Back to Bread: Pizza Crust

Unfortunately, the under-microwave above stove light casts an unflattering hue. I should learn from this, and stop taking pictures at that location. I should, but will I?

The KitchenAid and it's trusty recipes have done it again. Two successful pizzas under my belt, I am encouraged to reach for greatness. I baked the crusts for 10 minutes without any toppings, then 20 minutes with toppings. As we weren't ready to eat yet, I let them repose in the turned off oven to keep them warm. That might have been too much - the crusts were a little crispier than I would have liked. But no matter, they were still pretty good, especially since there was no middle of the pizza sogginess. And there was much rejoicing.

Speaking of toppings...

Pizza #1: your basic tomato-mozz combo. I halved grape tomatoes & briefly sauteed them with garlicky olive oil. Sprinkled over pizza along w/ sauteed crushed garlic, chopped fresh mozzarella, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, dried oregano, and shaved parmesan.

Pizza #2: zucchini-ricotta. Spread a little ricotta around the crust in lieu of sauce. Top with sauteed zucchini slices & garlic. Same spices as above and a dusting of parmesan.

To accompany the pizzas, we had a little beet & blue cheese salad. Enhanced with just a pinch of pink salt - if you look closely you can see the flecks. Next time add pepper, and maybe some balsamic, but a good combination of flavours. And the beets held their texture well - I boiled them last week. Overall - success! :)

(From the KitchenAid manual)

Crusty Pizza Dough

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp olive oil

2 1/2+ cups all-purpose flour

1 tbs cornmeal

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add salt, olive oil, and 2 1/2 cups flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.

Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix about 1 1/2 minutes, or until dough starts to clean sides of bowl. Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer.

Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down.

Brush 14" pizza pan with oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Press dough across bottom of pan, forming a collar around edge to hold toppings. Add toppings, as desired. Bake at 450F for 15-20 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings (1/4 pizza per serving).

Per serving: About 373 cal, 11 g protein, 74 g carb, 3 g fat, 0 mg chol, 271 mg sodium.