them into balls. Cover them with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes. The dough is ready to be shaped, topped and cooked.

This recipe can easily be doubled for more servings. Extras can be refrigerated for later use.

The Pizza

• pepperoni slices
• tomato sauce
• block of cheese (type of your choice)

Now for the making of the pizza itself, there is room for much variation. So I will stick to the simplest way of things.

Roll your dough into a circle of a thickness that you desire, and of a diameter approximately two inches wider than the pan that you will be using. Lightly coat the surface of the baking pan with olive oil if a non-stick surface is used. Use a heavier coat if the surface of the pan is not non-stick.

Place your dough in the pan, and use a sharp knife to cut your overlap to the intended one (1) inch. Cut rectangular blocks of cheese of a thickness of your liking. (I suggest approximately 1 cm x 1 cm) Place the blocks along the inside edge of the pan, where your crust will be. Wrap the overlapping dough over the blocks of cheese so that they are neatly covered.

Slowly spoon in tomato sauce to a depth of your liking. Agitate the pan so as to get the sauce to settle evenly. Place the pepperoni in a radial pattern on sauce. At this point you may add any other toppings that you may like.

Grate, and sprinkle on cheese, as much as you want. Preheat the oven to 350° F for 15 minutes. Place pizza in oven, and leave baking till brown enough.

Pictures

References